Exodus 3:17

וָאֹמַר אַעֲלֶה אֶתְכֶם מֵעֳנִי מִצְרַיִם אֶל־אֶרֶץ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַחִתִּי וְהָֽאֱמֹרִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי וְהַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִי אֶל־אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃

✦ Hebrew interlinear

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✦ The same verse in five languages

Hebrew

וָאֹמַ֗ר אַעֲלֶ֣ה אֶתְכֶם֮ מֵעֳנִ֣י מִצְרַיִם֒ אֶל־אֶ֤רֶץ הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי֙ וְהַ֣חִתִּ֔י וְהָֽאֱמֹרִי֙ וְהַפְּרִזִּ֔י וְהַחִוִּ֖י וְהַיְבוּסִ֑י אֶל־אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָֽשׁ׃

Greek (Septuagint)

καὶ εἶπεν Ἀναβιβάσω ὑμᾶς ἐκ τῆς κακώσεως τῶν Αἰγυπτίων εἴς τὴν γῆν τῶν Χαναναίων καὶ Χετταίων καὶ Ἀμορραίων καὶ Φερεζαίων καὶ Γεργεσαίων κα Εὑαίων καὶ Ἰεβουσαίων, εἰς γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι.

Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0

Latin (Vulgate)

Et dixi ut educam vos de afflictione Ægypti in terram Chananæi, et Hethæi, et Amorrhæi, et Pherezæi, et Hevæi, et Jebusæi, ad terram fluentem lacte et melle.

Spanish

Y he decidido sacarlos de la opresión de Egipto para llevarlos a la tierra de los cananeos, de los hititas, de los amorreos, de los ferezeos, de los heveos y de los jebuseos, a una tierra donde abundan la leche y la miel.

Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)

Y he dicho: Yo os sacaré de la aflicción de Egipto á la tierra del Cananeo, y del Hetheo, y del Amorrheo, y del Pherezeo, y del Heveo, y del Jebuseo, á una tierra que fluye leche y miel.

English

And I have promised to bring you up out of your affliction in Egypt, into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites — a land flowing with milk and honey.’

✦ What the text says

Summary

Exodus 3:17 continues God's speech to Moses, promising to bring the Israelites up out of their affliction in Egypt into the land of six named peoples, described as a land flowing with milk and honey. The verse uses first-person verbal forms to frame this as a divine declaration already made.

Key words

'o.Mar ("I have said", H0559) — qal verb in narrative sequence, marking this as a report of a prior divine statement, not a new utterance.
'a.'a.Leh ("I will bring up", H5927H) — hiphil (causative) imperfect: the causative stem indicates God is the agent causing the people to go up, not merely accompanying them.
'o.Ni ("affliction of", H6040) — construct noun, linking directly to mitz.ra.Yim ("Egypt", H4714G) to form "affliction of Egypt."
za.Vat ("flowing of", H2100G) — qal participle feminine singular construct, describing the land as continuously "doing" the action of flowing, modifying 'E.retz ("a land", H0776G).
ha. ("the", H9009) — definite article repeated before each gentilic name (Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Hivite, Jebusite), treating each as a distinct definite people-group.

What the text says

The verse opens with the narrative vav on 'o.Mar ("I have said"), which continues a chain of reported speech rather than introducing new dialogue — the text presents this as the content of what God stated. The causative hiphil form 'a.'a.Leh ("I will bring up") places the emphasis on divine agency: God is the one causing the people to ascend, using the direct object marker 'et. with the pronominal suffix Khem ("you", H9036) to specify the addressees as a group.

The phrase me.'o.Ni mitz.ra.Yim uses a construct chain — 'o.Ni ("affliction of") governs mitz.ra.Yim ("Egypt") — producing "affliction of Egypt" rather than a looser phrase like "Egyptian affliction." The destination is described through a list of six gentilic nouns, each preceded by its own definite article (ha.), giving the sense of six discrete, named peoples rather than a single collective term.

The final clause repeats 'E.retz ("land", H0776G), this time without the article and modified by the participle za.Vat ("flowing of") in construct with cha.Lav ("milk", H2461) and de.Vash ("honey", H1706), joined by the conjunction u. ("and", H9002). The participle form frames the flowing as a continuous, characteristic action of the land rather than a one-time event.

Differences between versions

The LXX lists seven peoples, adding Γεργεσαίων ("Gergesites") between Φερεζαίων and Εὑαίων, where the Hebrew text lists six: ha.Kna'aNi, ha.chiTi, ha.'emoRi, ha.periZi, ha.chiVi, ha.yevuSi. The Vulgate follows the Hebrew's six-name list. The BSB and RV1909 also render six peoples, matching the Hebrew count rather than the LXX's seven.

This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.