Boundaries of the Land

34 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter (A)the land of Canaan (B)(this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), (C)your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of (D)the Salt Sea on the east. And your border shall turn south of (E)the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to (F)Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon. And the border shall turn (G)from Azmon to (H)the Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea.

“For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its[a] coast. This shall be your western border.

“This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to (I)Mount Hor. From Mount Hor you shall draw a line (J)to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at (K)Zedad. Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at (L)Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.

10 “You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham. 11 And the border shall go down from Shepham to (M)Riblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of (N)the Sea of Chinnereth on the east. 12 And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at (O)the Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.”

13 Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, (P)“This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. 14 (Q)For the tribe of the people of Reuben by fathers' houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers' houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh. 15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

List of Tribal Chiefs

16 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: (R)Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 You shall take one (S)chief from every tribe to divide the land for inheritance. 19 These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 20 Of the tribe of the people of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22 Of the tribe of the people of Dan a chief, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23 Of the people of Joseph: of the tribe of the people of Manasseh a chief, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24 And of the tribe of the people of Ephraim a chief, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25 Of the tribe of the people of Zebulun a chief, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26 Of the tribe of the people of Issachar a chief, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27 And of the tribe of the people of Asher a chief, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28 Of the tribe of the people of Naphtali a chief, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” 29 These are the men whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 34:6 Syriac; Hebrew lacks its

Chapter 34

Canaan’s Boundaries. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land of Canaan, this is the land that will fall to you as an inheritance: the land of Canaan to its borders.

“ ‘Your southern section will run from the Desert of Zin along the border of Edom. Your southern border will be along the eastern coast of the Salt Sea. Your border in the south will extend from the Ascent of Akrabbim on to Zin, and then passing on the south of Kadesh-barnea on to Hazar-addar and Azmon. From Azmon the border will stretch to the Wadi of Egypt,[a] ending where it enters the sea.

“ ‘Your western border will be the great sea. This will be your western border.

“ ‘Your northern border will run from the great sea to Mount Hor. From Mount Hor it will run to the Pass of Hamath. The border will then run to Zedad. The border will continue on to Ziphron and it will end at Hazar-enan. This will be your northern border.

10 “ ‘Your eastern border will run from Hazar-enan to Shepham. 11 The border will run down from Shepham to Riblah on the eastern side of Ain. The border will run down until it reaches the eastern shore of the Sea of Chinnereth.[b] 12 The border will run down along the Jordan until it enters the Salt Sea. This will be your land, with your borders on every side.’ ”

13 Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, “This is the land that you will inherit by lot, as the Lord commanded. Give it to the nine and one-half tribes. 14 The tribe of the Reubenites, according to their ancestral tribe, has received their inheritance. The tribe of the Gadites, according to their ancestral tribe, as well as the half-tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance. 15 The two and one-half tribes have received their inheritance across the Jordan, opposite Jericho, to the east, toward the direction of sunrise.”

16 Appointed Leaders.[c] The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “The names of the men who will divide the land for you are: Eleazar the priest and Joshua, the son of Nun. 18 You will choose one leader from each tribe to divide the land for inheritance. 19 These are the names of the men: from the tribe of Judah: Caleb, the son of Jephunneh; 20 from the tribe of Simeon: Samuel, the son of Ammihud; 21 from the tribe of Benjamin: Elidad, the son of Chislon; 22 from the tribe of Dan, a leader: Bukki, the son of Jogli; 23 from the tribe of Joseph, from the tribe of Manasseh, a leader: Hanniel, the son of Ephod; 24 from the tribe of Ephraim, a leader: Kemuel, the son of Shiphtan; 25 from the tribe of Zebulun, a leader: Elizaphan, the son of Parnach; 26 from the tribe of Issachar, a leader: Paltiel, the son of Azzan; 27 from the tribe of Asher, a leader: Ahihud, the son of Shelomi; 28 from the tribe of Naphtali, a leader: Pedahel, the son of Ammihud.” 29 These are the ones whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance of the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 34:5 The Wadi of Egypt was the border between Egypt and Palestine. The sea is the Mediterranean.
  2. Numbers 34:11 Sea of Chinnereth: the Lake of Tiberias/Gennesaret, which a people of non-sailors might consider a “sea.” Also called the Sea of Galilee.
  3. Numbers 34:16 The new leaders would assist Joshua and Eleazar in the division of the land among the ten tribes entering Canaan.