Exodus 3:8
וָאֵרֵד לְהַצִּילוֹ׀ מִיַּד מִצְרַיִם וּֽלְהַעֲלֹתוֹ מִן־הָאָרֶץ הַהִוא אֶל־אֶרֶץ טוֹבָה וּרְחָבָה אֶל־אֶרֶץ זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ אֶל־מְקוֹם הַֽכְּנַעֲנִי וְהַחִתִּי וְהָֽאֱמֹרִי וְהַפְּרִזִּי וְהַחִוִּי וְהַיְבוּסִֽי׃
✦ Hebrew interlinear
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✦ The same verse in five languages
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׃
καὶ κατέβην ἐξελέσθαι αὐτοὺς ἐκ χειρὸς Αἰγυπτίων καὶ ἐξαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς ἐκ τῆς γῆς ἐκείνης, καὶ εἰσαγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς γῆν ἀγαθὴν καὶ πολλήν, εἰς γῆν ῥέουσαν γάλα καὶ μέλι, εἰς τὸν τόπον τῶν χαναναίων καὶ Χετταίων καὶ Ἀμορραίων καὶ Φερεζαίων καὶ Γεργεσαίων καὶ Εὑαίων
Greek text from Swete's edition, CC BY-SA 4.0
Latin (Vulgate)
et sciens dolorem ejus, descendi ut liberem eum de manibus Ægyptiorum, et educam de terra illa in terram bonam, et spatiosam, in terram quæ fluit lacte et melle, ad loca Chananæi et Hethæi, et Amorrhæi, et Pherezæi, et Hevæi, et Jebusæi.
He bajado para rescatarlos del poder de los egipcios y para sacarlos de ese país, a fin de llevarlos a una tierra buena y espaciosa, una tierra donde abundan la leche y la miel; es la tierra donde viven los cananeos, los hititas, los amorreos, los ferezeos, los heveos y los jebuseos.
Classic Spanish (Reina-Valera 1909)
Y he descendido para librarlos de mano de los Egipcios, y sacarlos de aquella tierra á una tierra buena y ancha, á tierra que fluye leche y miel, á los lugares del Cananeo, del Hetheo, del Amorrheo, del Pherezeo, del Heveo, y del Jebuseo.
I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey — the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
✦ What the text says
Summary
Exodus 3:8 continues the divine speech begun in the burning bush, stating that the speaker has come down to rescue the people from Egyptian control and bring them into a specific land — described as good, spacious, and "flowing with milk and honey" — currently occupied by six named peoples.
Key words
- 'e.Red ("I have come down", H3381) — qal verb with narrative vav, continuing the sequence of divine action begun earlier in the chapter.
- ha.tzi.L ("deliver", H5337) — hiphil infinitive (causative stem), expressing purpose: "to cause deliverance," attached to a suffixed object -o ("it/him").
- za.Vat ("flowing of", H2100) — qal participle in construct form, literally "the one flowing of," describing 'Eretz ("land") as continuously producing milk and honey.
- ha.'a.lo.T ("bring up", H5927) — hiphil infinitive, causative "to cause to go up," paired with ha.tzi.L to form a double purpose clause.
- ke.na.'a.Ni ("Canaanite", H3669) — gentilic singular noun used collectively, the first of six peoples listed by name, each preceded by the definite article ha-.
What the text says
The verse is built on two parallel infinitive purpose clauses introduced by the preposition le- ("to"): le-hatzilo ("to deliver it/him") and u-le-ha'aloto ("and to bring it/him up"), both hiphil infinitives carrying causative force and both suffixed with a third-person object pronoun. This grammatical pairing frames the action as two connected purposes of the divine "coming down" (va-'ered): removal from Egyptian hand and movement toward another land.
The destination is described through a chain of construct and adjectival phrases: 'eretz tovah u-rechavah ("a land good and spacious") and 'eretz zavat chalav u-devash ("a land flowing of milk and honey"), where zavat is a feminine singular participle in construct state, literally naming the land as an ongoing "flower" or producer of these substances rather than using a finite verb. The final clause lists six peoples — Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Hivite, Jebusite — each marked with the definite article ha- and connected by the conjunction ve- ("and"), forming a repetitive list structure rather than a single collective noun.
Differences between versions
The LXX reads "Γεργεσαίων" (Girgashites) in place of the sixth people-group where the Hebrew has chi.Vi ("Hivite", H2340) followed by y.vu.Si ("Jebusite", H2983) as the sixth and final name; the LXX's order and one substituted name diverge from the Hebrew list's six-name sequence. The Vulgate renders the double infinitive purpose clauses (hatzilo / ha'aloto) with parallel Latin subjunctives ("liberem... educam"), preserving the two-part purpose but shifting the grammatical mood from Hebrew infinitives to finite verb forms.
This explanation describes the text using linguistic data; it adds no doctrine or confessional interpretation.