Numbers 34
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Boundaries of the Land
34 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the Israelites, and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan, defined by its boundaries),(A) 3 your south sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom. Your southern boundary shall begin from the end of the Dead Sea[a] on the east;(B) 4 your boundary shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim and cross to Zin, and its outer limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea; then it shall go on to Hazar-addar and cross to Azmon; 5 the boundary shall turn from Azmon to the Wadi of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the Sea.(C)
6 “For the western boundary, you shall have the Great Sea and its[b] coast; this shall be your western boundary.
7 “This shall be your northern boundary: from the Great Sea you shall mark out your line to Mount Hor;(D) 8 from Mount Hor you shall mark it out to Lebo-hamath, and the outer limit of the boundary shall be at Zedad;(E) 9 then the boundary shall extend to Ziphron, and its end shall be at Hazar-enan; this shall be your northern boundary.
10 “You shall mark out your eastern boundary from Hazar-enan to Shepham, 11 and the boundary shall continue down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain, and the boundary shall go down and reach the eastern slope of the sea of Chinnereth,(F) 12 and the boundary shall go down to the Jordan, and its end shall be at the Dead Sea.[c] This shall be your land with its boundaries all around.”
13 Moses commanded the Israelites, saying, “This is the land that you shall apportion by lot, which the Lord has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe,(G) 14 for the tribe of the Reubenites by their ancestral houses and the tribe of the Gadites by their ancestral houses have taken their inheritance and also the half-tribe of Manasseh;(H) 15 the two tribes and the half-tribe have taken their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.”
Tribal Leaders
16 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “These are the names of the men who shall apportion the land to you for inheritance: the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun.(I) 18 You shall take one leader of every tribe to apportion the land for inheritance.(J) 19 These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh. 20 Of the tribe of the Simeonites, Shemuel son of Ammihud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Chislon. 22 Of the tribe of the Danites a leader, Bukki son of Jogli. 23 Of the Josephites: of the tribe of the Manassites a leader, Hanniel son of Ephod, 24 and of the tribe of the Ephraimites a leader, Kemuel son of Shiphtan. 25 Of the tribe of the Zebulunites a leader, Eli-zaphan son of Parnach. 26 Of the tribe of the Issacharites a leader, Paltiel son of Azzan. 27 And of the tribe of the Asherites a leader, Ahihud son of Shelomi. 28 Of the tribe of the Naphtalites a leader, Pedahel son of Ammihud. 29 These were the ones whom the Lord commanded to apportion the inheritance for the Israelites in the land of Canaan.”
Numbers 34
International Standard Version
Boundaries of the Land
34 The Lord told Moses, 2 “Issue these orders to the Israelis: ‘You’re about to enter the land of Canaan. This territory has been apportioned to you as your inheritance: the entire land of Canaan, all the way to its borders.’”
The Southern Border of Israel
3 “‘To your south is the Wilderness of Zin, bordering Edom. Your southern border is to extend east toward the far end of the Dead[a] Sea, 4 then it is to turn southward to the ascent of Akrabbim, cross Zin, and then run south of Kadesh-barnea and proceed from there to Hazar-addar and across to Azmon. 5 Then the border is to turn from Azmon toward the wadi[b] of Egypt and from there to the Mediterranean[c] Sea.’”
The Western Border of Israel
6 “‘The western[d] border is to be the Mediterranean[e] Sea. This is to be the western border.’”
The Northern Border of Israel
7 “‘Your northern border is to extend from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor. 8 From Mount Hor, you are to mark out the entrance to Hammath, with the border running through Zedad, 9 then through Ziphron, and then to Hazar-enan. This is to be the northern border.’”
The Eastern Border of Israel
10 “‘You are to mark the border on the east from Hazar-enan to Shepham. 11 The border is then to extend from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain, then to the Sea of Chinnereth[f] on the east. 12 The border is to continue along the Jordan River all the way to the Dead Sea. This is to be your land, as measured by its boundaries.’”
Assigning Tribal Responsibilities
13 Moses commanded the Israelis, “You are to inherit this land by lot, just as the Lord commanded to give it to the remaining[g] nine and a half tribes. 14 The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, as defined by their ancestral houses, have received their inheritance. 15 These two and a half tribes received their inheritance this side of the Jordan River, east of Jericho, facing the rising sun.”
16 Then the Lord told Moses, 17 “These are the names of the men who are to divide the land for your inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Nun’s son Joshua. 18 You are to appoint a leader from each tribe to divide the land for inheritance. 19 These are the names of the men: Appoint Jephunneh’s son Caleb from the tribe of Judah, 20 Ammihud’s son Shemuel from the tribe of Simeon, 21 Chislon’s son Elidad from the tribe of Benjamin, 22 and Jogli’s son Bukki is to be leader of the tribe of Dan. 23 From the tribe of Joseph, you are to appoint Ephod’s son Hanniel to be leader of the half tribe of Manasseh, 24 Shiphtan’s son Kemuel to be leader of the half tribe of Ephraim, 25 Parnach’s son Elizaphan to be leader of the tribe of Zebulun, 26 Azzan’s son Paltiel to be leader of the tribe of Issachar, 27 Shelomi’s son Ahihud to be leader of the tribe of Asher, 28 and Ammihud’s son Pedahel to be leader of the tribe of Naphtali.”
29 These are the ones whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance of the Israelis in the land of Canaan.
Footnotes
- Numbers 34:3 Lit. Salt; and so in 34:12
- Numbers 34:5 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
- Numbers 34:5 The Heb. lacks Mediterranean
- Numbers 34:6 Lit. sea
- Numbers 34:6 Lit. Great; and so throughout the chapter
- Numbers 34:11 I.e. the Sea of Galilee
- Numbers 34:13 The Heb. lacks remaining
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