Numbers 34–35

The Borders of Canaan

34The Lord said to Moses, ²“Give this command to the people of Israel: ‘You will soon enter Canaan and it will be yours. These shall be the borders: ³On the south you will get part of the Desert of Zin near the border of Edom. On the east side your southern border will start at the south end of the Dead Sea, ⁴cross south of Scorpion Pass, and go through the Desert of Zin and south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon. ⁵From Azmon it will go to the brook of Egypt, and it will end at the Mediterranean Sea.

⁶“ ‘Your western border will be the Mediterranean Sea.

⁷“ ‘Your northern border will begin at the Mediterranean Sea and go to Mount Hor. ⁸From Mount Hor it will go to Lebo Hamath, and on to Zedad. ⁹Then the border will go to Ziphron, and it will end at Hazar Enan. This will be your northern border.

¹⁰“ ‘Your eastern border will begin at Hazar Enan and go to Shepham. ¹¹From Shepham the border will go east of Ain to Riblah and along the hills east of Lake Galilee. ¹²Then the border will go down along the Jordan River and end at the Dead Sea.

“ ‘These are the borders around your country.’ ”

¹³So Moses gave this command to the Israelites: “This is the land you will receive. Throw lots to divide it among the nine and one-half tribes, because the Lord commanded that it should be theirs. ¹⁴The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh have already received their land. ¹⁵These two and one-half tribes received land east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho.”

¹⁶Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁷“These are the men who will divide the land: Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. ¹⁸Also take one leader from each tribe to help divide the land. ¹⁹These are the names of the leaders: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; ²⁰from the tribe of Simeon, Shemuel son of Ammihud; ²¹from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Kislon; ²²from the tribe of Dan, Bukki son of Jogli; ²³from the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph, Hanniel son of Ephod; ²⁴from the tribe of Ephraim son of Joseph, Kemuel son of Shiphtan; ²⁵from the tribe of Zebulun, Elizaphan son of Parnach; ²⁶from the tribe of Issachar, Paltiel son of Azzan; ²⁷from the tribe of Asher, Ahihud son of Shelomi; ²⁸from the tribe of Naphtali, Pedahel son of Ammihud.”

²⁹The Lord commanded these men to divide the land of Canaan among the Israelites.

The Levites’ Towns

35The Lord spoke to Moses on the plains of Moab across from Jericho by the Jordan River. He said, ²“Command the Israelites to give the Levites cities to live in from the land they receive. Also give the Levites the pastureland around these cities. ³Then the Levites will have cities where they may live and pastureland for their cattle, flocks, and other animals. ⁴The pastureland you give the Levites will extend fifteen hundred feet from the city wall. ⁵Also measure three thousand feet in each direction outside the city wall—three thousand feet east of the city, three thousand feet south of the city, three thousand feet west of the city, and three thousand feet north of the city, with the city in the center. This will be pastureland for the Levites’ cities.

Cities of Safety

⁶“Six of the cities you give the Levites will be cities of safety. A person who accidentally kills someone may run to one of those cities for safety. You must also give forty-two other cities to the Levites; ⁷give the Levites a total of forty-eight cities and their pastures. ⁸The larger tribes of Israel must give more cities, and the smaller tribes must give fewer cities. Each tribe must give some of its cities to the Levites, but the number of cities they give will depend on the size of their land.”

⁹Then the Lord said to Moses, ¹⁰“Tell the Israelites these things: ‘When you cross the Jordan River and go into Canaan, ¹¹you must choose cities to be cities of safety, so that a person who accidentally kills someone may run to them for safety. ¹²There the person will be safe from the dead person’s relative who has the duty of punishing the killer. He will not die before he receives a fair trial in court. ¹³The six cities you give will be cities of safety. ¹⁴Give three cities east of the Jordan River and three cities in Canaan as cities of safety. ¹⁵These six cities will be places of safety for citizens of Israel, as well as for foreigners and other people living with you. Any of these people who accidentally kills someone may run to one of these cities.

¹⁶“ ‘Anyone who uses an iron weapon to kill someone is a murderer. He must be put to death. ¹⁷Anyone who takes a rock and kills a person with it is a murderer. He must be put to death. ¹⁸Anyone who picks up a piece of wood and kills someone with it is a murderer. He must be put to death. ¹⁹A relative of the dead person must put the murderer to death; when they meet, the relative must kill the murderer. ²⁰A person might shove someone or throw something at someone and cause death. ²¹Or a person might hit someone with his hand and cause death. If it were done from hate, the person is a murderer and must be put to death. A relative of the dead person must kill the murderer when they meet.

²²“ ‘But a person might suddenly shove someone, and not from hatred. Or a person might accidentally throw something and hit someone. ²³Or a person might drop a rock on someone he couldn’t see and kill that person. There was no plan to hurt anyone and no hatred for the one who was killed. ²⁴If that happens, the community must judge between the relative of the dead person and the killer, according to these rules. ²⁵They must protect the killer from the dead person’s relative, sending the killer back to the original city of safety, to stay there until the high priest dies (the high priest had the holy oil poured on him).

²⁶“ ‘Such a person must never go outside the limits of the city of safety. ²⁷If a relative of the dead person finds the killer outside the city, the relative may kill that person and not be guilty of murder. ²⁸The killer must stay in the city of safety until the high priest dies. After the high priest dies, the killer may go home.

²⁹“ ‘These laws are for you from now on, wherever you live.

³⁰“ ‘If anyone kills a person, the murderer may be put to death only if there are witnesses. No one may be put to death with only one witness.

³¹“ ‘Don’t take money to spare the life of a murderer who should be put to death. A murderer must be put to death.

³²“ ‘If someone has run to a city of safety, don’t take money to let the person go back home before the high priest dies.

³³“ ‘Don’t let murder spoil your land. The only way to remove the sin of killing an innocent person is for the murderer to be put to death. ³⁴I am the Lord, and I live among the Israelites. I live in that land with you, so do not spoil it with murder.’ ”