Numbers 34-36
Today we get:
- Borders of the new Israel
- Names of the new princes
- Levite land
- Australia?
- Female land holder rules
Ah, the end of Numbers....
Numbers 34
2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof
God laid out the exact coordinates of what will be Israel.
South border; wilderness of Zin ultimately to Azmon.
West border; the great sea.
North border; mount Hor winding to Hazarenan.
East border; from Hazarenan to Jordan.
Everything inside there goes to the tribes that aren't Reuben, Gad or half of Manasseh.
The names of the current princes:
Judah; Caleb
Simeon; Shemuel
Benjamin; Elidad
Dan; Bukki
Joseph (Manasseh); Hanniel
Joseph (Ephriam); Kemuel
Zebulon; Elizaphan
Issachar; Paltiel
Asher; Ahihud
Naphtali; Pedahel
Gad, and Reuben aren't mentioned, because they already took their cities on the Egypt side of the Jordan.
Numbers 35
God said;
2 Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them.
So if you think of each inheritance area as a county or state, each county had to give up part for the Levites.
6 And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.
God sets up (basically) prison colonies.
11 Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.
If you accidentally kill someone, you are allowed to seek refuge in one of these "manslayer" cities.
12 And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment.
The following types of killing people call for the killer to be killed.
Numbers 35:16, iron weapon.
Numbers 35:17, throwing stone.
Numbers 35:18, wood weapon.
19 The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.
Can't you just imagine Ron Goldman killing OJ?
But, he isn't allowed to kill OJ, if OJ is in one of the refuge cities.
Now, Goldman is allowed to wait outside the refuge city, and if OJ were to leave, Goldman could kill him.
27 And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood:
28 Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.
See, that's what you get for leaving the refuge city!
31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.
When you do kill the murderer, you aren't allowed to enjoy it. Revenge shouldn't be enjoyable!
Numbers 36
1 And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel:
Remember the girls the other day who didn't have brothers?
2 And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.
The leaders were worried that if those girls married someone of another tribe, that the land those girls inherited would then pass into another tribe (because women are men's property).
Moses said;
7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.
8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.
Basically, women who own property have to marry men from their own tribe, so that the land stays within the tribe.
11 For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their fathers brothers' sons:
12 And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.
So, the girls did what they were told. Married someone in the family of Manasseh.
Thus ends Numbers.
So what have we learned:
1. Women who own land have to marry their cousins, who have the same last name.
2. If you kill someone, move to one of the 6 refuge cities. Like Australia (although that's a penal colony, but kind of close) Of course, you'll be living with a bunch of other murderers, so you are better off just not killing anyone.
3. Once again, we get the princes names.
YIC
V