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<TITLE>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible [Numbers, Chapter XXXIV].</TITLE>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1706)
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>N U M B E R S</B></FONT>
<BR>
<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XXXIV.</FONT>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
In this chapter God directs Moses, and he is to direct Israel,
I. Concerning the bounds and borders of the land of Canaan,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+34:1-15">ver. 1-15</A>.
II. Concerning the division and distribution of it to the tribes of
Israel,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+34:16-29">ver. 16</A>, &c.</P>
</FONT>
<A NAME="Nu34_1"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_2"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_3"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_4"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_5"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_6"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_7"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_8"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_9"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_10"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_11"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_12"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_13"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_14"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_15"> </A>
<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Boundaries of Canaan.</I></FONT></TD>
<TD ALIGN=RIGHT><FONT SIZE=-1>B. C.</FONT> 1452.</TD></TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
</TABLE>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>1 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> spake unto Moses, saying,
&nbsp; 2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye
come into the land of Canaan; (this <I>is</I> the land that shall fall
unto you for an inheritance, <I>even</I> the land of Canaan with the
coasts thereof:)
&nbsp; 3 Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin
along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the
outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:
&nbsp; 4 And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of
Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall
be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar,
and pass on to Azmon:
&nbsp; 5 And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the
river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea.
&nbsp; 6 And <I>as for</I> the western border, ye shall even have the great
sea for a border: this shall be your west border.
&nbsp; 7 And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye
shall point out for you mount Hor:
&nbsp; 8 From mount Hor ye shall point out <I>your border</I> unto the
entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be
to Zedad:
&nbsp; 9 And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of
it shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border.
&nbsp; 10 And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to
Shepham:
&nbsp; 11 And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the
east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach
unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward:
&nbsp; 12 And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out
of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the
coasts thereof round about.
&nbsp; 13 And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This
<I>is</I> the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT>
commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe:
&nbsp; 14 For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the
house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad
according to the house of their fathers, have received <I>their
inheritance;</I> and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their
inheritance:
&nbsp; 15 The two tribes and the half tribe have received their
inheritance on this side Jordan <I>near</I> Jericho eastward, toward
the sunrising.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+11:24">Deut. xi. 24</A>.
And even so far the dominion of Israel did extend in David's time and
Solomon's,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Ch+9:26">2 Chron. ix. 26</A>.
But this which is here described is Canaan only, which was the lot of
the nine tribes and a half, for the other two and a half were already
settled,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+34:14,15"><I>v.</I> 14, 15</A>.
Now concerning the limits of Canaan observe,</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
I. That it was limited within certain bounds: for God <I>appoints the
bounds of our habitation,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+17:26">Acts xvii. 26</A>.
The borders are set them,
1. That they might know whom they were to dispossess, and how far the
commission which was given them extended
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+33:53"><I>ch.</I> xxxiii. 53</A>),
that they should <I>drive out the inhabitants.</I> Those that lay
within these borders, and those only, they must destroy; hitherto their
bloody sword must go, and no further.
2. That they might know what to expect the possession of themselves.
God would not have his people to enlarge their desire of worldly
possessions, but to know when they have enough, and to rest satisfied
with it. The Israelites themselves must not be <I>placed alone in the
midst of the earth,</I> but must leave room for their neighbours to
live by them. God sets bounds to our lot; let us then set bounds to our
desires, and bring our mind to our condition.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
II. That it lay comparatively in a very little compass: as it is here
bounded, it is reckoned to be but about 160 miles in length and about
fifty in breadth; perhaps it did not contain more than half as much
ground as England, and yet this is the country which was promised to
the father of the faithful and was the possession of the seed of
Israel. This was that little spot of ground in which only, for many
ages, <I>God was known, and his name was great,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+76:1">Ps. lxxvi. 1</A>.
This was the vineyard of the Lord, the garden enclosed; but, as it is
with gardens and vineyards, the narrowness of the extent was abundantly
compensated by the extraordinary fruitfulness of the soil, otherwise it
could not have subsisted so numerous a nation as did inhabit it. See
here then,
1. How small a part of the world God has for himself. Though the
<I>earth is his, and the fullness thereof,</I> yet few have the
knowledge of him and serve him; but those few are happy, very happy,
because fruitful to God.
2. How small a share of the world God often gives to his own people.
Those that have their portion in heaven have reason to be content with
a small pittance of this earth; but, as here, what is wanting in
quantity is made up in quality; <I>a little that a righteous man
has,</I> having it from the love of God and with his blessing, is far
better and more comfortable <I>than the riches of many wicked,</I>
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ps+37:16">Ps. xxxvii. 16</A>.</P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
III. It is observable what the bounds and limits of it were.
1. Canaan was itself a <I>pleasant land</I> (so it is called
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Da+8:9">Dan. viii. 9</A>),
and yet it bordered upon wilderness and seas, and was surrounded with
divers melancholy prospects. Thus the vineyard of the church is
compassed on all hands with the desert of this world, which serves as a
foil to it, to make it appear the more beautiful for situation.
2. Many of its borders were its defences and natural fortifications, to
render the access of enemies the more difficult, and to intimate to
Israel that the God of nature was their protector, and with his favour
would <I>compass them as with a shield.</I>
3. The border reached to the <I>river of Egypt</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+34:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>),
that the sight of that country which they could look into out of their
own might remind them of their bondage there, and their wonderful
deliverance thence.
4. Their border is here made to begin at the <I>Salt Sea</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+34:3"><I>v.</I> 3</A>),
and there it ends,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+34:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
This was the remaining lasting monument of the destruction of Sodom and
Gomorrah. That pleasant fruitful vale in which these cities stood
became a lake, which was never stirred by any wind, bore no vessels,
was replenished with no fish, no living creature of any sort being
found in it, therefore called the <I>Dead Sea.</I> This was part of
their border, that it might be a constant warning to them to take heed
of those sins which had been the ruin of Sodom; yet the iniquity of
Sodom was afterwards found in Israel
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eze+16:49">Ezek. xvi. 49</A>),
for which Canaan was made, though not a salt sea as Sodom, yet a barren
soil, and continues so to this day.
5. Their western border was the <I>Great Sea</I>
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+34:6"><I>v.</I> 6</A>),
which is now called the <I>Mediterranean.</I> Some consider this sea
itself to have been a part of their possession, and that by virtue of
this grant, they had the dominion of it, and, if they had not forfeited
it by sin, might have rode masters of it.</P>
<A NAME="Nu34_16"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_17"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_18"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_19"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_20"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_21"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_22"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_23"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_24"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_25"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_26"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_27"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_28"> </A>
<A NAME="Nu34_29"> </A>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<FONT SIZE=+1>16 And the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> spake unto Moses, saying,
&nbsp; 17 These <I>are</I> the names of the men which shall divide the land
unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.
&nbsp; 18 And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the
land by inheritance.
&nbsp; 19 And the names of the men <I>are</I> these: Of the tribe of Judah,
Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
&nbsp; 20 And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son
of Ammihud.
&nbsp; 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.
&nbsp; 22 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki
the son of Jogli.
&nbsp; 23 The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the
children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod.
&nbsp; 24 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim,
Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.
&nbsp; 25 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun,
Elizaphan the son of Parnach.
&nbsp; 26 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar,
Paltiel the son of Azzan.
&nbsp; 27 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud
the son of Shelomi.
&nbsp; 28 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali,
Pedahel the son of Ammihud.
&nbsp; 29 These <I>are they</I> whom the L<FONT SIZE=-1><B>ORD</B></FONT> commanded to divide the
inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.
</FONT></P>
<P> &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
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, <I>not by their own sword or bow, but by the
power and favour of God;</I> and so confident must they be of victory
and success while God fought for them that the persons must now be
named who should be entrusted with the dividing of the land, that is,
who should preside in casting the lots, and determine controversies
that might arise, and see that all was done fairly.
1. The principal commissioners, who were of the <I>quorum,</I> were
Eleazar and Joshua
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Nu+34:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>),
typifying Christ, who, as priest and king, divides the heavenly Canaan
to the spiritual Israel; yet, as they were to go by the lot, so Christ
acknowledges the disposal must be by the will of the Father,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Mt+20:23">Matt. xx. 23</A>.
Compare,
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Eph+1:11">Eph. i. 11</A>.
2. Besides these, that there might be no suspicion of partiality, a
prince of each tribe was appointed to inspect this matter, and to see
that the tribe he served for was in no respect injured. Public affairs
should be so managed as not only to give their right to all, but, if
possible, to give satisfaction to all that they have justice done
them., It is a happiness to a land to have the princes of their people
meet together, some out of every tribe, to concert the affairs that are
of common concern, a constitution which is the abundant honour, ease,
and safety, of the nation that is blessed with it.
3. Some observe that the order of the tribes here very much differs
from that in which they hitherto, upon all occasions, been named, and
agrees with the neighbourhood of their lots in the division of the
land. Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, the first three here named, lay
close together; the inheritance of Dan lay next them on one side, that
of Ephraim and Manasseh on another side; Zebulun and Issachar lay
abreast more northerly, and, lastly, Asher and Naphtali most northward
of all, as is easy to observe in looking over a map of Canaan; this
(says bishop Patrick) is an evidence that Moses was guided by a divine
Spirit in his writings. Known unto God are all his works beforehand,
and what is new and surprising to us he perfectly foresaw, without any
confusion or uncertainty.</P>
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