Joshua 18:2-12

2 There remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance.

3 So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, "¹How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?

4 "Provide for yourselves three men from each tribe that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall return to me.

5 "They shall divide it into seven portions; ²Judah shall stay in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their territory on the north.

6 "You shall describe the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. ³I will cast lots for you here before the LORD our God.

7 "For ⁴the Levites have no portion among you, because the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance. Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe * of Manasseh also have received their inheritance eastward beyond * the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them."

8 Then the men arose and went, and Joshua commanded those who went to describe the land, saying, "Go and walk through the land and describe it, and return to me; then I will cast lots for you here before the LORD in ⁵Shiloh."

9 So the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh.

10 And ⁶Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD, and there Joshua divided the land to the sons of Israel according to their divisions.

The Territory of Benjamin

11 Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot lay between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.

12 ⁷Their border on the north side was from the Jordan, then the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward, and it ended * at the wilderness of Beth-aven.

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Joshua 18:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 18

This chapter informs us of the setting up of the tabernacle at Shiloh, Jos 18:1; of the notice Joshua took, that seven tribes had not received their inheritance, Jos 18:2; of the instructions he gave them to send three men out of each tribe, and describe the land not yet disposed of, and bring the account to him, which was accordingly done, Jos 18:3-9; and then he cast lots for them, and the first lot came up for Benjamin, Jos 18:10,11; the borders of whose lots are described, Jos 18:12-20; and the several cities in it enumerated, Jos 18:21-28.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 7

1. Judges 18:9
2. Joshua 15:1
3. Joshua 14:2
4. Numbers 18:7, 20; Joshua 13:33
5. Joshua 18:1
6. Numbers 34:16-29; Joshua 19:51
7. Joshua 16:1

Footnotes 5

[a]. Lit "the"
[b]. Lit "come"
[c]. Lit "his"
[d]. Lit "went out"
[e]. Lit "the goings out of it were"