Midrasz do Liczb 13:19

12 (Numb. 13:17) “When Moses sent them […] then he said unto them, ‘Go up here into the Negeb”: Why [first] into the Negeb? Because this is what the merchants do. They show the inferior goods first, and after that they show the best. (Vs. 18) “And you are to see what the land is like”: Three times did Moses tell them, “look over the Land of Israel” (in vss. 18, 19, 20). Why? The first, he said, “See what the land is.” He said to them, “Observe the land. There is land that raises strong men, and there is [land] that raises weaklings. There is also [land] that raises armies,¹⁷Gk.: Ochloi. and there is [land] that diminishes armies.” Thus did he charge them (in Numb. 13:18), “as for the people who dwell in it, are they mighty [or] weak?” (Numb. 13:19) “And what of the land, is it good or bad […]?” And how will you know about their strength? (Numb 13:19 cont.) “Are they in camps or in strongholds”: If they dwell in camps, they are mighty and depend upon their strength; but if they are in strongholds, they are weak and have fearful hearts. (Numb. 13:20) “And what of the land, Is it fertile [or lean]”: [How do we determine] whether its fruits are light or fat. He said to them, “Look at its stones and pebbles. If they are of flint, they are fat; and if they are of clay, they are lean.” (Ibid., cont.) “Now the time was the time for the first-fruits of the grapes”: From here you learn that [the month of] Tammuz is never without figs and grapes.

Rabbi Ẓe'era said: The men of Sodom were the wealthy men of prosperity, on account of the good and fruitful land whereon they dwelt. For every need which the world requires, they obtained therefrom. They procured gold therefrom, as it is said, "And it had dust of gold" (Job 28:6). What is the meaning (of the text), "And it had dust of gold"? At the hour when one of them wished to buy a vegetable, he would say to his servant, Go and purchase for me (for the value of) an assar. He went and bought (it), and found beneath it heaps of gold; thus it is written, "And it had dust of gold" (ibid.). They obtained silver therefrom, as it is said, "Surely there is a mine for silver" (Job 28:1). They procured precious stones and pearls thence, as it is said, || "The stones thereof are the place of sapphires" (Job 28:6). They obtained bread therefrom, as it is said, "As for the earth, out of it cometh bread" (Job 28:5). But they did not trust in the shadow of their Creator, but (they trusted) in the multitude of their wealth, for wealth thrusts aside its owners from the fear of Heaven, as it is said, "They that trust in their wealth" (Ps. 49:6).