Numbers 34:6

The Western Border of the Land

34:6 “‘And for a western border ¹  you will have the Great Sea. ²  This will be your western border.

Numbers 3:23

3:23 The families of the Gershonites were to camp behind the tabernacle toward the west.

Numbers 33:10-11

33:10 They traveled from Elim, and camped by the Red Sea. 33:11 They traveled from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Zin.

Numbers 34:5

34:5 There the border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and then its direction is to the sea. ³ 

Numbers 2:18

The Tribes on the West

2:18 “On the west will be the divisions of the camp of Ephraim under their standard. The leader of the people of Ephraim is Elishama son of Amihud.

Numbers 14:25

14:25 (Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites were living in the valleys.) ⁴  Tomorrow, turn and journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”

Numbers 34:7

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;

Numbers 11:22

11:22 Would they have enough if the flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? If all the fish of the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?”

Numbers 13:29

13:29 The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the banks ⁵  of the Jordan.” ⁶ 

Numbers 21:4

Fiery Serpents

21:4 Then they traveled from Mount Hor by the road to the Red Sea, ⁷  to go around the land of Edom, but the people ⁸  became impatient along the way.

Numbers 33:8

33:8 They traveled from Pi-hahiroth, ⁹  and passed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and camped in Marah.

Numbers 34:3

34:3 your southern border ¹⁰  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,

Numbers 34:11-12

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. ¹¹  34:12 Then the border will continue down the Jordan River ¹²  and its direction will be to the Salt Sea. This will be your land by its borders that surround it.’”

Numbers 11:31

Provision of Quail

11:31 Now a wind ¹³  went out ¹⁴  from the Lord and brought quail ¹⁵  from the sea, and let them fall ¹⁶  near the camp, about a day’s journey on this side, and about a day’s journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about three feet ¹⁷  high on the surface of the ground.

Numbers 35:5

35:5 “You must measure ¹⁸  from outside the wall of the town on the east 1,000 yards, ¹⁹  and on the south side 1,000 yards, and on the west side 1,000 yards, and on the north side 1,000 yards, with the town in the middle. ²⁰  This territory must belong to them as grazing land for the towns.

[34:6]  ¹ tn The word for west is simply “sea,” because the sea is west of Israel.

[34:6]  ² sn That is, the Mediterranean Sea (also in the following verse).

[34:5]  ³ sn That is, the Mediterranean.

[14:25]  ⁵ sn The judgment on Israel is that they turn back to the desert and not attack the tribes in the land. So a parenthetical clause is inserted to state who was living there. They would surely block the entrance to the land from the south – unless God removed them. And he is not going to do that for Israel.

[13:29]  ⁷ tn Heb “by the side [hand] of.”

[13:29]  ⁸ sn For more discussion on these people groups, see D. J. Wiseman, ed., Peoples of Old Testament Times.

[21:4]  ⁹ tn The “Red Sea” is the general designation for the bodies of water on either side of the Sinai peninsula, even though they are technically gulfs from the Red Sea.

[21:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the soul of the people,” expressing the innermost being of the people as they became frustrated.

[33:8]  ¹¹ tc So many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, Smr, Syriac, and Latin Vulgate. Other witnesses have “from before Hahiroth.”

[34:3]  ¹³ tn The expression refers to the corner or extremity of the Negev, the South.

[34:11]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the Sea of Galilee” (so NLT); NCV, TEV, CEV “Lake Galilee.”

[34:12]  ¹⁷ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[11:31]  ¹⁹ sn The irony in this chapter is expressed in part by the use of the word רוּחַ (ruakh). In the last episode it clearly meant the Spirit of the Lord that empowered the men for their spiritual service. But here the word is “wind.” Both the spiritual service and the judgment come from God.

[11:31]  ²⁰ tn The verb means “burst forth” or “sprang up.” See the ways it is used in Gen 33:12, Judg 16:3, 14; Isa 33:20.

[11:31]  ²¹ sn The “quail” ordinarily cross the Sinai at various times of the year, but what is described here is not the natural phenomenon. Biblical scholars looking for natural explanations usually note that these birds fly at a low height and can be swatted down easily. But the description here is more of a supernatural supply and provision. See J. Gray, “The Desert Sojourn of the Hebrews and the Sinai Horeb Tradition,” VT 4 (1954): 148-54.

[11:31]  ²² tn Or “left them fluttering.”

[11:31]  ²³ tn Heb “two cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) in length.

[35:5]  ²¹ tn The verb is the Qal perfect of מָדַד (madad, “to measure”). With its vav (ו) consecutive it carries the same instructional force as the imperfect.

[35:5]  ²² tn Heb “two thousand cubits” (also three more times in this verse). This would be a distance of 3,000 feet or 1,000 yards (1,350 meters).

[35:5]  ²³ sn The precise nature of the layout described here is not altogether clear. V. 4 speaks of the distance from the wall as being 500 yards; v. 5, however, describes measurements of 1,000 yards. Various proposals have been made in order to harmonize vv. 4 and 5. P. J. Budd, Numbers (WBC), 376, makes the following suggestion: “It may be best to assume that the cubits of the Levitical pasture lands are cubit frontages of land – in other words on each side of the city there was a block of land with a frontage of two thousand cubits (v 5), and a depth of 1000 cubits (v 4).”