This week combines two portions Matot (Numbers 30-32) and Masei (Numbers 33-36) 本周两个查经进度合并了：“支派”（民数记30-32）与“行程”（民数记33-36）
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（民34）迦勒的产业 (Numbers 34) Caleb’s Inheritance
(ChatGPT translation from Chinese, edited by Mijiale, 中文在后面）
Numbers 34:19, 29: “These are the names of the men: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh… These are the men the Lord commanded to assign the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.”
Caleb was one of the leaders involved in dividing the inheritance among the Israelites. According to Numbers 33:54, the Israelites were to cast lots to determine their inheritance by families, so the average Israelite did not know in advance where their inheritance would be in the Promised Land. Caleb, however, was an exception. Even before the lots were cast, Caleb knew his inheritance was Hebron.
The Bible recounts that about forty years earlier, when the twelve spies explored the Promised Land, it says in Numbers 13:22: “They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived…” Here, in Hebrew the verbs changed from plural to singular. It should be translated as “They went up through the Negev, he came to Hebron, …”. We will see later that this is less likely a careless grammatical error than a deliberate expression, which implies that although a plural number of spies went through the Negev, only one spy came to Hebron. Who is he? May be we don’t know, but the Lord knows.
Numbers 14:24 records the Lord saying, “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”
So Caleb went to “the land”, which would become his family inheritance. Which part of “the land” is this referring to? The Lord knew. Caleb also knew. After crossing the Jordan River, Caleb said to Joshua:
Joshua 14:12-13: “Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified… Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.”
So “the land” promised to Caleb was Hebron. The spy who went to Hebron was Caleb.
Why did Caleb go to Hebron? Jewish tradition holds that he went there to pray, to avoid following the ten spies who lost their faith. See https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Numbers.13.22?lang=bi.
Hebron was the first piece of land bought in the Promised Land by Abraham, the father of faith, for the Israelites (Genesis 23). It is the burial place of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, spanning three generations. Although they did not live to see the fulfillment of the promise, they wanted to be buried there as an act of faith. Jacob died in Egypt but instructed his sons to carry him back to Hebron in the Promised Land for burial (Genesis 49). This demonstrated their faithfulness to God’s promise (Genesis 13:15, 26:3, 35:12). When Caleb first came to the Promised Land and saw his ancestors buried in Hebron, it encouraged him to emulate their faithfulness and strive to fulfill their hope of receiving the Promised Land.
Caleb’s journey to Hebron exemplifies the transmission of faith across generations.
（民34）迦勒的产业
民34:19，…，29 “这 些 人 的 名 字 ， 犹 大 支 派 有 耶 孚 尼 的 儿 子 迦 勒 。…，这 些 人 就 是 耶 和 华 所 吩 咐 ， 在 迦 南 地 把 产 业 分 给 以 色 列 人 的。”
迦勒是参与“把 产 业 分 给 以 色 列 人 ”的各支派首领之一。
将要得到应许之地的以色列人，（民33:54）“要 按 家 室 拈 阄 ， 承 受 那 地”。所以一般的以色列人预先都不知道他们的产业会在应许之地的什么地方。迦勒是个例外。迦勒尚未拈阄就已经知道，他的产业是希伯伦。
圣经讲到大约四十年前十二个探子窥探应许地的时候，说，
民13:22 “他 们 从 南 地 上 去 ， 到 了 希 伯 仑 。 在 那 里 有 亚 衲 族 人 …” 这里的原文动词有单复数的变化，应该翻译成“他 们 从 南 地 上 去 ， 他 到 了 希 伯 仑…”。我们后面可以看到，与其说这是不小心犯的语法错误，不如说圣经是有意这样写的。虽然复数的探子们从南地上去，但只有一个探子去了希伯伦，他是谁？也许我们不知道，但是主知道。
民14:24记载主说，“惟 独 我 的 仆 人 迦 勒 ， 因 他 另 有 一 个 心 志 ， 专 一 跟 从 我 ， 我 就 把 他 领 进 他 所 去 过 的 那 地 。 他 的 后 裔 也 必 得 那 地 为 业 。”
所以迦勒去过“那地”，“那地”是什么地方？主知道，迦勒也知道，过了约旦河以后，迦勒向约书亚说，
书14:12-13 “求 你 将 耶 和 华 那 日 应 许 我 的 这 山 地 给 我 。 那 里 有 亚 衲 族 人 ， 并 宽 大 坚 固 的 城，…，于 是 约 书 亚 为 耶 孚 尼 的 儿 子 迦 勒 祝 福 ， 将 希 伯 仑 给 他 为 业 。”
所以应许给迦勒的“那地”，指的是希伯伦，那个去了希伯伦的探子，就是迦勒。
迦勒去希伯伦干什么？犹太人认为他去那儿祷告，不要跟随那失去信心的十个探子。参见https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Numbers.13.22?lang=bi
希伯伦，是信心之父亚伯拉罕为以色利人在应许之地买下的第一块土地（创23）。那里埋葬了亚伯拉罕，以撒，雅各祖孙三代。因为他们没能活到得应许之地的时候，就是死了也要葬在那里。雅各死在埃及，也要儿子们把他带回应许之地葬在希伯伦（创49）。 这是祖先们对主的应许（创13:15，26:3，35:12） 的忠心。首次来到应许之地的迦勒，来希伯伦亲眼看到祖先们就葬在这里，就可以鼓励自己学习祖先的忠心，努力完成祖先们盼望得到应许之地的遗志。
迦勒来希伯伦，表现了信心的隔代传承。