And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border.
Parallel translations
- WEB “‘For the western border, you shall have the great sea and its border. This shall be your west border.
- BSB Your western border will be the coastline of the Great Sea; this will be your boundary on the west.
- NKJV ‘As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your western border.
- NASB ‘As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea, that is, its coastline; this shall be your western border.
- NLT “Your western boundary will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The western border is the Great Sea, the Mediterranean. The coast forms the entire western boundary of the inheritance.
Overview
Using the sea as the western limit gave Israel a clear and stable boundary needing no further markers. The Mediterranean coastline framed the land's relationship to the wider world of nations. This natural border, set by God, marked the extent of the territory He had appointed for His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Josh 23:4Behold, I have divided unto you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even unto the great sea westward.
- Josh 15:12And the west border was to the great sea, and the coast thereof. This is the coast of the children of Judah round about according to their families.
- Ezek 47:20The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.
- Ezek 47:10And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
- Ezek 47:15And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;
- Josh 15:47Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof:
- Josh 1:4From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your coast.
- Josh 9:1And it came to pass, when all the kings which were on this side Jordan, in the hills, and in the valleys, and in all the coasts of the great sea over against Lebanon, the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, heard thereof;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
In the wilderness Christ is the water from the rock, the bronze serpent lifted up that the dying might look and live (John 3:14), and the star and scepter that Balaam saw rising out of Jacob.
How Numbers 34:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.