Numbers 34:11
in Numbers 34then go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Chinnereth.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward;
KJV
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:
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This verse in Numbers 34
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
ye shall point out your east border
on Numbers 34:10-16
The east line comes down past the sea of Chinnereth, which the Gospels call the sea of Galilee, then follows Jordan to the salt sea where the south line began. Everything inside those four borders is Canaan, and verse 13 gives it to nine tribes and a half, because Reuben, Gad and half Manasseh had asked in chapter 32 for the pasture on the far side of Jordan. Joshua 22:24-25 records the fear those tribes carried afterward, that Jordan had been made a border and their children would be told they had no part in the LORD.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
east border--This is very clearly defined. Shepham and Riblah, which were in the valley of Lebanon, are mentioned as the boundary line, which commenced a little higher than the sources of the Jordan.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The sea of Chinnereth - The same as the sea of Galilee, sea of Tiberias, and sea of Gennesareth.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
You shall turn yourselves toward the eastern border from Chatzar Einan to Shefam.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָרַ֨ד | veyarad | and it will go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| הַגְּבֻ֧ל | hagevul | the border | H1366 → | 240 times |
| מִשְּׁפָ֛ם | mishefam | from Shepham | H8221 → | |
| הָרִבְלָ֖ה | harivlah | <the> Riblah | H7247 → | |
| מִקֶּ֣דֶם | mikedem | from [the] east | H6924 → | 87 times |
| לָעָ֑יִן | laayin | of <the> Ain | H5871 → | |
| וְיָרַ֣ד | veyarad | and it will go down | H3381 → | 381 times |
| הַגְּב֔וּל | hagevul | the border | H1366 → | 240 times |
| וּמָחָ֛ה | umachah | and it will reach | H4229 → | |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כֶּ֥תֶף | ketef | [the] shoulder of | H3802 → | |
| יָם־ | yom- | [the] sea of | H3220 → | 396 times |
| כִּנֶּ֖רֶת | kineret | Kinnereth | H3672 → | |
| קֵֽדְמָה׃ | kedemah | east -ward | H6924 → | 87 times |
וְיָרַ֨דand it will go down
veyaradH3381 →381 times
הַגְּבֻ֧לthe border
hagevulH1366 →240 times
מִשְּׁפָ֛םfrom Shepham
mishefamH8221 →
הָרִבְלָ֖ה<the> Riblah
harivlahH7247 →
מִקֶּ֣דֶםfrom [the] east
mikedemH6924 →87 times
לָעָ֑יִןof <the> Ain
laayinH5871 →
וְיָרַ֣דand it will go down
veyaradH3381 →381 times
הַגְּב֔וּלthe border
hagevulH1366 →240 times
וּמָחָ֛הand it will reach
umachahH4229 →
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כֶּ֥תֶף[the] shoulder of
ketefH3802 →
יָם־[the] sea of
yom-H3220 →396 times
כִּנֶּ֖רֶתKinnereth
kineretH3672 →
קֵֽדְמָה׃east -ward
kedemahH6924 →87 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 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
Deuteronomy 3:17The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.
it leads to
- Joshua 12:3
as well as the Arabah east of the Sea of Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), eastward through Beth-jeshimoth, and southward below the slopes of Pisgah.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 14:3
The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
- Joshua 3:16
the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
- Joshua 12:3
Through
2 Kings 23:33And Pharaoh Neco imprisoned Jehoahaz at Riblah in the land of Hamath so that he could not reign in Jerusalem, and he imposed on Judah a levy of a hundred talents of silver and…
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:65
So at that time Solomon and all Israel with him—a great assembly of people from Lebo-hamath to the Brook of Egypt—kept the feast before the LORD our God for seven days and seven more…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Kings 25:6
The Chaldeans seized the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where they pronounced judgment on him.
- 1 Kings 8:65
Through
Joshua 11:2to the kings of the north in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Chinnereth, in the foothills, and in Naphoth-dor to the west;
it leads to
- Judges 1:27
At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.
- Joshua 17:11
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
- Judges 1:27
Through
Joshua 19:35The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth,
it leads to
- Joshua 11:2
to the kings of the north in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Chinnereth, in the foothills, and in Naphoth-dor to the west;
- Joshua 11:2
About Numbers
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.