Shemos 3:8 · unit 2 — flowing with milk and honey

Parashas Shemos

The Complete Passuk

וָאֵרֵ֞ד לְהַצִּיל֣וֹ ׀ מִיַּ֣ד מִצְרַ֗יִם וּֽלְהַעֲלֹתוֹ֮ מִן־הָאָ֣רֶץ הַהִוא֒ אֶל־אֶ֤רֶץ טוֹבָה֙ וּרְחָבָ֔ה אֶל־אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָ֑שׁ אֶל־מְק֤וֹם הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ וְהַ֣חִתִּ֔י וְהָֽאֱמֹרִי֙ וְהַפְּרִזִּ֔י וְהַחִוִּ֖י וְהַיְבוּסִֽי׃

I have come down to rescue them from the Egyptians and to bring them out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey, the region of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

Chabad.org — 3:8

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to R’ Chisda — Rosh Hashanah 13a (verified).

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text

זבת חלב ודבש — א״ר חסדא: למה ארץ ישראל נמשלה לצבי? לומר לך מה צבי זה קל מכל החיות\ldots

English: “Flowing with milk and honey” — R’ Chisda said: Why is the Land of Israel compared to a gazelle? To tell you that just as a gazelle is swifter than all other animals\ldots

On the daf / in context: The comparison (drawn from a related verse) highlights the Land’s rapid ripening and distinctive quality; the milk-and-honey formula is part of the same complex of praise.

Type of Learning

Custom

What Is Learned

Chazal link the distinctive praise of the Land to the image of the swift gazelle.