Numbers 26:55

55 But you must assign the land by lot, and give land to each ancestral tribe according to the number of names on the list.

Numbers 26:55 Meaning and Commentary

Numbers 26:55

Notwithstanding, the land shall be divided by lot
That the division might appear to be according to the determination and will of God, and not left to the judgment and discretion of the chief magistrate, though bound by the above rule:

according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall
inherit;
that is, according as to whatsoever name of a tribe such a part or portion of the land comes up by lot, that shall their inheritance be: Jarchi says, the names of the twelve tribes were written on twelve scrolls of parchment, and twelve borders or limits of land on twelve others, and they were mixed together in an urn, and the prince put his hand into it and took two scrolls; a scroll came up with the name of a tribe, and a scroll with a border or limit expressed on it; and the lot, he says, was by the Holy Ghost, for Eleazar, at the same time, was clothed with Urim and Thummim ^F19; so that the people were certain that the disposition and division of the land was of God; but there were but nine tribes and a half, among whom the land of Canaan was divided, two tribes and a half settled on the other side Jordan, namely, the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Biccurim, c. 1. sect. 5.

Numbers 26:55 In-Context

53 “Divide the land among the tribes, and distribute the grants of land in proportion to the tribes’ populations, as indicated by the number of names on the list.

54 Give the larger tribes more land and the smaller tribes less land, each group receiving a grant in proportion to the size of its population.

55 But you must assign the land by lot, and give land to each ancestral tribe according to the number of names on the list.

56 Each grant of land must be assigned by lot among the larger and smaller tribal groups.”

57 This is the record of the Levites who were counted according to their clans: The Gershonite clan, named after their ancestor Gershon. The Kohathite clan, named after their ancestor Kohath. The Merarite clan, named after their ancestor Merari.