Boundaries of the Land – Numbers 34
- God tell Moses to instruct the Hebrew people on the boundaries of the Promised Land. Moses informs the people that all this land will go to the nine tribes, as the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh will receive the land beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.
List of Tribal Chiefs
- God tells Moses that Eleazar the priest and Joshua will divide the land. A leader is picked from each tribe to help them assign the land.
- From the tribe of Judah, Caleb.
- From the tribe of Simeon, Shemuel.
- From the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad.
- From the tribe of Dan, Bukki.
- From the tribe of Manasseh, Hanniel.
- From the tribe of Ephraim, Kemuel.
- From the tribe of Zebulun, Elizaphan.
- From the tribe of Issachar, Paltiel.
- From the tribe of Asher, Shelomi.
- From the tribe of Naphtali, Padahel.
Cities for the Levites – Numbers 35
- While Israel is camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho, God tells Moses to instruct the people on separating land for the Levites. There will be six cities in the Promised Land where the Levites will live, and their pasturelands will surround the city; these cities will be refuge cities where people can flee for safety if they've accidentally killed another person. The Levites are also to be given forty-two other cities with surrounding pasturelands. Each tribe will give property in proportion to its size.
Cites of Refuge
- God tells Moses to instruct the Hebrew people that they are to set up cities of refuge where people can flee if they've accidentally killed another person. In these cities, they cannot be put to death before being tried by the community. There are to be six cities (three on the east side of the Jordan and three on the west), and they are for protection for Israelites, foreigners living among them, and traveling merchants.
- God instructs that if a man kills another man with iron, stone, or wood, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death by the killed person's nearest relative. If a man hates another and kills him by ambush or by hitting him with a fist, it is also murder and must be avenged. In other instances, the community will determine if a death is murder. The person will then be kept in the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. If he leaves the city of refuge and the avenger finds and kills him, it will not be considered murder. After the death of the high priest, the slayer can return to his property.
- It is instructed that all murders must be put to death, but only if there is evidence from two witnesses. No ransom is to be accepted for the life of someone who is to be put to death or for someone who has fled to a refuge city. Murder pollutes the land, and God does not want the land where He lives polluted.
Women Who Inherit Property – Numbers 36
- The heads of the clans of Gilead (of the tribe of Manasseh) come to Moses and point out that the Lord instructed him to give property to the daughters of Zelophehad. They question what they are to do if the daughters marry men from another tribe, since their land would then go to the other tribe.
- Moses gives Israel the command from God that the daughters may marry any man they choose, as long as he is from their own tribe. No land is to pass between tribes, so all women who are to inherit land must marry within their tribe.
- The daughters of Zelophehad marry cousins on their father's side, staying within their own tribe.
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