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Numbers 34

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The Borders of Canaan Defined 1–12

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And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
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Command 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), ​
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then 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; ​
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and 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;
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and the border shall turn about from Azmon unto the brook of Egypt, and the goings out thereof shall be at the sea. ​
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And for the western border, ye shall have the great sea and the borderthereof: this shall be your west border.
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And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall mark out for you mount Hor; ​
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from mount Hor ye shall mark out unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings out of the border shall be at Zedad;
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and the border shall go forth to Ziphron, and the goings out thereof shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border.
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And ye shall mark out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham;
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and 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; ​
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and 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.

Instructions for Dividing the Land 13–15

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And 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; ​
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for 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:
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the two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.

Appointed Leaders to Divide the Land 16–29

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And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
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These are the names of the men that shall divide the land unto you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. ​
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And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land for inheritance.
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And these are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ​
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And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
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Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.
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And of the tribe of the children of Dan a prince, Bukki the son of Jogli.
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Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of Manasseh a prince, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
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And of the tribe of the children of Ephraim a prince, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.
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And of the tribe of the children of Zebulun a prince, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.
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And of the tribe of the children of Issachar a prince, Paltiel the son of Azzan.
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And of the tribe of the children of Asher a prince, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.
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And of the tribe of the children of Naphtali a prince, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.
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These are they whom Jehovah commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Numbers 34

Verse 2

shall fall unto you for an inheritance — 'Fall' is naphal, the language of the lot; in Josh 23:4 the same verb, in its causative form, is 'I have divided unto you by lot'. The land is the one first promised to Abraham, 'all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession' (Gen 17:8), 'the lot of your inheritance' in Ps 105:11.

Verse 3

the outmost coast of the salt sea — The southern line begins at the wilderness of Zin, 'which is Kadesh' (Num 33:36), runs by the border of Edom, and reaches the salt sea eastward. Gen 14:3 identifies the salt sea with the vale of Siddim. Judah's lot repeats the line: 'to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward' (Josh 15:1).

Verse 5

the river of Egypt — The Hebrew is nachal, a stream-bed or wadi, the word of 'the stream of Egypt' in Isa 27:12. Gen 15:18 states the same boundary with nahar, 'river'. Josh 15:4 repeats the line from Azmon: 'went out unto the river of Egypt; and the goings out of that coast were at the sea'.

Verse 7

mount Hor — The Hebrew is Hor ha-har, 'Hor the mountain'. It is taken to be a different mountain from the Mount Hor where Aaron died 'in the edge of the land of Edom' (Num 33:37; 20:28), since Edom marks the southern side (v.3) and this line runs north from 'the great sea'. 'Point out' is ta'ah, to mark off, a verb found only in vv.7–8; v.10 uses avah.

Verse 11

the sea of Chinnereth — The eastern line comes down to the side of this sea and on to the Jordan (v.12). Deut 3:17 names the Jordan's course 'from Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea'. The same water is the 'lake of Gennesaret' in Luke 5:1 and 'the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias' in John 6:1.

Verse 13

by lot — Goral, the lot, was the means named for dividing the land in Num 26:55, and 'the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD' (Prov 16:33). It covers the nine tribes and the half tribe, since Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh had already received their inheritance across the Jordan (vv.14–15; Num 32).

Verse 17

Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun — Eleazar took Aaron's garments (Num 20:28) and Joshua was appointed to follow Moses, standing 'before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim' (Num 27:21). They carry out the division in Josh 14:1 and 19:51. Joshua's name is Jesus in the KJV of Heb 4:8.

Verse 19

Caleb the son of Jephunneh — Caleb, of Judah, with Joshua (v.17) is one of the two men left of those numbered at Sinai: 'there was not left a man of them, save Caleb … and Joshua' (Num 26:65). The LORD said he 'hath followed me fully' (Num 14:24), and Hebron became his inheritance 'because that he wholly followed the LORD' (Josh 14:14).