When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance,
when he divided mankind,
he fixed the borders of the peoples
according to the number of the sons of God.
But the LORD’S portion is his people,
Jacob his allotted heritage.
This is a portion of the Song of Moses, a song God gave to Israel through Moses. The intent of the song was to remind Israel of all that God had done for them. It also looked ahead to Israel’s turning away from God and the consequences of their rejection.
This is an interesting passage, but its primary intent is to show the difference between Israel and the other nations. When God divided up mankind, Israel uniquely belonged to God. They were his people, his allotted heritage.
What makes this passage interesting is the reference to the division of mankind according to the number of the ‘sons of God.’ This has been understood in a few ways, and I make no claim to having any special insight. However, I do have some thoughts on the matter.
Dividing Mankind
The division of mankind would seem to refer back to Genesis 11:1-9, where the sundering of speech caused humanity to scatter. This may also be a reference to Genesis 10 and what is sometimes called the Table of Nations. This is a list of the descendants of Noah. However, this passage suggests that it was more than just a scattering. The borders of the peoples were fixed. This would point to God actually determining where each of the scattered peoples would go (Acts 17:26).
How did God divide up the peoples? This passage states that it was either according to the number of the ‘sons of God’ (as found in the Septuagint and some Dead Sea Scrolls) or the ‘sons of Israel’ (as recorded in the Masoretic text).
If ‘sons of God’ is the correct reading, it would link to the sons of God in Genesis 6 and Job 1-2. There, they seem to be some type of spiritual beings who were subservient to God. And here it would imply that when God divided the nations, one of these ‘sons of God’ was placed in charge of each nation. These could even have become the primary ‘god’ of these nations. But, as mentioned earlier, God claimed Israel for himself. Unlike all the other nations, Israel belonged to the Most High God.
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