Numbers 34
New Living Translation
Boundaries of the Land
34 Then the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Give these instructions to the Israelites: When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your special possession, these will be the boundaries. 3 The southern portion of your country will extend from the wilderness of Zin, along the edge of Edom. The southern boundary will begin on the east at the Dead Sea.[a] 4 It will then run south past Scorpion Pass[b] in the direction of Zin. Its southernmost point will be Kadesh-barnea, from which it will go to Hazar-addar, and on to Azmon. 5 From Azmon the boundary will turn toward the Brook of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean Sea.[c]
6 “Your western boundary will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.
7 “Your northern boundary will begin at the Mediterranean Sea and run east to Mount Hor, 8 then to Lebo-hamath, and on through Zedad 9 and Ziphron to Hazar-enan. This will be your northern boundary.
10 “The eastern boundary will start at Hazar-enan and run south to Shepham, 11 then down to Riblah on the east side of Ain. From there the boundary will run down along the eastern edge of the Sea of Galilee,[d] 12 and then along the Jordan River to the Dead Sea. These are the boundaries of your land.”
13 Then Moses told the Israelites, “This territory is the homeland you are to divide among yourselves by sacred lot. The Lord has commanded that the land be divided among the nine and a half remaining tribes. 14 The families of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received their grants of land 15 on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho toward the sunrise.”
Leaders to Divide the Land
16 And the Lord said to Moses, 17 “Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun are the men designated to divide the grants of land among the people. 18 Enlist one leader from each tribe to help them with the task. 19 These are the tribes and the names of the leaders:
| Tribe | Leader |
|---|---|
| Judah | Caleb son of Jephunneh |
| 20 Simeon | Shemuel son of Ammihud |
| 21 Benjamin | Elidad son of Kislon |
| 22 Dan | Bukki son of Jogli |
| 23 Manasseh son of Joseph | Hanniel son of Ephod |
| 24 Ephraim son of Joseph | Kemuel son of Shiphtan |
| 25 Zebulun | Elizaphan son of Parnach |
| 26 Issachar | Paltiel son of Azzan |
| 27 Asher | Ahihud son of Shelomi |
| 28 Naphtali | Pedahel son of Ammihud |
29 These are the men the Lord has appointed to divide the grants of land in Canaan among the Israelites.”
Numbers 34
New King James Version
The Appointed Boundaries of Canaan
34 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into (A)the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance—the land of Canaan to its boundaries. 3 (B)Your southern border shall be from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom; then your southern border shall extend eastward to the end of (C)the Salt Sea; 4 your border shall turn from the southern side of (D)the Ascent of Akrabbim, continue to Zin, and be on the south of (E)Kadesh Barnea; then it shall go on to (F)Hazar Addar, and continue to Azmon; 5 the border shall turn from Azmon (G)to the Brook of Egypt, and it shall end at the Sea.
6 ‘As for the (H)western border, you shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your western border.
7 ‘And this shall be your northern border: From the Great Sea you shall mark out your border line to (I)Mount Hor; 8 from Mount Hor you shall mark out your border (J)to the entrance of Hamath; then the direction of the border shall be toward (K)Zedad; 9 the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and it shall end at (L)Hazar Enan. This shall be your northern border.
10 ‘You shall mark out your eastern border from Hazar Enan to Shepham; 11 the border shall go down from Shepham (M)to Riblah on the east side of Ain; the border shall go down and reach to the eastern [a]side of the Sea (N)of Chinnereth; 12 the border shall go down along the Jordan, and it shall end at (O)the Salt Sea. This shall be your land with its surrounding boundaries.’ ”
13 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying: (P)“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 (Q)For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and the half-tribe of Manasseh has received its inheritance. 15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan, across from Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.”
The Leaders Appointed to Divide the Land
16 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land among you as an inheritance: (R)Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 And you shall take one (S)leader of every tribe to divide the land for the inheritance. 19 These are the names of the men: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 20 from the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud; 21 from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon; 22 a leader from the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli; 23 from the sons of Joseph: a leader from the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod, 24 and a leader from the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan; 25 a leader from the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach; 26 a leader from the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan; 27 a leader from the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi; 28 and a leader from the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.”
29 These are the ones the Lord commanded to [b]divide the inheritance among the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
Footnotes
- Numbers 34:11 Lit. shoulder
- Numbers 34:29 apportion
Numbers 34
The Voice
Aaron is now dead, and Moses is given the final instructions about the division of the land. Even knowing he will not enter the land, Moses doesn’t whine or step back from leadership. He continues following God until the nation is about to cross through the waters of the Jordan and begin their new adventure, realizing God’s destiny for themselves, because he is the faithful servant of God even when he knows there will be no reward.
34 The Eternal One spoke to Moses.
Eternal One (to Moses): 2 Command the Israelites, “This is the exact territory you should take, as promised to you by Me for an inheritance throughout the succeeding generations—the entire land of Canaan. 3 The southern part runs from the Zin Wilderness along the border with Edom. The southern boundary begins at the end of the Dead Sea[a] on the east, 4 turns south of the Akrabbim highlands, and crosses over to Zin. Its far end is south of Kadesh-barnea, over to Hazar-addar, across to Azmon, 5 and from there to the Egyptian Wadi straight out to the great Mediterranean Sea. 6 This great sea will be your western boundary. 7 At the northern end, make a line from the great Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor, 8 then to Lebo-hamath, and up to Zedad. 9 Your territory will be south of Ziphron and Hazar-enan. All that makes up your northern boundary. 10 As for the east, mark your boundary from Hazar-enan to Shepham, 11 down to Riblah (east of Ain), follow the eastern slope of the Sea of Chinnereth, 12 and down the Jordan River all the way to the Dead Sea.[b] That’s it. Those are the boundaries of your promised land.”
Moses (to the Israelites): 13 Exactly which parts of it go to which family shall be determined finally by lot. That is, at least, for the nine remaining tribes and for Ephraim, the other half of the Joseph tribe. 14-15 The extended families of Gadites, Reubenites, and Manassehites (from Joseph’s line) have already gotten their land on this eastern side of the Jordan River.
16 Again the Eternal One spoke to Moses.
Eternal One: 17 The priest Eleazar and Joshua (Nun’s son) shall have the honor of assigning the territories that will henceforth be each one’s ancestral land. 18 One from each of the tribes will then execute these directions. 19 Those men are: for Judah—Caleb (Jephunneh’s son); 20 for Simeon—Shemuel (Ammihud’s son); 21 for Benjamin—Elidad (Chislon’s son); 22 for the Danites—Bukki (Jogli’s son); 23 out of the greater Joseph family, for the Manassehites—Hanniel (Ephod’s son), 24 and for the Ephraimites—Kemuel (Shiphtan’s son); 25 for Zebulun—Elizaphan (Parnach’s son); 26 for Issachar—Paltiel (Azzan’s son); 27 for Asher—Ahihud (Shelomi’s son); 28 and for Naphtali—Pedahel (Ammihud’s son).
29 These are the men whom the Eternal One determined should head up the process of dividing the Canaanite land among the Israelites.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.