Jordan valley, Israel. Wikimedia
The Good Land of Israel
What are the favorable qualities of the land of Israel, and what is God’s relationship to it?
Published: August 10, 2017
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Last Updated: September 7, 2026
The same Eden-like background probably lies behind the hyperbolic description of the Land as “flowing with milk and honey” (Deut 6:3; 11:9; etc.). This figurative language ultimately refers to the natural qualities of the land, representing the products of animals (cow and goat milk) and the earth (date honey). Nonetheless, the depiction at the same time evokes the kind of mythological imagery that is associated with the environs of the divine dwelling. Thus, according to Joel (4:18), a day will come when “the mountains shall drip sweet wine, the hills shall flow with milk, and all the stream beds of Judah shall flow with water…” This will happen when the Lord returns and takes up residence at Zion (v. 17). To clarify, I am not saying that D necessarily knew the J narrative of Eden, only that the depictions are similar and that the depiction in D likely draws on traditions about Eden, though not necessarily in the precise form of the J version of Gen 2.
For a general treatment see Patrick D. Miller, “The Gift of God: The Deuteronomic Theology of the Land,” Interpretation 23 (1969), 451-465.
See the discussion in Jeffery H. Tigay, Deuteronomy, 112.
Most traditional commentaries read this as a reference to YHWH watching the people not the land itself, but that is influenced by the larger context (see discussion later) and does not reflect the straightforward meaning of the verse. One commentator that does seem to read the verse as referring to the land is Rashi, based on the Sifrei.
In his commentary (ad loc.), R. David Zvi Hoffmann notes this verse and the Jeremiah verse above as parallels usages.
Gerhard Von Rad, Deuteronomy: A Commentary, 2nd revised edition (OTL; Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1966), p. 72; italics added. Richard Nelson makes the same suggestion about the passage in Deut 11 in Richard D. Nelson, Deuteronomy (OTL; Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2002), 112-113
See Bechor Shor and Seforno ad loc.
See also Jer 31:12-14; Psalm 107:8-9; Prov. 3:10.
For a discussion of the Ben Sirah passage cf. Jacob Licht, הניסיון במקרא וביהדות של תקופת הבית השני [Testing in the Hebrew Scriptures and in Post-Biblical Judaism] (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1973), 69. For an example of testing through provision in Jewish exegesis see Shadal on Exod 16:4
