And as for the western border ,.... Of the land of Canaan: you shall even have the great sea for a border ; and no other, meaning the Mediterranean sea, which lies west of the land of Judea; Aben Ezra calls it the Spanish sea: it has the name of "great", in comparison of some in the land of Canaan, as the salt sea, and the sea of Tiberias: this shall be your west border ; namely, the Mediterranean sea. read more
Ye shall even have the great sea for a border - The Mediterranean Sea, called here the Great Sea, to distinguish it from the Dead Sea, the Sea of Tiberias, etc., which were only a sort of lakes. In Hebrew there is properly but one term, ים yam , which is applied to all collections of water apparently stagnant, and which is generally translated sea. The Greek of the New Testament follows the Hebrew, and employs, in general, the word θαλασσα , Sea, whether it speaks of the Mediterranean,... read more
Numbers 34:4-6. From the south to Kadesh-barnea Rather, shall extend on the south to Kadesh-barnea westward. Unto the river of Egypt That is, the Nile. Not that the Jews did really extend their territories so far as the Nile; but thus far they were allowed to extend them. The goings out of it shall be at the sea The Midland or Mediterranean sea, called the sea, emphatically, and (Numbers 34:6,) the great sea, in opposition to the sea of Galilee, and the Dead sea, which are indeed... read more
Plans for the division of Canaan (33:50-34:29)As Canaan was to become the land of Yahweh’s people, all the former inhabitants and all trace of their religion had to be removed. Failure to do this would bring trouble for Israel (50-56).Moses then gave the boundaries of the land that Israel was to occupy. The southern boundary went from the Dead Sea through Kadesh-barnea to the Brook of Egypt, which it followed to the coast. The western boundary followed the coast along the Mediterranean Sea. The... read more
"And for the western border, ye shall have the great sea and the border thereof: this shall be your west border."The western border required no further description. The Mediterranean Sea was the western border of the Holy Land. Strangely enough, the children of Israel were never able to possess that seacoast. Not even in the glorious reigns of David and Solomon did the land of the Philistine belong to Israel. As we noted in Numbers 32, the settlement of a very large part of Israel east of... read more
Numbers 34:6. The great sea— The Jews call the Mediterranean the great sea, in opposition to the lake of Gennezareth, and the Asphaltic lake, called, the one, the sea of Galilee, the other, the Salt or Dead Sea. read more
6. the western border—There is no uncertainty about this boundary, as it is universally allowed to be the Mediterranean, which is called "the great sea" in comparison with the small inland seas or lakes known to the Hebrews. read more
The borders of the land 34:1-15Moses described the boundary of the land from south (Numbers 34:3-5) to west (Numbers 34:6) to north (Numbers 34:7-9) to east (Numbers 34:12). This boundary encompassed the territory the people would divide among the nine and one-half tribes. This was not the same territory promised to Abraham but was what God gave the Israelites at their entrance into the land. If they had been obedient to Him, He would have eventually enlarged their borders to include the whole... read more
A preview of the land ch. 34God then instructed Moses regarding the extent of the Promised Land and how to divide it among the remaining tribes. read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Numbers 34:1-15
We have here a particular draught of the line by which the land of Canaan was meted, and bounded, on all sides. God directs Moses to settle it here, not as a geographer in his map, merely to please the curious, but as a prince in his grant, that it may be certainly known what passes, and is conveyed, by the grant. There was a much larger possession promised them, which in due time they would have possessed if they had been obedient, reaching even to the river Euphrates, Dan. 11:24. And even so... read more