Numbers 13:24

13:24 That place was called ¹  the Eshcol Valley, ²  because of the cluster ³  of grapes that the Israelites cut from there.

Numbers 13:23

13:23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a staff ⁴  between two men, as well as some of the pomegranates and the figs.

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¹ tn The verb is rendered as a passive because there is no expressed subject.

² tn Or “Wadi Eshcol.” The translation “brook” is too generous; the Hebrew term refers to a river bed, a ravine or valley through which torrents of rain would rush in the rainy season; at other times it might be completely dry.

³ tn The word “Eshcol” is drawn from the Hebrew expression concerning the “cluster of grapes.” The word is probably retained in the name Burj Haskeh, two miles north of Damascus.

⁴ tn The word is related etymologically to the verb for “slip, slide, bend, totter.” This would fit the use very well. A pole that would not bend would be hard to use to carry things, but a pole or stave that was flexible would serve well.