Joshua 19:50

50 For the LORD had said he could have any town he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and lived there.

Joshua 19:50 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 19:50

According to the word of the Lord
Or mouth of the Lord; either according to the oracle of Urim and Thummim, which Eleazar consulted on this occasion; or according to what the Lord had said to Moses, at the same time that Hebron was ordered to Caleb, ( Joshua 14:6 ) ; and

they gave him the city which he asked, [even] Timnathserah in Mount
Ephraim;
he chose a place in his own tribe, for he was of the tribe of Ephraim; and it seems that what he chose was none of the best of places; for Paula, as Jerom ^F9 relates, when she travelled into those parts, wondered that the distributor of the possessions of the children of Israel should choose such a rough and mountainous place for himself; of its situation, see ( Joshua 24:30 ) ;

and he built the city, and dwelt therein;
he rebuilt it, and fitted it for his own habitation, and for those that belonged to him.

(Timnathserah means "an abundant portion" or "a place in the sun". Joshua great reward was in seeing the promises of God fulfilled before his very eyes ( Joshua 21:45 ) ( 23:14 ) and the children of Israel serving the Lord's during his lifetime ( Joshua 24:31 ) . Joshua may have received but a small inheritance in the promised land but this was just an earnest of his future glorious inheritance in eternity. The saints of God have the best portion saved for the last ( John 2:10 ) whereas the worldling has his best portion now; his worst is yet to come. Editor.)

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 Epitaph. Paulae, fol. 59. L.

Joshua 19:50 In-Context

48 The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Dan included these towns and their surrounding villages.

49 After all the land was divided among the tribes, the Israelites gave a piece of land to Joshua as his allocation.

50 For the LORD had said he could have any town he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and lived there.

51 These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the tribal leaders allocated as grants of land to the tribes of Israel by casting sacred lots in the presence of the LORD at the entrance of the Tabernacle at Shiloh. So the division of the land was completed.