Boundaries of Canaan

34 The Lord said to Moses, “Command the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter Canaan,(A) the land that will be allotted to you as an inheritance(B) is to have these boundaries:(C)

“‘Your southern side will include some of the Desert of Zin(D) along the border of Edom. Your southern boundary will start in the east from the southern end of the Dead Sea,(E) cross south of Scorpion Pass,(F) continue on to Zin and go south of Kadesh Barnea.(G) Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon,(H) where it will turn, join the Wadi of Egypt(I) and end at the Mediterranean Sea.

“‘Your western boundary will be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.(J) This will be your boundary on the west.(K)

“‘For your northern boundary,(L) run a line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor(M) and from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath.(N) Then the boundary will go to Zedad, continue to Ziphron and end at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary on the north.

10 “‘For your eastern boundary,(O) run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. 11 The boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah(P) on the east side of Ain(Q) and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee.[a](R) 12 Then the boundary will go down along the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea.

“‘This will be your land, with its boundaries on every side.’”

13 Moses commanded the Israelites: “Assign this land by lot(S) as an inheritance.(T) The Lord has ordered that it be given to the nine and a half tribes, 14 because the families of the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance.(U) 15 These two and a half tribes have received their inheritance east of the Jordan across from Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “These are the names of the men who are to assign the land for you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua(V) son of Nun. 18 And appoint one leader from each tribe to help(W) assign the land.(X) 19 These are their names:(Y)

Caleb(Z) son of Jephunneh,

from the tribe of Judah;(AA)

20 Shemuel son of Ammihud,

from the tribe of Simeon;(AB)

21 Elidad son of Kislon,

from the tribe of Benjamin;(AC)

22 Bukki son of Jogli,

the leader from the tribe of Dan;

23 Hanniel son of Ephod,

the leader from the tribe of Manasseh(AD) son of Joseph;

24 Kemuel son of Shiphtan,

the leader from the tribe of Ephraim(AE) son of Joseph;

25 Elizaphan son of Parnak,

the leader from the tribe of Zebulun;(AF)

26 Paltiel son of Azzan,

the leader from the tribe of Issachar;

27 Ahihud son of Shelomi,

the leader from the tribe of Asher;(AG)

28 Pedahel son of Ammihud,

the leader from the tribe of Naphtali.”

29 These are the men the Lord commanded to assign the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.(AH)

Footnotes

  1. Numbers 34:11 Hebrew Kinnereth

Boundaries of the Land

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “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. 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] 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. From Azmon the boundary will turn toward the Brook of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean Sea.[c]

“Your western boundary will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

“Your northern boundary will begin at the Mediterranean Sea and run east to Mount Hor, then to Lebo-hamath, and on through Zedad 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:

TribeLeader
JudahCaleb son of Jephunneh
20 SimeonShemuel son of Ammihud
21 BenjaminElidad son of Kislon
22 DanBukki son of Jogli
23 Manasseh son of JosephHanniel son of Ephod
24 Ephraim son of JosephKemuel son of Shiphtan
25 ZebulunElizaphan son of Parnach
26 IssacharPaltiel son of Azzan
27 AsherAhihud son of Shelomi
28 NaphtaliPedahel son of Ammihud

29 These are the men the Lord has appointed to divide the grants of land in Canaan among the Israelites.”

Footnotes

  1. 34:3 Hebrew Salt Sea; also in 34:12.
  2. 34:4 Or the ascent of Akrabbim.
  3. 34:5 Hebrew the sea; also in 34:6, 7.
  4. 34:11 Hebrew Sea of Kinnereth.

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.

“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.

The Appointed Boundaries of Canaan

34 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “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. (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; 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; the border shall turn from Azmon (G)to the Brook of Egypt, and it shall end at the Sea.

‘As for the (H)western border, you shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your western border.

‘And this shall be your northern border: From the Great Sea you shall mark out your border line to (I)Mount Hor; 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; 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

  1. Numbers 34:11 Lit. shoulder
  2. Numbers 34:29 apportion