Joshua 18:11

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.

Joshua 18:11 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 18:11

And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up
according to their families
This was the first lot of the seven that came up; it was but a small lot, and therefore called "little Benjamin", ( Psalms 68:27 ) ; but the land was very pleasant and fruitful. Josephus F8 says, this lot was very strait, because of the goodness of the soil, for it took in Jericho, and the city of Jerusalem:

and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and
the children of Joseph;
having Judah on the south, and Joseph on the north; this was so ordered by the providence of God, that Benjamin should lie close to Joseph, being own brothers, and the only children of Rachel, Jacob's beloved wife; and that it should be next to Judah, with whom it was to unite, both in religious and civil affairs, and both met in and had a part of Jerusalem, the metropolis of Israel; and this lot fell exactly according to the prediction of Moses, and the order of it, who places Benjamin between Judah and Joseph, the tribe of Levi having no share in the division of the land, ( Deuteronomy 33:7 Deuteronomy 33:12 Deuteronomy 33:13 ) .


FOOTNOTES:

F8 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 22.

Joshua 18:11 In-Context

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 Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD , and there Joshua divided the land to the sons of Israel according to their divisions.
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 Their 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.
13 From there the border continued to Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel ) southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, near the hill which lies on the south of lower Beth-horon.

Footnotes 1

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