The Fourth Book of Moses, called Numbers
Numbers 34
Chapter XXXIV · Vol. I, pp. 472–473
1 The borders of the land. 16 The names of the men which shall divide the land.
1 AND the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, a When ye come into the b land of Canaan, (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan, with the coasts thereof,)1
3 Then c your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin, along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the utmost coast of the d salt sea eastward.
c ch. 20.1; 27.14; 33.36. Jos. 15.1, 3-12; 13.3. Eze. 47.19. Ex. 23.31. Ge. 15.18.
d Ge. 14.3; 19.24, 28. Jos. 3.16; 14.2. Eze. 47.8, 18. ver. 12, the sea of Sodom.
4 And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of e Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to f Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar,g and pass on to Azmon.
5 And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the h river of Egypt,2 and the goings out of it shall be at i the sea.3
h Ge. 15.18. Jos. 15.4, 47. 1 Ki. 8.65. Is. 27.12.
2 Not the Nile, to which the Jewish territory never extended; but a small river, most probably in the vicinity of El Arish, N. lat. 31° 15'.—C.
i Mediterranean or Great Sea, ver. 6, 7.
3 The land here described to Moses is much smaller than that originally given in covenant promise to Abraham, see Ge. 15.18. The southern border began at the southern end of the Dead Sea; it ran due south, up the great valley of Arabah, past the ascent of Akrabbim (a line of cliffs across the valley) to Kadesh; thence it turned westward across the 'wilderness of wandering' to the torrent (not the river, as in Ge. 15.18) of Egypt, i.e. Wady el-Arish.—P.
6 And k as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea4 for a border: this shall be your west border.
k Jos. 1.4; 15.12. Eze. 47.20.
4 The Mediterranean, which was great compared with the Red Sea, Sea of Chinnereth, or Dead Sea, the only seas the Israelites could yet have seen.—C.
7 And this shall be your l north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor.5
l Jos. 13.5, 6. Eze. 47.15-17.
5 We have already found Mount Hor in the land of Moab, on the south-east; how then is it the north boundary? The Hebrew, hor-ha-hor, signifies literally mountain of mountains. This is therefore not Hor in the land of Moab, but another of the same name in Lebanon.—C.
8 From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto m the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad.
A.M. 2552. B.C. 1452.
m ch. 13.21. Ju. 3.3. 2 Ki. 14.25. 2 Sa. 8.9. Am. 6.2. Eze. 47.16, 17, 20.
9 And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at n Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border.
n Eze. 47.17, perhaps En-hazor, Jos. 19.37.
10 And ye shall point out your o east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham.
o Eze. 47.18.
11 And the coast shall go down from Shepham to p Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side6 of the q sea of Chinnereth7 eastward.
p 2 Ki. 23.32; 25.20, 21. Je. 39.5, 6; 52.7.
6 Heb. shoulder.
q De. 3.17. Jos. 11.2; 19.35. Mat. 14.34. Jn. 6.1.
7 Sea of Tiberias, or Lake of Gennesaret, where our Lord performed so many of his miracles.—C.
12 And the border shall go down to r Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at s the salt sea: this shall be your land,8 with the coasts thereof round about.9
r Ge. 13.11. Jos. 3.13. 2 Ki. 5.10. Mar. 1.5, 9.
s Ge. 14.3; 19.24, 28. Jos. 3.16; 14.2. ver. 3.
8 Not all your land granted, but what should now be divided 'by lot,' ver. 13.—C.
9 The eastern border has several well-known landmarks:—Riblah on the Orontes; Ain, the great fountain of the Orontes, a few miles west of Riblah; the Sea of Chinnereth or Galilee; the Salt or Dead Sea. The eastern border, therefore, beginning at Kuryetein, was drawn west by south across the plain to Riblah, thus excluding the territory of Damascus. Thence it turned due south, down the valleys of Cœle-Syria and the upper Jordan to the Sea of Galilee; and then followed the Jordan to the Dead Sea. The whole country east of the Jordan was thus excluded from the land.—P.
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 Fort 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:
t ch. 32.33. Jos. 13.8-12; 14.2, 3. De. 3.12-17.
15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sun-rising.
16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
17 Theseu are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you; v Eleazar the priest, y and Joshua the son of Nun.
u ch. 1.5-16; 13.4-16. ch. xxvii.
v Ex. 6.23, 25. Jos. 14.1; 19.51. He was great-grandson to Kohath, who went into Egypt, Ge. 46.11; 15.16.
y Ex. 17.9, 10, 13. Jos. ii.-xxi. ch. 14.6, 38. Ac. 7.45. He. 4.8.
18 And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance.
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 Thesea are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.1
A.M. 2552. B.C. 1452.
a ver. 17-28. Jos. 19.51.
1 The tribes are not mentioned here in such order as they were at their first numbering (ch. 1.5, 6, &c.), or at their second (ch. 26.5, &c.); yet great exactness, and a particular direction of God, may be noted in their placing here, for they are set down according to their situation which they had afterwards in the land of Canaan; as if Moses foresaw who should be next neighbours one to another.—Patrick.
Notes
[Ver. 3. The map commences at the south, because that was the quarter with which the Hebrews were best acquainted, as lying next Egypt. South quarter, that is, south extremity eastward, before the line turns northwards.—Coast of the Salt Sea, that is, point of the Dead Sea, called salt, because it is salter than other seas. So great is the quantity of salt in solution in its water, that bodies float in it that sink in any other water. By Salt Sea eastward, some geographers understand Ezion-gaber, on the Red Sea, and draw the southern line thence to the eastern or Pelusic branch of the Nile; but ver. 12 seems to fix the name Salt Sea to the Dead Sea, into which Jordan empties itself. C.]
Ver. 4. [A trifling and well-authorized change in the translation by Boothroyd completely reconciles this description with the geographical features of the country, and with history. 'Your south border shall wind to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin, and thence extending to the south of Kadesh-barnea, and from Azmon the boundary shall wind about to the river of Egypt.' C.]
Ver. 9. [The Mediterranean was the western border. On the north the border commencing at the sea ran towards Hor ha-Hor, 'the great mountain,' i.e. the culminating point of Mount Lebanon on the north, where it attains an elevation of nearly 10,000 feet. From thence the line was drawn towards Zedad, now called Sudud, on the great plain due east of the extremity of Lebanon. But before reaching Sudud it bent north to Ziphron, a town near Hamath; and then struck south-east to Hazar-enan ('the town of the fountains'), now called Kuryetein. P.]
Ver. 17. [This was a narrow territory when considered as a gift from God. But its very narrowness marks his wisdom as well as his goodness. God intends to make his people his witnesses to the world, and their narrow territory forces them to do their duty abroad; while their religious institutions are ever recalling them home. Besides, it is a gross mistake that the greatness of a nation depends upon its extent of territory. The most distinguished nations, both in ancient and modern times, have been cooped up in narrow territorial limits. And be it remembered, the great drama of providence, in which Israel still acts so conspicuous a part, is not yet closed. He was a Jew, according to the flesh, who will yet claim 'the heathen for his inheritance, and the utmost ends of the earth for a possession.' C.]
Reflections.—It is necessary to bring our mind to our lot, since God sets the bounds to it: and, though a small portion of this world may be allotted to the people of God, yet is that small portion fertile and well protected. How instructive the boundaries of this promised land! the memorial of Heaven's justice on Sodom at the south-east; the memorial of Egyptian bondage on the south-west; the wilderness of their wandering on the south; the goodly mountain Lebanon on the north; the great sea, that emblem of eternity, on the west; and Jordan, that river of God, on the east. Thus are we surrounded with mementoes of our state. But, in all, infallible is the accomplishment of God's promises, whatever hard warfare and wearisome waiting may be necessary to precede it. Let me therefore, even now, raise up my weary spirit—Jesus, the Prince of all the tribes of ransomed men, shall quickly assign me my share in his celestial Canaan!