Numbers — Chapter 34
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1Then the LORD said to Moses,
2“Command the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan, it will be allotted to you as an inheritance with these boundaries:
3Your southern border will extend from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern border will run from the end of the Salt Sea,
4cross south of the Ascent of Akrabbim, continue to Zin, and go south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it will go on to Hazar-addar and proceed to Azmon,
5where it will turn from Azmon, join the Brook of Egypt, and end at the Sea.
6Your western border will be the coastline of the Great Sea; this will be your boundary on the west.
7Your northern border will run from the Great Sea directly to Mount Hor,
8and from Mount Hor to Lebo-hamath, then extend to Zedad,
9continue to Ziphron, and end at Hazar-enan. This will be your boundary on the north.
10And your eastern border will run straight from Hazar-enan to Shepham,
11then go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Chinnereth.
12Then the border will go down along the Jordan and end at the Salt Sea. This will be your land, defined by its borders on all sides.”
13So Moses commanded the Israelites, “Apportion this land by lot as an inheritance. The LORD has commanded that it be given to the nine and a half tribes.
14For the tribes of the Reubenites and Gadites, along with the half-tribe of Manasseh, have already received their inheritance.
15These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance across the Jordan from Jericho, toward the sunrise.”
16Then the LORD said to Moses,
17“These are the names of the men who are to assign the land as an inheritance for you: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.
18Appoint one leader from each tribe to distribute the land.
19These are their names: Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;
20Shemuel son of Ammihud from the tribe of Simeon;
21Elidad son of Chislon from the tribe of Benjamin;
22Bukki son of Jogli, a leader from the tribe of Dan;
23Hanniel son of Ephod, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph;
24Kemuel son of Shiphtan, a leader from the tribe of Ephraim;
25Eli-zaphan son of Parnach, a leader from the tribe of Zebulun;
26Paltiel son of Azzan, a leader from the tribe of Issachar;
27Ahihud son of Shelomi, a leader from the tribe of Asher;
28and Pedahel son of Ammihud, a leader from the tribe of Naphtali.”
29These are the ones whom the LORD commanded to apportion the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.
1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:)
3Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:
4And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon:
5And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea.
6And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border.
7And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor:
8From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad:
9And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border.
10And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham:
11And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward:
12And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about.
13And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe:
14For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance:
15The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.
16And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
17These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.
18And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance.
19And the names of the men are these: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
20And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
21Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.
22And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli.
23The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
24And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.
25And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.
26And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan.
27And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.
28And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.
29These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
1And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
2Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to the borders thereof),
3then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea eastward;
4and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin; and the goings out thereof shall be southward of Kadesh-barnea; and it shall go forth to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon;
5and the border shall turn about from Azmon unto the brook of Egypt, and the goings out thereof shall be at the sea.
6And for the western border, ye shall have the great sea and the border [thereof]: this shall be your west border.
7And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall mark out for you mount Hor;
8from mount Hor ye shall mark out unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings out of the border shall be at Zedad;
9and the border shall go forth to Ziphron, and the goings out thereof shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border.
10And ye shall mark out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham;
11and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward;
12and the border shall go down to the Jordan, and the goings out thereof shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to the borders thereof round about.
13And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which Jehovah hath commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half-tribe;
14for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their fathers` houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers` houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received, their inheritance:
15the two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.
16And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
17These are the names of the men that shall divide the land unto you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.
18And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land for inheritance.
19And these are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
20And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
21Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.
22And of the tribe of the children of Dan a prince, Bukki the son of Jogli.
23Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh a prince, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
24And of the tribe of the children of Ephraim a prince, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.
25And of the tribe of the children of Zebulun a prince, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.
26And of the tribe of the children of Issachar a prince, Paltiel the son of Azzan.
27And of the tribe of the children of Asher a prince, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.
28And of the tribe of the children of Naphtali a prince, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.
29These are they whom Jehovah commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
1Then the Lord spoke to Moses:
2“Give these instructions to the Israelites, and tell them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that has been assigned to you as an inheritance, the land of Canaan with its borders,
3your southern border will extend from the wilderness of Zin along the Edomite border, and your southern border will run eastward to the extremity of the Salt Sea,
4and then the border will turn from the south to the Scorpion Ascent, continue to Zin, and then its direction will be from the south to Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and pass over to Azmon.
5There the border will turn from Azmon to the Stream of Egypt, and then its direction is to the sea.
6“‘And for a western border you will have the Great Sea. This will be your western border.
7“‘And this will be your northern border: From the Great Sea you will draw a line to Mount Hor;
8from Mount Hor you will draw a line to Lebo Hamath, and the direction of the border will be to Zedad.
9The border will continue to Ziphron, and its direction will be to Hazar Enan. This will be your northern border.
10“‘For your eastern border you will draw a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham.
11The border will run down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain, and the border will descend and reach the eastern side of the Sea of Kinnereth.
12Then the border will continue down the Jordan River and its direction will be to the Salt Sea. This will be your land by its borders that surround it.’”
13Then Moses commanded the Israelites: “This is the land that you will inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to be given to the nine-and-a-half tribes,
14because the tribe of the Reubenites by their families, the tribe of the Gadites by their families, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance.
15The two-and-a-half tribes have received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan, east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”
16The Lord said to Moses:
17“These are the names of the men who are to allocate the land to you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.
18You must take one leader from every tribe to assist in allocating the land as an inheritance.
19These are the names of the men: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
20from the tribe of the Simeonites, Shemuel son of Ammihud;
21from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Kislon;
22and from the tribe of the Danites, a leader, Bukki son of Jogli.
23From the Josephites, Hanniel son of Ephod, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh;
24from the tribe of the Ephraimites, a leader, Kemuel son of Shiphtan;
25from the tribe of the Zebulunites, a leader, Elizaphan son of Parnach;
26from the tribe of the Issacharites, a leader, Paltiel son of Azzan;
27from the tribe of the Asherites, a leader, Ahihud son of Shelomi;
28and from the tribe of the Naphtalites, a leader, Pedahel son of Ammihud.”
29These are the ones whom the Lord commanded to divide up the inheritance among the Israelites in the land of Canaan.
1Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
2“Command the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you come into the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders),
3then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea eastward.
4Your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin; and it shall pass southward of Kadesh Barnea; and it shall go from there to Hazar Addar, and pass along to Azmon.
5The border shall turn about from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and it shall end at the sea.
6“‘For the western border, you shall have the great sea and its border. This shall be your west border.
7“‘This shall be your north border: from the great sea you shall mark out for yourselves Mount Hor.
8From Mount Hor you shall mark out to the entrance of Hamath; and the border shall pass by Zedad.
9Then the border shall go to Ziphron, and it shall end at Hazar Enan. This shall be your north border.
10“‘You shall mark out your east border from Hazar Enan to Shepham.
11The border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain. The border shall go down, and shall reach to the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward.
12The border shall go down to the Jordan, and end at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its borders around it.’”
13Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, “This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which Yahweh has commanded to give to the nine tribes, and to the half-tribe;
14for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their fathers’ houses, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their fathers’ houses, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received, their inheritance.
15The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.”
16Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
17“These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.
18You shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land for inheritance.
19These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
20Of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
21Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.
22Of the tribe of the children of Dan a prince, Bukki the son of Jogli.
23Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh a prince, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
24Of the tribe of the children of Ephraim a prince, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.
25Of the tribe of the children of Zebulun a prince, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.
26Of the tribe of the children of Issachar a prince, Paltiel the son of Azzan.
27Of the tribe of the children of Asher a prince, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.
28Of the tribe of the children of Naphtali a prince, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.”
29These are they whom Yahweh commanded to divide the inheritance to the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
Summary
God defines the borders of the land Israel is about to inherit, describing the southern boundary along the edge of Edom and the wilderness of Zin, the western boundary along the Mediterranean coast, the northern boundary running toward the entrance of Hamath, and the eastern boundary along the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea (vv. 1-12). Moses is told this land is to be divided among the nine and a half remaining tribes, since Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh have already received their inheritance east of the Jordan (vv. 13-15). The Lord names Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and one leader from each of the remaining tribes to oversee the actual division of the land (vv. 16-29).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- The borders of the Promised Land defined: South — Wilderness of Zin along Edom, from the Dead Sea to the Brook of Egypt. West — the Great Sea (Mediterranean). North — from the Great Sea to Mount Hor (Lebanon), to Lebo-hamath, to Zedad, Ziphron, Hazar-enan. East — from Hazar-enan to Shepham, down to the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee), along the Jordan to the Dead Sea.
Places on this map
- Edomsouthern JordanThe red sandstone highlands south-east of the Dead Sea, holding the King's Highway and later Petra. Settlements sat behind cliffs and narrow gorges, which is the pride Obadiah addresses when he speaks to those who dwell in the clefts of the rock. Wikipedia
- Dead SeaIsrael / JordanThe lowest exposed ground on earth, about 1,400 feet below sea level, and roughly ten times saltier than the ocean because water leaves only by evaporation. Nothing lives in it, which is the image Ezekiel 47 overturns when he has it filled with fish. Wikipedia
- EgyptEgyptA ribbon of irrigated land along the Nile, ending in the Delta where Israel settled in Goshen. Rain-fed Canaan depended on weather; Egypt depended on a river that flooded on schedule, which made it the place everyone went when the harvest failed. Wikipedia
- Mediterranean SeaCalled simply the Great Sea, and treated as the western edge of the world. Israel's coast has almost no natural harbours, so for most of its history the sea was a boundary rather than a road, and seafaring was left to the Phoenicians. Wikipedia
- LebanonMount Lebanon range, LebanonIn the Bible this is the mountain range, not the modern country: a snow-capped wall rising over 10,000 feet behind the Phoenician coast. Its cedar was the prestige timber of the ancient Near East and both the tabernacle's successors and Solomon's temple were built from it. Wikipedia
- Galileenorthern IsraelThe northern hill country above the Jezreel Valley, wetter and greener than Judah and crossed by the trade road to Damascus. That traffic is why Judeans considered it mixed and provincial, and why Jesus grew up hearing more than one language. Wikipedia
- Jordan RiverIsrael / Jordan borderRuns about 65 miles as the crow flies from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, dropping from 700 to 1,400 feet below sea level. Narrow enough to wade at most fords, it was still the boundary that divided wilderness from inheritance. Wikipedia
- CanaanIsrael, West Bank, LebanonThe land bridge between Egypt and Mesopotamia, which is why armies crossed it for three thousand years. Within about 60 miles it goes from coastal plain to hill country to rift valley to desert plateau, so control of it was always local and piecemeal. Wikipedia
- Sea of GalileeLake Kinneret, IsraelA freshwater lake 13 miles by 8, sunk 700 feet below sea level in a bowl of hills. Cold air spilling over the rim onto warm water is what produces the sudden violent squalls the Gospels keep describing. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik emphasizes that God's promises are specific, not vague. The borders are defined — God knows exactly what He is giving. He notes that Israel never fully occupied these boundaries until Solomon, and even then only briefly. The full realization awaits the Messianic Kingdom.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- BibleProject: bibleproject.com On the whole book: what the census lists and wilderness years are doing in Scripture.
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Numbers -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Borders Defined by God, Not by You (v.2) — God specifies the exact boundaries of Israel's inheritance rather than leaving it vague, showing His wisdom determines what each tribe receives. Can you rest in the portion God has given you instead of coveting what He has given someone else?
- Specific Promises, Not Vague Hopes (v.12) — God gives precise geographic coordinates for the land rather than a general assurance of blessing. Do you trust that God's promises to you are just as specific and reliable as these ancient borders?
- Structure for Receiving God's Gifts (vv.17-28) — God appoints specific leaders to oversee the fair division of the land, showing that receiving His provision often involves order and human administration. Are you willing to work within the structures God provides rather than expecting His blessings to arrive without any process?
- Faithfulness Vindicated in Its Time (v.19) — Caleb, who believed God forty years earlier when the other spies doubted, now stands as one of the leaders overseeing the very land distribution he once contended for. If you've trusted God faithfully while others doubted, do you believe your vindication is still coming?