Numbers 34. Boundaries of the Land

Boundaries of the Land

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 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 as defined by its borders), ³ your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of the Salt Sea on the east. ⁴ And your border shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon. ⁵ And the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea.

• See map below!
• Here we finally get to see the official boundaries of the Promised Land.

⁶ “For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its coast. This shall be your western border.

⁷ “This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to Mount Hor. ⁸ From Mount Hor you shall draw a line to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad. ⁹ Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.

• This Mount Hor is not the Mount Hor where Aaron died. Aaron’s Mount Hor was near Edom in the south; this is another mountain/location.

¹⁰ “You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham. ¹¹ And the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain. And the border shall go down and reach to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east.

• Sea of Chinnereth = Sea of Galilee/ Lake Gennesaret !

 ¹² And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.”

• The boundaries are laid out in detail:
  • Southern Border: From the wilderness of Zin along Edom’s border, from the Dead Sea to the Brook of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish).
  • Western Border: The Mediterranean Sea (Great Sea).
  • Northern Border: From the Mediterranean near Mount Hor to Lebo-Hamath, ending at Hazar-enan.
  • Eastern Border: From Hazar-enan to Shepham, down to the Jordan, ending at the Dead Sea.

¹³ Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, “This is the land that 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 people of Reuben by fathers’ houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers’ houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh. ¹⁵ The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

• The land west of the Jordan will be divided among the nine and a half tribes by lot since the two and a half tribes (Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh) already received their inheritance east of the Jordan (see Numbers 32)
• Now, Israel has not yet conquered the land, but God has already promised them the land as their inheritance All they need is faith.
• Why did Manasseh end up so large despite Ephraim getting the “firstborn” blessing?
• Why was Simeon inside Judah?
• Was Jerusalem in Benjamin? Why not Judah?

List of Tribal Chiefs

¹⁶ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷ “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. ¹⁸ You shall take one chief from every tribe to divide the land for inheritance. 

• God instructs Moses to appoint leaders from each tribe to help divide the land.
  • Eleazar the priest and Joshua will oversee the process.
  • See table below

¹⁹ These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. ²⁰ Of the tribe of the people of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. ²¹ Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. ²² Of the tribe of the people of Dan a chief, Bukki the son of Jogli. ²³ Of the people of Joseph: of the tribe of the people of Manasseh a chief, Hanniel the son of Ephod. ²⁴ And of the tribe of the people of Ephraim a chief, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. ²⁵ Of the tribe of the people of Zebulun a chief, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. ²⁶ Of the tribe of the people of Issachar a chief, Paltiel the son of Azzan. ²⁷ And of the tribe of the people of Asher a chief, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. ²⁸ Of the tribe of the people of Naphtali a chief, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” ²⁹ These are the men whom the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Tribe	Leader
Judah	Caleb son of Jephunneh
Simeon	Shemuel son of Ammihud
Benjamin	Elidad son of Chislon
Dan	Bukki son of Jogli
Manasseh (western half)	Hanniel son of Ephod
Ephraim	Kemeul son of Shiphtan
Zebulun	Elizaphan son of Parnach
Issachar	Paltiel son of Azzan
Asher	Ahihud son of Shelomi
Naphtali	Pedahel son of Ammihud