Numbers 33–35

The Places Where Israel Stopped During Their Journey

33Here are the places where the people of Israel stopped during their journey. When they came out of Egypt, they marched in companies like an army. Moses and Aaron led them. ²The Lord commanded Moses to record their journey. Here are the places where they stopped.

³The people of Israel started out from Rameses. It was the 15th day of the first month. It was the day after the Passover Feast. They marched out boldly in plain sight of all of the Egyptians. ⁴The Egyptians were burying all of their oldest sons. The Lord had struck them down. He had done it when he punished their gods.

⁵The people of Israel left Rameses and camped at Succoth.

⁶They left Succoth and camped at Etham. Etham was on the edge of the desert.

⁷They left Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth. It was east of Baal Zephon. They camped near Migdol.

⁸They left Pi Hahiroth. Then they passed through the Red Sea into the desert. They traveled for three days in the Desert of Etham. Then they camped at Marah.

⁹They left Marah and went to Elim. Twelve springs and 70 palm trees were there. So they camped at Elim.

¹⁰They left Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

¹¹They left the Red Sea and camped in the Desert of Sin.

¹²They left the Desert of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

¹³They left Dophkah and camped at Alush.

¹⁴They left Alush and camped at Rephidim. But there was no water there for the people to drink.

¹⁵They left Rephidim and camped in the Desert of Sinai.

¹⁶They left the Desert of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.

¹⁷They left Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

¹⁸They left Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

¹⁹They left Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.

²⁰They left Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.

²¹They left Libnah and camped at Rissah.

²²They left Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

²³They left Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

²⁴They left Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

²⁵They left Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

²⁶They left Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

²⁷They left Tahath and camped at Terah.

²⁸They left Terah and camped at Mithcah.

²⁹They left Mithcah and camped at Hashmonah.

³⁰They left Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

³¹They left Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.

³²They left Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Haggidgad.

³³They left Hor Haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

³⁴They left Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

³⁵They left Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.

³⁶They left Ezion Geber and camped at Kadesh. Kadesh was in the Desert of Zin.

³⁷They left Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor. It was on the border of Edom.

³⁸The priest Aaron went up Mount Hor when the Lord commanded him to. That’s where he died. It happened on the first day of the fifth month. It was the 40th year after the people of Israel came out of Egypt. ³⁹Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

⁴⁰The Canaanite king of Arad lived in the Negev Desert in Canaan. He heard that the people of Israel were coming.

⁴¹They left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

⁴²They left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

⁴³They left Punon and camped at Oboth.

⁴⁴They left Oboth and camped at Iye Abarim. It was on the border of Moab.

⁴⁵They left Iyim and camped at Dibon Gad.

⁴⁶They left Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.

⁴⁷They left Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountain range of Abarim near Nebo.

⁴⁸They left the mountain range of Abarim and camped on the flatlands of Moab. They were by the Jordan River across from Jericho. ⁴⁹They camped there along the Jordan River from Beth Jeshimoth to Abel Shittim.

⁵⁰On the flatlands of Moab the Lord spoke to Moses. He spoke to him by the Jordan River across from Jericho. The Lord said, ⁵¹“Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘Go across the Jordan River into Canaan. ⁵²Drive out all those who are living in the land. The statues of their gods are made out of stone and metal. Destroy all of those statues. And destroy all of the high places where they are worshiped.

⁵³“ ‘Take the land as your own. Settle down in it. I have given it to you. ⁵⁴Use lots when you give out the land. Do it based on the number of men who are in each tribe and family. Give a larger share to a larger group. And give a smaller group a smaller share. The share they receive by using lots will belong to them. Give out the shares based on the number of men in Israel’s tribes.

⁵⁵“ ‘But suppose you do not drive out the people who are living in the land. Then those you allow to remain there will become like needles in your eyes. They will become like thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live. ⁵⁶Then I will do to you what I plan to do to them.’ ”

Israel Arrives at the Borders of Canaan

34The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ²“Give the people of Israel a command. Tell them, ‘You are going to enter Canaan. The land will be given to you as your own. Here are the borders it will have.

³“ ‘Your southern border will include some of the Desert of Zin. It will be along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern border will start from the end of the Dead Sea. ⁴It will cross south of Scorpion Pass. It will continue on to Zin. From there it will go south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go to Hazar Addar and over to Azmon. ⁵There it will turn and join the Wadi of Egypt. It will come to an end at the Mediterranean Sea.

⁶“ ‘Your western border will be the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. That will be your border on the west.

⁷“ ‘For your northern border, run a line from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor. ⁸Continue it from Mount Hor to Lebo Hamath. Then the border will go to Zedad. ⁹It will continue to Ziphron. It will come to an end at Hazar Enan. That will be your border on the north.

¹⁰“ ‘For your eastern border, run a line from Hazar Enan to Shepham. ¹¹The border will go down from Shepham to Riblah. Riblah is on the east side of Ain. From there the border will continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Galilee. ¹²Then the border will go down along the Jordan River. It will come to an end at the Dead Sea.

“ ‘That will be your land. And those will be its borders on every side.’ ”

¹³Moses gave the people of Israel a command. He said, “Use lots when you give out the land. Each tribe will have its own share. The Lord has ordered it to be given to the nine and a half tribes.

¹⁴“The families of the tribes of Reuben and Gad have already received their shares. The families of half of the tribe of Manasseh have also received their share. ¹⁵Those two and a half tribes have received their shares east of the Jordan River. It flows near Jericho. Their land is toward the sunrise.”

¹⁶The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ¹⁷“Here are the names of the men who will give out the shares of the land to your people. They are the priest Eleazar and Joshua, the son of Nun. ¹⁸Also appoint one leader from each tribe to help give out the land. ¹⁹Here are their names.

“Caleb, the son of Jephunneh,

is from the tribe of Judah.

²⁰Shemuel, the son of Ammihud,

is from the tribe of Simeon.

²¹Elidad, the son of Kislon,

is from the tribe of Benjamin.

²²Bukki, the son of Jogli,

is the leader from the tribe of Dan.

²³Hanniel, the son of Ephod,

is the leader from the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh was the son of Joseph.

²⁴Kemuel, the son of Shiphtan,

is the leader from the tribe of Ephraim. Ephraim was the son of Joseph.

²⁵Elizaphan, the son of Parnach,

is the leader from the tribe of Zebulun.

²⁶Paltiel, the son of Azzan,

is the leader from the tribe of Issachar.

²⁷Ahihud, the son of Shelomi,

is the leader from the tribe of Asher.

²⁸Pedahel, the son of Ammihud,

is the leader from the tribe of Naphtali.”

²⁹Those are the men the Lord commanded to give out the shares of the land. They were commanded to give them to Israel in the land of Canaan.

The Levites Receive Their Towns

35On the flatlands of Moab, the Lord spoke to Moses. It was by the Jordan River across from Jericho. The Lord said, ²“Command the people of Israel to give the Levites towns to live in. The towns must come from the shares of land the people will have as their own. Also give the Levites the grasslands that are around the towns. ³Then the Levites will have towns to live in. They will also have grasslands that are for their cattle, flocks and all of their other livestock.

⁴“The grasslands that are around each town you give them will go out to 1,500 feet from the town wall. ⁵Outside each town, the east side will measure 3,000 feet. The south side will measure 3,000 feet. The west side will measure 3,000 feet. And the north side will measure 3,000 feet. The town must be in the center. The Levites will have the area around it as grasslands.

Cities to Go to for Safety

⁶“Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities to go to for safety. A person who has killed someone can run to one of them. Also give the Levites 42 other towns. ⁷You must give the Levites a total of 48 towns. Also give them the grasslands that are around the towns.

⁸“The towns you give the Levites must come from the land the people of Israel have as their own. So the number you give from each tribe will depend on the size of that tribe’s share. Take many towns from a tribe that has many. But take only a few towns from a tribe that has only a few.”

⁹Then the Lord spoke to Moses. He said, ¹⁰“Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, ‘You will soon go across the Jordan River. You will enter Canaan. ¹¹When you do, choose the cities to go to for safety. People who have killed someone by accident can run to one of those cities. ¹²They will be places of safety for them. People will be safe there from those who want to kill them. Then those who are charged with murder will not die before their case has been brought to the community court.

¹³“ ‘Six towns will be the cities you can go to for safety. ¹⁴Three will be east of the Jordan River. The other three will be in Canaan.

¹⁵“ ‘Those six towns will be places where the people of Israel can go for safety. Outsiders and any other people living in Israel can also go…