Num 34 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Num 34:1-29: 34:1-29 Chapter 34 gives the borders of the land of Canaan , which Israel was to settle according to the guidelines in 26:52-56 . Ever since the call of Abraham (Gen 12:1-7 ), the Promised Land of Canaan had stood at the heart of the Old Testament story. Though an entire generation of Hebrews died in the wilderness because they refused to believe the report of the faithful spies (Num 13 ), God had reaffirmed his promise of land (33:53 ). Here, God reviewed the plan and identified the boundaries of the Promised Land in an idealized form (cp. Josh 13–19 ; Ezek 47–48 ). Old Testament Israel did not possess the exact extent of the territory described here (though it came close in the days of David and Solomon; e.g., 2 Sam 24:1-9 ), but these borders describe the region of Canaan as generally defined by Egyptian texts dating 1500–1200 BC (the period of the Hebrew invasion). The region actually occupied by Israel changed from time to time.

Summary for Num 34:1-29: 34:1-29 ^a Chapter 34 ^b gives the borders of the land of Canaan, which Israel was to settle according to the guidelines in 26:52-56 ^c. Ever since the call of Abraham (Gen 12:1-7 ^d), the Promised Land of Canaan had stood at the heart of the Old Testament story. Though an entire generation of Hebrews died in the wilderness because they refused to believe the report of the faithful spies (Num 13 ^e), God had reaffirmed his promise of land (33:53 ^f). Here, God reviewed the plan and identified the boundaries of the Promised Land in an idealized form (cp. Josh 13–19 ^g; Ezek 47–48 ^h). Old Testament Israel did not possess the exact extent of the territory described here (though it came close in the days of David and Solomon; e.g., 2 Sam 24:1-9 ⁱ), but these borders describe the region of Canaan as generally defined by Egyptian texts dating 1500–1200 BC (the period of the Hebrew invasion). The region actually occupied by Israel changed from time to time.
Summary for Num 34:3-5: 34:3-5 ^j Portions of the southern boundary of Canaan were familiar to Israel from earlier experiences in the wilderness of Zin on the northwestern edge of Edom (see chs 13–14 ^k). This southern frontier ran east to west in an arc from the southern end of the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
34:4 ^l From the southern end of the Dead Sea, the boundary ran through Scorpion Pass toward Zin (cp. 13:21 ^m). The southernmost point was Kadesh-barnea (cp. 13:26 ⁿ). Hazar-addar and Azmon are unknown.
34:5 ^o The Brook of Egypt (not to be confused with the Nile) designates the wadi that separates the land of Canaan from Egypt; it drains toward the Mediterranean Sea (cp. 1 Kgs 8:65 ^p). In Old Testament times, Israel exercised little control over this southern coastal region.
Summary for Num 34:6-9: 34:6-9 ^q The natural western boundary of Canaan was the Mediterranean coast (34:6 ^r). The northern boundary began at the Mediterranean and ran eastward to Mount Hor somewhere in the Lebanon range (not the place of Aaron’s death, 20:22-29 ^s).

• Lebo-hamath: Cp. 13:21 ^t; 1 Kgs 8:65 ^u; Amos 6:14 ^v.
34:11 ^w Sea of Galilee: Its eastern edge (literally shoulder) is the ridge that rises rather abruptly from its eastern shoreline.
34:12 ^x The natural eastern border of Canaan followed the Jordan River down to the Dead Sea. As part of the Great Rift Valley, the Jordan and the Dead Sea were formidable, though not impassable, barriers. This boundary excluded the lands east of the Jordan that were occupied by Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Those settlements were not part of Canaan per se and stood outside the Promised Land as originally defined.
Summary for Num 34:13-15: 34:13-15 ^y you are to divide ... by sacred lot: Cp. 26:55-56 ^z. Because of the settlement of two and a half tribes (Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh) in Transjordan (cp. 32:33 ^aa), Canaan was to be divided among the nine and a half remaining tribes.
Summary for Num 34:16-29: 34:16-29 ^ab Eleazar (the high priest) and Joshua (the political leader) were to divide the land among the remaining tribes. The ten tribal leaders who would help them are listed in 34:19-28 ^ac.
Summary for Num 34:19-28: 34:19-28 ^ad Caleb son of Jephunneh is the only tribal leader who appears elsewhere in Numbers (13:6 ^ae, 30 ^af; 14:6-38 ^ag). Nearly all of the older generation had already died during the wilderness period (Num 26:63-65 ^ah), but the two faithful spies were still leading their people.