Eshcol

From BibleEncyclopedia.Net

Bunch; brave.

(1.) A young Amoritish chief who joined Abraham in the recovery of Lot from the hands of Chedorlaomer (Gen_14:13, Gen_14:24).

(2.) A valley in which the spies obtained a fine cluster of grapes (Num_13:23, Num_13:24; “the brook Eshcol,” A.V.; “the valley of Eshcol,” R.V.), which they took back with them to the camp of Israel as a specimen of the fruits of the Promised Land. On their way back they explored the route which led into the south (the Negeb) by the western edge of the mountains at Telilat el-'Anab, i.e., “grape-mounds”, near Beersheba. “In one of these extensive valleys, perhaps in Wady Hanein, where miles of grape-mounds even now meet the eye, they cut the gigantic clusters of grapes, and gathered the pomegranates and figs, to show how goodly was the land which the Lord had promised for their inheritance.” Palmer's Desert of the Exodus.

Eshcol (1)

esh´kol (אשׁכּל, 'eshkōl, “cluster”; Ἐσχώλ, Eschō̇l):

The brother of Mamre and Aner, the Amorite allies of Abraham who took part with him in the pursuit and defeat of Chedorlaomer's forces (Gen_14:13, Gen_14:14). He lived in the neighborhood of Hebron (Gen_13:18), and may have given his name to the valley of Eshcol, which lay a little North of Hebron (Num_13:23).

Eshcol (2)

esh´kol (אשׁכּל, 'eshkōl; Φάραγξ βότρυος, Pháragx bótruos), “a cluster of grapes”):

The spies came to Hebron “and they came unto the valley of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes” (Num_13:23, Num_13:14; Num_32:9; Deu_1:24). It was a valley near Hebron rich in vineyards. Fruitful vineyards are still the most characteristic feature of the environs of Hebron, especially on the North. No particular valley can be identified, though popular tradition favors the wide and fertile valley, near the traditional site of “Abraham's oak,” a little to the West of the carriage road just before it enters the outskirts of Hebron.