NUMBERS LESSON 42
We will begin this lesson in Numbers 34:1 "And the LORD spake
unto Moses, saying," Numbers 34:2 "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:)"
"Canaan" was the more ancient name for Palestine. The land of
Canaan was loosely the land west of the Jordan river. It, also,
included a small amount of land on the other side of Jordan. It
included Moab, Sihon, land of Ammon, kingdom of Og, as well as all the
land from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea. This was the land God
had promised the Israelites for their inheritance.
Numbers 34:3 "Then your south quarter shall be from the
wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border
shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:"
The wilderness of Zin was next to the land of Edom. The Salt Sea
was included in the territory on the other side.
Numbers 34:4 "And your border shall turn from the south to the
ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof
shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-
addar, and pass on to Azmon:"
Kadesh-Barnea is the same place the Israelites camped. It is the
same as Kadesh. It is a number of miles beyond the Salt Sea. This is
giving minute details of the area to be taken.
Numbers 34:5 "And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon
unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the
sea."
The river of Egypt was a river that ran during the rainy seasons.
It was connected to the Sinai desert region.
Numbers 34:6 "And [as for] the western border, ye shall even have
the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border."
The great sea is speaking of the Mediterranean Sea. This sea is
the western border of the promised land.
Numbers 34:7 "And this shall be your north border: from the great
sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor:"
This is, possibly, speaking of the mountain we know as Hermon.
This reference is to the whole Lebannon range.
Numbers 34:8 "From mount Hor ye shall point out [your border]
unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall
be to Zedad:"
Hamath was a fertile land joining Lebanon.
Numbers 34:9 "And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the
goings out of it shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north
border."
This city is, possibly, Zifron which is about 40 miles northeast
of Damascus. Hazer-enan is east, northeast of Damascus.
Numbers 34:10 "And ye shall point out your east border from
Hazar-enan to Shepham:"
Shephan is to the northeast near Riblah.
Numbers 34:11 "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:"
This is not the same Riblah as Rilah of Hamath. The sea of
Chinnereth is the same as the Gennesaret, or the sea of Galilee.
Numbers 34:12 "And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the
goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land
with the coasts thereof round about."
The one thing we must remember in this, is that the land of
promise {originally} was from the Jordan river to the great sea. The
tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half tribe of Manasseh inherited land on
the side of the Jordan river away from the sea. Their territory would
actually lie east of the Jordan. Even the Salt Sea was included in the
land.
Numbers 34:13 "And Moses commanded the children of Israel,
saying, This [is] the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the
LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe:"
The land, described in this lesson, did not include the land
given to Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. The land
mentioned is the original chosen land. The four sides of original
promised land was the Jordan River on one side, to the Mediterranean
on the opposite side. It reached all the way to Lebanon on one side,
to the land of Edom on the other.
Numbers 34:14 "For the tribe of the children of Reuben according
to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad
according to the house of their fathers, have received [their
inheritance]; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their
inheritance:"
This is speaking of the land east of the Jordan River from Syria
on the one side to Edom on the other. This land is the their
inheritance, the same as the land on the other side of the Jordan is
the inheritance of the other 9 1/2 tribes.
Numbers 34:15 "The two tribes and the half tribe have received
their inheritance on this side Jordan [near] Jericho eastward, toward
the sunrising."
Jericho is just west of the Jordan river, a few miles from the
Salt Sea. This is just saying, they are east of the Jordan River.
Numbers 34:16 "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying," Numbers
34:17 "These [are] the names of the men which shall divide the land
unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun."
God is explaining to Moses exactly who is to divide the land. We
saw in a previous lesson, that the location of their inheritance was
to be decided by lots. Joshua and Eleazar are to handle the actual
division. The size of the land inherited by each family will be
determined by how many members they have in their family. Eleazar took
the place of Aaron, and Joshua will take the place of Moses. They will
do the actual allotting of the land.
Numbers 34:18 "And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to
divide the land by inheritance."
The prince of each tribe will receive the allotment of territory
from Eleazar and Joshua. It appears, this prince will subdivide the
land for each family.
Numbers 34:19 "And the names of the men [are] these: Of the tribe
of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh."
Caleb was one of the 12 spies that searched out the promised
land, and brought back a good report. It is good that he would be
listed first. This name above, and the other names of the heads of the
tribes, were those who met with Eleazar and Joshua to receive their
allotment of land.
Numbers 34:20 "And of the tribe of the children of Simeon,
Shemuel the son of Ammihud." Numbers 34:21 "Of the tribe of Benjamin,
Elidad the son of Chislon." Numbers 34:22 "And the prince of the tribe
of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli." Numbers 34:23 "The
prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of
Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod."
We must remember in this, that this Hanniel received the land for
the half tribe of Manasseh on the western side of the Jordan.
Numbers 34:24 "And the prince of the tribe of the children of
Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan." Numbers 34:25 "And the prince of
the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach."
Numbers 34:26 "And the prince of the tribe of the children of
Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan." Numbers 34:27 "And the prince of
the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi."
Numbers 34:28 "And the prince of the tribe of the children of
Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud." Numbers 34:29 "These [are
they] whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the
children of Israel in the land of Canaan."
We must remember, one more time, that the prince of each of the
tribes met with Eleazar and Joshua, and received their allotment of
land. They, in turn went back to their people, and divided the land to
each family. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the 1/2 tribe of Manasseh
had already received their land on the eastern side of the Jordan.
Numbers 42 Questions
1. What land was the inheritance of Israel?
2. Canaan was the ancient name for ________.
3. What were some of the lands on the eastern side of Jordan, the
Israelites would inherit?
4. The south quarter shall be from the wilderness of _____.
5. What land did this join?
6. Where had the Israelites camped, that is mentioned in verse 4?
7. Where was this south of?
8. What was unusual about the river of Egypt?
9. What is the great sea speaking of?
10. What was the western border?
11. Mount Hor, in verse 7, is speaking of what?
12. Hamath joined what country?
13. The original land of promise was from the great sea to where?
14. The sea of Chinnereth is the same as ____________, or the sea of
___________.
15. Who received land on the eastern side of the Jordan?
16. How was it to be determined, which land they got?
17. What were the four sides of the original promised land?
18. Where is Jericho?
19. How much land will each tribe inherit?
20. Who takes the place of Aaron?
21. Who takes Moses' place?
22. The _________ of each tribe will subdivide the land.
23. What is special about Caleb?
24. Name the other princes, who accept the inheritance for their
people.
25. Who did the prince of each tribe meet with to divide the land?
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