Deuteronomy 1:25

Deu 1:25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought [it] down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, [It is] a good land which the LORD our God doth give us.

Ver. 25. And brought us word again.] Joshua and Caleb did; for the rest are not here reckoned of; God counts of men by the goodness that is in them.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

To wit, Caleb, and Joshua: Moses preferreth the better part to the greater, that is, two to ten.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(25) It is a good land.—In Num_13:27 they all say, “Surely it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it.” In Num_14:7 Joshua and Caleb describe it as an “exceeding good land.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

25. And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands] Summary of E, Num_13:23; Num_13:26 b; a branch with one cluster (eshkol) of grapes … pomegranates and figs … and showed them the fruit of the land.

a good land] J, Num_13:27 f., surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit; but the people are strong, the cities fenced and great, etc. P, Num_13:32 : they brought up an evil report of the land … a land that eateth up its inhabitants. Yet later, Num_14:7, P ascribes a good report to Joshua and Kaleb.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands,.... Besides the cluster of grapes, which was carried between two men on a staff; even pomegranates and figs, Num 13:23,

and brought it down unto us; who lay encamped at the bottom of the mountain:

and brought us word again; what sort of a land it was:

and said, it is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us; that is, Caleb and Joshua, two of the spies, said this, as the Targum of Jonathan expresses it, and so Jarchi; yea, all of them agreed in this, and said at first that it was a land flowing with milk and honey, Num 13:27.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The fruit; grapes, pomegranates, and figs, Num 13:23.

It is a good land; which acknowledgment, coming from its enemies, should have prevailed with you to go in, more than their discouraging words should have beat you off, because the Lord who had given you this land, was unquestionably able to settle you in it in spite of all opposition.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

General Information:

Moses continues reminding the people of Israel what the previous generation of Israelites did.

They took

"The 12 men took"

took some of the produce of the land in their hands

"picked some of the produce of the land"

brought us word and said

The speaker speaks as if a "word" were a physical object that someone could bring. AT: "told us" (See: Metaphor)

said, 'It is a good land that Yahweh our God is giving to us.'

The direct quotation can be translated as an indirect quotation. AT: "said that the land that Yahweh our God was giving to us was good"

translationWords

word

Yahweh

God

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

ויורדו אלינו AND THEY BROUGHT IT DOWN TO US — This tells us that the land of Israel is situated higher than all other countries (Sifrei Devarim 23:2).

ויאמרו טובה הארץ AND THEY SAID, THE LAND IS GOOD — Who were they who spoke of it being good? Joshua and Caleb (Sifrei Devarim 23:3).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND THEY SAID: ‘GOOD IS THE LAND WHICH THE ETERNAL OUR G-D GIVETH UNTO US.’ “Who were those who spoke well of the Land? Joshua and Caleb.” This is Rashi’s language quoting the Sifre. 23. But I wonder. If so, what is this complaint against them [the people]? It was proper that they should believe ten people more than two? Perhaps Moses complained against them: “Since the Holy One, blessed be He, had informed you that it is a good Land, and the leading emissaries and the most righteous among them had also testified to that effect, you should have believed that the others spoke their piece out of lack of courage.”The correct interpretation is as I have already explained there: All the spies admitted before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation, saying, We came unto the Land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it., Verse 27. Thus they were all in consensus on the goodness of the Land itself, but, with reference to the strength of those nations living there, they melted the people’s hearts. Then, when [the ten spies] saw that Joshua and Caleb were encouraging the people to wage war, the spies came to the children of Israel not in the presence of Moses and they disseminated a slanderous report about the Land to the effect that it is a Land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. This is [what Moses meant when he stated here], and ye murmured in your tents. clearly indicates that the murmuring was done surreptitiously. The ten wicked spies did not confront Moses with this charge. The people also did not mention this slander in the presence of Moses for he would refute them because they [the spies themselves] did not say so at first [that the Land kills its inhabitants]; instead they admitted that it is a good Land, and surely it floweth with milk and honey., Verse 27. Rather, they said to Moses, Whither are we going up? our brethren have made our heart to melt, saying: The people is greater and taller than we. Therefore, Moses now said to them: “It is true as you say that that people is great and tall, but the Eternal will fight for you according to all that He did for you from Egypt even till now.” This, then, is the sense of the verse, Yet in this thing ye do not believe the Eternal your G-d, which means that the hindrance [to your immediate entry into the Land] was only a result of insufficient faith [you had in G-d]. Thus the whole section is explained in accordance with the simple meaning of Scripture and its purport.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.