And the Lord spake unto Moses ,.... At the same time that he gave him the bounds of the land of Canaan, which was to be divided between the nine tribes and a half; and that this might be done in the most impartial manner, and to the satisfaction of them all, he gave orders to Moses: saying ; as follows. read more
These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you ,.... Or "inherit the land for you" F26 ינחלו לכם "haereditabunt vobis", Montanus; "qui haereditario jure accipient pro vobis", Tigurine not. ; that is, as Jarchi interprets it, they were to take possession of it in their name and stead, as their representatives, and then distribute it unto them, or divide it to be inherited by them; but whatever may be said for the princes of the tribes, as acting for their... read more
And ye shall take one prince out of every tribe ,.... That is, out of the nine tribes and the half, which are ten in all; of the tribes of Reuben and Gad none were taken, because they had had their inheritance granted them elsewhere; nor of the tribe of Levi, because they were to have no inheritance in the land: to divide the land by inheritance; who being men of honour, understanding, and probity, and naturally concerned for the good of the tribes to which they belonged, would take care... read more
And the names of the men are these ,.... Which were not left to the tribes to choose, but were nominated by the Lord himself, who best knew their capacities and qualifications for this service: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh : who was one of the two spies that brought a good report of the land, and Joshua is the other; and these were the only two of the spies living, and who are the first that were appointed to this service, of overseeing the division of the land; the... read more
These are they whom the Lord commanded ,.... Not only named and appointed them, but laid his commands upon them, and obliged them: to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel ; even this order was made before the land was conquered by them, so sure and certain was it unto them; and accordingly they did divide it, and that in Shiloh, before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, as in the presence of God, doing it in the most impartial and solemn manner;... read more
And the names of the men - are these - It is worthy of remark that Moses does not follow any order hitherto used of placing the tribes, neither that in Numbers 1, nor that in Numbers 7, nor that in Numbers 26, nor any other; but places them here exactly in that order in which they possessed the land. Judah Simeon Benjamin Dan Manasseh Ephraim Zebulun Issachar Asher Naphtali Judah is first, having the first lot; and he dwelt in the south part of the land, Joshua 15:1 ,... read more
Verse 16 16And the Lord spake unto Moses. The question here arises, if the Israelites were to divide the land among themselves by lot, wherefore was the authority of the judges required, as if there was anything for them to decide? But if we consider what has been lately shown, that reference was to be had, in the distribution of the land, to the numbers in every tribe, it was requisite for two purposes, — first, that God might show by His decree the districts respectively assigned to them;... read more
Of the representatives now selected through Moses beforehand, who were all princes, i. e. heads of chief families, in their respective tribes (see Numbers 13:2), Caleb alone, of the tribe of Judah, is otherwise known to us (see Numbers 13:4 ff). The order in which the tribes are named is peculiar to this passage. If they be taken in pairs, Judah and Simeon, Benjamin and Dan, Manasseh and Ephraim, Zebulun and Issachar, Asher and Naphtali, the order of the pairs agrees with the order in which the... read more
Numbers 34:17. These are the men that shall divide the land Although the division of the land was to be made by lot, (Numbers 34:13,) yet it was proper there should be some persons appointed to oversee this business, and to take care that there should be no fraud nor quarrels in the drawing of the lots. The management of it, therefore, is ordered to be in the hands of the high-priest, of the governor, or chief general, and a principal officer chosen out of each tribe, as its representative.... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Numbers 34:16-29
God here appoints commissioners for the dividing of the land to them. The conquest of it is taken for granted, though as yet there was never a stroke struck towards it. Here is no nomination of the generals and commanders-in-chief that should carry on the war; for they were to get the land in possession, not by their own sword or bow, but by the power and favour of God; and so confident must they be of victory and success while God fought for them that the persons must now be named who should... read more