A land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass.

DEUTERONOMY 8:9KJV
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Deuteronomy 8:9 (KJV)

What does Deuteronomy 8:9 mean?

Deuteronomy 8:9 describes the land God is giving the Israelites as a place of abundance, where they will have plenty to eat, nothing will be lacking, and the land itself is rich in valuable resources like iron and copper. The verse promises not only food security but also access to important materials for daily life and tools.

In this verse, Moses is speaking to the Israelites as they prepare to enter the land of Canaan after their years in the wilderness. He is emphasizing that the land God is bringing them into is not just fertile for crops but also has natural resources in its stones and hills. This reassurance highlights the completeness of God’s provision for their physical needs.

The Hebrew behind Deuteronomy 8:9

  • The word for "land" (אֶרֶץ, ’erets) is repeated, stressing the physical place God is giving them, not just a spiritual promise.
  • "Eat" (אָכַל, ’akal) and "bread" (לֶחֶם, lechem) together point to daily, basic needs being met—bread was the staple food, so this means full provision.
  • "Scarceness" (מִסְכֵּנֻת, miskenut) means poverty or lack; the verse promises the opposite, a life without deprivation.
  • "Iron" (בַּרְזֶל, barzel) and "brass" (נְחֹשֶׁת, nechoshet, often understood as copper or bronze) show the land’s value for making tools and weapons, not just for farming.

Why Deuteronomy 8:9 matters

  • This verse clears up any idea that God’s promise was only about food; it includes all kinds of resources needed for a thriving society.
  • The emphasis on both agricultural and mineral wealth shows that God’s care covers every aspect of life, not just survival.
  • In the wider passage, this description prepares the people to remember God as the source of their blessings, so they do not become proud or forgetful when they prosper in the new land.

Where else these words appear

“hills” Hebrew H2042 · used in 13 verses

  • Genesis 14:6 And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness.
  • Psalms 36:6 Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast.
  • Psalms 133:3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

“lack” Hebrew H2637 · used in 21 verses

  • Genesis 8:3 And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated.
  • 1 Kings 17:14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
  • Ecclesiastes 4:8 There is one alone, and there is not a second; yea, he hath neither child nor brother: yet is there no end of all his labour; neither is his eye satisfied with riches; neither saith he, For whom do I labour, and bereave my soul of good? This is also vanity, yea, it is a sore travail.

“dig” Hebrew H2672 · used in 22 verses

  • Deuteronomy 6:11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
  • 2 Chronicles 24:12 And the king and Jehoiada gave it to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD.
  • Isaiah 5:2 And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes.

“iron” Hebrew H1270 · used in 70 verses

  • Genesis 4:22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructer of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubalcain was Naamah.
  • 1 Kings 6:7 And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.
  • Psalms 107:16 For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.