Numbers 34:2

Num 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:)

Ver. 2. This is the land that shall fall.] It is God that assigns us our quarters, and cuts us out our several conditions, "appointing the bounds of our habitation." {Act 17:26} This should make us rest contented with our lot, and, having God our portion, say howsoever, as David did, "The lines are fallen to me in pleasant places." {Psa 16:6} It is what our Father sees fit for us.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Meaning, the description of the land.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 2. The land of Canaan with the coasts thereof] All description here is useless. The situation and boundaries of the land of Canaan can only be known by actual survey, or by consulting a good map.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

XXXIV.

(2, 3) When ye come . . . —Better, Ye are entering into the land of Canaan; this is the land which shall fall unto you for an inheritance, (even) the land of Canaan, according to the borders thereof. And your south quarter (or, district) shall be from the wilderness of Zin by the side of Edom; and your south border shall be from the extremity of the salt sea eastward (or, on the east). It was important for the Israelites to be taught that, whilst divinely commissioned to exterminate the idolatrous inhabitants of the land of Canaan, they had no commission to make aggressive wars upon the surrounding nations which were beyond the confines of the land which was allotted to them. The southern boundary which is here described is the same as that of the tribe of Judah, as described in Jos_15:1-2. The land of the Israelites was to extend towards the south as far as the wilderness of Zin, which was to divide their territory from that of the Edomites.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Command the children of Israel, and say unto them,.... Not to fix the borders, and settle the boundaries of the land, for that is done by the Lord himself, who has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of men's habitations, and particularly of Israel, see Deu 32:8, but to observe and take notice of the limits he had fixed, that they might know how far they were to go on every side, whom they were to drive out, and what they were to divide and inherit, and see what was their right, and preserve it from the encroachments of their neighbours, as well as observe the goodness of God unto them, in thus providing for them:

when ye come into the land of Canaan; to take possession of it by virtue of a grant of it to them:

this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance; it is said to "fall", because it was divided by lot, each tribe having such a part of it assigned to them, according to the lot that came up unto them: even

the land of Canaan, with the coasts thereof; or according to its borders, which are as follow.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The land of Canaan - The name Canaan is here restricted to the territory west of the Jordan.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Or, limits, or bounds, to wit, of the land beyond Jordan; which are here particularly described,

1. To direct and bound them in their wars and conquests, that they might not seek the enlargement of their empire, after the manner of other nations, but be contented with their own portion.

2. To encourage them in their attempt upon Canaan, and assure them of their success.

3. To guide them in the approaching distribution of the land.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Into the land of Canaan. Canaan has here its proper signification as the land (roughly speaking) between Jordan and the sea. (so Num_32:32Jo Num_22:11, Num_22:32) Nor is there any clear instance of its including the trans-Jordanic territories. In the prophets the word reverts to its proper (etymological) meaning, as the "flat country" along the Mediterranean coast. (cf. Isa_19:18 Zep_2:5 Mat_15:22) This is the land that shall fall unto you. These words should not be placed in a parenthesis; it is a simple statement in the tautological style so common in these books. With the coasts thereof, or, "according to its boundaries," i.e., within the limits which nature and the Divine decree had set to the land of Canaan.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Coasts - Or limits or bounds, to wit, of the land beyond Jordan. Which are here particularly described,

1. to direct and bound them in their wars and conquests, that they might not seek the enlargement of their empire, after the manner of other nations, but be contented with their own portion.

2. To encourage them in their attempt upon Canaan, and assure them of their success. There was a much larger possession promised them, if they were obedient, even to the river Euphrates. But this, which is properly Canaan, lay in a very little compass. 'Tis but about an hundred and fifty miles in length, and about fifty in breadth. This was that little spot of ground, in which alone for many ages God was known! But its littleness was abundantly compensated by its fruitfulness: otherwise it could not have sustained so numerous a nation. See, how little a share of the world God often gives to his own people! But they that have their portion in heaven, can be content with a small pittance of this earth.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

ואת הארץ אשר תפול לכם וגו׳ THIS IS THE LAND THAT SHALL FALL TO YOU [FOR AN INHERITANCE] — Since many divine commandments have to be practised in the Land of Canaan and are not to be practised outside the Land, it (Scripture) feels compelled to describe the limiting lines of the boundaries of its sides all round, in order to tell you: from these boundaries and inward the divine commands have to be practised (cf. Gittin 8a).

תפול לכם [THE LAND WHICH] FALLS FOR YOU — Because it (the land) had to be divided by lot (which is said to fall upon a person), the division is expressed by the term “falling”. — And a Midrashic explanation of why this term is employed here states: It is because the Holy One, blessed be He, cast down (more lit., made fall) from heaven the tutelary angels of the seven nations of Canaan and placed them in fetters before Moses, He said to him, (Deuteronomy 1:21) “Behold the Lord God hath put before thee the tutelary angels of the land” — there is no more strength in them (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Masei 4 and Rashi on Deuteronomy 2:31).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

EL HA’ARETZ KENA’AN’ (INTO THE LAND OF CANAAN). “This is like [the expression]: and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, Note 284, for the grammatical reason why the verse requires the additional expression “a prophecy” after the initial words and a prophecy. Here too, the meaning of the verse is: into the land, the land of Canaan. [which is to be understood as: ‘and the prophecy, a prophecy of Oded the prophet’]. The sense [of the verse thus] is: ‘into the land, the land of Canaan.’” This is the language of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, and so also did Rashi write. Scholars have brought a similar example: [I am] ‘ha’E-il beith eil’ [which they interpreted to mean: “I am G-d, who is the G-d of Beth-el”]. And I have already explained [there] the secret thereof.The correct interpretation of [the phrase] el ha’aretz kena’an appears to me to be that the name of this land is Canaan, like Mitzraim (Egypt), and the name of the land is identical with that of the people. Similarly, the inhabitants of Canaan, and O Canaan, the land of the Philistines; I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant. Thus the expression here el ha’aretz kena’an is as one says, “‘the’ city Jerusalem;” and ‘the’ King David; and ‘the’ man Gabriel. does not mean “into the land [of the people] of Canaan” but “into the land [called] Canaan.” There is therefore no problem necessitating the above interpretation of Rashi and Ibn Ezra. See above in Seder Beha’alothcha, Note 284.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.