Numbers 34:1

This chapter features just two things: (1) the God-given boundaries of the Promised Land; and (2) the appointment of the men who would divide the land among the tribes of Israel. Here is the text of the chapter.

"And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying, 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 according to the borders thereof,) then 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; and your border shall turn about southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass along to Zin; and the goings out thereof shall be southward of Kadesh-barnea; and it shall go forth to Hazar-addar, and pass along the Azmon; and the border shall turn about from Azmon unto the brook of Egypt, and the goings out thereof shall be at the sea."

The only surprising thing about the southern border is that it made somewhat of a detour to the south in order to encompass Kadesh-barnea. Aside from this, the southern border of Canaan as defined by God Himself originated eastward from the southern tip of the Dead Sea (how far eastward was not stated) and moved southwestward to its terminus at the Mediterranean. In the terminology used in these verses, "The goings forth (Numbers 33:2) and the goings out (as in Numbers 34:5) have the meaning of `starting point' and `termination'."[1]