^33:1¹ These are the journeys of the Israelites, who went out of the land of Egypt by their divisions under the authority² of Moses and Aaron. ^33:2Moses recorded their departures³ according to their journeys, by the commandment⁴ of the Lord; now these are their journeys according to their departures. ^33:3They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day⁵ after the Passover the Israelites went out defiantly⁶ in plain sight⁷ of all the Egyptians. ^33:4Now the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had killed among them; the Lord also executed judgments on their gods.

^33:5The Israelites traveled from Rameses and camped in Succoth.

^33:6They traveled from Succoth, and camped in Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. ^33:7They traveled from Etham, and turned again to Pi-hahiroth, which is before Baal-Zephon; and they camped before Migdal. ^33:8They traveled from Pi-hahiroth,⁸ and passed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and camped in Marah. ^33:9They traveled from Marah and came to Elim; in Elim there are twelve fountains of water and seventy palm trees, so they camped there.

^33:10They traveled from Elim, and camped by the Red Sea. ^33:11They traveled from the Red Sea and camped in the wilderness of Zin. ^33:12They traveled from the wilderness of Zin and camped in Dophkah. ^33:13And they traveled from Dophkah, and camped in Alush.

^33:14They traveled from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink. ^33:15They traveled from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.

Wanderings in the Wilderness

^33:16They traveled from the desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah. ^33:17They traveled from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. ^33:18They traveled from Hazeroth and camped in Rithmah. ^33:19They traveled from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez. ^33:20They traveled from Rimmon-perez and camped in Libnah. ^33:21They traveled from Libnah and camped at Rissah. ^33:22They traveled from Rissah and camped in Kehelathah. ^33:23They traveled from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. ^33:24They traveled from Mount Shepher and camped in Haradah. ^33:25They traveled from Haradah and camped in Makheloth. ^33:26They traveled from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. ^33:27They traveled from Tahath and camped at Terah. ^33:28They traveled from Terah and camped in Mithcah. ^33:29They traveled from Mithcah and camped in Hashmonah. ^33:30They traveled from Hashmonah and camped in Moseroth. ^33:31They traveled from Moseroth and camped in Bene-jaakan. ^33:32They traveled from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad. ^33:33They traveled from Hor-haggidgad and camped in Jotbathah. ^33:34They traveled from Jotbathah and camped in Abronah. ^33:35They traveled from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber. ^33:36They traveled from Ezion-geber and camped in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.

Wanderings from Kadesh to Moab

^33:37They traveled from Kadesh and camped in Mount Hor at the edge of the land of Edom. ^33:38Aaron the priest ascended Mount Hor at the command⁹ of the Lord, and he died there in the fortieth year after the Israelites had come out of the land of Egypt on the first day of the fifth month. ^33:39Now Aaron was 123 years old when he died in Mount Hor. ^33:40The king of Arad, the Canaanite king who lived in the south of the land of Canaan, heard about the approach of the Israelites.

^33:41They traveled from Mount Hor and camped in Zalmonah. ^33:42They traveled from Zalmonah and camped in Punon. ^33:43They traveled from Punon and camped in Oboth. ^33:44They traveled from Oboth and camped in Iye-abarim, on the border of Moab. ^33:45They traveled from Iim¹⁰ and camped in Dibon-gad. ^33:46They traveled from Dibon-gad and camped in Almon-diblathaim. ^33:47They traveled from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim before Nebo. ^33:48They traveled from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River¹¹ across from Jericho.¹²^33:49They camped by the Jordan, from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

At the Border of Canaan

^33:50The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. He said: ^33:51“Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, ^33:52you must drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images, all their molten images,¹³ and demolish their high places. ^33:53You must dispossess the inhabitants of the land and live in it, for I have given you the land to possess it. ^33:54You must divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families. To a larger group you must give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group you must give a smaller inheritance. Everyone’s inheritance must be in the place where his lot falls. You must inherit according to your ancestral¹⁴ tribes. ^33:55But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land before you, then those whom you allow to remain will be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your side, and will cause you trouble in the land where you will be living. ^33:56And what I intended to do to them I will do to you.”

The Southern Border of the Land

^34:1¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses: ^34:2“Give these instructions² to the Israelites, and tell them: ‘When you enter Canaan, the land that has been assigned to you as an inheritance,³ the land of Canaan with its borders, ^34:3your southern border⁴ will extend from the wilderness of Zin along the Edomite border, and your southern border will run eastward to the extremity of the Salt Sea, ^34:4and then the border will turn from the south to the Scorpion Ascent,⁵ continue to Zin, and then its direction⁶ will be from the south to Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and pass over to Azmon. ^34:5There the border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and then its direction is to the sea.⁷

The Western Border of the Land

^34:6“ ‘And for a western border⁸ you will have the Great Sea.⁹ This will be your western border.

The Northern Border of the Land

^34:7“ ‘And this will be your northern border: From the Great Sea you will draw a line to Mount Hor; ^34:8from Mount Hor you will draw a line to Lebo Hamath,¹⁰ and the direction of the border will be to Zedad. ^34:9The border will continue to Ziphron, and its direction will be to Hazar Enan. This will be your northern border.

The Eastern Border of the Land

^34:10“ ‘For your eastern border you will draw a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. ^34:11The border will run down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain, and the border will descend and reach the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth.¹¹^34:12Then the border will continue down the Jordan River¹² and its direction will be to the Salt Sea. This will be your land by its borders that surround it.’ ”

^34:13Then Moses commanded the Israelites: “This is the land which you will inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to be given¹³ to the nine and a half tribes, ^34:14because the tribe of the Reubenites by their families,¹⁴ the tribe of the Gadites by their families, and half of the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance. ^34:15The two and a half tribes have received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan, east of Jericho,¹⁵ toward the sunrise.”

Appointed Officials

^34:16The Lord said to Moses: ^34:17“These are the names of the men who are to allocate the land to you as an inheritance:¹⁶ Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun. ^34:18You must take one leader from every¹⁷ tribe to assist in allocating the land as an inheritance.¹⁸^34:19These are the names of the men: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; ^34:20from the tribe of the Simeonites, Shemuel son of Ammihud; ^34:21from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad son of Kislon; ^34:22and from the tribe of the Danites, a leader, Bukki son of Jogli. ^34:23From the Josephites, Hanniel son of Ephod, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh; ^34:24from the tribe of the Ephraimites, a leader, Kemuel son of Shiphtan; ^34:25from the tribe of the Zebulunites, a leader, Elizaphan son of Parnach; ^34:26from the tribe of the Issacharites, a leader, Paltiel son of Azzan; ^34:27from the tribe of the Asherites, a leader, Ahihud son of Shelomi; ^34:28and from the tribe of the Naphtalites, a leader, Pedahel son of Ammihud.” ^34:29These are the ones whom the Lord commanded to divide up the inheritance among the Israelites in the land of Canaan.

The Levitical Cities

^35:1¹ Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the Moabite plains by the Jordan near Jericho.² He said: ^35:2“Instruct the Israelites to give³ the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites⁴ will possess. You must also give the Levites grazing land around the towns. ^35:3Thus they will have towns in which to live, and their grazing lands will be for their cattle, for their possessions, and for all their animals. ^35:4The grazing lands around the towns that you will give to the Levites must extend to a distance of 500 yards⁵ from the town wall.

^35:5“You must measure⁶ from outside the wall of the town on the east 1,000 yards,⁷ and on the south side 1,000 yards, and on the west side 1,000 yards, and on the north side 1,000 yards, with the town in the middle.⁸ This territory must belong to them as grazing land for the towns. ^35:6Now from these towns that you will give to the Levites you must select six towns of refuge to which a person who has killed someone may flee.⁹ And you must give them forty-two other towns.

^35:7“So the total of the towns you will give the Levites is forty-eight. You must give these together with their grazing lands. ^35:8The towns you will give must be from the possession of the Israelites. From the larger tribes you must give more; and from the smaller tribes fewer. Each must contribute some of…

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Footnotes

1 This material can be arranged into four sections: from Egypt to Sinai (vv. 1–15), the wilderness wanderings (vv. 16–36), from Kadesh to Moab (vv. 37–49), and final orders for Canaan (vv. 50–56).
2 Heb “hand.”
3 Heb “their goings out.”
4 Heb “mouth.”
5 Heb “morrow.”
6 Heb “with a high hand”; the expression means “defiantly; boldly” or “with confidence.” The phrase is usually used for arrogant sin and pride, the defiant fist, as it were. The image of the high hand can also mean the hand raised to deliver the blow (Job 38:15).
7 Heb “in the eyes.”
8 So many medieval Hebrew manuscripts, , , and Latin . Other witnesses have “from before Hahiroth.”
9 Heb “mouth.”
10 Iim is a shortened form of the name Iye-abarim mentioned in v. 44.
11 The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
12 For the location of Jericho see ; ; ; ; ; .
13 The Hebrew text repeats the verb “you will destroy.”
14 Heb “of your fathers.”
1 This chapter falls into several sections: the south (vv. 1–5), the west (v. 6), the north (vv. 7–9), the east (vv. 10–15), and then a list of appointed officials (vv. 16–29).
2 Or “command.”
3 Heb “this is the land that will fall to you as an inheritance.”
4 The expression refers to the corner or extremity of the Negev, the South.
5 Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [’aqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).
6 Heb “its going forth,” or the way it runs.
7 That is, the Mediterranean.
8 The word for west is simply “sea,” because the sea is west of Israel.
9 That is, the Mediterranean Sea (also in the following verse).
10 Or “to the entrance to Hamath.”
11 Or “the Sea of Galilee” (so ); , , “Lake Galilee.” The word means “harp.” The lake (or sea) of Galilee was so named because it is shaped somewhat like a harp.
12 The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
13 The infinitive forms the direct object of what the Lord commanded. It actually means “to give,” but without an expressed subject may be made passive.
14 Heb “the house of their fathers.” So also a little later in this verse.
15 For the location of Jericho see ; ; ; ; ; .
16 The verb can be translated simply as “divide,” but it has more the idea of allocate as an inheritance, the related noun being “inheritance.”
17 This sense is created by repetition: “one leader, one leader from the tribe.”
18 The sentence simply uses לִנְחֹל (linkhol, “to divide, apportion”). It has been taken already to mean “allocate as an inheritance.” Here “assist” may be added since Joshua and Eleazar had the primary work.
1 This section has two main parts, the Levitical cities (vv. 1–8) and the Cities of Refuge (vv. 9–34).
2 For location see ; ; ; ; ; .
3 The verb is the perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive: “command … and they will give,” or “that they give.”
4 Heb “they”; the referent (the Israelites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 Heb “one thousand cubits.” The standard cubit in the OT is assumed by most authorities to be about eighteen inches (45 cm) in length, so this would be a distance of 1,500 feet or 500 yards (675 meters).
6 The verb is the Qal perfect of מָדַד (madad, “to measure”). With its vav (ו) consecutive it carries the same instructional force as the imperfect.
7 Heb “two thousand cubits” (also three more times in this verse). This would be a distance of 3,000 feet or 1,000 yards (1,350 meters).
8 The precise nature of the layout described here is not altogether clear. V. 4 speaks of the distance from the wall as being 500 yards; v. 5, however, describes measurements of 1,000 yards. Various proposals have been made in order to harmonize vv. 4 and 5. P. J. Budd, Numbers (), , makes the following suggestion: “It may be best to assume that the cubits of the Levitical pasture lands are cubit frontages of land—in other words on each side of the city there was a block of land with a frontage of two thousand cubits (v 5), and a depth of 1000 cubits (v 4).”
9 The “manslayer” is the verb “to kill” in a participial form, providing the subject of the clause. The verb means “to kill”; it can mean accidental killing, premeditated killing, or capital punishment. The clause uses the infinitive to express purpose or result: “to flee there the manslayer,” means “so that the manslayer may flee there.”