1 Now Joshua was old and well advanced in years. Yahweh said to him, "You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed. 2 "This is the land that still remains: all the regions of the Philistines, and all the Geshurites; 3 from the Shihor, which is before Egypt, even to the border of Ekron northward, which is counted as Canaanite; the five lords of the Philistines; the Gazites, and the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avvim, 4 on the south; all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the border of the Amorites; 5 and the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal Gad under Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath; 6 all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim, even all the Sidonians; them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only allocate it to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you. 7 Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh." 8 With him the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of Yahweh gave them: 9 from Aroer, that is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain of Medeba to Dibon; 10 and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, to the border of the children of Ammon; 11 and Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah; 12 all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (the same was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for Moses attacked these, and drove them out. 13 Nevertheless the children of Israel didn't drive out the Geshurites, nor the Maacathites: but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day. 14 Only he gave no inheritance to the tribe of Levi. The offerings of Yahweh, the God of Israel, made by fire are his inheritance, as he spoke to him. 15 Moses gave to the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their families. 16 Their border was from Aroer, that is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain by Medeba; 17 Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the plain; Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar in the mount of the valley, 20 Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth Jeshimoth, 21 all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck with the chiefs of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land. 22 The children of Israel alse killed Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, with the sword, among the rest of their slain. 23 The border of the children of Reuben was the bank of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and its villages. 24 Moses gave to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad, according to their families. 25 Their border was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, to Aroer that is before Rabbah; 26 and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir; 27 and in the valley, Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, the Jordan's bank, to the uttermost part of the sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan eastward. 28 This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and its villages. 29 Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh. It was for the half-tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families. 30 Their border was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities. 31 Half Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even for the half of the children of Machir according to their families. 32 These are the inheritances which Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho, eastward. 33 But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance. Yahweh, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as he spoke to them.
Here commences the second portion of the book, the statements of which were drawn from pre-existing documentary records (compare Joshua 18:9); the whole of the history being introduced by a command of God to Joshua to proceed to allot the land among the tribes.
Joshua being old, the Lord informs him of the land yet remaining to be possessed, Joshua 13:1. Of the unconquered land among the Philistines, Joshua 13:2, Joshua 13:3. Among the Canaanites, Sidonians, and Amorites, Joshua 13:4, Joshua 13:5. The inhabitants of the hill country and the Sidonians to be driven out, Joshua 13:6. The land on the east side of Jordan, that was to be divided among the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, Joshua 13:7-12. The Geshurites and the Maachathites not expelled, Joshua 13:13. The tribe of Levi receive no inheritance, Joshua 13:14. The possessions of Reuben described, Joshua 13:15-23. The possessions of Gad, Joshua 13:24-28. The possessions of the half tribe of Manasseh, Joshua 13:29-31. Recapitulation of the subjects contained in this chapter, Joshua 13:32, Joshua 13:33.
INTRODUCTION TO 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, Joshua 13:1; 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, Joshua 13:8; that is described in general, Joshua 13:9; and, then the particular portion of Reuben, Joshua 13:15; and of Gad, Joshua 13:24; and of the half tribe of Manasseh, Joshua 13:29.
(Joshua 13:1-6) Bounds of the land not yet conquered.
(v. 7-33) Inheritance of Reuben.
II. Division of the Land of Canaan Among the Tribes of Israel - Joshua 13-24
The distribution of the conquered land among the Israelites is introduced by the command of the Lord to Joshua to enter upon this work, now that he was old, although different portions of land were still unconquered (Joshua 13:1-7); and to this there is appended a description of the land on the east of the Jordan which had already been conquered and divided among the two tribes and a half (Josh 13:8-33). The distribution of the land on this side among the nine tribes and a half is related in its historical order; so that not only are the territories assigned by lot to the different tribes described according to their respective boundaries and towns, but the historical circumstances connected with the division and allotting of the land are also introduced into the description. These historical accounts are so closely connected with the geographical descriptions of the territory belonging to the different tribes, that the latter alone will explain the course pursued in the distribution of the land, and the various ways in which the different territories are described (see the remarks on Joshua 14:1). For example, in the account of the inheritance which fell to the lot of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, not only are the boundaries most carefully traced, but the towns are also enumerated one by one (Josh 15 and Josh 18:11-28); whereas in the tribe of Joseph (Ephraim and half Manasseh) the list of the towns is altogether wanting (Joshua 16:1-10 and 17); and in the possessions of the other tribes, either towns alone are mentioned, as in the case of Simeon and Daniel (Joshua 19:1-9, Joshua 19:40-48), or the boundaries and towns are mixed up together, but both of them given incompletely, as in the case of Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali (Joshua 19:10-16, Joshua 19:17-23, Joshua 19:24-31, Joshua 19:32-39). This incompleteness, particularly in the territories of the tribes mentioned last, may be explained from the fact, that in northern Canaan there were still very many tracts of land in the hands of the Canaanites, and the Israelites had not acquired a sufficiently exact or complete knowledge of the country, either through Joshua's campaign in the north, or through the men who were sent out to survey the northern land before it was divided (Joshua 18:4-9), to enable them to prepare a complete account of the boundaries and towns at the very outset. In the same way, too, we may explain the absence of the list of towns in the case of the tribes of Ephraim and half Manasseh-namely, from the fact that a large portion of the territory assigned to the tribe of Joseph was still in the possession of the Canaanites (vid., Joshua 17:14-18); whilst the omission of any account of the boundaries in the case of Simeon and Daniel is attributable to the circumstance that the former received its inheritance within the tribe of Judah, and the latter between Judah and Ephraim, whilst the space left for the Danites was so small, that Ephraim and Judah had to gave up to them some of the town in their own territory. Thus the very inequality and incompleteness of the geographical accounts of the possessions of the different tribes decidedly favour the conclusion, that they are the very lists which were drawn up at the time when Joshua divided the land. There is nothing to preclude this supposition in the fact that several towns occur with different names, e.g., Beth-shemesh and Ir-shemesh (Joshua 15:10; Joshua 19:41; Joshua 21:16), Madmannah and Beth-marcaboth, Sansanna and Hazar-susa (Joshua 15:31; Joshua 19:5), Shilchim and Sharuchen (Joshua 15:32; Joshua 19:6), Remeth and Jarmuth (Joshua 19:21; Joshua 21:29), or in other smaller differences. For variations of this kind may be sufficiently explained from the fact that such places were known by two different names, which could be used promiscuously; whilst in other cases the difference in the name amounts to nothing more than a different mode of writing or pronouncing it: e.g., Kattah and Kartah (Joshua 19:15; Joshua 21:34), Eshtemoh and Eshtemoa (Joshua 15:50; Joshua 21:14), Baalah and Balah (Joshua 15:29; Joshua 19:3); or simply in the contraction of a composite name, such as Ramoth in Gilead for Ramoth-mizpeh (Joshua 21:36; Joshua 13:26); Bealoth and Baalath-beer (Joshua 15:24; Joshua 19:8), Lebaoth and Beth-lebaoth (Joshua 15:32; Joshua 19:6), Hammath and Hammoth-dor (Joshua 19:35; Joshua 21:32).
If the author, on the other hand, had drawn from later sources, or had simply given the results of later surveys, as Knobel supposes, there can be no doubt that much greater uniformity would be found in the different lists.
(Note: The arguments employed by Knobel in support of his assertion, consist on the one had of inconclusive and incorrect assertions, and are founded on the other hand upon arbitrary assumptions. In the first place, for example, he asserts that "a large number of towns are omitted from the lists, which were within the boundaries mentioned and were in existence in the very earliest times, viz., in the south, Tamar (Genesis 14:7), Arad (Numbers 21:1), Atbach, Rachal, Aroer, and Siphamoth (1-Samuel 30:28.), Gerar (Genesis. 20:26); in the Shephelah, Gaza, Askalon, Gath, Ashdod, Jabne, and Joppa (see Joshua 15:45.); in Benjamin, Michmash and Nob (1-Samuel 13:2., Joshua 22:19); in the north, Aphek, Lassaron, Madon, Shimron-meron, and Merom (Joshua 11:5; Joshua 12:18-20), as well as Meroz and Ajjalon (Judges 5:23; Judges 12:12); and these with other places would assuredly not be wanting here, if Joshua and his associates had distributed the towns as well as the land, and furnished our author with the lists." But it would be difficult to bring forward the proofs of this, since Knobel himself acknowledges that there are gaps in the lists which have come down to us, some of which can be proved to be the fault of the copyists, - such, for example, as the want of a whole section after Joshua 15:19 and Joshua 21:35. Moreover, the Philistine towns of Ashdod and Gaza are really mentioned in Joshua 15:46, and the others at all events hinted at; whereas Knobel first of all arbitrarily rejects Joshua 15:45-47 from the text, in order that he may afterwards be able to speak of it as omitted. Again, with many of the places mentioned as omissions, such as Atbach, Rachal, Siphamoth, etc., it is very questionable whether they were towns at all in Joshua's time, or, at all events, such towns as we should expect to find mentioned. And lastly, not only are no catalogues of towns given at all in the case of Ephraim and Manasseh, but we have only imperfect catalogues in the case of Zebulun, Asher, and Naphtali; and, as we have already observed, this incompleteness and these gaps can be satisfactorily explained from the historical circumstances under which the allotment of the land took place. Secondly, Knobel also maintains, that "Joshua's conquests did not extend to the Lebanon (Joshua 13:4-5), and yet the author mentions towns of the Asherites there (Joshua 19:28, Joshua 19:30): Bethel was not taken till after the time of Joshua (Judges 1:22.), and this was also the case with Jerusalem (Judges 1:8), and in the earliest times of the judges they had no Hebrew inhabitants (Judges 19:12), yet the author speaks of both places as towns of the Benjamites (Joshua 18:22, Joshua 18:28); Jericho and Ai were lying in ruins in Joshua's time (Joshua 6:24; Joshua 8:28), yet they are spoken of here as towns of Benjamin that had been rebuilt (Joshua 18:21, Joshua 18:23); it is just the same with Hazor in Naphtali (Joshua 11:13; Joshua 19:36); and according to Judges 1:1, Judges 1:10., Hebron and Debir also were not conquered till after Joshua's time." But all this rests (1) upon the false assumption, that the only towns which Joshua distributed by lot among the tribes of Israel were those which he permanently conquered, whereas, according to the command of God, he divided the whole land among the Israelites, whether it was conquered or not; (2) upon the erroneous opinion, that the towns which had been destroyed, such as Jericho, Ai, and Hazor, were allotted to the Israelites as "rebuilt," whereas there is not a word about this in the text. It is just the same with the arguments used by Knobel in proof of the composition of Josh 13-21 from three different documents. The material discrepancies have been forced upon the text, as we shall see when we come to an explanation of the passages in question; and the verbal differences prove nothing more than that the geographical account of the boundaries and towns contains no allusion to the priesthood, to sacrifice, or to certain other things which no one would think of looking for here.)
*More commentary available by clicking individual verses.