For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs:
For the land, whither thou goest ... is not as the land of Egypt. The physical features of Palestine present a striking contrast to those of the land of bondage. A widely extending plain forms the cultivated portion of Egypt, and on the greater part of this low and level country rain never falls. This natural want is supplied by the annual overflow of the Nile, and by artificial means from the same source-namely, by the pole and bucket, the shadoof of modern Egypt, and by other implements-when the river has receded within its customary channel close by the bank the process of irrigation is very simple. The cultivator opens a small sluice on the edge of the square bed in which seed has been sown, making drill after drill, and when a sufficient quantity of water has poured in, he shuts them up with his foot.
Where the bank is high, the water is drawn up by hydraulic engines, of which there are three kinds used, of different power, according to the subsidence of the stream, simple in construction, and worked by the foot. The water is distributed in small channels or earthen conduits, formed with a mattock by the gardener who directs their course, and which are banked up or opened, as occasion may require, by pressing in the soil with the foot (Bovet, p. 63: cf. Morier).
It is a mistake to say that rain never falls in Egypt. There are a few drops at long intervals-perhaps of 10 years; it is a very rare phenomenon, (Rawlinson's 'Herodotus,' b. 3:, ch. 10:)
Thus was the land watered in which the Israelites had dwelt so long. Such vigilance and laborious industry would not be needed in the promised land; for instead of being visited only at one brief season, and left during the rest of the year under a withering blight, every season it would enjoy the benign influences of a genial climate; the hills would attract the frequent clouds, and in the refreshing showers the blessing of God would specially rest upon the land.