Joshua 14 Footnotes

14:1-5 This section introduces the allocation of the land to the remaining tribes. It was to be determined by casting lots (perhaps the Urim and Thummim of the high priest, Lv 8:8) for which parcel of land each tribe should inherit. This was according to the Lord’s directive for the allotment of the land (Nm 26:55-56; 33:54). Use of the lot by Eleazar, the high priest, was not a matter of chance; it was a matter of obedience to the Lord’s instruction (Nm 26:55-56). God was responsible for the outcome of the casting of the lot (see Jos 18:6-10; Pr 16:33). Discerning the will of God is never a matter of chance. The Levites did not receive an inheritance but were given cities in which to live (Nm 35:1-8; Jos 21:1-41).