Num 34-36 | 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.

‏ Numbers 35

Summary for Num 35:1-8: 35:1-34 ^ai The tribe of Levi received no territory, so ch 35 ^aj describes their allotment of 48 towns dispersed among the territories of Israel’s other tribes (see Josh 21 ^ak; see also Lev 25:32-34 ^al; 1 Chr 13:2 ^am; 2 Chr 11:14 ^an). Just as the Levites had lived in the center of the Israelite camp during the wilderness period (cp. Num 2:17 ^ao), in the Promised Land they were to live among the other tribes and have a leavening influence among them (see Deut 33:9-10 ^ap; 2 Chr 17:7-9 ^aq; 19:8-11 ^ar; 35:3 ^as). The cities and their surrounding pastureland were not a “homeland” (cp. Num 18:23 ^at; 26:62 ^au) but only a tiny fraction of the Canaanite territory dispersed among the other tribes.
Summary for Num 35:4-5: 35:4-5 ^av Readers have long attempted to explain the alleged contradiction between the 1,500 feet and the 3,000 feet. If the Hebrews conceived of a town as a fixed point, then the square of territory around each town would measure 3,000 feet on each side. Another solution is to see a distinction between pastureland (35:4 ^aw) and larger pastureland (35:5 ^ax) around the town. On the basis of this text, some Jewish interpreters restricted the distance that one could walk on the Sabbath to 3,000 feet (2,000 cubits) from home.
Summary for Num 35:6-34: 35:6-34 ^ay Six of the Levites’ towns had a special purpose as cities of refuge, places where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety. This unusual institution illustrates the humanitarian aspect of Hebrew law (see also Deut 4:41-43 ^az; 19:1-13 ^ba; Josh 20 ^bb). These six Levitical towns provided a safe haven in cases of accidental or involuntary manslaughter (cp. Exod 21:12-14 ^bc). Just as the forty-eight Levite towns were widely distributed across Israel’s territories, the six cities of refuge were dispersed so they would be widely accessible (see Josh 20:7-8 ^bd). These designated settlements supplemented the role of the altar as a temporary place of asylum (e.g., 1 Kgs 1:50-53 ^be; 2:28-34 ^bf; cp. Exod 21:14 ^bg). Other ancient peoples provided special places of asylum or refuge, often at the altar (see Exod 21:12-14 ^bh; 1 Kgs 2:28-34 ^bi), but only ancient Israel established whole settlements as places of sanctuary, reflecting a special interest in social justice.
35:12 ^bj protection from a dead person’s relatives who want to avenge the death: Justice was enacted through vengeance at the hand of a designated avenger, usually a relative.
Summary for Num 35:15-24: 35:15-24 ^bk The Old Testament makes a clear distinction between deliberate murder and involuntary manslaughter (35:11 ^bl, 22-23 ^bm; Exod 21:12-14 ^bn; cp. Num 15:22-31 ^bo). Murder required a penalty of execution, but an accidental death did not. The cities of refuge provided protection only for those who killed another person by accident.

• The use of a weapon was proof of malicious intent. 35:15 ^bp Israelites, foreigners living among you, and traveling merchants. Anyone: The same law applied impartially to everyone; Israel had one standard of justice, not two (one for citizens, another for noncitizens), as in many societies (see also Lev 19:15 ^bq; Deut 1:16-17 ^br; 1 Tim 5:21 ^bs; Jas 2:2-4 ^bt).
35:19 ^bu The avenger was the victim’s closest relative; he was responsible for putting the murderer to death, carrying out the vengeance that justice required (Gen 9:6 ^bv).
Summary for Num 35:22-23: 35:22-23 ^bw Here are some instances in which a victim died but was not murdered through an intentional act of violence. The cities of refuge were created as places of safety for people who were responsible for such accidental deaths.
Summary for Num 35:24-25: 35:24-25 ^bx If the slayer was cleared of the murder charge in his trial or hearing before the community (cp. Deut 19:11-12 ^by), he had to remain in the city of refuge to which he fled, and the avenger was not supposed to seek revenge, because the slayer was not guilty of murder.

• until the death of the high priest: The priest’s death probably provided a kind of expiation for the blood that had been shed; even though the slayer was innocent of murder, human bloodshed had polluted the land (Num 35:33 ^bz; cp. Gen 4:10-11 ^ca).
Summary for Num 35:26-29: 35:26-29 ^cb The slayer still suffered a penalty for the death he had caused since he was restricted to a city of refuge until he or the high priest died. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer was free to return to his own home, and the avenger was not to seek revenge.
35:30 ^cc All murderers were condemned to death, but their conviction required a high standard of evidence—the testimony of two or more witnesses (cp. Deut 17:6 ^cd; 19:15 ^ce).
Summary for Num 35:31-32: 35:31-32 ^cf The payment of a ransom (monetary compensation) to free a convicted murderer from execution was prohibited, since the death penalty was required (cp. 2 Sam 21:2-9 ^cg). Similarly, the slayer in an involuntary manslaughter could not pay a ransom to get around his confinement in a city of refuge.
35:33 ^ch for murder pollutes the land: If the slayer in either a homicide or involuntary manslaughter were not dealt with as commanded, God regarded the land as polluted, because human bloodshed required death (Gen 4:10-11 ^ci; 9:6 ^cj; contrast Exod 21:29-30 ^ck; see also Lev 18:28 ^cl; Ezek 36:17-18 ^cm; Hos 4:2-3 ^cn). In its stern warning about the evil of murder, this entire passage highlights the absolute value of human life (Exod 20:13 ^co).
35:34 ^cp The Lord lived among the people of Israel even as the Tabernacle stood in the middle of the Hebrew camp (see chs 1–4 ^cq). This meant that they must not defile their land by ignoring God’s commands or by failing to uphold justice (cp. 5:1-4 ^cr).

‏ Numbers 36

Summary for Num 36:1-13: 36:1-13 ^cs The five daughters of Zelophehad had petitioned for, and had been granted, equitable property rights (27:1-11 ^ct). Here the ramifications of that decision are discussed.
Summary for Num 36:1-4: 36:1-4 ^cu Women who inherited land might marry men from another tribe; their land would then be lost by their ancestral tribe and transferred to their husband’s tribe. The Year of Jubilee (Lev 25:8-55 ^cv) normally provided the means for land to return to its original owner, but it pertained only to land that was sold, not to land acquired through marriage.
36:5 ^cw The Lord readily provided the justice that the men of the tribe of Joseph (i.e., of the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph) sought in their petition.
Summary for Num 36:6-9: 36:6-9 ^cx These stipulations resolved the quandary, guaranteeing the stability and continuity of the tribal land allotments.
Summary for Num 36:10-12: 36:10-12 ^cy As they had been instructed, Zelophehad’s five daughters all married cousins on their father’s side, keeping their father’s allotment within his clan. Marriage to a first cousin was acceptable in ancient Hebrew society (cp. Lev 18 ^cz, 20 ^da; see also 1 Chr 23:22 ^db) as well as in other Near Eastern cultures.
36:13 ^dc Commands and regulations might refer to legal pronouncements from the whole book (cp. Lev 27:34 ^dd) or only to those given on the plains of Moab (Num 26–36 ^de).

• All that remained to make the Israelites ready to enter Canaan was for Moses to remind them of their history and covenant obligations—the subjects of the book of Deuteronomy.