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Apportioning Canaan

34 Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Command the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter (A)the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders. (B)And your southern [a]sector shall [b]extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom, and your southern border shall [c]extend from the end of the Salt Sea (C)eastward. Then your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim and [d]continue to Zin, and its [e]termination shall be to the south of (D)Kadesh-barnea; and it shall [f]reach Hazaraddar and [g]continue to Azmon. And the border shall turn from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and its termination shall be at (E)the sea.

‘And as for the west border, you shall have the Great Sea, that is, its [h]coastline; this shall be your west border.

(F)And this shall be your north border: you shall draw your border line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor. You shall draw a line from Mount Hor to [i](G)Lebo-hamath, and the termination of the border shall be at Zedad; and the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and its termination shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your north border.

10 ‘For your east border you shall also draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham, 11 and the border shall go down from Shepham to (H)Riblah on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down and reach to the [j]slope on the east side of the Sea of [k](I)Chinnereth. 12 And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its termination shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its borders all around.’”

13 So Moses commanded the sons of Israel, saying, “(J)This is the land that you shall inherit by lot among you as a possession, which Yahweh has commanded to give to the nine and a half tribes. 14 (K)For the tribe of the sons of Reuben have received theirs according to their fathers’ households, and the tribe of the sons of Gad according to their fathers’ households, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance. 15 The two and a half tribes have received their inheritance across the Jordan opposite Jericho to the east toward the sunrise.”

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 34:3 Lit side
  2. Numbers 34:3 Lit be
  3. Numbers 34:3 Lit be
  4. Numbers 34:4 Lit pass along
  5. Numbers 34:4 Lit goings out, so in ch
  6. Numbers 34:4 Lit go forth to
  7. Numbers 34:4 Lit pass along
  8. Numbers 34:6 Lit border
  9. Numbers 34:8 Or the entrance of Hamath
  10. Numbers 34:11 Lit shoulder
  11. Numbers 34:11 Galilee

Boundaries of the Land

34 The Lord told Moses, “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

“‘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, 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. 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

“‘The western[d] border is to be the Mediterranean[e] Sea. This is to be the western border.’”

The Northern Border of Israel

“‘Your northern border is to extend from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor. From Mount Hor, you are to mark out the entrance to Hammath, with the border running through Zedad, 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.”

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Footnotes

  1. Numbers 34:3 Lit. Salt; and so in 34:12
  2. Numbers 34:5 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
  3. Numbers 34:5 The Heb. lacks Mediterranean
  4. Numbers 34:6 Lit. sea
  5. Numbers 34:6 Lit. Great; and so throughout the chapter
  6. Numbers 34:11 I.e. the Sea of Galilee
  7. Numbers 34:13 The Heb. lacks remaining