Numbers 34:2

2 Command thou to the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, When ye have entered into the land of Canaan, and it befall into possession to you by lot, it shall be ended by these ends. (Command thou to the Israelites, and thou shalt say to them, When ye have entered into the land of Canaan, and it become your possession by lot, it shall have these borders.)

Numbers 34:2 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 34:2

Command the children of Israel, and say unto them
Not to fix the borders, and settle the boundaries of the land, for that is done by the Lord himself, who has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of men's habitations, and particularly of Israel, see ( Deuteronomy 32:8 ) , but to observe and take notice of the limits he had fixed, that they might know how far they were to go on every side, whom they were to drive out, and what they were to divide and inherit, and see what was their right, and preserve it from the encroachments of their neighbours, as well as observe the goodness of God unto them, in thus providing for them:

when ye come into the land of Canaan;
to take possession of it by virtue of a grant of it to them:

this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance;
it is said to "fall", because it was divided by lot, each tribe having such a part of it assigned to them, according to the lot that came up unto them: even

the land of Canaan,
with the coasts thereof; or according to its borders, which are as follow.

Numbers 34:2 In-Context

1 And the Lord spake to Moses, and said,

2 Command thou to the sons of Israel, and thou shalt say to them, When ye have entered into the land of Canaan, and it befall into possession to you by lot, it shall be ended by these ends. (Command thou to the Israelites, and thou shalt say to them, When ye have entered into the land of Canaan, and it become your possession by lot, it shall have these borders.)

3 The south part shall begin at the wilderness of Zin, which is beside Edom, and it shall have (as) the terms against the east, the saltiest sea, (The southern border shall begin in the wilderness of Zin, which is beside Edom, and its east end shall be the Salt Sea, that is, the Dead Sea,)

4 the which terms shall compass the south coast by the going up of the hill Scorpion, so that those terms pass into Zin, and come to the south, unto Kadeshbarnea; from whence the terms shall go forth to the town, Addar by name, and they shall stretch forth unto Azmon; (the southern border shall then go along the ascent of Mount Akrabbim, and then down through Zin, as far south as Kadeshbarnea; from there the border shall go west to Hazaraddar, and then to Azmon;)

5 and the term shall go by compass from Azmon unto the strand of Egypt, and it shall be ended by the brink of the great sea. (and then the border shall go west from Azmon to the River of Egypt, that is, the Nile, and then continue to the shore of the Great Sea, that is, the Mediterranean Sea.)