1 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
2 `Command the sons of Israel, and thou hast said unto them, When ye are coming in unto the land of Canaan -- this `is' the land which falleth to you by inheritance, the land of Canaan, by its borders --
3 then hath the south quarter been to you from the wilderness of Zin, by the sides of Edom, yea, the south border hath been to you from the extremity of the Salt Sea, eastward;
4 and the border hath turned round to you from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and hath passed on to Zin, and its outgoings have been from the south to Kadesh-Barnea, and it hath gone out at Hazar-Addar, and hath passed on to Azmon;
5 and the border hath turned round from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and its outgoings have been at the sea.
6 `As to the west border, even the great sea hath been to you a border; this is to you the west border.
7 `And this is to you the north border: from the great sea ye mark out for yourselves mount Hor;
8 from mount Hor ye mark out to go in to Hamath, and the outgoings of the border have been to Zedad;
9 and the border hath gone out to Ziphron, and its outgoings have been at Hazar-Enan; this is to you the north border.
10 `And ye have marked out for yourselves for the border eastward, from Hazar-Enan to Shepham;
11 and the border hath gone down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east of Ain, and the border hath gone down, and hath smitten against the shoulder of the sea of Chinnereth eastward;
12 and the border hath gone down to the Jordan, and its outgoings have been at the Salt Sea; this is for you the land by its borders round about.'
13 And Moses commandeth the sons of Israel, saying, `This `is' the land which ye inherit by lot, which Jehovah hath commanded to give to the nine tribes and the half of the tribe;
14 for the tribe of the sons of Reuben have received, by the house of their fathers; and the tribe of the children of Gad, by the house of their fathers; and the half of the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance;
15 the two tribes and the half of the tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan, `near' Jericho, eastward, at the `sun'-rising.'
16 And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
17 `These `are' the names of the men who give to you the inheritance of the land: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua son of Nun,
18 and one prince -- one prince -- for a tribe ye do take to give the land by inheritance.
19 `And these `are' the names of the men: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
20 and of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, Shemuel son of Aminihud;
21 of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Chislon;
22 and of the tribe of the sons of Dan, the prince Bukki son of Jogli;
23 of the sons of Joseph, of the tribe of the sons of Manasseh, the prince Hanniel son of Ephod;
24 and of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim, the prince Kemuel son of Shiphtan;
25 and of the tribe of the sons of Zebulun, the prince Elizaphan son of Parnach;
26 and of the tribe of the sons of Issachar, the prince Paltiel son of Azzan;
27 and of the tribe of the sons of Asher, the prince Ahihud son of Shelomi;
28 and of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali, the prince Pedahel son of Ammihud.'
29 These `are' those whom Jehovah hath commanded to give the sons of Israel inheritance in the land of Canaan.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Numbers 34
Commentary on Numbers 34 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 34
In this chapter God directs Moses, and he is to direct Israel,
Num 34:1-15
We have here a particular draught of the line by which the land of Canaan was meted, and bounded, on all sides. God directs Moses to settle it here, not as a geographer in his map, merely to please the curious, but as a prince in his grant, that it may be certainly known what passes, and is conveyed, by the grant. There was a much larger possession promised them, which in due time they would have possessed if they had been obedient, reaching even to the river Euphrates, Deu. 11:24. And even so far the dominion of Israel did extend in David's time and Solomon's, 2 Chr. 9:26. But this which is here described is Canaan only, which was the lot of the nine tribes and a half, for the other two and a half were already settled, v. 14, 15. Now concerning the limits of Canaan observe,
Num 34:16-29
God here appoints commissioners for the dividing of the land to them. The conquest of it is taken for granted, though as yet there was never a stroke struck towards it. Here is no nomination of the generals and commanders-in-chief that should carry on the war; for they were to get the land in possession, not by their own sword or bow, but by the power and favour of God; and so confident must they be of victory and success while God fought for them that the persons must now be named who should be entrusted with the dividing of the land, that is, who should preside in casting the lots, and determine controversies that might arise, and see that all was done fairly.