Numbers 34:9

• The natural western boundary of Canaan was the Mediterranean coast ("the Great Sea," 34:6). The northern boundary started at the Mediterranean and went east to Mount Hor. This was somewhere in the Lebanon mountain range (not the place of Aaron's death, 20:22–29).

• Lebo-hamath: Compare 13:21; 1 Kings 8:65; Amos 6:14.

Chapter 34 describes the borders of Canaan. This is where God commanded Israel to settle, following the guidelines in 26:52–56. Since Abraham's call, the promised land of Canaan has been central to the Old Testament story (Genesis 12:1–7). A generation of Hebrews died in the wilderness for not believing what the faithful spies reported (Numbers 13). Yet, God reaffirmed his promise of land (33:53).

Here, God reviews the plan and outlines the promised land's intended boundaries (compare Joshua 13–19; Ezekiel 47–48). Old Testament Israel did not fully capture this territory. It almost did during the time of the kings David and Solomon (see 2 Samuel 24:1–9). But these borders generally describe the region of Canaan as defined by Egyptian texts from 1500–1200 BC. This was when the Hebrews invaded. The region actually occupied by Israel changed from time to time.