Chapter Thirty-Four
Promise Land Boundaries
34:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), 3 your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border shall run from the end of the Salt Sea on the east. 4 And your border shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim, and cross to Zin, and its limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon. 5 And the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and its limit shall be at the sea.
God tells Moses to, “Command the people of Israel,” that their inheritance of land has specific borders. Unlike the previous descriptions of the boundaries of the Promised Land, God provides Moses with a detailed “word map” of the land, beginning with the southern border.
The southern boundary is described as being from the wilderness of Zin[1] alongside Edom. Beginning from the end of the Salt Sea (Dead Sea), on the east the border will run south past the ascent of Akrabbim (Hebrew “mǎ·’ǎlē(h)[2] ‘ǎq·rǎb·bîm,”[3] could be translated as Scorpion Pass) in the direction of Zin. The southern edge will be from Kadesh-barnea to Hazar-addar[4] (only appearance of name in Scripture, later called Hezron or Hazor, see Joshua 15:2-3, 25) from there to Azmon (unknown exact location) and then toward the Brook of Egypt (considered to be the Wadi el-Arish) ending at the Mediterranean Sea.
34:6 “For the western border, you shall have the Great Sea and its coast. This shall be your western border.
The description of the western border was much simpler, the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.
34:7 “This shall be your northern border: from the Great Sea you shall draw a line to Mount Hor. 8 From Mount Hor you shall draw a line to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border shall be at Zedad. 9 Then the border shall extend to Ziphron, and its limit shall be at Hazar-enan. This shall be your northern border.
Their northern border extended from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor (location where Aaron was buried, see Numbers 20:22-29) and then to Lebo-hamath (meaning “entrance to Hamath”). The phrase, “draw a line,” is the Hebrew word ‘teṯā·’û’,[5] seen only here in verses seven and eight, means to mark out, used figuratively here. The border was to extend through Zedad (referenced in Ezekiel 47:15) and Ziphron (seen only here, no other information) to Hazar-enan (referenced in the next verse and Ezekiel 48:1).
34:10 “You shall draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-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 to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east. 12 And the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its limit shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land as defined by its borders all around.”
The phrase, “You shall draw a line,” is another unique Hebrew word, ‘hiṯ·’ǎw·wî·ṯěm’,[6] also meaning “to mark out,” here again used figuratively. The eastern border begins as Hazar-enan (see verse 9) and runs south to Shepham then down to Riblah on the east side of Ain and then down the eastern edge of the Sea of Galilee and then along the Jordan River to the Dead Sea. These are the outer borders given by God of the Promise Land.
34:13 Moses commanded the people of Israel, saying, “This is the land that you shall inherit by lot, which the LORD has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. 14 For the tribe of the people of Reuben by fathers’ houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers’ houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh. 15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”
Since two and a half tribes will be allocated land outside the Promise Land (beyond the Jordan), Moses only addresses the nine and a half tribes that will inherit the land inside the boundaries. He once again tells them that the land will be allocated by lot.[7]
Considerations
Even though the Hebrew word ‘ṣāwāh’[8] (translated in verses 2 and 13 as ‘command’ and ‘commanded’, respectively) can be found nearly 500 times in the Old Testament, it seems unusual for a command to be relayed to the people about a boundary. Why would God refer to border markers as a command? There are two possible points to consider, the first being that the land’s boundaries must never be changed, neither made larger nor smaller (which, in a sense, was already violated with the “beyond the Jordan” settlements). The second point is that the land was deemed by God as belonging to the people of Israel and everything and everyone that was currently inhabiting the land had to go, no exceptions. Sadly, both points were violated, the border was expanded, and the Israelites, because of their disobedience, were never able to clear out the entire Promised Land. Even though many years later King David was able to conquer a lot of the previously unconquered territory, the total area described in the Bible (this and other similar lists) was never fully captured, even during King Solomon’s reign. The land was promised to the Israelites unconditionally, but inhabiting that land was conditional.[9]
There has been considerable effort through the years to map the Promised Land depicting the outer borders and the boundaries of the various land allocations for the tribes. Undoubtedly many of the maps are indeed close to being correct, however, the actual dividing lines are more of an “educated guess,” than an accurate rendering. Since many of the city and town names have changed, geopolitical boundaries have constantly been modified, people groups and nations having come and gone, and land characteristics changing through natural and man-made processes, the mapping process requires diligent and tireless efforts. Due to the efforts of many active dig sites and archaeologists, more locations are positively identified every year.
List of Tribal Leaders to Aid in Dividing the Land
34:16 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 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. 18 You shall take one chief from every tribe to divide the land for inheritance. 19 These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 20 Of the tribe of the people of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22 Of the tribe of the people of Dan a chief, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23 Of the people of Joseph: of the tribe of the people of Manasseh a chief, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24 And of the tribe of the people of Ephraim a chief, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25 Of the tribe of the people of Zebulun a chief, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26 Of the tribe of the people of Issachar a chief, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27 And of the tribe of the people of Asher a chief, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28 Of the tribe of the people of Naphtali a chief, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” 29 These are the men whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.
Since Moses would not be entering the Promised Land, God told him to enlist Eleazar and Joshua, to divide the land. In addition to them, one leader was chosen by God from each of the remaining tribes to aid in dividing the land (Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh were to settle outside the Promised Land).
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[1] See commentary under Numbers 13:21-24.
[2] Strong’s Hebrew 4608.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 6137.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 2692.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 8376.
[6] Strong’s Hebrew 184.
[7] See commentary under Leviticus 16:6-10; Numbers 33:50-56.
[8] Strong’s Hebrew 6680.
[9] See commentary under Exodus 19:4 and Considerations under Exodus 19:21-25, see also Considerations and Prophetic Overview after Leviticus chapter 23 regarding future occupation of the land.