Numbers 33-35

The Message

Campsites from Rameses to Jordan-Jericho

33 ^1-2 These are the camping sites in the journey of the People of Israel after they left Egypt, deployed militarily under the command of Moses and Aaron. Under God’s instruction Moses kept a log of every time they moved, camp by camp:

^3-4 They marched out of Rameses the day after the Passover. It was the fifteenth day of the first month. They marched out heads high and confident. The Egyptians, busy burying their firstborn whom God had killed, watched them go. God had exposed the nonsense of their gods.

^5-36 The People of Israel:

left Rameses and camped at Succoth;

left Succoth and camped at Etham at the edge of the wilderness;

left Etham, circled back to Pi Hahiroth east of Baal Zephon, and camped near Migdol;

left Pi Hahiroth and crossed through the Sea into the wilderness; three days into the Wilderness of Etham they camped at Marah;

left Marah and came to Elim where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees; they camped there;

left Elim and camped by the Red Sea;

left the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin;

left the Wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah;

left Dophkah and camped at Alush;

left Alush and camped at Rephidim where there was no water for the people to drink;

left Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai;

left the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah;

left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth;

left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah;

left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez;

left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah;

left Libnah and camped at Rissah;

left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah;

left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher;

left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah;

left Haradah and camped at Makheloth;

left Makheloth and camped at Tahath;

left Tahath and camped at Terah;

left Terah and camped at Mithcah;

left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah;

left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth;

left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan;

left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad;

left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah;

left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah;

left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber;

left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.

^37-39 After they left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor at the border of Edom, Aaron the priest climbed Mount Hor at God’s command and died there. It was the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the People of Israel had left Egypt. Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

* * *

⁴⁰ The Canaanite king of Arad—he ruled in the Negev of Canaan—heard that the People of Israel had arrived.

^41-47 They left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah;

left Zalmonah and camped at Punon;

left Punon and camped at Oboth;

left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim on the border of Moab;

left Iyim and camped at Dibon Gad;

left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim;

left Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim (Across-the-River), within sight of Nebo.

^48-49 After they left the mountains of Abarim they camped on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho. On the Plains of Moab their camp stretched along the banks of the Jordan from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim (Acacia Meadow).

^50-53 God spoke to Moses on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho: “Tell the People of Israel, When you cross the Jordan into the country of Canaan, drive out the native population before you, destroy their carved idols, destroy their cast images, level their worship-mounds so that you take over the land and make yourself at home in it; I’ve given it to you. It’s yours.

⁵⁴ “Divide up the land by lot according to the size of your clans: Large clans will get large tracts of land, small clans will get smaller tracts of land. However the lot falls, that’s it. Divide it up according to your ancestral tribes.

^55-56 “But if you don’t drive out the native population, everyone you let stay there will become a cinder in your eye and a splinter in your foot. They’ll give you endless trouble right in your own backyards. And I’ll start treating you the way I planned to treat them.”

Land Inheritance

34 ^1-2 God spoke to Moses: “Command the People of Israel. Tell them, When you enter Canaan, these are the borders of the land you are getting as an inheritance:

^3-5 “Your southern border will take in some of the Wilderness of Zin where it touches Edom. It starts in the east at the Dead Sea, curves south of Scorpion Pass and on to Zin, continues south of Kadesh Barnea, then to Hazar Addar and on to Azmon, where it takes a turn to the northwest to the Brook of Egypt and on to the Mediterranean Sea.

⁶ “Your western border will be the Mediterranean Sea.

^7-9 “Your northern border runs on a line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor, and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath, connects to Zedad, continues to Ziphron, and ends at Hazar Enan. This is your northern border.

^10-12 “Your eastern border runs on a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. The border goes south from Shepham to Riblah to the east of Ain, and continues along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee. The border then follows the Jordan River and ends at the Dead Sea.

“This is your land with its four borders.”

^13-15 Moses then commanded the People of Israel: “This is the land: Divide up the inheritance by lot. God has ordered it to be given to the nine and a half tribes. The tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance; the two tribes and the half-tribe got their inheritance east of Jordan-Jericho, facing the sunrise.”

* * *

^16-19 God spoke to Moses: “These are the men who will be in charge of distributing the inheritance of the land: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. Assign one leader from each tribe to help them in distributing the land. Assign these:

^19-28 Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;

Shemuel son of Ammihud from the tribe of Simeon;

Elidad son of Kislon from the tribe of Benjamin;

Bukki son of Jogli, leader from the tribe of Dan;

Hanniel son of Ephod, leader from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph;

Kemuel son of Shiphtan, leader from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph;

Elizaphan son of Parnach, leader from the tribe of Zebulun;

Paltiel son of Azzan, leader from the tribe of Issachar;

Ahihud son of Shelomi, leader from the tribe of Asher;

Pedahel son of Ammihud, leader from the tribe of Naphtali.”

²⁹ These are the men God commanded to hand out the assignments of land-inheritance to the People of Israel in the country of Canaan.

Cities for Levites and Asylum-Cities

35 ^1-3 Then God spoke to Moses on the Plains of Moab at Jordan-Jericho: “Command the People of Israel to give the Levites as their part of the total inheritance towns to live in. Make sure there is plenty of pasture around the towns. Then they will be well taken care of with towns to live in and pastures for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock.

^4-5 “The pasture surrounding the Levites’ towns is to extend 1,500 feet in each direction from the city wall. The outside borders of the pasture are to measure three thousand feet on each of the four sides—east, south, west, and north—with the town at the center. Each city will be supplied with pasture.

^6-8 “Six of these towns that you give the Levites will be asylum-cities to which anyone who accidentally kills another person may flee for asylum. In addition, you will give them forty-two other towns—forty-eight towns in all, together with their pastures. The towns that you give the Levites from the common inheritance of the People of Israel are to be taken in proportion to the size of each tribe—many towns from a tribe that has many, few from a tribe that has few.”

^9-15 God spoke to Moses: “Speak to the People of Israel. Tell them, When you cross the River Jordan into the country of Canaan, designate your asylum-cities, towns to which a person who accidentally kills someone can flee for asylum. They will be places of refuge from the avenger so that the alleged murderer won’t be killed until he can appear before the community in court. Provide six asylum-cities. Designate three of the towns to the east side of the Jordan, the other three in Canaan proper—asylum-cities for the People of Israel, for the foreigner, and for any occasional visitors or guests—six asylum-cities to run to for anyone who accidentally kills another.

¹⁶ “But if the killer has used an iron object, that’s just plain murder; he’s obviously a murderer and must be put to death.

¹⁷ “Or if he has a rock in his hand big enough to kill and the man dies, that’s murder; he’s a murderer and must be put to death.

¹⁸ “Or if he’s carrying a wooden club heavy enough to kill and the man dies, that’s murder; he’s a murderer and must be put to death.

¹⁹ “In such cases the avenger has a right to kill the murderer when he meets him—he can kill him on the spot.

^20-21 “And if out of sheer hatred a man pushes another or from ambush throws something at him and he dies, or angrily hits him with his fist and kills him, that’s murder—he must be put to death. The avenger has a right to kill him when he gets him.

^22-27 “If, however, he impulsively pushes someone and there is no history of hard feelings, or he impetuously picks up something and throws it, or he accidentally drops a stone tool—a maul or hammer, say—and it hits and kills someone he didn’t even know was there, and there’s no suspicion that there was bad blood between them, the community is to judge between the killer and the avenger following these guidelines. It’s the task of the community to save the killer from the hand of the avenger—the community is to return him to his asylum-city to which he fled. He must stay there until the death of the High Priest who was anointed with the holy oil. But if the murderer leaves the asylum-city to which he has fled, and the avenger finds him outside the borders of his asylum-city, the avenger has a right to kill the murderer. And he’s not considered guilty of murder.

²⁸ “So it’s important that he stay in his asylum-city until the death of the High Priest. After the death of the High Priest he is free to return to his own place.

* * *

²⁹ “These are the procedures for making judgments from now on, wherever you live.

³⁰ “Anyone who kills another may be executed only on the testimony of eyewitnesses. But no one can be executed on the testimony of only one witness.

³¹ “Don’t accept bribe money in exchange for the life of a murderer. He’s guilty and deserves the death penalty. Put him to death.

³² “And don’t accept bribe money for anyone who has fled to an asylum-city so as to permit him to go back and live in his own place before the death of the High Priest.

³³ “Don’t pollute the land in which you live. Murder pollutes the land. The land can’t be cleaned up of the blood of murder except through the blood of the murderer.

³⁴ “Don’t desecrate the land in which you live. I live here, too—I, God, live in the same neighborhood with the People of Israel.”