Numbers 34
Good News Translation
The Boundaries of the Land
34 The Lord gave Moses 2 the following instructions for the people of Israel: “When you enter Canaan, the land which I am giving you, the borders of your territory will be as follows. 3 The southern border will extend from the wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. It will begin on the east at the southern end of the Dead Sea. 4 Then it will turn southward toward Akrabbim Pass and continue on through Zin as far south as Kadesh Barnea. Then it will turn northwest to Hazar Addar and on to Azmon, 5 where it will turn toward the valley at the border of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean.
6 “The western border will be the Mediterranean Sea.
7 “The northern border will follow a line from the Mediterranean to Mount Hor 8 and from there to Hamath Pass. It will continue to Zedad 9 and to Ziphron, and will end at Hazar Enan.
10 “The eastern border will follow a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. 11 It will then go south to Harbel, east of Ain, and on to the hills on the eastern shore of Lake Galilee, 12 then south along the Jordan River to the Dead Sea.
“These will be the four borders of your land.”
13 (A)So Moses said to the Israelites, “This is the land that you will receive by drawing lots, the land that the Lord has assigned to the nine and one-half tribes. 14 The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the eastern half of Manasseh have received their property, divided according to their families, 15 on the eastern side of the Jordan, opposite Jericho.”
The Leaders Responsible for Dividing the Land
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun will divide the land for the people. 18 Take also one leader from each tribe to help them divide it.” 19-28 These are the men the Lord chose:
| Tribe | Leader |
|---|---|
| Judah | Caleb son of Jephunneh |
| Simeon | Shelumiel son of Ammihud |
| Benjamin | Elidad son of Chislon |
| Dan | Bukki son of Jogli |
| Manasseh | Hanniel son of Ephod |
| Ephraim | Kemuel son of Shiphtan |
| Zebulun | Elizaphan son of Parnach |
| Issachar | Paltiel son of Azzan |
| Asher | Ahihud son of Shelomi |
| Naphtali | Pedahel son of Ammihud |
29 These are the men that the Lord assigned to divide the property for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.
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
Complete Jewish Bible
34 Adonai told Moshe 2 to give this order to the people of Isra’el: “When you enter the land of Kena‘an, it will become your land to pass on as an inheritance, the land of Kena‘an as defined by these borders.
3 “Your southern portion will extend from the Tzin Desert close to the border of Edom. The eastern terminus of your southern border is at the end of the Dead Sea. 4 From there your border turns, goes south of the ‘Akrabbim Ascent and passes on to Tzin. From there it goes south of Kadesh-Barnea, on to Hatzar-Adar, and on to ‘Atzmon. 5 Then the border turns and goes from ‘Atzmon to the Vadi of Egypt and along it to the Sea.
6 “Your western border will be the Great Sea.
7 “Your northern border will be as follows: from the Great Sea mark a line to Mount Hor, 8 and from Mount Hor mark a line to the entrance of Hamat. The border goes out to Tz’dad. 9 Then the border goes to Zifron and finally to Hatzar-‘Einan; this is your northern border.
10 “For the eastern border mark your line from Hatzar-‘Enan to Sh’fam. 11 Then the border goes down from Sh’fam to Rivlah, on the east side of ‘Ayin, then down until it hits the slope east of Lake Kinneret. 12 From there it goes down the Yarden River till it flows into the Dead Sea. These will be the borders of your land.”
13 Moshe gave this order to the people of Isra’el: “This is the land in which you will receive inheritances by lot, which Adonai has ordered to give to the nine tribes and the half-tribe. 14 The tribe of the descendants of Re’uven have already received their land for inheritance according to their clans, and so have the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh. 15 These two-and-a-half tribes have received their inheritance on this side of the Yarden, across from Yericho and eastward, toward the sunrise.”
(RY: vi; LY: iv) 16 Adonai said to Moshe, 17 “These are the names of the men who will take possession of the land for you: El‘azar the cohen and Y’hoshua the son of Nun. 18 Also appoint one leader from each tribe to take possession of the land. 19 The names of these men are:
from the tribe of Y’hudah, Kalev the son of Y’funeh;
20 from the tribe of the descendants of Shim‘on, Sh’mu’el the son of ‘Ammihud;
21 from the tribe of Binyamin, Elidad the son of Kislon;
22 from the tribe of the descendants of Dan, a leader, Buki the son of Yogli;
23 from the descendants of Yosef:
from the tribe of the descendants of M’nasheh, a leader, Hani’el the son of Efod;
24 from the tribe of the descendants of Efrayim, a leader, K’mu’el the son of Shiftan;
25 from the tribe of the descendants of Z’vulun, a leader, Elitzafan the son of Parnakh;
26 from the tribe of the descendants of Yissakhar, a leader, Palti’el the son of ‘Azan;
27 from the tribe of the descendants of Asher, a leader, Achihud the son of Shlomi;
28 from the tribe of the descendants of Naftali, a leader, P’dah’el the son of ‘Ammihud.”
29 These are the ones whom Adonai ordered to divide the inheritance among the people of Isra’el in the land of Kena‘an.
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.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson