Land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8)

Picture description: Tel Aviv, Israel
Picture copyright: Jenny Wong

bible verse

“So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land in to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey”(Exodus 3:8)

meaning

Any places that are prosperous and abundant with resources.

origin and application

Israel is rich with natural resources, abounding in grapevines and dates. These natural resources in turn produce milk and honey respectively. In many a biblical verse, it is described as a blessed land overflowing with milk and honey.
When God heard the groaning of Israelites who served as slaves in Egypt, He chose Moses to bring Israelites out of Egypt back to their home in Israel. He said to Moses, “So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land in to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey”(Exodus 3:8)
Today, a land of milk and honey does not only refer to Israel. It is an epithet for any places that are prosperous and abundant with resources. In the early history of America, Europeans once looked to the new-found continent as a land of milk and honey.
In 2004, a namesake album by Eliza Gilkyson was released, comprising anti-war songs that aimed at bringing peace in times of war.

example

The discovery of the new continent invoked notions of “milk and honey”.