II. division of the land among the tribes
Joshua divides the country of Canaan
1 Now Joshua had grown old and advanced in years. Yahweh said to him, “You are old now, yet much of the land is still unconquered, including:
2 All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites.
3 All the land from the river east of Egypt, to the boundary of Ekron in the north that is considered Ca na anite territory. (The five chief towns of the Philistines: Gaza, Ashdod, Ash kelon, Gath and Ekron; the Avvites also in the south.)
4 The whole country of the Canaanites from Arah, which the Sidonians hold, to Aphekah at the Amorite border,
5 and then the country of the Gebalites with all Lebanon eastward from Baagad at the foot of Mount Hermon to the Pass of Ha math.
6 All the land of the Sidonians who live in the highlands from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim westward.
I myself will drive them all out before the Israelites. In the meantime, share out the land among the Israelites by drawing lots as I have commanded you.
7 The time has come to divide this land among the nine tribes and half the tribe of Man na seh: from the Jordan River to the Mediter ranean Sea westward you shall give it to them; the Mediterranean will mark their boundary.”
8 As for the other half tribe of Manna seh, they and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had already received the land given them by Moses on the east side of the Jor dan River. Moses the servant of Yahweh had given them
9 the land as far as Aroer, which lies on the edge of the Arnon valley, with the city in the middle of that valley and all the high, flat land from Medeba to Dibon.
10 All the towns of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had reigned in Heshbon, were included, as far as the boundary of the Am monites.
11 Gilead and the territory of the Geshu rites and Ma acathites with all the highlands of Hermon and with the whole of Bashan as far as Salecah.
12 In Bashan the whole kingdom of Og, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and was the last survivor of the Rephaim. Moses had conquered these peo ple and driven them out.
13 But the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Ma acathites, and therefore Geshur and Maacah still live in the midst of Israel to this day.
14 To the tribe of Levi alone no land was given; Yahweh the God of Israel was their inheritance, as he had told them.
Land given to Reuben, Gad and Mana sseh
15 Moses had given the tribe of Reuben a part of the land according to their clans.
16 The land they received stretched from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon Valley, including the town within the valley itself, and all the high, flat land up to Medeba,
17 and Heshbon and all the towns on the high, flat land: Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon,
18 Jahaz, Kedemoth Me phaath,
19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah and Zereth-shahar in the highlands of Gor;
20 Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth,
21 all these towns and the whole kingdom of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who reign ed in Heshbon; he had been defeated by Moses, and with him the princes of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who had ruled the land for King Sihon who used to live in this country.
22 As for Bala am son of Beor, the seer, the Israelites had put him to the sword with others they had killed.
23 Thus the land of the Reuben ites stretched to the Jordan River. This was the inheritance of the tribe of Reuben according to their clans, with the towns and their outlying villages.
24 Moses had given the tribe of Gad, a part of the land according to their clans:
25 Jazer, all the towns of Gilead, half the country of the Ammonites as far as Aroer facing Rabbah,
26 and from Heshbon to Ramathmizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim as far as the territory of Lo debar,
27 and lastly, in the Jordan valley: Beth-haram, Beth
nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon the king of Heshbon. The Jordan River was their western border as far north as the Sea of Galilee, on the eastern side of the Jordan.
28 This was the inheritance of the tribe of Gad according to their clans, with the towns and their outlying villages.
29 Moses had given half the tribe of Ma nasseh a part of the land according to their clans:
30 from Mahanaim right through Bashan, including the whole king dom of Og the king of Bashan and all sixty villages of Jair in Bashan.
31 Half of Gilead as well as Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan, were given to half the families from Machir, son of Manasseh.
32 This was how Moses divided the land when he was in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho.
33 But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no land; Yahweh the God of Israel is their inheritance, as he has told them.
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Comments Joshua, Chapter 13
• 13.1 Joshua divides the Promised Land among the twelve tribes.
Different peoples left together, as we read in Exodus 12:38. In Palestine, others joined them (see Jos 8:33). They did not belong to one race nor were they a closely-knit group; and they were certainly not yet an organized nation. Nevertheless, they were already a group of tribes of unequal strength. Two of these tribes assumed a predominant role: Ephraim in the north, and Judah down south.
Among nomads such as these, the members of each tribe all claimed to be descendants of the founder of their tribe, a prestigious man of the past whose name they bore. Inasmuch as the Israelites considered themselves descendants of Jacob-Israel, each of the twelve tribes considered itself as descending from one of the sons of their ancestor, Jacob, from whom they had received their name.
In reality, there were thirteen tribes in all and not twelve. Let us compare the list of Jacob’s sons in Genesis 35:23 with that of the twelve tribes listed in the present book. The list shows agreement in the following names: Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naph tali, Gad, Asher and Benjamin. The “house of Joseph” formed two tribes, Ephraim and Ma nasseh (Jos 16:4). Including the tribe of Levi, there were thirteen. But this last tribe was formed by families traditionally dedicated to re ligious cult who did not have their own terri to ry (Jos 21:10). In this way, the number twelve will be restored when Joshua divides the land.
They apportioned the land by casting lots. In this manner, the lesson is imparted that the Promised Land is a gift from God (Psalm 16 uses the same imagery). Each tribe receives a portion which they did not choose and which they must now conquer in order to own. Each of us has re ceived from God his or her own share in life. We have to accept our share in the same way the tribes accepted their “share of their inheritance.” Then we must achieve our destiny with courage and confidence in God just as they did.