Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Numbers 34:10
And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham:
Shepham, the first point after Hazar-enan, is unknown. The name Riblah is by some read Har-bel, i. e., the Mountain of Bel; the Har-baal-Hermon of Jdg 3:3. No more striking landmark could be set forth than the summit of Hermon, the southernmost and by far the loftiest peak of the whole Antilibanus range, rising to a height of 10,000 feet, and overtopping every other mountain in the Holy land. Ain, i. e. the fountain, is understood to be the fountain of the Jordan; and it is in the plain at the southwestern foot of Hermon that the two most celebrated sources of that river, those of Daphne and of Paneas, are situate.
The sea of Chinnereth is better known by its later name of Gennesaret, which is supposed to be only a corruption of Chinnereth. The border ran parallel to this sea, along the line of hill about 10 miles further east.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
10-12. east borderThis isvery clearly defined. Shepham and Riblah, which were in the valley ofLebanon, are mentioned as the boundary line, which commenced a littlehigher than the sources of the Jordan. Ain is supposed to be thesource of that river; and thence the eastern boundary extended alongthe Jordan, the sea of Chinnereth (Lake of Tiberias), the Jordan; andagain terminated at the Dead Sea. The line being drawn on the east ofthe river and the seas included those waters within the territory ofthe western tribes.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And ye shall point out your east border from Hazarenan to Shepham. From the place where the northern border ended, which Jerom says u the Hebrews call Apamia, as both the Targums of Jonathan and Jerusalem do here. Shepham was a city between Hazarenan and Riblah in the tribe of Naphtali, where Adrichomius w places it.
u Comment. ut supra. (cf. ver. 15.) w Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 114.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The Eastern Boundary. – If we endeavour to trace the upper line of the eastern boundary from the fountain-place just mentioned, it ran from Hazar-enan to Shepham, the site of which is unknown, and “from Shepham it was to go down to Riblah, on the east of Ain ” (the fountain). The article , and still more the precise description, “to the east of Ain, the fountain, or fountain locality” ( Knobel), show plainly that this Riblah is to be distinguished from the Riblah in the land of Hamath ( 2Ki 23:33; 2Ki 25:21; Jer 39:9; Jer 52:27), with which it is mostly identified. Ain is supposed to be “the great fountain of Neba Anjar, at the foot of Antilibanus, which is often called Birket Anjar, on account of its taking its rise in a small reservoir or pool” (Robinson, Bibl. Res. p. 498), and near to which Mej-del-Anjar is to be seen, consisting of “the ruins of the walls and towers of a fortified town, or rather of a large citadel” (Robinson, p. 496; cf. Ritter, xvii. pp. 181ff.).
(Note: Knobel regards Ain as the source of the Orontes, i.e., Neba Lebweh, and yet, notwithstanding this, identifies Riblah with the village of Ribleh mentioned above. But can this Ribleh, which is at least eight hours to the north of Neba Lebweh, be described as on the east of Ain, i.e., Neba Lebweh?)
From this point the boundary went farther down, and pressed ( ) “upon the shoulder of the lake of Chinnereth towards the east,” i.e., upon the north-east shore of the Sea of Galilee (see Jos 19:35). Hence it ran down along the Jordan to the Salt Sea (Dead Sea). According to these statements, therefore, the eastern boundary went from Bekaa along the western slopes of Antilibanus, over or past Rasbeya and Banyas, at the foot of Hermon, along the edge of the mountains which bound the Huleh basin towards the east, down to the north-east corner of the Sea of Galilee; so that Hermon itself ( Jebel es Sheikh) did not belong to the land of Israel.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Verses 10-12:
The east “coasts or border of the Land began at Sepham, a city not far from Hazar-enan, whose location is unknown.
Riblah: there is disagreeement among Bibe expositors as to the location of this city. Some believe it was located in Hamath, at the head of the Orontes River. There may have been other cities with this name.
Ain, meaning “flowing fountain.” Some believe this was the source of the Jordan River below Mount Hermon.
Chinnereth, meaning “harp,” a fortified city on the northwest shore of Galilee, Jos 19:35. The Sea of Galilee was also known as the Sea of Chinnerth; it too is harp-shaped.
The eastern boundary of the Land was then marked by the River Jordan, all the way to the southern tip of the Dead Sea.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
10. East border The uncertainty pertaining to the northern boundary renders the beginning of the eastern obscure also. Shepham is not certainly known.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“ And you shall mark out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham; and the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall go down, and shall reach to the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward; and the border shall go down to the Jordan, and its goings out shall be at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land according to its borders round about.”
The first part of the eastern border cannot now be determined, but it soon became the Jordan valley, alongside the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee) and down the Arabah to the Dead Sea. Transjordan was thus outside the delineated land, as Moses now explains.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Reciprocal: Num 34:7 – north border 1Sa 30:28 – Siphmoth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Num 34:10. Your east border This ran from the head of Jordan along the course of that river, taking in the lake of Gennesareth, called in the New Testament, the sea of Galilee, and the sea of Tiberias, (Joh 6:1,) and here, the sea of Chinnereth, or Cinnereth, from the Hebrew, cinnor, a harp, the figure of which it resembles. Shepham and Riblah were two places near Jordan. Ain signifies a fountain, and the passage may be rendered, On the east side of the fountain Namely, of Jordan, for that river had more sources than one.