Deeper Commentary
Num 34:1 Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying-
The definition of Canaan stresses that "this is the land" which was
their intended inheritance (:2), and it excludes the area east of Jordan
which the two and a half tribes chose. Clearly this was not God's ideal
intention, and yet He went along with it and worked through it. For as the
Father with the prodigal son, He gives us ultimately what we truly want.
And then helps us through the consequences, as far as we permit Him to.
Such is His grace.
Num 34:2 Command the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you come
into the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an
inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to its borders)-
The land promised to Abraham was from the Euphrates to the
Mediterranean Sea, but here God redefines it as much smaller. He perhaps
perceived that they simply didn’t have the spiritual vision to possess
that vast area. There is so much made possible for us in prospect; maybe
we will ultimately receive less than we could have had because of our
limited vision in this life. Yet He encouraged the people to go exploring
beyond the bounds which He here gave them, right up to the Euphrates,
promising to give them whatever land they walked upon (Dt. 11:24). It
seems none rose up to that challenge. God invites His people to assume
that they would receive this land and make preparations as if they had-
for at this time they had not yet crossed Jordan into it. We are likewise
asked to believe that we have been moved into the sphere of the Kingdom of
God’s Son, and have received an inheritance by reason of our being in Him
(Col. 1:13; Eph. 1:11).
Num 34:3 then your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by
the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt
Sea eastward-
The borders of the land were rewritten by God in accordance with the
spiritual vision and response of Israel. Initially the land was to be as
in Ex. 23:31 "I will set your border from the Red Sea even to the
sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River [Euphrates]".
But now that is redrawn by God, especially the southern border. And when
they actually inherit the land in Joshua's time, there are further
redefinitions. And we note the inheritance of the two and a half tribes
east of Jordan was not God's ideal intention for them, even though that
territory was within that promised to Abraham. God's intentions for His
people are therefore open. He desperately wants to save us, even if we
turn away from the maximum extent of the great salvation He has
potentially prepared.
Num 34:4 and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of
Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin; and the goings out of it shall be
southward of Kadesh Barnea; and it shall go forth to Hazar Addar, and pass
along to Azmon-
Num 34:5 and the border shall turn about from Azmon to the brook of Egypt,
and the goings out of it shall be at the sea-
The reference is not to the Nile, but to the Wady el Arish. "Egypt"
is 'Mizraim' and at that time may not have referred to Egypt as we now
know it, but specifically to an area to the east of Egypt.
Num 34:6 For the western border, you shall have the great sea and its
border: this shall be your west border-
This simple statement was so hard for Israel to accept; because the
coast line of the Mediterranean included Gaza and Ashdod, Philistine
strongholds which they never really conquered until David's time.
Num 34:7 This shall be your north border: from the great sea you shall
mark out for you Mount Hor-
Most commentators on :7,8 lament that "the geographical description
of the northern boundary of the land of Israel is so indefinite, that the
boundary line cannot be determined with exactness" (Delitzsch, typical of
many). Why the unclarity? I suggest it was because as discussed on :3, the
borders were still flexible and God would define them in more detail
according to Israel's vision and obedience.
Num 34:8 from Mount Hor you shall mark out to the entrance of Hamath; and
the goings out of the border shall be at Zedad-
As discussed on :7, the northern border is unclear, not least because
it is not clear whether "Hamath" refers to the town on the Orontes river
in Syria, or to a region called "Hamath", as in 2 Kings 23:33; 2 Chron.
8:4.
Num 34:9 and the border shall go forth to Ziphron, and the goings out of
it shall be at Hazar Enan: this shall be your north border-
Num 34:10 You shall mark out your east border from Hazar Enan to Shepham-
There was an intention that some kind of border fence or marker
system should be put up. This was practically important, because many of
the Mosaic laws were specifically intended to be obeyed within the land of
promise. But there is no evidence Israel ever obeyed this command.
Num 34:11 and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east
side of Ain; and the border shall go down, and shall reach to the side of
the sea of Chinnereth eastward-
Literally, "pressed upon the shoulder of the lake of Chinnereth
towards the east”. The descriptions are written as if the author has a
bird's eye satellite view of the topography. And so that author was
ultimately only God. See on :4.
Num 34:12 and the border shall go down to the Jordan, and the goings out
of it shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its
borders around it’-
The eastern border roughly follows the river Jordan southwards from
the sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. This is significant, because it
reminds us that the two and a half tribes had chosen territory to the east
of that which was not God's ideal intention to give them at that stage. We
are reminded of His eagerness to work with us, despite our less than ideal
decisions.
Num 34:13 Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land
which you shall inherit by lot, which Yahweh has commanded to give to the
nine tribes and to the half-tribe-
The land within God's ideal territory for Israel at the time was to
be distributed to each family by lot. That lot would have been overruled
by God (Prov. 16:33). Just as we each have our specific calling and
eternal place in His purpose, unique to us, so Israel had a specific
inheritance for each family within the land. But those who wanted their
land east of Jordan didn't have this gift of individual lots to each
family to inherit. They tried to arrange the Kingdom their way, and in the
end, it didn't work out well for them.
Num 34:14 for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their
fathers’ families and the tribe of the children of Gad according to their
fathers’ families, have received, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have
received, their inheritance-
It is often not appreciated that the extent of the area given to the
two and a half tribes on the east of Jordan, as defined in Josh. 13:10-12,
was roughly the same as the entire territory given to the nine and a half
tribes on the west of Jordan. The two and a half tribes saw good pasture
land and wanted it there and then, as a king of short cut to the Kingdom
of God. But there are no short cuts to the Kingdom. The conditions they
were given demanded even more faith from them. Their men had to leave
their flocks and families unprotected on the east of Jordan whilst they
fought in the front line vanguard of Joshua's army to secure the territory
on the west of Jordan. And the territory they were asked to possess was
huge, far larger than the pasture lands they initially coveted, and
inhabited by giants (see on Josh. 13:30)- which they probably didn't
realize at the time.
Num 34:15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their
inheritance beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise-
The triple emphasis here that those who chose immediate inheritance
east of Jordan had already received their inheritance may be behind
Christ’s triple emphasis that some “have their reward” in this life rather
than waiting for the future, eternal reward (Mt. 6:2,5,16).
Num 34:16 Yahweh spoke to Moses saying-
We now have a list of the ten princes of the tribes who were to
practically distribute the land allocations. Reuben and Gad aren't listed
here as they had taken the land for themselves east of Jordan; and so were
excluded from the Divine system of distributing individual inheritances by
lot to each family. See on :13.
Num 34:17 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-
"Divided" is s.w. "inheritance" or "inherit", and also "possessed". I
have noted elsewhere the difference between Joshua slaying the kings, and
Israel possessing or inheriting the land- which they generally failed to
do. But here we read that Joshua also 'inherited' it to them. So much was
done for them. We note too the king-priest association, again looking
ahead to the work and dual office of the Lord Jesus.
Num 34:18 You shall take one prince of every tribe to divide the land for
inheritance-
Apart from Caleb, we don't read of these men elsewhere as leaders.
They are called in Josh. 14:1 "the heads of the fathers’ houses of the
tribes of the children of Israel".
Num 34:19 These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the
son of Jephunneh-
The order of the tribes here runs from south to north, especially if
we take the tribes as being mentioned in pairs, as if this was the order
in which the land was to be possessed. But the original intention to take
the land from south to north wasn't followed. Israel were consistently
disobedient and short termist in their approach to the conquest of Canaan.
Num 34:20 Of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of
Ammihud-
In contrast to previous lists of names from this period, we find the
suffix 'El' common in this list of names. But we note that they had
therefore failed to accept or appreciate the revelation of the Yahweh Name
which Moses had given to them.
Num 34:21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon-
'God of love', the son of 'hopeful'. Here we see some spiritual
progress. The people had complained that Yahweh sought to slay them in the
wilderness, and it seems this family had rejected that terrible idea. They
were no longer just hopeful for something better, but had come to
appreciate the love of God. See on :23.
Num 34:22 Of the tribe of the children of Dan a prince, Bukki the son of
Jogli-
"Bukki" means 'wasteful'. Surely no mother would have named her baby
that (as with Mahlon and Chilion). But the Hebrews often had several
names, which were reflective of later life experience, character and
achievement. So we can assume that this man became known like this, and
was likely named this way because he failed to help Dan take the
inheritance intended for them but rather wasted it. The name Bukki stands
in sharp contrast to the spiritual meanings of the names of most of the
other princes.
Num 34:23 Of the children of Joseph: of the tribe of the children of
Manasseh a prince, Hanniel the son of Ephod-
'Grace of God', son of 'shortened', perhaps slain prematurely in the
wilderness for his apostacy. Here we see some spiritual progress, as in
:21. Hanniel realized that the inheritance of the land was by grace alone
given the people's spiritual weakness.
Num 34:24 Of the tribe of the children of Ephraim a prince, Kemuel the son
of Shiphtan-
'Established by God', the same word used in Ex. 6:4 of how God
established His covenant to give Canaan to Israel. The names of the
princes are generally reflective of spirituality, but just as Joshua
enabled their inheritance of the land, Israel as individuals still had to
personally respond to spiritual leadership. And they generally didn't.
Num 34:25 Of the tribe of the children of Zebulun a prince, Elizaphan the
son of Parnach-
'Hidden / treasured by God', the same word used for how Moses was
hidden and preserved. Again we have the sense that this man appreciated
grace, that Israel were only inheriting the land because God had preserved
them to do so, despite all their catalogue of rebellions against Him.
Num 34:26 Of the tribe of the children of Issachar a prince, Paltiel the
son of Azzan-
'Paltiel', delivered by God, as noted on :25, is another reflection
of how God alone had delivered Israel to receive the Kingdom inheritance
which they didn't deserve.
Num 34:27 Of the tribe of the children of Asher a prince, Ahihud the son
of Shelomi-
'Ahihud' is a form of the Hebrew word often used for the glory /
majesty of God. He saw the possession of the Kingdom as a manifestation of
God's glory, rather than being due to Israel's obedience.
Num 34:28 Of the tribe of the children of Naphtali a prince, Pedahel the
son of Ammihud-
'Pedahel' means 'God has ransomed', using the word commonly used for
His ransom of Israel from Egypt (Ex. 13:13,15; 21:8 etc.). Nearly all
these names reflect an awareness of God's saving grace in giving Israel
the Kingdom.
Num 34:29 These are they whom Yahweh commanded to divide the inheritance
to the children of Israel in the land of Canaan-
This is emphasized because it was not God's intention that the people
just grabbed whatever bit of farmland appeared attractive to them.
Likewise we are not to as it were decide how we would like to serve God,
but to accept that we have a specific inheritance uniquely prepared for
us; and to inherit that, rather than hankering for something else. For God
intends only what is best for us in our latter end.
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