Numbers 34
The Message
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.
Numbers 34
Revised Standard Version
The Boundaries of the Land
34 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the people of Israel, 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 in its full extent), 3 your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom, and your southern boundary shall be from the end of the Salt Sea on the east; 4 and your boundary shall turn south of the ascent of Akrab′bim, and cross to Zin, and its end shall be south of Ka′desh-bar′nea; then it shall go on to Ha′zar-ad′dar, and pass along to Azmon; 5 and the boundary shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the sea.
6 “For the western boundary, you shall have the Great Sea and its[a] 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; 8 from Mount Hor you shall mark it out to the entrance of Hamath, and the end of the boundary shall be at Zedad; 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 go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of A′in; and the boundary shall go down, and reach to the shoulder of the sea of Chin′nereth on the east; 12 and the boundary shall go down to the Jordan, and its end shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land with its boundaries all round.”
13 Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, “This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe; 14 for the tribe of the sons of Reuben by fathers’ houses and the tribe of the sons of Gad by their fathers’ houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manas′seh; 15 the two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.”
Tribal Leaders
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: Elea′zar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 You shall take one leader of 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 Jephun′neh. 20 Of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Shemu′el the son of Ammi′hud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Eli′dad the son of Chislon. 22 Of the tribe of the sons of Dan a leader, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23 Of the sons of Joseph: of the tribe of the sons of Manas′seh a leader, Han′niel the son of Ephod. 24 And of the tribe of the sons of E′phraim a leader, Kemu′el the son of Shiphtan. 25 Of the tribe of the sons of Zeb′ulun a leader, Eli-za′phan the son of Parnach. 26 Of the tribe of the sons of Is′sachar a leader, Pal′tiel the son of Azzan. 27 And of the tribe of the sons of Asher a leader, Ahi′hud the son of Shelo′mi. 28 Of the tribe of the sons of Naph′tali a leader, Pedah′el the son of Ammi′hud. 29 These are the men whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.”
Footnotes
- Numbers 34:6 Syr: Heb lacks its
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.