Numbers 33–35

The Travels Are Recounted

33These were the journeys of the Israelites,^a who went out from the land of Egypt according to their divisions, by the hand of Moses and Aaron. ²Moses wrote down their movements according to their journeys on the command of Yahweh, and these are their journeys according to their movements. ³They set out from Rameses on the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the next day after the Passover the Israelites^b went out boldly^c in the sight^d of all the Egyptians ⁴while the Egyptians were burying all the firstborn among them whom Yahweh struck. Yahweh also executed punishments among their gods.

⁵Then the Israelites^e set out from Rameses, and they camped in Succoth. ⁶They journeyed from Succoth and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the desert. ⁷Then they set out from Etham and returned to Pi-Hahiroth, which faces Baal Zephon, and they camped before Migdol. ⁸They set out from Pi-Hahiroth and went through the midst of the sea into the desert; and they went a journey of three days into the desert of Etham and camped at Marah. ⁹They set out from Marah and came to Elim, and in Elim there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there. ¹⁰They set out from Elim, and they camped at the Red Sea.^{f 11}They set out from the Red Sea^g and camped at the desert of Sin. ¹²They set out from the desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah. ¹³They set out from Dophkah and camped at Alush. ¹⁴They set out from Alush and encamped at Rephidim; and it was there that the people had no water to drink. ¹⁵They set out from Rephidim and camped in the desert of Sinai. ¹⁶They set out from the desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.

¹⁷They set out from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. ¹⁸They set out from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. ¹⁹They set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez. ²⁰They set out from Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah. ²¹They set out from Libnah and camped at Rissah. ²²They set out from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. ²³They set out from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shapher. ²⁴They set out from Mount Shapher and camped at Haradah. ²⁵They set out from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. ²⁶They set out from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. ²⁷They set out from Tahath and camped at Terah. ²⁸They set out from Terah and camped at Mithcah. ²⁹They set out from Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah. ³⁰They set out from Hashmonah and camped at Moserah. ³¹They set out from Moserah and camped at Bene-Jaakan. ³²They set out from Bene-Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad. ³³They set out from Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah. ³⁴They set out from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. ³⁵They set out from Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber. ³⁶They set out from Ezion Geber and camped in the desert of Zin, that is, Kadesh. ³⁷They set out from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom.

³⁸Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command^h of Yahweh, and he died there in the fortieth year after the Israelitesⁱ had gone out from the land of Egypt, in the fifth month on the first day of the month. ³⁹Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old^j when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰Now the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who was living in the Negev^k in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the Israelites.^l

⁴¹Then they set out from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. ⁴²They set out from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. ⁴³They set out from Punon and camped at Oboth. ⁴⁴They set out from Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim, the boundary of Moab. ⁴⁵They set out from Iyim and camped at Dibon Gad. ⁴⁶They set out from Dibon Gad and camped at Almon-Diblatayim. ⁴⁷They set out from Almon-Diblatayim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. ⁴⁸They set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped on the desert-plateau of Moab by the Jordan across Jericho. ⁴⁹They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-Jeshimoth up to Abel Shittim, on the desert-plateau of Moab.

⁵⁰Then Yahweh spoke to Moses on the desert-plateau of Moab by the Jordan across Jericho, saying, ⁵¹“Speak to the Israelites^m and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ⁵²you will drive out the inhabitants of the land from your presence, and you will destroy all their idols and all the images of their molten idols, and you will demolish all their high places; ⁵³you will dispossess the land and live in it because I have given the land to you to possess it. ⁵⁴You will distribute the land by lot according to your clans; to the larger group you will give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller group you will give less inheritance. However the lot falls for him, there the lot will be. You will distribute it according to the tribes of your ancestors.^{n 55}But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from your presence, then it will happen that whomever you let remain of them will be like irritants in your eyes and like thorns in your sides; they will be your enemies in the land in which you live. ⁵⁶And just as I planned to do to them, I will do to you.’ ”

The Land of Canaan Is Divided

34Then Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ²“Command the Israelites^a and say to them, ‘When you come into the land of Canaan, this is the land that was allotted to you as an inheritance, the land of Canaan according to its boundaries. ³Your southern edge will be from the desert of Zin toward the side of Edom, and your southern border will be from the end of the Salt Sea^b to the east; ⁴your boundary will turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim^c and will pass over to Zin, and its limits will be from the south of Kadesh Barnea; it will continue to Hazar Addar and pass over to Azmon. ⁵The boundary will turn from Azmon to the valley of Egypt, and its limits will be to the sea.

⁶“ ‘Your western boundary will be the Great Sea;^d this will be your western boundary. ⁷Your northern border will be from the Great Sea;^e you will make a boundary from the Great Sea^f to Mount Hor. ⁸From Mount Hor you will make a boundary to reach Hamath; the limits of the territory will be at Zedad. ⁹The boundary will go out to Ziphron, and its limits will be at Hazar Enan. This will be your boundary to the north.

¹⁰“ ‘You will mark out your eastern boundary from Hazar Enan to Shepham; ¹¹the boundary will go down from Shepham to Riblah from the east side of Ain, and the boundary will go down and border on the eastern side of the Sea of Kinnereth. ¹²The boundary will go down to the Jordan, and its limits will be at the Salt Sea.^g This will be your land according to its boundaries all around.’ ”

¹³So Moses commanded the Israelites,^h saying, “This is the land that you will obtain as an inheritance for yourself by lot, which Yahweh commanded to give to the nine and a half tribes. ¹⁴For the tribe of the children of the Reubenites,ⁱ the children of the Gadites,^j and the half-tribe of Manasseh took their inheritance according to the house of their families.^{k 15}The two and a half tribes have taken their inheritance from beyond the Jordan across Jericho, east toward the sunrise.”

¹⁶Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁷“These are the names of the men who will divide up the land for you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. ¹⁸You will take one leader from every tribe to divide up the land for inheritance. ¹⁹These are the names of the men: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; ²⁰of the tribe of the descendants of Simeon, Samuel son of Ammihud; ²¹of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Chislon; ²²of the tribe of the descendants^l of Dan, the leader Bukki son of Jogli; ²³of the descendants^m of Joseph, the tribe of the descendantsⁿ of Manasseh, the leader Hanniel son of Ephod. ²⁴Of the tribe of the descendants^o of Ephraim, the leader Kemuel son of Shiphtan; ²⁵of the tribe of the descendants^p of Zebulun, the leader Elizaphan son of Parnach; ²⁶of the tribe of the descendants^q of Issachar, the leader Paltiel son of Azzan; ²⁷of the tribe of the descendants^r of Asher, the leader Ahihud son of Shelomi; ²⁸of the tribe of the descendants^s of Naphtali, the leader Pedahel son of Ammihud.” ²⁹These are those whom Yahweh commanded to allot to the Israelites^t the land of Canaan.

Cities for the Levites

35Yahweh spoke to Moses on the desert plains of Moab beyond the Jordan across Jericho, saying, ²“Command the Israelites^a that they give to the Levites from the inheritance of their property cities to live in; and you will give to the Levites pastureland all around the cities.^{b 3}The cities will be theirs to live in, and their pasturelands will be for their domestic animals, for their possessions, and their animals.^c

⁴“The pasturelands of the cities that you will give to the Levites will extend from the wall of the city to a distance of a thousand cubits all around. ⁵You will measure outside the city the eastern edge two thousand cubits, for the southern edge two thousand cubits, for the western edge two thousand cubits, and for the northern edge two thousand cubits, with the city in the middle; this will be for them the pasturelands of the cities.

⁶“All the cities that you will give the Levites will be six cities of refuge, to which the killer can flee; in addition to them you will give forty-two cities. ⁷All the cities that you will give to the Levites will be forty-eight cities, them with their pasturelands. ⁸And the cities that you will give from the property of the Israelites,^d you will take more from the larger group and less from the smaller group; each of them will give according to the portion of their inheritance according to the portion that he inherits.”

Cities of Refuge

⁹Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, ¹⁰“Speak to the Israelites^e and say to them, ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ¹¹you will select for yourselves cities for your cities of refuge, that a killer who has killed a person unintentionally can flee there. ¹²The…