And what the land is. It is impossible to suppose that Moses needed himself to be informed on such particulars as are here mentioned. The intercourse between Egypt and Palestine was comparatively easy and frequent (see on Genesis 1:7), and no educated Hebrew could have failed to make himself acquainted with the main features of his fathers' home.
We may see in these instructions a confirmation of the statement in Deuteronomy 1:1-46; that it was at the desire of the people, and for their satisfaction, that the spies were sent. The time of the first-ripe grapes.
The end of July: the regular vintage is a month or more later.