Numbers 34:4

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;)

Numbers 34:4 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 34:4

And your border
That is, the south border, which is still describing:

shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim;
or Maalehacrabbim, as in ( Joshua 15:3 ) so called from the multitude of serpents and scorpions in it, see ( Deuteronomy 8:15 ) , so Kimchi says F11, a place of serpents and scorpions was this ascent: Dr. Shaw F12 says Akrabbim may probably be the same with the mountains of Accaba, according to the present name, which hang over Eloth, where there is a "high steep road", well known to the Mahometan pilgrims for its ruggedness: and he thinks F13 it very probable, that Mount Hor was the same chain of mountains that are now called Accaba by the Arabs, and were the easternmost range, as we may take them to be, of Ptolemy's black mountains: Josephus F14 speaks of Acrabatene as belonging to the Edomites, which seems to be this same place:

and pass on to Zin;
that is, which ascent goes on to it; the Targum of Jonathan is,

``and shall pass on to the palm trees of the mountain of iron;''

by which is meant the same with the wilderness of Zin: perhaps Zinnah is rather the name of a city; the Septuagint call it Ennac: the Vulgate Latin, Senna: Jerom F15 makes mention of a place called Senna, seven miles from Jericho:

and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadeshbarnea;
from whence the spies were sent southward to search the land, ( Numbers 13:17 ) ( 32:8 )

and shall go on to Hazaraddar;
called Adar, ( Joshua 15:3 ) and where it seems to be divided into two places, Hezron and Adar, which very probably were near each other, and therefore here put together, as if but one place:

and pass on to Azmon;
which the Targums call Kesam.


FOOTNOTES:

F11 Sepher Shorash. "in voce" (brqe) .
F12 Travels, tom. 2. ch. 1. p. 279.
F13 Travels, tom. 2. ch. 1. p. 323.
F14 Antiqu. l. 12. c. 8. sect. 1. see 1 Maccab. 5. 3.
F15 De loc. Heb. fol. 94. H.

Numbers 34:4 In-Context

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.)
6 Soothly the west coast shall begin at the great sea, and it shall be closed by that end. (The western border shall begin, and end, at the Mediterranean Sea.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.