A land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof. — Some understand by this phrase a land of scarcity, unable to support its inhabitants; others understand it as denoting an unhealthy land, in which sense it appears to be still used in the East. (See Roberts’ Oriental Illustrations, p. 101, 8vo, 1844.) It seems more probable, however, that the allusion is to the strife and discord which prevailed amongst the various tribes who contended for its possession. (Comp. Leviticus 26:38.)
Men of great stature. — Literally, men of measures (comp. Isaiah 45:14), where the word middah, measure, occurs in the singular number, “men of stature.” Such persons did undoubtedly exist in the land of Canaan, but there is no evidence that the inhabitants generally were of extraordinary size.