Numbers 34:1-15

Numbers 34:1-15

[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  of Akrabbim,  and pass on  to Zin:  and the going forth  thereof shall be from the south  to Kadeshbarnea,  and shall go on  to Hazaraddar,  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 even have 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 Hazarenan:  this shall be your north  border.  [10] And ye shall point out  your east  border  from Hazarenan  to Shepham:  [11] And the coast  shall go down  from Shepham  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  according to the house  of their fathers,  have received  their inheritance; and half  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. 

What does Numbers 34:1-15 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Moses described the boundary of the land from south ( Numbers 34:3-5) to west ( Numbers 34:6) to north ( Numbers 34:7-9) to east ( Numbers 34:12). This boundary encompassed the territory the people would divide among the nine and one-half tribes. This was not the same territory promised to Abraham but was what God gave the Israelites at their entrance into the land. If they had been obedient to Him, He would have eventually enlarged their borders to include the whole area promised to Abraham. Even though they disobeyed God He still enlarged their border beyond the boundaries given here later in their history though not yet to the extent promised Abraham.
". . . on any estimate and interpretation, the "Canaan" that was the inheritance given to Israel was larger and more extensive than they were ever able to possess, even in David"s and Solomon"s time." [1]
Some of the sites mentioned are still unknown to archaeologists. Hamath ( Numbers 34:8) was a kingdom and a city, the capital of the kingdom. This reference is probably to the kingdom since there is no biblical record that the city of Hamath ever belonged to Israel.
The land included within these boundaries was about150 miles long and50 miles wide, about7 ,500 square miles. It was the approximate size of New Jersey. One hundred fifty miles is the distance from Dallas to Bryan, Texas. Fifty miles is the distance from West Fort Worth to East Dallas.
"God is portrayed elsewhere in the Pentateuch as one who apportions the boundaries of all the nations ( Genesis 10; Deuteronomy 32:8), and here he is shown doing the same for his own people." [2]