Joshua 18:1-14

Jos 18:1

And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.

These are the people of the tribes that have not yet received their inheritance in Canaan.  Shiloh was located about 15 miles (24 KM) northwest of Gilgal.  Joshua was of the tribe of Ephraim so the tabernacle was moved from Gilgal to Shiloh which was in the territory of the tribe of Ephraim.  The place for the tabernacle was determined by God back in the time of Moses.  Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD: (Deuteronomy 12:11)  The land which was subdued was not the entire land of Canaan but the area in which they were locating the tabernacle.  They did not have to worry about any attacks from the enemies because the land was secured where they were.

Jos 18:2

And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance.

There were yet seven tribes which had not received their inheritance yet.  They were: Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan.  These tribes did not seem to be in a hurry to receive their inheritance because they were probably at ease in Gilgal.

Jos 18:3

And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?

Joshua then reproves the laziness of these tribes and then challenges them as to when are they going to take the inheritance that the LORD God had already promised them.  They were probably happy to dwell in a large body together rather than being separated into the individual allotted areas.  Maybe they had complained about the size of the allotments since Judah was given a bigger area and Joseph was given a smaller area.  The longer they took to inhabit the land the more time they gave the Canaanites to regroup and strengthen themselves which means the Israelites would now be facing a prepared enemy.

Jos 18:4

Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me.

Joshua then sends out three men from each tribe and not just one, so this way they can each evaluate what they are seeing and bring back a more fuller report.  Then these men were to go out throughout the unconquered part of the land within the inheritance of each of the tribes going out.  Then when these men have finished their surveillance they were to bring their findings to Joshua.  At this time Joshua was about 102 years old so he would not have been very able to go out and head up an army to finish the battles, that would be the job of the individual tribes.

Jos 18:5

And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north.

They would then divide the land into seven equal parts to the best of their ability so this way there would be no complaints that some are being treated better than others.  Judah need not be measured since they received their inheritance in the south of Canaan and Ephraim and Manasseh which is here called Joseph received their inheritance on the east and west side of Jordan which was north of Judah.

Jos 18:6

Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God.

Then when the men have searched out the land, they were to bring their findings back to Joshua at Shiloh where the tabernacle was.  They would cast lots in the tabernacle because the land being apportioned to the seven tribes was determined by God’s decree.  Their findings were to be written down because written words do not change as does the spoken word.  This way no one can accuse anyone else of improprieties if everything is recorded.  Then once the lots are cast and the determination comes from the LORD, then they would have to leave and take their inheritance.

Jos 18:7

But the Levites have no part among you; for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance: and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.

Then the Levites would have no land inheritance like the other tribes but would be given Levitical cities within the tribes.  The LORD is their inheritance just as he is for the true born again believer.  That is because we do not seek an earthly kingdom or earthly city but we seek one beyond the horizons of earth which is the New Jerusalem.  Then we are told that the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh had received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan by divine decree and doled out by Moses while they still had not crossed into Canaan.

Jos 18:8

And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh.

Then once the men received their marching orders they proceeded to survey the land where the tribes would be located.  According to Josephus this survey of the land took seven months.  These men would have to be very careful in the way they surveyed the land because the areas that they were going to were still heavily populated with the Canaanites and if they were not careful, they could be captured and executed as spies.  Then once they did their assessment they were to bring back all the information to Joshua so he could cast lots and know the mind of the LORD concerning the assigned lands for the seven remaining tribes.

Jos 18:9

And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.

God had protected them while they did the survey of the land so all returned in safety.  They wrote down all their findings and brought them to Joshua in Shiloh.  They might have even made maps of the areas they searched out which would make it easier to follow when the time of allocation came due.

Jos 18:10

And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.

Then when Joshua had all the information, he then cast lots for the dispersion of the remaining seven tribes.  The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD. (Proverbs 16:33)  One must never equate the casting of lots with the casting of dice in gambling.  This verse has absolutely nothing to do with gambling. So many think this verse is referring to gambling and it is not. In ancient times, when a decision was needed that only the Lord could give, lots were cast and the decision came from the Lord.  And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, {25} That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place. {26} And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (Acts 1:24-26) After the death of Judas, Matthias was chosen by lot.  And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah. (Jonah 1:7) The sailors cast lots and it fell upon Jonah as they were seeking the cause of the great storm which befell them. So these lots in the Bible were not gambling as one thinks of shooting dice. The lot was used when there was an uncertain decision which had to be made and they sought the Lord by this means for an answer. Every time the lots were used, it was used for the purpose of gaining an answer from the Lord. Lots in the Bible were never associated with any games of chance.

Jos 18:11

And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.

Now the answer from the LORD has come to Joshua and the first tribe to be named is the tribe of Benjamin.  Benjamin was located north of Jerusalem and south of Ephraim.  It was sandwiched in between them.  When we see the word “coast” it does not always mean it is on the coast of a sea or river but it means “border.”  For example, the northern coast of the State of Nebraska borders South Dakota and both states are landlocked.

Jos 18:12

And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Beth-aven.

The northern border of Benjamin extended from the Jordan river to the north side of Jericho which was about 3 miles (5 KM) to the west which continued into the mountains west which was in the hill country of Ephraim and the wilderness of Beth-aven was about 15 miles (24 KM) to the west of Jericho.

Jos 18:13

And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Beth-el, southward; and the border descended to Ataroth-adar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Beth-horon.

Beth-el was about 17 miles (27 KM) west of Jericho.  Ataroth-adar was about 3 miles (5 KM) south of Beth-el.  Nether Beth-horon was lower Beth-horon which was about 2 miles (3 KM) west of Beth-horon and about 23 miles (37 KM) west of Jericho.

Jos 18:14

And the border was drawn thence, and compassed the corner of the sea southward, from the hill that lieth before Beth-horon southward; and the goings out thereof were at Kirjath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, a city of the children of Judah: this was the west quarter.