Numbers 34:2
in Numbers 34“Command the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan, it will be allotted to you as an inheritance with these boundaries:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan according to the borders thereof),
KJV
Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:)
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This verse in Numbers 34
Commentary
7 notes on this verseCoasts - Or limits or bounds, to wit, of the land beyond Jordan. Which are here particularly described, 1. to direct and bound them in their wars and conquests, that they might not seek the enlargement of their empire, after the manner of other nations, but be contented with their own portion.
This site's exposition
And the Lord spake unto Moses
on Numbers 34:1-5
The borders are drawn before a single field is taken, and the land is said to fall unto Israel for an inheritance, which is the language of the lot that verse 13 states outright. The south line runs from the wilderness of Zin past Kadesh-barnea to the river of Egypt, so the edge of the inheritance touches the place where the spies came back and the sentence of chapter 14 was passed. Abram was promised ground reaching to the Euphrates at Genesis 15:18, and the lines given here stop well short of it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
To encourage them in their attempt upon Canaan, and assure them of their success. There was a much larger possession promised them, if they were obedient, even to the river Euphrates. But this, which is properly Canaan, lay in a very little compass.
Command the children of Israel, and say unto them,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
this is the . . . land of Canaan--The details given in this chapter mark the general boundary of the inheritance of Israel west of the Jordan. The Israelites never actually possessed all the territory comprised within these boundaries, even when it was most extended by the conquests of David and Solomon.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The land of Canaan with the coasts thereof - All description here is useless. The situation and boundaries of the land of Canaan can only be known by actual survey, or by consulting a good map.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The land of Canaan - The name Canaan is here restricted to the territory west of the Jordan.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
“This is like [the expression]: and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, 50 II Chronicles:8. See above in Seder Beha’alothcha, Note, for the grammatical reason why the verse requires the additional expression “a prophecy” after the initial words and a prophecy.
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
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| צַ֞ו | tzav | command | H6680 → | 494 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנֵ֤י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲלֵהֶ֔ם | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אַתֶּ֥ם | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| בָּאִ֖ים | baim | [are] about to go | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | into | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָאָ֣רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כְּנָ֑עַן | kenaan | Canaan | H3667 → | 94 times |
| זֹ֣את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| הָאָ֗רֶץ | haaretz | [is] the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| תִּפֹּ֤ל | tipol | it will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| לָכֶם֙ | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| בְּֽנַחֲלָ֔ה | benachalah | <in> an inheritance | H5159 → | 222 times |
| אֶ֥רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כְּנַ֖עַן | kenaan | Canaan | H3667 → | 94 times |
| לִגְבֻלֹתֶֽיהָ׃ | ligvuloteiha | to borders its | H1367 → | 10 times |
צַ֞וcommand
tzavH6680 →494 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנֵ֤י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֲלֵהֶ֔םto them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אַתֶּ֥םyou
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
בָּאִ֖ים[are] about to go
baimH935 →2568 times
אֶל־into
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָאָ֣רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
כְּנָ֑עַןCanaan
kenaanH3667 →94 times
זֹ֣אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
הָאָ֗רֶץ[is] the land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
תִּפֹּ֤לit will fall
tipolH5307 →435 times
לָכֶם֙to <the> you
lakhem
בְּֽנַחֲלָ֔ה<in> an inheritance
benachalahH5159 →222 times
אֶ֥רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
כְּנַ֖עַןCanaan
kenaanH3667 →94 times
לִגְבֻלֹתֶֽיהָ׃to borders its
ligvuloteihaH1367 →10 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
Genesis 17:8And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
it leads to
- Genesis 12:7
Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Leviticus 26:12
I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.
- Psalms 105:11
“I will give you the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.”
- Exodus 6:7
I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of…
- Genesis 12:7
Through
Psalms 105:11“I will give you the land of Canaan as the portion of your inheritance.”
it leads to
- Genesis 13:15
for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 15:18
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land—from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates—
- Psalms 78:55
He drove out nations before them and apportioned their inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
- Genesis 26:3–4
Stay in this land as a foreigner, and I will be with you and bless you. For I will give all these lands to you and your offspring, and I will confirm the oath…
- Genesis 13:15
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; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.