Numbers 34:3

3 And your southern side shall be from the wilderness of Sin to the border of Edom, and your border southward shall extend on the side of the salt sea eastward.

Numbers 34:3 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 34:3

Then your south quarter
Or border of the land; which, as Jarchi observes, was from east to west:

shall be from the wilderness of Zin;
which is Kadesh, where Miriam died, ( Numbers 20:1 ) ( 33:36 ) , and if this Kadesh was Kadeshbarnea, as Dr. Lightfoot seems to have proved F8, from whence the spies were sent, that was clearly on the south of the land of Canaan, for they were bid to go up their way southward, ( Numbers 13:17 ) , and so Kadeshbarnea is hereafter mentioned, as being in the southern border: the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,

``from the wilderness of the palm trees of the mountain of iron;''

there is a smaller palm tree, which by Jewish writers is called Zin, of which there were great quantities on a mountain famous for iron mines, in this wilderness, from whence it is thought it had its name; hence we read F9 of palm trees of the mountain of iron, as fit to make the bunch of branches of trees, called the "lulab", carried in the hand on the feast of tabernacles:

along by the coast of Edom;
the land of Canaan, to the south, bordered on three countries, Egypt, Edom, and Moab; according to Jarchi, some part of Egypt, the whole land of Edom, and the whole land of Moab; the part of the land of Egypt was in the south west corner of it; the land of Edom by it to the east; and the land of Moab by the land of Edom, at the end of the south to the east:

and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea
eastward;
the same that is sometimes called the Dead sea, the sea of Sodom, or the lake Asphaltites, as Heathen writers generally call it.


FOOTNOTES:

F8 Works, vol. 2. p. 8, 9.
F9 Misn. Succah. c. 3. sect. 1.

Numbers 34:3 In-Context

1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
2 Charge the children of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, Ye are entering into the land of Chanaan: it shall be to you for an inheritance, the land of Chanaan with its boundaries.
3 And your southern side shall be from the wilderness of Sin to the border of Edom, and your border southward shall extend on the side of the salt sea eastward.
4 And your border shall go round you from the south to the ascent of Acrabin, and shall proceed by Ennac, and the going forth of it shall be southward to Cades Barne, and it shall go forth to the village of Arad, and shall proceed by Asemona.
5 And the border shall compass from Asemona to the river of Egypt, and the sea shall be the termination.

Footnotes 1

The Brenton translation of the Septuagint is in the public domain.