(14:9) But do not rebel against Hashem, and do not fear the people of the land, because they are our bread. Their protection has departed from them, and Hashem is with us, do not fear them.

It says in the Mesorah that the phrase “our bread” appears four times in the Tanach:

“Becauses they are our bread, their protection has departed from them, and Hashem is with us”.

“This is our hot bread with which we provisioned ourselves from our homes” (Yehoshua 9:12).

“We will eat our [own] bread and wear our [own] garments” (Yeshayohu 4:1).

“With our lives we bring our bread because of the sword of the wilderness”.

The intention of the Mesorah in recording that this phrase appears four times next to our verse, rather than on one of the other three verses, is to allude that the other three verses elucidate our verse.

Because “our bread” alludes to the manna which they ate in the wilderness, and the phrase “because they are our bread” means that just like our manna, so too are they – so too are the inhabitants of the Land of Canaan.

And we are not referring to the manna early in the morning when the day was not yet hot, but rather as the second verse alludes – “our hot bread”, our manna later in the morning when the day was hot, about which it teaches in Shemos 16:21 “when the sun grew hot it melted away”, and thus just like our melted away manna, so too are they.

And why is this so? Because “their protection has departed from them, and Hashem is with us” – Hashem who is called protector, as in the verse in Tehillim 121:5 “Hashem is your guardian, Hashem is your protector”, is with us.

And had they not sinned because of the spies “we will eat our own bread” – they would have entered the Land of Israel, and would have dwelled “securely each man under his own vine” (First Kings 5:5).

But now that they sinned “with our lives we will bring our bread” – with much toil and travail, and perilous journeys.