JOS

Joshua 13

BSB

Lands Yet Unconquered

(Judges 1:1–7)

1Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed. 2This is the land that remains:

All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, 3from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;

4to the south, all the land of the Canaanites, from Mearah of the Sidonians to Aphek, as far as the border of the Amorites;

5the land of the Gebalites;

and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath.

6All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim—all the Sidonians—I Myself will drive out before the Israelites. Be sure to divide it by lot as an inheritance to Israel, as I have commanded you. 7Now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

The Inheritance East of the Jordan

(Numbers 32:1–42; Deuteronomy 3:12–22)

8The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them:

9The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon, 10and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the Ammonites;

11also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah— 12the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and had remained as a remnant of the Rephaim.

Moses had struck them down and dispossessed them, 13but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath dwell among the Israelites to this day.

14To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The offerings made by fire to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as He had promised them.

Reuben’s Inheritance

15This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Reuben:

16The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba, 17to Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, 18Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley, 20Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth— 21all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land.

22The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword. 23And the border of the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan.

This was the inheritance of the clans of the Reubenites, including the cities and villages.

Gad’s Inheritance

24This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Gad:

25The territory of Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, near Rabbah;

26the territory from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir;

27and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the territory on the east side of the Jordan up to the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth ).

28This was the inheritance of the clans of the Gadites, including the cities and villages.

Manasseh’s Eastern Inheritance

29This is what Moses had given to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh:

30The territory from Mahanaim through all Bashan—all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, including all the towns of Jair that are in Bashan, sixty cities; 31half of Gilead; and Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan.

All this was for the clans of the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh, that is, half of the descendants of Machir.

32These were the portions Moses had given them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.

33To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as He had promised them.

Matthew Henry's chapter overview

Introduction

Joshua 13

At this chapter begins the account of the dividing of the land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel by lot, a narrative not so entertaining and instructive as that of the conquest of it, and yet it is thought fit to be inserted in the sacred history, to illustrate the performance of the promise made to the fathers, that this land should be given to the seed of Jacob, to them and not to any other. The preserving of this distribution would be of great use to the Jewish nation, who were obliged by the law to keep up this first distribution, and not to transfer inheritances from tribe to tribe, Num 36:9. It is likewise of use to us for the explaining of other scriptures: the learned know how much light the geographical description of a country gives to the history of it. And therefore we are not to skip over these chapters of hard names as useless and not to be regarded; where God has a mouth to speak and a hand to write we should find an ear to hear an eye to read; and God give us a heart to profit! In this chapter, I. God informs Joshua what parts of the country that were intended in the grant to Israel yet remained unconquered, and not got in possession (Jos 13:1-6). II. He appoints him, notwithstanding, to make a distribution of what was conquered (Jos 13:7). III. To complete this account, here is a repetition of the distribution Moses had made of the land on the other side Jordan; in general (Jos 13:8-14), in particular, the lot of Reuben (Jos 13:15-23), of Gad (Jos 13:24-28), of the half tribe of Manasseh (Jos 13:29-33).

Cross-references: Num 36:9 · Josh 13:1 · Josh 13:7 · Josh 13:8 · Josh 13:15 · Josh 13:24 · Josh 13:29