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UTN uW Translation Notes:

Numbers 34 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

4. At the plains of Moab (22:1–36:13) * The borders of Canaan (34:1–15) * The leaders for inheriting the land (34:16–29) In this chapter, Yahweh tells Moses what the borders of Canaan, the land the Israelites must conquer and live in, should be. Moses explains this to the Israelites, along with a reminder about the two and one half tribes on the east side of the Jordan River. Then, Yahweh appoints twelve men to oversee the process of deciding which tribes and clans receive which parts of Canaan.

Religious and Cultural Concepts in This Chapter

The borders of Canaan

In the first part of this chapter, Yahweh outlines the borders of Canaan. He describes a shape that is almost a rectangle. He starts at the southeast corner, which is the bottom of the Sea of Salt. The south side is a curved line from there to the Mediterranean Sea. The west side simply follows the Mediterranean sea. The north side begins in the west at the Mediterranean sea and goes east, somewhere above the Sea of Chinnereth. The east side begins somewhere above the Sea of Chinnereth and goes south to the southern part of the Sea of Salt. While the Israelites did not succeed in conquering all this territory, this is the area that Yahweh instructed them to conquer.

Inheriting the land

In the second half of this chapter, Yahweh speaks of leaders “inheriting the land.” This phrase refers to the process of dividing the land up into sections. The leaders would then assign each section to a tribal group or family. They would do this using lots (see the chapter introduction to Numbers 33 for more information on lots). Yahweh ensures that at least one leader from each tribe was involved in this process.

Translation Issues in This Chapter

Unknown locations

Much like in chapter 33, many of the place names in the first half of this chapter are unknown. Not only is it uncertain where the places were, it is also uncertain what kind of places they were. Each of the place names could be a town, a wadi, a hill, an oasis, or something else. Because of this uncertainty, it is recommended that you refer to most of these places as generically as you can.