Joshua 13:8-33

8 Half the tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had already received their grants of land on the east side of the Jordan, for Moses, the servant of the LORD, had previously assigned this land to them.
9 Their territory extended from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge (including the town in the middle of the gorge) to the plain beyond Medeba, as far as Dibon.
10 It also included all the towns of King Sihon of the Amorites, who had reigned in Heshbon, and extended as far as the borders of Ammon.
11 It included Gilead, the territory of the kingdoms of Geshur and Maacah, all of Mount Hermon, all of Bashan as far as Salecah,
12 and all the territory of King Og of Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. King Og was the last of the Rephaites, for Moses had attacked them and driven them out.
13 But the Israelites failed to drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah, so they continue to live among the Israelites to this day.
14 Moses did not assign any allotment of land to the tribe of Levi. Instead, as the LORD had promised them, their allotment came from the offerings burned on the altar to the LORD, the God of Israel.
15 Moses had assigned the following area to the clans of the tribe of Reuben.
16 Their territory extended from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge (including the town in the middle of the gorge) to the plain beyond Medeba.
17 It included Heshbon and the other towns on the plain—Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon,
18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,
19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill above the valley,
20 Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth.
21 The land of Reuben also included all the towns of the plain and the entire kingdom of Sihon. Sihon was the Amorite king who had reigned in Heshbon and was killed by Moses along with the leaders of Midian—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—princes living in the region who were allied with Sihon.
22 The Israelites had also killed Balaam son of Beor, who used magic to tell the future.
23 The Jordan River marked the western boundary for the tribe of Reuben. The towns and their surrounding villages in this area were given as a homeland to the clans of the tribe of Reuben.
24 Moses had assigned the following area to the clans of the tribe of Gad.
25 Their territory included Jazer, all the towns of Gilead, and half of the land of Ammon, as far as the town of Aroer just west of Rabbah.
26 It extended from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Lo-debar.
27 In the valley were Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, Zaphon, and the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon. The western boundary ran along the Jordan River, extended as far north as the tip of the Sea of Galilee, and then turned eastward.
28 The towns and their surrounding villages in this area were given as a homeland to the clans of the tribe of Gad.
29 Moses had assigned the following area to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh.
30 Their territory extended from Mahanaim, including all of Bashan, all the former kingdom of King Og, and the sixty towns of Jair in Bashan.
31 It also included half of Gilead and King Og’s royal cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei. All this was given to the clans of the descendants of Makir, who was Manasseh’s son.
32 These are the allotments Moses had made while he was on the plains of Moab, across the Jordan River, east of Jericho.
33 But Moses gave no allotment of land to the tribe of Levi, for the LORD, the God of Israel, had promised that he himself would be their allotment.

Joshua 13:8-33 Meaning and Commentary

\\INTRODUCTION JOSHUA 13\\

In this chapter Joshua is informed by the Lord, or put in mind, that
part of the land of Canaan remained unconquered, and which it was; and
is directed to divide the whole land among the nine tribes, and the
half tribe of Manasseh, Jos 13:1-9; and since the two tribes of Reuben
and Gad, and the other half tribe of Manasseh, had received their
inheritance on the other side Jordan, Jos 13:8; that is described in
general, Jos 13:9-14; and, then the particular portion of Reuben,
Jos 13:15-23; and of Gad, Jos 13:24-28; and of the half tribe of
Manasseh, Jos 13:29-33.

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Hebrew in front of.
  • [b]. Hebrew Li-debir, apparently a variant spelling of Lo-debar (compare 2 Sam 9:4 ; 17:27 ; Amos 6:13 ).
  • [c]. Hebrew Sea of Kinnereth.
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