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Numbers 34

KJV · Chapter 34/36

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.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God precisely defines the geographic boundaries of the land of Canaan that Israel was to occupy, and names the specific leaders of each tribe (except Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh) responsible for overseeing the division of the land by lot.

Explanation

The detailed description of the boundaries — from the southern desert to Mount Hor in the north, from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Jordan in the east — shows that the promise of the land was not a vague idea, but a concrete, defined geographic reality that the people could verify and claim specifically. The appointment of specific leaders from each tribe to oversee the division by lot (not by arbitrary human choice) sought to ensure a fair process that was perceived as coming directly from God's will, avoiding territorial disputes among the tribes. This reflects an important principle: spiritual promises can and should also have practical, organized application in the real life of the community.

Fun facts

  • The boundaries described here correspond roughly to the territorial extent that archaeologists and historians identify as the historical core of Israel and Judah in the Iron Age, even though effective political control of these full boundaries was rarely achieved completely throughout biblical history.
  • The system of dividing the land 'by lot' (v. 13), but weighted by the size of each tribe (Numbers 26:54), combined an element of trust in divine providence with a principle of proportional justice — neither pure random chance nor pure calculated human decision.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Numbers 34:1The LORD speaks once more to Moses, now to define precisely the exact borders of the promised land.
  2. Numbers 34:2Before entering the land, God defines exactly what the borders of Canaan would be: how far it extended to the south, north, east, and west. It is a practical geographic description, establishing the limits the tribes were to occupy once they arrived.
  3. Numbers 34:3The southern border would run from the wilderness of Zin along the edge of Edom, starting at the end of the Salt Sea and heading eastward.
  4. Numbers 34:4This southern line would curve around the ascent of Akrabbim, pass through Zin, go down near Kadesh-barnea, continue to Hazar-addar, and reach Azmon.
  5. Numbers 34:5From Azmon, the border would continue to the brook of Egypt, ending at the sea.
  6. Numbers 34:6The western border would simply be the Great Sea, that is, the Mediterranean, serving as a natural boundary.
  7. Numbers 34:7The northern border would begin at the Great Sea and run to Mount Hor.
  8. Numbers 34:8From Mount Hor, the line would continue to the entrance of Hamath, ending at Zedad.
  9. Numbers 34:9This northern border would continue to Ziphron, ending at Hazar-enan.
  10. Numbers 34:10The eastern border would begin at Hazar-enan and run to Shepham.
  11. Numbers 34:11It would go down from Shepham to Riblah, east of Ain, and then continue down along the eastern shore of the Sea of Chinnereth.
  12. Numbers 34:12Finally, the border would go down following the Jordan, ending at the Salt Sea — closing the entire outline of the promised land.
  13. Numbers 34:13Moses passes this description on to the people, explaining that this is the land that would be divided by lot among the nine and a half tribes that had not yet received their portion.
  14. Numbers 34:14He reminds them that Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had already received their inheritance earlier, on the other side of the Jordan.
  15. Numbers 34:15These two and a half tribes were already settled on the east side, leaving only the rest of the territory of Canaan to be divided among the others.
  16. Numbers 34:16The LORD speaks once more to Moses, now to name who would be responsible for this division of land.
  17. Numbers 34:17The men chiefly in charge would be Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.
  18. Numbers 34:18Besides these two, each tribe was to appoint its own leader to help with dividing the land.
  19. Numbers 34:19Caleb had already been known since the twelve spies, 38 years earlier — one of only two of that generation who lived to see the land finally divided.
  20. Numbers 34:20This Shemuel is not the more famous prophet and judge of the Bible — he is a different man, the leader of Simeon chosen to help divide the promised land.
  21. Numbers 34:21Elidad represents Benjamin on the commission that would divide the land: one leader per tribe, chosen even before the people crossed the Jordan.
  22. Numbers 34:22Bukki represents Dan among the twelve leaders chosen, one per tribe, to divide the land of Canaan by lot among the families of Israel.
  23. Numbers 34:23For the tribe of Manasseh, descended from Joseph, the one chosen was Hanniel son of Ephod.
  24. Numbers 34:24Kemuel leads the division of the land for Ephraim — a tribe that, together with Manasseh, descended from Joseph, but now received its portion separately.
  25. Numbers 34:25For the tribe of Zebulun, the leader chosen was Elizaphan son of Parnach.
  26. Numbers 34:26Paltiel is the one chosen from Issachar among the twelve leaders who, alongside Eleazar and Joshua, were responsible for dividing the promised land by lot.
  27. Numbers 34:27Ahihud, together with Asher’s leader, rounds out nearly the whole list of the twelve chosen leaders for dividing the land — only Naphtali’s is still missing to complete the group.
  28. Numbers 34:28For Naphtali, the last on the list, the one chosen was Pedahel son of Ammihud.
  29. Numbers 34:29These were the men appointed by the LORD to divide the inheritance of land among the tribes of Israel in Canaan.

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