^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.’ ”

Read in Logos

Footnotes

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.