Jos 18-22 | TNotes | STEP | 18:1 Israel had been encamped at Gilgal in the Jordan Valley (14:6 ). Shiloh was about twenty miles north of Jerusalem, in the hill country of Ephraim. By setting up the Tabernacle there, Joshua made Shiloh Israel’s religious and political center. The Tabernacle remained at Shiloh until the Philistines captured the Ark (1 Sam 4:10-11 ).

18:1 ^a Israel had been encamped at Gilgal in the Jordan Valley (14:6 ^b). Shiloh was about twenty miles north of Jerusalem, in the hill country of Ephraim. By setting up the Tabernacle there, Joshua made Shiloh Israel’s religious and political center. The Tabernacle remained at Shiloh until the Philistines captured the Ark (1 Sam 4:10-11 ^c).
18:4 ^d The three selected representatives from each tribe came from the seven tribes that had not yet received their allotments.

• a written report: Israel was not an entirely oral society. If an event or record was important enough to be remembered over time, leaders ordered that it be written down.
18:5 ^e The remaining land was divided into seven sections, one for each tribe not yet assigned its territory.
18:6 ^f Joshua publicly cast sacred lots to eliminate envy or suspicion (see also study note on 7:16-18).
18:7 ^g The Levites: See ch 21 ^h.

• Gad ... Manasseh: See 13:15-33 ⁱ.
18:9 ^j The Canaanites of the hill country now feared Israel and allowed twenty-one men (18:4 ^k) to walk through these territories and return unharmed.

• The written record was probably a scroll, which might have provided the original source for the descriptions of the tribal allotments in chs 18–19 ^l.
18:11 ^m Benjamin was Jacob’s twelfth and last son, and the second son of Rachel, Jacob’s favorite wife. The land received by his descendants reflected this favored position; they received a small but central portion between ... Judah and Joseph.
Summary for Josh 18:21-28: 18:21-28 ⁿ While Judah’s land included eleven or twelve districts (see study note on 15:59), the tribe of Benjamin had two, totaling twenty-six towns. However, the location between the lands of Judah and Joseph gave Benjamin an economic and military importance significantly greater than its size.
18:28 ^o Jerusalem: See study note on 15:8.

• Kiriath: The Kiriath-jearim of 18:14 ^p belonged to Judah; another town with this name might have existed but is otherwise unknown. The word Kiriath here was probably originally followed by a word that has been lost in the process of copying.

‏ Joshua 19

19:1 ^q Simeon, Jacob and Leah’s second son, was older than Judah. However, he had forfeited a leading role with his violent actions against Shechem (Gen 34:25-26 ^r). The tribal inheritance of his descendants reflected this; their land was carved out of Judah’s territory on the southern periphery of the Negev. This arid land was far from any centers of influence and power.
Summary for Josh 19:2-9: 19:2-9 ^s Some of the towns given to the tribe of Simeon were also part of Judah’s allocation because Judah’s territory was too large for them (cp. 17:14-18 ^t). Judah apparently absorbed most of Simeon’s territory into its own before the end of the Old Testament period.
Summary for Josh 19:10-48: 19:10-48 ^u The five small remaining tribes received land on the edges of the Israelite territory and had little national influence.
Summary for Josh 19:10-23: 19:10-23 ^v The lands given to the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar were strategically located; the major international trading route from Egypt to Mesopotamia ran through their territories. When Israel was strong, this position brought prosperity. However, when Israel was weak, these tribes were vulnerable both to the armies of Egypt and to the successive Mesopotamian powers that fought for control of the ancient Near East.
Summary for Josh 19:10-16: 19:10-16 ^w The tribe of Zebulun received land partly in the valley of Jezreel and partly in the hills of Lower Galilee.
19:13 ^x Gath-hepher was the hometown of the prophet Jonah (2 Kgs 14:25 ^y).
19:15 ^z This Bethlehem was not the birthplace of David and Jesus in Judah.

• More than twelve towns are named; some apparently did not belong to Zebulun but were on its borders.
19:16 ^aa Both by number of towns and by size of its territory, Zebulun was smallest of all the tribes. However, the New Testament village of Nazareth, where Jesus grew up, was in the tribal territory of Zebulun (Matt 2:19-23 ^ab; 4:13-16 ^ac).
Summary for Josh 19:17-23: 19:17-23 ^ad The land given to the tribe of Issachar included much of the fertile Jezreel Valley. During Old Testament times, this valley was largely a swamp surrounded by prosperous and important cities. This area was a center of Canaanite strength, so this small tribe had trouble gaining a foothold at first.
Summary for Josh 19:24-31: 19:24-31 ^ae The land allocated to the tribe of Asher included the Plain of Acco on the Mediterranean coast and western Galilee. To the southwest, Asher touched Carmel, sharing at least a short common border with land allotted to the tribe of Manasseh. To the north, the Phoenician cities of Tyre and Sidon limited Asher’s expansion.
19:30 ^af The twenty-two towns did not include Tyre and Sidon, which the nation of Israel never controlled.
Summary for Josh 19:32-39: 19:32-39 ^ag The tribe of Naphtali occupied eastern Galilee and overlooked the Sea of Galilee. Because a branch of an international trade route from Egypt to Mesopotamia ran through the territory of Naphtali, this tribe enjoyed periods of prosperity when Israel’s kings were strong. The city of Hazor was within Naphtali’s territory, guarding a section of that route. Naphtali is mentioned in Matt 4:13-16 ^ah in connection with Jesus’ ministry in Galilee.
Summary for Josh 19:40-48: 19:40-48 ^ai The original allotment given to the tribe of Dan lay west of Judah and southwest of Ephraim’s main territory, between Judah and Philistia.
19:43 ^aj About fifty years after Israel came into Canaan under Joshua, the Philistines moved into the southern coastal plain and occupied the cities of Timnah and Ekron (Judg 14:1-2 ^ak; 1 Sam 5:1-10 ^al). The Philistines were among the Sea Peoples who had perhaps been driven out of the Greek mainland and the Greek islands by an invasion from the north. The Sea Peoples also invaded and destroyed the Hittite Empire to the north of Israel. (Some scholars think that Homer’s Iliad reflects this movement.)
19:47 ^am The tribe of Dan had trouble taking possession of their land because of the Philistines, so a group of Danites later moved northward to Laish (see Judg 18 ^an), which they renamed Dan, on the northern border of Israel’s territory.
Summary for Josh 19:49-50: 19:49-50 ^ao The piece of land given to Joshua closes the section on the allocation of land to the tribes of Israel (see study note on 14:1–19:51).
19:51 ^ap After Joshua received his inheritance, the division of the land was completed. Joshua served God and led Israel faithfully for many years, and God was gracious to Joshua.

‏ Joshua 20

Summary for Josh 20:1-21:45: 20:1–21:45 ^aq Before the land was fully allotted, Joshua needed to establish six cities of refuge and assign cities for the Levites to live in.
Summary for Josh 20:1-6: 20:1-6 ^ar These verses contain a review of the law concerning cities of refuge (see also Num 35:6-34 ^as).
20:3 ^at The relatives of a murder or manslaughter victim had the responsibility of seeking revenge for the death. If the avenger (Hebrew go’el) found the killer outside a city of refuge, he could kill him without punishment.
Summary for Josh 20:7-9: 20:7-9 ^au Joshua designated six cities of refuge: three on the east side of the Jordan, and three on the west. From anywhere in the land, one of these six well-known Levitical cities was no more than two days’ travel away.
20:9 ^av The treatment of foreigners in Israel was a great advance in human relations. Resident aliens were to receive every justice offered to native Israelites (see Exod 22:21 ^aw; Lev 19:33-34 ^ax; 24:22 ^ay; Num 15:15-16 ^az).

‏ Joshua 21

Summary for Josh 21:1-8: 21:1-8 ^ba The towns given to the tribe of Levi were determined by lot (see study note on 7:16-18) by Israel’s leaders.
Summary for Josh 21:2-3: 21:2-3 ^bb The Lord commanded Moses: See Num 35:1-7 ^bc. One of the priestly duties was to teach God’s torah (see study note on 1:8) to Israel. The Levites could accomplish this better by living throughout the tribal territories.
21:4 ^bd The descendants of Aaron served as Israel’s priests. The cities they received were allotted by sacred lots. The priestly towns were in the tribal territories closest to Jerusalem, where the Temple was later built.
21:5 ^be The remaining families of the Kohathite clan received cities in the central part of the hill country, north of Jerusalem.
21:6 ^bf The clan of Gershon received cities among the four northernmost tribes in Israel.
21:7 ^bg The clan of Merari did not stay together as other Levitical clans did.
21:8 ^bh The pasturelands were grazing ground surrounding the cities. The repetition of this word throughout the list (21:8-42 ^bi) gave the allotment the character of a legal record, guaranteeing the Levites access to lands immediately surrounding each of the Levitical cities (Num 35:4-5 ^bj).
Summary for Josh 21:9-42: 21:9-42 ^bk The descendants of Aaron received thirteen cities, the rest of the Kohathite clan received ten, the descendants of Gershon received thirteen, and the Merari clan received twelve. There were a total of forty-eight Levitical cities. Each tribe had four Levitical cities, except Judah had eight, Simeon had one, and Naphtali had three. Six of the Levitical cities were also cities of refuge (20:7-8 ^bl).
21:45 ^bm God had made Israel many good promises, and not one had failed. He kept his promise to give Israel possession of the land and to save them from their surrounding enemies.

‏ Joshua 22

Summary for Josh 22:1-6: 22:1–24:33 ^bn Israel completed the conquest and allotment of the land, but much of the hard work of actually settling it still lay ahead. However, all that remained for Joshua in his role as leader of Israel was to say farewell.
Summary for Josh 22:1-34: 22:1-34 ^bo Joshua’s first farewell was to the tribes east of the Jordan as he sent them home. Characteristically, he exhorted them to remain faithful.
Summary for Josh 22:2-3: 22:2-3 ^bp Joshua commended the eastern tribes for their faithful obedience and the fulfillment of their promise to help the rest of Israel inhabit Canaan (see 1:12-18 ^bq; Num 32:1-32 ^br).
Summary for Josh 22:4-6: 22:4-6 ^bs Joshua’s words recall God’s words to Joshua at the beginning of the conquest (1:1-9 ^bt). In order to live in the land, Israel needed to be faithful to God by being very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions given to Moses.
22:5 ^bu all your heart and all your soul: See Deut 6:5 ^bv.
22:7 ^bw Moses had given: The author takes great care to emphasize that the tribes east of the Jordan were part of Israel.
22:8 ^bx The great wealth represented these tribes’ share of the spoils from the cities Israel had taken.

• Share ... with your relatives: While most of the fighting men assisted the rest of Israel, some men had remained to protect the women, children, and herds.
Summary for Josh 22:10-20: 22:10-20 ^by Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built their own altar, triggering a confrontation with the rest of Israel. 22:10 ^bz to a place called Geliloth: It is reasonable to presume that Geliloth and the altar were on the west bank of the Jordan.
22:11 ^ca The tribes referred to here as the rest of Israel (literally the sons of Israel) consisted of the tribes given land west of the Jordan River, in Canaan proper. They already referred to themselves as Israel, excluding the tribes east of the Jordan.
22:12 ^cb The western tribes were ready to go to war because they saw the altar as violating Lev 17:8-9 ^cc and Deut 13:12-15 ^cd.
Summary for Josh 22:13-14: 22:13-14 ^ce delegation: See Deut 13:14 ^cf.

• The ten tribes west of the Jordan included Ephraim and the western half of Manasseh but not the tribe of Levi.
Summary for Josh 22:15-20: 22:15-20 ^cg The direct and hard-hitting statements and questions of the delegation made sure that God’s wrath would not come upon the nation because of rebellion like Achan’s (7:1-15 ^ch) or the episode at Peor (Num 25 ^ci). 22:15 ^cj The delegation crossed the Jordan River to meet the leaders of the eastern tribes in the land of Gilead, probably in southern Gad.
22:16 ^ck The delegation brought the message the ten tribes had agreed upon when they met at Shiloh.

• The whole community of the Lord demands to know (literally Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord): The formula using “thus says” was a typical introduction to a messenger’s report (e.g., Ezra 1:2 ^cl; Isa 28:16 ^cm).
22:17 ^cn The sin at Peor was Israel’s idolatrous rebellion in Moab, just at the point of entering the Promised Land (Num 25 ^co). Phinehas, now the leader of this delegation, had acted to save Israel from complete destruction at that time. He did not want to see any part of Israel turn away from God again.
22:19 ^cp Being defiled was not necessarily the result of rebellion or a moral lapse, but it did prevent persons or groups from participating in regular worship activities, including the offering of sacrifices. If the eastern tribes had defiled the land itself, the Israelites could not offer sacrifices to the Lord within it. This concern provides evidence that the eastern tribes had built their altar on the western bank of the Jordan.

• The land west of the Jordan was considered the Lord’s land. The delegation from the western tribes made a very generous offer, inviting the eastern tribes to share their land. This demonstrated their commitment to national unity in faithfulness to God.
22:20 ^cq Achan: See ch 7 ^cr. The delegation of western tribes feared that Achan’s sin and its consequences would be repeated.
Summary for Josh 22:21-34: 22:21-34 ^cs The eastern tribes defended their action.
22:22 ^ct The Lord ... is God! The two-fold repetition of this dramatic affirmation indicated how shocked the eastern tribes were when accused of rebellion.
22:23 ^cu The eastern tribes swore by the name of the Lord that they were not guilty.

• The instructions for sacrifices prescribed burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings (Lev 1–3 ^cv). At this time, Israel’s worship was centered at the Tabernacle in Shiloh. To offer sacrifices anywhere but the central sanctuary was a violation of God’s covenant.
Summary for Josh 22:24-29: 22:24-29 ^cw The eastern tribes feared exclusion from Israel at a later time because the Jordan River divided them from the western tribes.
22:27 ^cx The altar near the bank of the Jordan would stand as a memorial (literally witness) through the generations that the eastern tribes were also part of Israel.
22:28 ^cy This altar was a copy, intended to be seen, not used.
22:31 ^cz you have rescued: In his reply to the eastern tribes, Phinehas used very similar language to the words God had spoken when Phinehas turned God’s anger from Israel at Peor (Num 25:11 ^da).
22:33 ^db Both the eastern and western tribes were relieved that the crisis had been averted, and they joyfully praised God to renew their affirmation of national unity in faithfulness to God.
22:34 ^dc Witness: Hebrew texts that include this word interpret the last statement as an explanation of the name. Texts that omit the word understand the last quotation to be the name of the altar.