Numbers 34 · Verse 3

Numbers 34:3

Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:
Numbers 34:3, King James Version

Numbers 34:3 in other translations

BSBYour southern border will extend from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern border will run from the end of the Salt Sea,
WEBthen your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea eastward.
ASVthen your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the side of Edom, and your south border shall be from the end of the Salt Sea eastward;
YLTthen hath the south quarter been to you from the wilderness of Zin, by the sides of Edom, yea, the south border hath been to you from the extremity of the Salt Sea, eastward;
DARBYThen your south side shall be from the wilderness of Zin alongside of Edom, and your southern border shall be from the end of the salt sea eastward;
BBEThen your south quarter will be from the waste land of Zin by the side of Edom, and your limit on the south will be from the east end of the Salt Sea,
WebsterThen your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the border of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:

What does Numbers 34:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Numbers 34:3-5
3-5. your south quarter--The line which bounded it on the south is the most difficult to trace. According to the best biblical geographers, the leading points here defined are as follows: The southwest angle of the southern boundary should be where the wilderness of Zin touches the border of Edom, so that the southern boundary should extend eastward from the extremity of the Dead Sea, wind around the precipitous ridge of Akrabbim ("scorpions"), thought to be the high and difficult Pass of Safeh, which crosses the stream that flows from the south into the Jordan--that is, the great valley of the Arabah, reaching from the Dead to the Red Sea.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 The salt sea - The Dead Sea, or lake Asphaltites. See the note on Gen 19:25.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Numbers 34:1-15

Canaan was of small extent; as it is here bounded, it is but about 160 miles in length, and about 50 in breadth; yet this was the country promised to the father of the faithful, and the possession of the seed of Israel. This was that little spot of ground, in which alone, for many ages, God was known. This was the vineyard of the Lord, the garden enclosed; but as it is with gardens and vineyards, the narrowness of…

Read the full comment on Numbers 34:1-15 →

Numbers 34:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְהָיָ֨הve.ha.Yahand it will beH1961
לָכֶ֧םla.Khemof you
פְּאַת\־pe.'at-[the] side ofH6285
נֶ֛גֶבNe.gev[the] southH5045
מִמִּדְבַּר\־mi.mid.bar-from [the] wilderness ofH4057
צִ֖ןtzinZinH6790
עַל\־'al-onH5921
יְדֵ֣יye.Dei[the] hands ofH3027
אֱד֑וֹם'e.DomEdomH123
וְהָיָ֤הve.ha.Yahand it will beH1961
לָכֶם֙la.Khemof you
גְּב֣וּלge.Vulborder ofH1366
נֶ֔גֶבNe.gev[the] southwardH5045
מִקְצֵ֥הmik.Tzehfrom [the] end ofH7097
יָם\־yom-[the] Sea ofH3220
הַמֶּ֖לַחha.Me.lach<the> SaltH4417
קֵֽדְמָה\׃Ke.de.maheast -wardH6924

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Numbers 34:3

  • Genesis 14:3

    All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.

  • Ezekiel 47:13

    Thus saith the Lord God; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.

  • Joshua 15:1-12

    This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast. And their south border was from the shore of the salt sea, from the bay that looketh southward: And it went out to the south side to Maaleh–acrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadesh–barnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa: From thence it passed toward Azmon, and went out unto the river of Egypt; and the goings out of that coast were at the sea: this shall be your south coast. …

  • Exodus 23:31

    And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

  • Ezekiel 47:8

    Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.

  • Joshua 3:16

    That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

  • Ezekiel 47:18-23

    And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side. And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward. The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side. So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel. …

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
south quarter.
Ex 23:31; Jos 15:1-12; Eze 47:13,19-23
salt sea eastward.The lake Asphaltites, Dead sea, or Salt sea, is, according to the most authentic accounts, about 70 miles in length, and 18 in breadth. Viewing this sea from the spot where the Jordan discharges its waters into it, it takes a south-easterly direction, visible for ten or fifteen miles, when it disappears in a curve towards the east. Its surface is generally unruffled, from the hollow of the basin in which it lies scarcely admitting the free passage necessary for a strong breeze: it is, however, for the same reason, subject to whirlwinds or squalls of short duration. The mountains on each side are apparently separated by a distance of eight miles; but the expanse of water at this point has been supposed not to exceed five or six: as it advances towards the south, it evidently increases in breadth. The acrid saltness of its waters is much greater than that of the sea; and of such specific gravity that bodies will float on it that would sink in common sea-water. It is probably on this account that few fish can live in it; though the monks of St. Saba affirmed to Dr. Shaw, that they had seen fish caught in it.
Ge 14:3; Jos 3:16; 15:2; Eze 47:8,18

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 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:)

  • Numbers 34:3

    Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:

  • Numbers 34:4

    And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh–barnea, and shall go on to Hazar–addar, and pass on to Azmon:

Read all of Numbers 34

Numbers 34:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Tendréis el lado del mediodía desde el desierto de Zin hasta los términos de Edom; y os será el término del mediodía al extremo del mar salado hacia el oriente:
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Votre côté méridional sera depuis le désert de Tsin, le long d’Édom, et votre frontière méridionale sera depuis le bout de la mer Salée, vers l’orient;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und die Südseite soll euch sein von der Wüste Zin an, Edom entlang, und die Südgrenze soll euch sein vom Ende des Salzmeeres gegen Osten.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Pars meridiana incipiet a solitudine Sin, quæ est juxta Edom: et habebit terminos contra orientem mare salsissimum.