Numbers 33:54
in Numbers 33And you are to divide the land by lot according to your clans. Give a larger inheritance to a larger clan and a smaller inheritance to a smaller one. Whatever falls to each one by lot will be his. You will receive an inheritance according to the tribes of your fathers.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And ye shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer thou shalt give the less inheritance: wheresoever the lot falleth to any man, that shall be his; according to the tribes of your fathers shall ye inherit.
KJV
And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.
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This verse in Numbers 33
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
in the plains of Moab
on Numbers 33:50-54
The order is given before Jordan is crossed and it names three things to be destroyed, their pictures, their molten images and their high places, so the shrines go with the images. Adam Clarke reads the word rendered pictures as carved or figured stones set up for worship. Verse 53 grounds the dispossession in a gift already made, for I have given you the land to possess it. Verse 54 holds two methods together, the lot deciding the place and the size of a tribe deciding the amount, which Numbers 26:53-56 had already set out.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
14 And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink. 15 And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai. 16 And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at Kibroth-hattaavah.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And ye shall divide the land by lot,.... What is said in this verse is the same with Num 26:53, where it has been explained; See Gill on Num 26:53; see Gill on Num 26:54; see Gill on Num 26:55; see Gill on Num 26:56.
If they would keep themselves pure from the idols of Canaan, God would enrich them with the wealth of Canaan. Learn not their way, and then fear not their power. They were threatened that, if they spared either the idols or the idolaters, they should be beaten with their own rod and their sin would certainly be their punishment.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
ye shall divide the land by lot--The particular locality of each tribe was to be determined in this manner while a line was to be used in measuring the proportion (Jos 18:10;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהִתְנַחַלְתֶּם֩ | vehitnachaltem | and you will inherit | H5157 → | 59 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֨רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| בְּגוֹרָ֜ל | begoral | by lot | H1486 → | 78 times |
| לְמִשְׁפְּחֹֽתֵיכֶ֗ם | lemishpechoteikhem | to clans your | H4940 → | 303 times |
| לָרַ֞ב | larav | for the many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| תַּרְבּ֤וּ | tarbu | you will make great | H7235 → | 227 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַחֲלָתוֹ֙ | nachalato | inheritance its | H5159 → | 222 times |
| וְלַמְעַט֙ | velamat | and for the few | H4592 → | 101 times |
| תַּמְעִ֣יט | tamit | you will make small | H4591 → | 22 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| נַחֲלָת֔וֹ | nachalato | inheritance its | H5159 → | 222 times |
| אֶל֩ | ʾel | <to> | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יֵ֨צֵא | yetze' | it will come out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| ל֥וֹ | lo | for <the> him | ||
| שָׁ֛מָּה | shamah | there <towards> | H8033 → | 834 times |
| הַגּוֹרָ֖ל | hagoral | the lot | H1486 → | 78 times |
| ל֣וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| יִהְיֶ֑ה | yihyeh | it will belong | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְמַטּ֥וֹת | lematot | to [the] tribes of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֖ם | ʾavoteikhem | fathers your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| תִּתְנֶחָֽלוּ׃ | titnechalu | you will inherit | H5157 → | 59 times |
וְהִתְנַחַלְתֶּם֩and you will inherit
vehitnachaltemH5157 →59 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֨רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
בְּגוֹרָ֜לby lot
begoralH1486 →78 times
לְמִשְׁפְּחֹֽתֵיכֶ֗םto clans your
lemishpechoteikhemH4940 →303 times
לָרַ֞בfor the many
laravH7227 →454 times
תַּרְבּ֤וּyou will make great
tarbuH7235 →227 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַחֲלָתוֹ֙inheritance its
nachalatoH5159 →222 times
וְלַמְעַט֙and for the few
velamatH4592 →101 times
תַּמְעִ֣יטyou will make small
tamitH4591 →22 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
נַחֲלָת֔וֹinheritance its
nachalatoH5159 →222 times
אֶל֩<to>
ʾelH413 →5510 times
אֲשֶׁר־where
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יֵ֨צֵאit will come out
yetze'H3318 →1067 times
ל֥וֹfor <the> him
lo
שָׁ֛מָּהthere <towards>
shamahH8033 →834 times
הַגּוֹרָ֖לthe lot
hagoralH1486 →78 times
ל֣וֹto <the> him
lo
יִהְיֶ֑הit will belong
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לְמַטּ֥וֹתto [the] tribes of
lematotH4294 →252 times
אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֖םfathers your
ʾavoteikhemH1 →1212 times
תִּתְנֶחָֽלוּ׃you will inherit
titnechaluH5157 →59 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
4 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Joshua 18:11The first lot came up for the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 13:12
If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said
- Joshua 16:1–10
The allotment for the descendants of Joseph extended from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east, through the wilderness that goes up from Jericho into the hill country of…
- Joshua 15:1–8
Now the allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah extended to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin at the extreme southern boundary:
- Deuteronomy 10:1–22
At that time the LORD said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, come up to Me on the mountain, and make an ark of wood.
- Deuteronomy 13:12
About Numbers
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.