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Numbers Chapter
Thirty-four
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO NUMBERS 34
In
this chapter the bounds and borders of the land Canaan are described, according
to the direction of the Lord to Moses, Numbers 34:1, the
south border, Numbers 34:3, the
western border, Numbers 34:6, the
north border, Numbers 34:7, the
east border, Numbers 34:10,
which is ordered to be divided by lot to the nine tribes and a half, two tribes
and a half having received their inheritance on the other side Jordan, Numbers 34:13, and
the persons are nominated to divide the land, Eleazar and Joshua, with one
prince out of every tribe, and who are mentioned by name, Numbers 34:16.
Numbers 34:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
YLT
1And Jehovah speaketh unto
Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... At the same time
that he ordered him to direct the children of Israel, when they had passed over
Jordan, to drive out the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, and divide their
land among them, he proceeded to give the limits and boundaries of the land:
saying; as follows.
Numbers 34:2 2 “Command the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When
you come into the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to
you as an inheritance—the land of Canaan to its boundaries.
YLT
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 –
Command the children of Israel, and say unto them,.... Not to
fix the borders, and settle the boundaries of the land, for that is done by the
Lord himself, who has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of
men's habitations, and particularly of Israel, see Deuteronomy 32:8,
but to observe and take notice of the limits he had fixed, that they might know
how far they were to go on every side, whom they were to drive out, and what
they were to divide and inherit, and see what was their right, and preserve it
from the encroachments of their neighbours, as well as observe the goodness of
God unto them, in thus providing for them:
when ye come into the land of Canaan; to take
possession of it by virtue of a grant of it to them:
this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance; it is said to
"fall", because it was divided by lot, each tribe having such a part
of it assigned to them, according to the lot that came up unto them: even
the land of Canaan, with the coasts thereof; or according to
its borders, which are as follow.
Numbers 34:3 3 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 the Salt Sea;
YLT
3then 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;
Then your south quarter,.... Or border of the
land; which, as Jarchi observes, was from east to west:
shall be from the wilderness of Zin; which is Kadesh, where
Miriam died, Numbers 20:1, and
if this Kadesh was Kadeshbarnea, as Dr. Lightfoot seems to have provedF8Works,
vol. 2. p. 8, 9. , from whence the spies were sent, that was clearly on the south
of the land of Canaan, for they were bid to go up their way southward, Numbers 13:17, and
so Kadeshbarnea is hereafter mentioned, as being in the southern border: the
Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,"from the wilderness of the palm trees
of the mountain of iron;'there is a smaller palm tree, which by Jewish writers
is called Zin, of which there were great quantities on a mountain famous for
iron mines, in this wilderness, from whence it is thought it had its name;
hence we readF9Misn. Succah. c. 3. sect. 1. of palm trees of the
mountain of iron, as fit to make the bunch of branches of trees, called the
"lulab", carried in the hand on the feast of tabernacles:
along by the coast of Edom; the land of Canaan, to
the south, bordered on three countries, Egypt, Edom, and Moab; according to
Jarchi, some part of Egypt, the whole land of Edom, and the whole land of Moab;
the part of the land of Egypt was in the south west corner of it; the land of
Edom by it to the east; and the land of Moab by the land of Edom, at the end of
the south to the east:
and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea
eastward; the same that is sometimes called the Dead sea, the sea of
Sodom, or the lake Asphaltites, as Heathen writers generally call it.
Numbers 34:4 4 your border shall turn from the southern side of the
Ascent of Akrabbim, continue to Zin, and be on the south of Kadesh Barnea; then
it shall go on to Hazar Addar, and continue to Azmon;
YLT
4and 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;
And your border,.... That is, the south border, which is
still describing:
shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim; or
Maalehacrabbim, as in Joshua 15:3 so
called from the multitude of serpents and scorpions in it, see Deuteronomy 8:15,
so Kimchi saysF11Sepher Shorash. "in voce" עקרב. , a place of serpents and scorpions was this ascent:
Dr. ShawF12Travels, tom. 2. ch. 1. p. 279. says Akrabbim may
probably be the same with the mountains of Accaba, according to the present
name, which hang over Eloth, where there is a "high steep road", well
known to the Mahometan pilgrims for its ruggedness: and he thinksF13Travels,
tom. 2. ch. 1. p. 323. it very probable, that Mount Hor was the same chain of
mountains that are now called Accaba by the Arabs, and were the easternmost
range, as we may take them to be, of Ptolemy's black mountains: JosephusF14Antiqu.
l. 12. c. 8. sect. 1. see 1 Maccab. 5. 3. speaks of
Acrabatene as belonging to the Edomites, which seems to be this same place:
and pass on to Zin; that is, which ascent goes on to it; the
Targum of Jonathan is,"and shall pass on to the palm trees of the mountain
of iron;'by which is meant the same with the wilderness of Zin: perhaps Zinnah
is rather the name of a city; the Septuagint call it Ennac: the Vulgate Latin,
Senna: JeromF15De loc. Heb. fol. 94. H. makes mention of a place
called Senna, seven miles from Jericho:
and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to
Kadeshbarnea; from whence the spies were sent southward to search the land, Numbers 13:17.
and shall go on to Hazaraddar; called Adar, Joshua 15:3 and
where it seems to be divided into two places, Hezron and Adar, which very
probably were near each other, and therefore here put together, as if but one
place:
and pass on to Azmon; which the Targums call
Kesam.
Numbers 34:5 5 the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt,
and it shall end at the Sea.
YLT
5and the border hath turned
round from Azmon to the brook of Egypt, and its outgoings have been at the sea.
And the border shall fetch a compass,.... Not go on
in a straight line, but turn about:
from Azmon unto the river of Egypt; the river Nile, as both
the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem; but Aben Ezra seems to deny that that
river is meant: and some think that Rhinocolura, which flows into the
Mediterranean sea, is meant; or the "valley of Egypt", Casiotis,
which divided Judea from Egypt, as follows:
and the goings out of it; not of the river, but of
the border:
shall be at the sea; the above sea, called in
the next verse the great sea; all the Targums render it to the west.
Numbers 34:6 6 ‘As for the western border, you shall have the Great
Sea for a border; this shall be your western border.
YLT
6`As to the west border,
even the great sea hath been to you a border; this is to you the west border.
And as for the western border,.... Of the land of
Canaan:
you shall even have the great sea for a border; and no other,
meaning the Mediterranean sea, which lies west of the land of Judea; Aben Ezra
calls it the Spanish sea: it has the name of "great", in comparison
of some in the land of Canaan, as the salt sea, and the sea of Tiberias:
this shall be your west border; namely, the
Mediterranean sea.
Numbers 34:7 7 ‘And this shall be your northern border: From the Great
Sea you shall mark out your border line to Mount Hor;
YLT
7`And this is to you the
north border: from the great sea ye mark out for yourselves mount Hor;
And this shall be your northern border,.... What
follows:
from the great sea ye shall point out for you Mount Hor; not that
Mount Hor on which Aaron died, for that was on the southern border of the land;
but rather Mount Herman, which is said to be unto the entering into Hamath, Joshua 13:5 as this
Mount Hor is in the following verse; or some part of Mount Lebanon might be so
called, which was the northern border of the land: the Targum of Jonathan calls
it Umanus; and the Jerusalem Targum, Manus or Taurus Umanus, the Mountain
Umanus, which divided Syria and Cilicia; it is joined with Lebanon by JosephusF16Antiqu.
l. 1. c. 6. sect. 2. , and with that and Carmel by AelianusF17De
Animal. l. 5. c. 56. .
Numbers 34:8 8 from Mount Hor you shall mark out your border to
the entrance of Hamath; then the direction of the border shall be toward Zedad;
YLT
8from mount Hor ye mark out
to go in to Hamath, and the outgoings of the border have been to Zedad;
From Mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of
Hamath,.... Antiochia, as Jarchi; or rather Epiphania, as JeromF18Comment.
in Ezek. 47. 16. ; the former
being described by Hemath the great, Amos 6:2, this
entrance was a narrow pass leading from the land of Canaan to Syria, through
the valley which lies between Lebanon and Antilibanus:
and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad; the same
boundary as here is given in Ezekiel 47:15.
Numbers 34:9 9 the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and it shall end
at Hazar Enan. This shall be your northern border.
YLT
9and the border hath gone
out to Ziphron, and its outgoings have been at Hazar-Enan; this is to you the
north border.
And the border shall go on to Ziphron,.... Which in
the Jerusalem Targum is called Zapherin; and JeromF19Comment. in
ver. 15. says, that in his time this city was called Zephyrium, a town in
Cilicia; but this seems to be at too great a distance:
and the goings out of it shall be at Hazarenan; which was the
utmost of the northern border, and so it is in Ezekiel 47:17 and
there called the border of Damascus: RelandF20Palestin. lllustrat.
par. 1. l. 1. p. 123. takes it to be the same with Enhazor, a city in the tribe
of Naphtali, Joshua 19:37, the
words only inverted:
this shall be your northern border: from the Mediterranean
sea to Hazarenan in Naphtali.
Numbers 34:10 10 ‘You shall mark out your eastern border from Hazar
Enan to Shepham;
YLT
10`And ye have marked out for
yourselves for the border eastward, from Hazar-Enan to Shepham;
And ye shall point out your east border from Hazarenan to Shepham. From the place
where the northern border ended, which Jerom saysF21Comment. ut
supra. (cf. ver. 15.) the Hebrews call Apamia, as both the Targums of Jonathan
and Jerusalem do here. Shepham was a city between Hazarenan and Riblah in the
tribe of Naphtali, where AdrichomiusF23Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p.
114. places it.
Numbers 34:11 11 the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the
east side of Ain; the border shall go down and reach to the eastern side of the
Sea of Chinnereth;
YLT
11and 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;
And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah,.... Said to
be in the land of Hemath, Jeremiah 52:9,
which, according to JeromF24Comment. ut supra. (cf. ver. 15.) , was
Antioch of Syria; and both the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem understand by
it Daphne, which was in the suburbs of Antioch; but this seems to be carrying
the limits of the land too far: Jarchi remarks, that when the border goes from
the north towards the south, it is said to go down:
on the east side of Ain; a city in the tribe of
Judah; according to JeromF25De loc. Heb. fol. 88. F. now a village
that goes by the name of Bethennim, two miles from the turpentine tree, that
is, from the tent of Abraham or oak of Mamre, and four from Hebron:
and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the
sea of Chinnereth eastward; the same with the sea of Tiberius, and the
sea of Gennesaret, frequently made mention of in the New Testament, and in Ezekiel 47:18,
called the east sea.
Numbers 34:12 12 the border shall go down along the Jordan, and it
shall end at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land with its surrounding
boundaries.’”
YLT
12and 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.'
And the border shall go down to Jordan,.... A well
known river to the east of the land of Canaan:
and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea; the sea of
Sodom; and though all sea water is generally salt, this was remarkably so,
through the great quantity of bitumen and nitre in it; hence it was called
Asphaltites; thus as the description of the borders of the land began with the
salt sea, Numbers 34:3, it
ends with it:
this shall be your land, with the coasts thereof round about: which,
according to the Targum of Jonathan, was thus bounded, Rekamgea (or
Kadeshbarnea) on the south, Taurus Urnanus (by which he interprets Mount Hor)
on the north, the great sea on the west (i.e. the Mediterranean sea), and the
salt sea on the east.
Numbers 34:13 13 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying:
“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.
YLT
13And 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;
And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying,.... Strictly
enjoining them to observe what he was about to say to them:
this is the land which ye shall inherit by lot; as above
described and bounded:
which the Lord commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the
half tribe; to the tribes of Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, Dan, Ephraim, Zebulun,
Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh; though this
command is not before expressed, it is very probable it was delivered to Moses
at the same time he had the mind of God concerning the settlement of the tribes
of Reuben and Gad, and the other half tribe of Manasseh, on the other side
Jordan; see Numbers 32:31.
Numbers 34:14 14 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.
YLT
14for 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;
For the tribe of the children of Reuben, according to the house of
their fathers,.... That tribe, and all the families belonging to it:
have received their inheritance, and half the tribe of Manasseh have received
their inheritance; that is, it was agreed they should have it on condition of
their going along with the other tribes over Jordan into the land of Canaan,
and assist them in the conquest of it, Numbers 32:1.
Numbers 34:15 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.”
YLT
15the two tribes and the half
of the tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan, [near] Jericho,
eastward, at the [sun]-rising.'
The two tribes and the half tribe,.... The tribes of Reuben
and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh:
have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho,
eastward, toward the sun rising; that is, they received the grant of it
there, even in the plains of Moab, opposite Jericho, which lay to the east of
the land of Canaan.
Numbers 34:16 16 And the Lord spoke to
Moses, saying,
YLT 16And Jehovah speaketh unto
Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... At the same time
that he gave him the bounds of the land of Canaan, which was to be divided
between the nine tribes and a half; and that this might be done in the most
impartial manner, and to the satisfaction of them all, he gave orders to Moses:
saying; as follows.
Numbers 34:17 17 “These are the names of the men who shall
divide the land among you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the
son of Nun.
YLT
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,
These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto
you,.... Or "inherit the land for you"F26ינחלו לכם "haereditabunt
vobis", Montanus; "qui haereditario jure accipient pro vobis",
Tigurine not. ; that is, as Jarchi interprets it, they were to take possession
of it in their name and stead, as their representatives, and then distribute it
unto them, or divide it to be inherited by them; but whatever may be said for
the princes of the tribes, as acting for their respective tribes, and
representing them, the same cannot be said of the two first named, as follow:
Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun; the one the
principal person in ecclesiastical affairs, and the other in civil ones; to
divide the land being partly a sacred work, as it was a type of the heavenly
Canaan, and a civil one, as it concerned the present welfare of the people of
Israel; and both were types of Christ, the priest upon his throne, who is both
priest and King; who, as the one, gives a right unto it, and, as the other,
introduces into it.
Numbers 34:18 18 And you shall take one leader of every tribe to divide
the land for the inheritance.
YLT
18and one prince -- one
prince -- for a tribe ye do take to give the land by inheritance.
And ye shall take one prince out of every tribe,.... That is,
out of the nine tribes and the half, which are ten in all; of the tribes of
Reuben and Gad none were taken, because they had had their inheritance granted
them elsewhere; nor of the tribe of Levi, because they were to have no
inheritance in the land: to divide the land by inheritance; who being men of
honour, understanding, and probity, and naturally concerned for the good of the
tribes to which they belonged, would take care that justice be done to each,
and that no fraudulent methods were used in drawing the lot; and then take
possession according to the lot, and impartially divide the portion assigned
among the respective families in the tribes, according to their rank and
numbers.
Numbers 34:19 19 These are the names of the men: from the tribe
of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;
YLT
19`And these [are] the names
of the men: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh;
Verses 19-28
And the names of the men are these,.... Which were not left
to the tribes to choose, but were nominated by the Lord himself, who best knew
their capacities and qualifications for this service:
of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh: who was one
of the two spies that brought a good report of the land, and Joshua is the
other; and these were the only two of the spies living, and who are the first
that were appointed to this service, of overseeing the division of the land;
the rest were all of the new generation, that were sprung up, whose fathers
fell in the wilderness, and we know no more of them than their names; and
therefore from hence, to the end of Numbers 34:28, no
further remarks are necessary, only that the tribes and the princes are
reckoned in a different order than they were at any time before, either at the
first numbering of them, Numbers 1:1 or at
the offerings for the dedication of the altar, Numbers 7:1 or at
the taking the sum of them, Numbers 26:1 even
according to the order of their situation in the land of Canaan by their lots,
and which Moses did not live to see; and which therefore shows the prescience
and predisposing providence of God, and that Moses, as Bishop Patrick observes,
was guided by a divine Spirit in all his writings.
Numbers 34:20 20 from the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the
son of Ammihud;
YLT
20and of the tribe of the
sons of Simeon, Shemuel son of Aminihud;
Numbers 34:21 21 from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon;
YLT
21of the tribe of Benjamin,
Elidad son of Chislon;
Numbers 34:22 22 a leader from the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki
the son of Jogli;
YLT
22and of the tribe of the
sons of Dan, the prince Bukki son of Jogli;
Numbers 34:23 23 from the sons of Joseph: a leader from the tribe of
the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod,
YLT
23of the sons of Joseph, of
the tribe of the sons of Manasseh, the prince Hanniel son of Ephod;
Numbers 34:24 24 and a leader from the tribe of the children of
Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan;
YLT
24and of the tribe of the
sons of Ephraim, the prince Kemuel son of Shiphtan;
Numbers 34:25 25 a leader from the tribe of the children of Zebulun,
Elizaphan the son of Parnach;
YLT
25and of the tribe of the
sons of Zebulun, the prince Elizaphan son of Parnach;
Numbers 34:26 26 a leader from the tribe of the children of Issachar,
Paltiel the son of Azzan;
YLT
26and of the tribe of the
sons of Issachar, the prince Paltiel son of Azzan;
Numbers 34:27 27 a leader from the tribe of the children of Asher,
Ahihud the son of Shelomi;
YLT
27and of the tribe of the sons
of Asher, the prince Ahihud son of Shelomi;
Numbers 34:28 28 and a leader from the tribe of the children of
Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.”
YLT
28and of the tribe of the
sons of Naphtali, the prince Pedahel son of Ammihud.'
Numbers 34:29 29 These are the ones the Lord commanded to divide the inheritance among the children of Israel in
the land of Canaan.
YLT
29These [are] those whom
Jehovah hath commanded to give the sons of Israel inheritance in the land of
Canaan.
These are they whom the Lord commanded,.... Not only
named and appointed them, but laid his commands upon them, and obliged them:
to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel; even this
order was made before the land was conquered by them, so sure and certain was
it unto them; and accordingly they did divide it, and that in Shiloh, before
the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, as in the presence
of God, doing it in the most impartial and solemn manner; see Joshua 19:51.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》