Joshua 18:8

8 As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua commanded them, “Go and explore the land and write a description of it. Then return to me, and I will assign the land to the tribes by casting sacred lots here in the presence of the LORD at Shiloh.”

Joshua 18:8 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 18:8

And the men arose, and went away
The seven tribes took the advice of Joshua, chose three men out of each tribe, and presented them to him, who gave them their commission and instruction to go and describe the land of Canaan, not yet disposed of, and whether subdued, or not subdued; upon which they prepared for their journey, and took it, after he had given them the following charge:

and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land;
before they departed from him:

saying, go and walk through the land;
and take particular notice, and an exact survey of it, both of the quality and the quantity of it:

and describe it;
its cities and towns, hills and dales, the goodness and badness of the soil, and put it down in a book, or lay it out in a map, that it may be discerned by the eye what number of cities, and what space of ground it contains, and what parts are hilly and woody, and what otherwise:

and come again to me;
to make a report of it:

that I may cast lots for you before the Lord in Shiloh;
that is, for the several tribes which they belonged to, and by whom they were chosen for this purpose.

Joshua 18:8 In-Context

6 And when you record the seven divisions of the land and bring them to me, I will cast sacred lots in the presence of the LORD our God to assign land to each tribe.

7 “The Levites, however, will not receive any allotment of land. Their role as priests of the LORD is their allotment. And the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh won’t receive any more land, for they have already received their grant of land, which Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave them on the east side of the Jordan River.”

8 As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua commanded them, “Go and explore the land and write a description of it. Then return to me, and I will assign the land to the tribes by casting sacred lots here in the presence of the LORD at Shiloh.”

9 The men did as they were told and mapped the entire territory into seven sections, listing the towns in each section. They made a written record and then returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh.

10 And there at Shiloh, Joshua cast sacred lots in the presence of the LORD to determine which tribe should have each section.