Numbers 34

Verses 1-5

1. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2. 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 with the coasts thereof:)
3. Then 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:
4. And 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 Kadeshbarnea, and shall go on to Hazaraddar, and pass on to Azmon:
5. And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea.”

Moses would not enter Canaan and his demise would come very soon. Yet, he obeyed God to the last. God spoke to him again. He was to command the people, whose coming future lands were promised to them. The command detailed the boundaries of the nation of Israel. The southern border took in the wilderness of Zin (Kadesh-barnea) east to the Dead Sea. The south-western part would border Egypt (including Gaza).

Verses 6-9

6. “And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border.
7. And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor:
8. From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad:
9. And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazarenan: this shall be your north border.”

The western-most land had the Great Sea (mediterranean) to its left, a natural border. The northern border was as far as Hor and Hazarenan.

Verses 10-12

10. “And ye shall point out your east border from Hazarenan to Shepham:
11. And 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:
12. And 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.”

East, the border was plotted from Hazarenan to Shepham, down to Ribla and then across to the Sea of Chinnereth (Lake Galilee) and down to Jordan, ending at the Dead Sea (‘salt sea’). Look at a modern map and you will see that the Israelites have been forced to give up the whole of the Middle East, which belongs to them.

Verses 13-15

13. “And 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:
14. For 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:
15. The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.”

Moses relayed God’s commands to the elders. Half the tribe of Manasseh could take the east of the river, as agreed previously. The tribes of Reuben and Gad also were given their preferred land east of the river. Hence ‘nine tribes’ had the rest.

Verses 16-29

16. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
17. These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.
18. And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance.
19. And the names of the men are these: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
20. And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.
21. Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.
22. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli.
23. The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
24. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.
25. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.
26. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan.
27. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.
28. And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.
29. These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.”

Just as He  chose who would lead the tribes in the desert, so God now gave the names of the princes (one per tribe) who would determine their individual borders. This they were to do under the guidance and authority of Eleazar and Joshua. They were to choose one prince to lead their own tribe. By tribe (excluding Reuben and Gad who were allocated east of Jordan):

1. Caleb for Judah
2. Shemual for Simeon
3. Elidad for Benjamin
4. Bukki for Dan
5. Hanniel for Manasseh
6. Kemuel for Ephraim
7. Elizaphan for Zebulun
8. Paltiel for Issachar
9. Ahihud for Asher
10. Pedahel for Naphtali

These princes were responsible for the proper distribution of the land of Canaan. And the size of land for each tribe was based on how many people were in each tribe.

(Additional Data will be found in the Numbers Bible Commentary: to be published).

Note: The Hebrews wanted to cross Moabite territory westwards, at the bottom of the Salt Sea. When this was refused, the Hebrews moved south through Edom (possibly along its northern border with Moab) until they reached the Gulf of Aqabar (part of the Red Sea). Then, they moved back north again along the eastern edge of Moab, until they reached north of Gideon (above Moab) facing Jericho. At that time Edom consisted of about 45% mountains. They had strong mountain fortresses.

© 12 January 2025

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