Charles Ellicott Commentary Numbers 34

When you come... — Better, You are entering into the land of Canaan; this is the land which shall fall to you for an inheritance, (even) the land of Canaan, according to its borders. 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, while 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 Joshua 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.

And your border shall turn from the south ... — Better, And your border will turn on (or, to) the south side of the ascent of Akrabbim, and will pass over to Zin; and the goings forth thereof will be on the south of Kadesh-barnea.

The meaning appears to be that the boundary line was to run in a south-westerly direction from the southern point (or, tongue) of the Dead Sea, as far as the height (or, ascent) of Akrabbim. From this point, it was to continue in a westerly direction as far as Kadesh-barnea, which was at the western extremity of the Desert of Zin and was to be included within the Israelite territory.

What is here called the Height of Akrabbim is thought to be a row of white cliffs that run obliquely across the Arabah, about eight miles from the Dead Sea. .

And the border shall fetch a compass ... — Although the exact locations of some of the places that determined the southern border have not been positively ascertained, on the whole, there seems to be very little doubt that the boundary line ran along the valleys. These valleys form a natural division between the cultivated land and the desert, extending from the Arabah on the east to the Mediterranean on the west. The Brook of Egypt—i.e., the Wady-el-Arish—formed the western boundary until it reached the sea.

And as for the western border ... — Better, And as for the western border, you shall have the great sea and (its) border (i.e., its coast). (See Joshua 15:47, the great sea and the border thereof.)

Mount Hor.— It has been thought by some that Hermon is the mountain to which reference is made. But, as Ritter has observed (“Comparative Geography of Palestine,” 3, p. 176), “Hermon stands too far eastward to answer the conditions of the problem,” and he thinks that some peak very near the Mediterranean must be meant. Von Raumer considers that it was probably one of the peaks belonging to the Lebanon range, and discernible from Sidon. (Ib.)