A couple of years ago, a really bad storm came through Greenville and knocked our fence over. We live in a typical, suburban subdivision, so the fence affected our neighbors just as much as it affected us. Fortunately, we all came together to repair the fence with relative ease.
During the process, not a single person objected to the boundaries of each person’s land. That was most likely because the fence posts were still evident; despite the fence itself going down, those posts still marked where everyone’s backyard began and ended.
Ancient Israelites had no such luxury. Their land markers were instead erected by stones—whether that’s a pile of rocks conspicuously piled together (or laid out in a row), or a single, large stone to mark a corner. Over time, these markers were burned into the memory of all nearby parties.
Moving a boundary stone was considered a serious charge under the Old Law. In Deuteronomy 27:17, anyone who does so is considered “cursed,” just as those who dishonor their parents (Deuteronomy 27:16) and mislead the blind (Deuteronomy 27:18).
Although it’s likely a lot of land thefts occurred during the night (possibly by moving stones a little at a time), it’s also possible a lot of it was just taken outright, as when Ahab tried to buy Naboth’s vineyard. Despite Ahab offering a tidy sum for his field, Naboth refuses to sell his ancestral inheritance (1 Kings 21:3).
That reasoning is at the heart of boundary markers. These lands were designated during the conquest; each tribe had its own area doled out to individual families (Joshua 13-21). They were designed to be permanent. If you sold some of it, it was eventually returned (Leviticus 25:15-34).
This setup ensured that no single tribe conquered the others, or that no individual family dispossessed another. Every generation was allowed the same chance to better themselves and to provide for their family. And in a world where every square foot of land can mean a meal for your children, that’s really important.
It also protected against greed—maybe that’s why this law was taken so seriously. Coveting your neighbor’s land was bad enough, but taking it by stealth or by force was even worse. This law ensured that people remained content with what they were given by God.