Text -- Numbers 34:1-23 (NET)

The Southern Border of the Land

34:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 34:2 “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, 34:3 your 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, 34:4 and 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. 34:5 There the border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and then its direction is to the sea.

The Western Border of the Land

34:6 “‘And for a western border you will have the Great Sea. This will be your western border.

The Northern Border of the Land

34:7 “‘And this will be your northern border: From the Great Sea you will draw a line to Mount Hor; 34:8 from Mount Hor you will draw a line to Lebo Hamath, Hamath, and the direction of the border will be to Zedad. 34:9 The border will continue to Ziphron, and its direction will be to Hazar Enan. This will be your northern border.

The Eastern Border of the Land

34:10 “‘For your eastern border you will draw a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. 34:11 The 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 Chinnereth. 34:12 Then 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.’” 34:13 Then Moses commanded the Israelites: “This is the land which you will inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to be given to the nine and a half tribes, 34:14 because the tribe of the Reubenites by their families, the tribe of the Gadites by their families, and half of the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance. 34:15 The two and a half tribes have received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan, east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

Appointed Officials

34:16 The Lord said to Moses: 34:17 “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. 34:18 You must take one leader from every tribe to assist in allocating the land as an inheritance. 34:19 These are the names of the men: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; 34:20 from the tribe of the Simeonites, Shemuel son of Ammihud; 34:21 from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Kislon; 34:22 and from the tribe of the Danites, a leader, Bukki son of Jogli. 34:23 From the Josephites, Hanniel son of Ephod, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh;

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Num 34:1

¹ sn This chapter falls into several sections: the south (vv. 1-5), the west (v. 6), the north (vv. 7-9), the east (vv. 10-15), and then a list of appointed officials (vv. 16-29).

NET Notes: Num 34:2

¹ tn Or “command.”

² tn Heb “this is the land that will fall to you as an inheritance.”

NET Notes: Num 34:3

¹ tn The expression refers to the corner or extremity of the Negev, the South.

NET Notes: Num 34:4

¹ tn Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [’aqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).

² tn Heb “its going forth,” or the way it runs.

NET Notes: Num 34:5

¹ sn That is, the Mediterranean.

NET Notes: Num 34:6

¹ tn The word for west is simply “sea,” because the sea is west of Israel.

² sn That is, the Mediterranean Sea (also in the following verse).

NET Notes: Num 34:8

¹ tn Or “to the entrance to Hamath.”

NET Notes: Num 34:11

¹ tn Or “the Sea of Galilee” (so NLT); NCV, TEV, CEV “Lake Galilee.”

sn The word means “harp.” The lake (or sea) of Galilee was so named because it is shaped somewhat like a harp.

NET Notes: Num 34:12

¹ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

NET Notes: Num 34:13

¹ tn The infinitive forms the direct object of what the Lord commanded. It actually means “to give,” but without an expressed subject may be made passive.

NET Notes: Num 34:14

¹ tn Heb “the house of their fathers.” So also a little later in this verse.

NET Notes: Num 34:15

¹ map For the location of Jericho see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

NET Notes: Num 34:17

¹ tn The verb can be translated simply as “divide,” but it has more the idea of allocate as an inheritance, the related noun being “inheritance.”

NET Notes: Num 34:18

¹ tn This sense is created by repetition: “one leader, one leader from the tribe.”

² tn The sentence simply uses לִנְחֹל (linkhol, “to divide, apportion”). It has been taken already to mean “allocate as an inheritance.” Here “assist” may be added since Joshua and Eleazar had the primary work.