Lands Yet Unconquered
As he had promised, God brought Israel into...
- As he had promised, God brought Israel into the land. Joshua next turned his attention to the allotment of the land to Israel’s tribes.
- The tribal allotments gave geographical reality to the Israelites’ covenant with God and expressed the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Because God owned the land, the apportionment to the tribes was a gift. God gave them the land to dwell in and directed its distribution.
- In these lists of tribal allotments, the author describes some borders in such detail that they can be plotted on a map while others were far less well defined.
Israel did not conquer the entire land of...
Israel did not conquer the entire land of Canaan while Joshua was alive. The unconquered areas, lying mostly in the valleys and plains, were the most populous regions. Several generations passed before Israel became strong enough to absorb or subjugate these regions and their peoples.
1Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed. 2This is the land that remains:
All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, 3from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;
The Sidonians (that is, Phoenicians; see Isa 23:11;...
The Sidonians (that is, Phoenicians; see Isa 23:11; Obad 1:20; Acts 11:19) lived in the north along the coast, from north of Mount Carmel to above Gebal (Byblos). They also apparently occupied the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges. Sidon was the dominant Phoenician city when Israel entered Canaan.
4to the south, all the land of the Canaanites, from Mearah† of the Sidonians to Aphek, as far as the border of the Amorites;
5the land of the Gebalites;†
and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath.
The lands just listed had not yet been...
The lands just listed had not yet been conquered, but God directed Joshua to show his faith by allotting them to the tribes against the future, when they would be taken.
6All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim—all the Sidonians—I Myself will drive out before the Israelites. Be sure to divide it by lot as an inheritance to Israel, as I have commanded you. 7Now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
The Inheritance East of the Jordan
(Numbers 32:1–42; Deuteronomy 3:12–22)
Half the tribe of Manasseh and the tribes...
Half the tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had asked Moses for their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan in the land that had been the kingdoms of Sihon and Og (Num 21:21–35; 32:1–42). In return, they had helped the rest of Israel take possession of their inheritance west of the Jordan (Josh 1:12–18; 4:12–13). Here, the author confirmed their possession of these lands.
8The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them:
9The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon, 10and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the Ammonites;
11also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah— 12the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and had remained as a remnant of the Rephaim.
Moses had struck them down and dispossessed them, 13but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath dwell among the Israelites to this day.
14To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The food offerings to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as He had promised them.
Reuben’s Inheritance
Because Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn son by Leah (Gen...
Because Reuben, Jacob’s firstborn son by Leah (Gen 29:32), forfeited his birthright by sleeping with his father’s concubine (Gen 35:22), the inheritance of his tribe was not of central importance. Although the tribe received a fertile portion of land, it was difficult to defend from neighboring nations. The tribe of Reuben eventually lost the southern portion to Moab.
15This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Reuben:
16The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba, 17to Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, 18Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley, 20Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth— 21all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land.
22The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword. 23And the border of the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan.
This was the inheritance of the clans of the Reubenites, including the cities and villages.
Gad’s Inheritance
Gad was Jacob’s seventh son, born to Zilpah,...
Gad was Jacob’s seventh son, born to Zilpah, Leah’s servant. Just as Gad’s position in his family was peripheral, the tribe of Gad was peripheral to Israel.
24This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Gad:
25The territory of Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, near Rabbah;
26the territory from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir;†
27and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the territory on the east side of the Jordan up to the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth ).†
28This was the inheritance of the clans of the Gadites, including the cities and villages.
Manasseh’s Eastern Inheritance
Manasseh was Joseph’s elder son. Jacob gave Joseph’s...
Manasseh was Joseph’s elder son. Jacob gave Joseph’s sons each a full inheritance, thus giving Joseph a double portion of the birthright (see 14:4).
29This is what Moses had given to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh:
Jair was a great-grandson of Manasseh (1 Chr...
Jair was a great-grandson of Manasseh (1 Chr 2:21–22). Makir was one of Manasseh’s sons. It is unclear whether the land allotted to these tribes in north Gilead was distinguished from the land that the tribe of Gad received there.
30The territory from Mahanaim through all Bashan—all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, including all the towns of Jair that are in Bashan, sixty cities; 31half of Gilead; and Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan.
All this was for the clans of the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh, that is, half of the descendants of Machir.
32These were the portions Moses had given them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.
33To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as He had promised them.