Joshua18

The children of Israel assembled at Shiloh, where the tabernacle was set up, though seven tribes still lacked their inheritance. Joshua rebuked their idleness and commanded them to send men to survey the remaining land, divide it into seven parts, and record it. After the survey, Joshua cast lots before the LORD in Shiloh, and the inheritance for the tribe of Benjamin was determined, with its borders and cities meticulously described.

The Tabernacle Set Up at Shiloh

1
The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The land was subdued before them. ​
2
Seven tribes remained among the children of Israel, which had not yet divided their inheritance. ​

Joshua Rebukes the Seven Tribes

3
Joshua said to the children of Israel, “How long will you neglect to go in to possess the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? ​
4
Appoint for yourselves three men from each tribe. I will send them, and they shall arise, walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come to me. ​
5
They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall live in his borders on the south, and the house of Joseph shall live in their borders on the north. ​
6
You shall survey the land into seven parts, and bring the description here to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the LORD our God. ​
7
For the Levites have no portion among you; for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.” ​
8
The men arose and went. Joshua commanded those who went to survey the land, saying, “Go walk through the land, survey it, and come again to me. I will cast lots for you here before the LORD in Shiloh.”
9
The men went and passed through the land, and surveyed it by cities into seven portions in a book. They came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh. ​
10
Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD. There Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions. ​

The Inheritance of Benjamin

11
The lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families. The border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. ​
12
Their border on the north quarter was from the Jordan. The border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward. It ended at the wilderness of Beth Aven.
13
The border passed along from there to Luz, to the side of Luz (the same is Bethel), southward. The border went down to Ataroth Addar, by the mountain that lies on the south of Beth Horon the lower.
14
The border extended, and turned around on the west quarter southward, from the mountain that lies before Beth Horon southward; and ended at Kiriath Baal (the same is Kiriath Jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west quarter.
15
The south quarter was from the farthest part of Kiriath Jearim. The border went out westward, and went out to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.
16
The border went down to the farthest part of the mountain that lies before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward. It went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En Rogel. ​
17
It extended northward, went out at En Shemesh, and went out to Geliloth, which is over against the ascent of Adummim. It went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.
18
It passed along to the side over against the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah.
19
The border passed along to the side of Beth Hoglah northward; and the border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the south border.
20
The Jordan was its border on the east quarter. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the borders around it, according to their families.

Cities of Benjamin

21
Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,
22
Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ​
23
Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,
24
Chephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages.
25
Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,
26
Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,
27
Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,
28
Zelah, Eleph, the Jebusite (the same is Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families. ​

Study Notes for Joshua 18

Verse 1

Shiloh became the central sanctuary for Israel during the period of the judges (1 Sam 1:3). Setting up the Tabernacle here signaled that the central phase of settlement had begun, providing Israel with a unified religious center, even while conquest remained incomplete.

Verse 2

Only the tribes of Judah, Ephraim, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had fully received their territorial allotment. The remaining seven tribes had yet to claim their inheritance, despite the land being 'subdued' (V. 1).

Verse 3

Joshua challenges the 'slackness' (lethargy or hesitation) of the tribes. They had won the major battles but were failing to act on God’s promise by physically possessing and settling the land, perhaps due to fear or weariness.

Verse 4

This innovative approach commanded a detailed, written survey of the territory. This ensured a fair, systematic division based on observable data, complementing the divine guidance provided by the lot (V. 6).

Verse 5

The remaining land was divided into seven portions corresponding to the seven remaining tribes. Judah and Joseph (Ephraim/Manasseh) were already settled and provided fixed boundaries for the new divisions.

Verse 6

The lot was an accepted method in ancient Israel for discerning God’s will regarding division or decision-making (Proverbs 16:33). The survey provided the map, and the lot determined the assignment.

Verse 7

The Levites were consecrated to the priesthood and received no tribal territory, subsisting instead on tithes and scattered cities (Joshua 21). The Transjordanian tribes had already received their inheritance from Moses.

Verse 9

Recording the land description 'in a book' emphasizes the orderly, administrative seriousness of the settlement process, moving Israel from military conquest toward civil establishment.

Verse 10

The division took place 'before the LORD' at Shiloh, ensuring that the distribution was ratified and sanctioned by God at the place of worship, confirming the covenantal nature of the land grant.

Verse 11

The tribe of Benjamin received a strategically vital, though geographically small, territory situated between the powerful tribes of Judah to the south and Ephraim (part of Joseph) to the north.

Verse 16

This description mentions the Valley of Hinnom (later Gehenna) and outlines the area around 'Jebusi' (Jerusalem). This indicates that the original city of Jerusalem lay directly on the crucial border between Benjamin and Judah.

Verse 22

Bethel ('House of God') was one of the most significant sites in Israel’s history, associated with Abraham and Jacob (Gen 12, 28). Its inclusion in Benjamin’s territory highlights the region’s importance.

Verse 28

The listing of Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, confirms its assignment to Benjamin. However, the Benjamites failed to dispossess the Jebusites (Judg 1:21), requiring King David to conquer it centuries later.

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