Numbers 34:1-15

B. BORDERS OF CANAAN ESTABLISHED (Numbers 34:1-15)

TEXT

Numbers 34:1. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2. Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan: (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:) 3, Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: 4. And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon: 5. And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. 6. And as for the western border, ye shall have even the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border. 7. And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: 8. From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad:

9. And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border. 10. And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham: 11. And the coast shall go down from Shapham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward: 12. And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about. 13. And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the Lord commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe: 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 half of the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance: 15. The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 34:1. Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying, 2. Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, -When you enter the land of Canaan, this is the land which shall fall to you as an inheritance: the land of Canaan and its borders. 3. The southern section shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside the border of Edom, and your south border shall be from the tip of the Dead Sea eastward. 4. There your border shall turn from the south to the slopes of Akrabbim and continue to Zin; its limits shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall reach Hazaraddar, and continue on to Azmon. 5. And the border shall turn from Azmon to the wady of Egypt, and its boundary shall be at the Sea. 6. As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea as its border: this shall be your west border. 7. And this shall be your north border: you shall draw the boundary line from the Great Sea to Mount Hor: 8. from Mount Hor you shall mark out your border to the entrance of Hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad.

9. Then the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at Hazer-enan. This shall be your north border. 10. For your eastern border, you shall also draw a line from Hazer-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 the eastward projection of the Sea of Chinnereth. 12. And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at the Salt Sea: this shall be your land with its surrounding borders.-' 13. So Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which the Lord commanded to give to the nine and one-half tribes; 14. for the tribe of the children of Reuben, according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of Gad, according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance. 15. The two and one-half tribes have received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan, east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.

COMMENTARY

Since two and one-half tribes have already received their inheritances east of the Jordan, they are not involved in the description of the borders of Canaan. This term is properly applied only to that land west of the Jordan. The remaining nine and one-half tribes are to be bounded within the area set forth in the description before us.

The southern boundary was established from the southern tip of the Dead Sea in a southwesterly direction to Kadesh, generally following the western border of Edom. From Kadesh, it turned northwest at nearly a right angle toward the river of Egypt, the Wady el-Arish, which was to be commonly cited as a boundary between Egypt and Canaan later (see 2 Chronicles 7:8; Isaiah 27:12). The line met the Mediterranean coast at a point almost directly west of the spot from which it left the Dead Sea.

On the west, the Israelites were to view the Great Sea, or the Mediterranean, as their boundary. The Hebrew word for west (yam) is the same as that for sea, and this secondary use is no doubt traceable to the identity of the two in bounding Canaan. Strangely, the Israelites never held the coastal plains along the Mediterranean. The southern portion, the Philistine Plain, was held by the Philistines; the central plains area, the Plain of Sharon, was in the hands of the Canaanites; the northern portion, the Phoenician Plain, was never taken from those people. Even at the peak of the Kingdom during the reigns of David and Solomon, the coastal territories were not fully occupied by Israel. Nevertheless both the word and the concept were perpetuated, even in the language of the people.

Along the northern border, we are not told from what point the line was to leave the Sea. The Mount Hor here mentioned is not to be confused with the peak of the same name where Aaron died, since the two are not less than 120 miles apart. Since the location of each is subject to question, however, an exact figure cannot be given. The one in Numbers 33:7 must have been in Lebanon, and it was probably recognizable from the Sea at the point of the border's origin. The entrance of Hammath cannot be precisely located today. Perhaps it is that point at which the Orontes River leaves its upper valley, in the Lebanon mountains, and enters the plains in the vicinity of Hamath. If this is true, the northern boundary of the land was far beyond the ordinary holdings, lying more than one hundred miles north and east of the Sea of Galilee. Identification of the other points mentioned is at best tenuous, with the fountain of the court, or Hazar-enan offering the most likely identifiable spot as the area of Banias where the source of the Jordan rises.

On the east, the boundary is vague from Hazar-enan to the sea of Chinnereth (Galilee). Those points mentioned, Shepham, and Riblah are unknown. Ain may be the traditional place at which the various sources of the Jordan converge, south of Mount Hermon. The Jordan itself is then named as the final unit of the boundary, along with the Salt Sea.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

622.

Why are the boundaries not given for the two and one-half tribes which settled east of the Jordan?

623.

Make a list of the points given in the itemized boundaries which can be identified today.

624.

Why are so many of the points unidentifiable?

625.

Why did the Israelites never occupy the coastal plains along the Great Sea?

626.

Draw a map of the land included in these boundaries, showing the locations of the known places named, and, where possible, the suggested locations of those places not positively identifiable today.