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The Tribes Meet at Shiloh

18 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting.[a] Though they had subdued the land,[b] seven Israelite tribes had not been assigned their allotted land.[c] So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long do you intend to put off occupying[d] the land the Lord God of your ancestors[e] has given you? Pick three men from each tribe. I will send them out to walk through the land and make a map of it for me.[f] Divide it into seven regions.[g] Judah will stay[h] in its territory in the south, and the family[i] of Joseph in its territory in the north. But as for you, map out the land into seven regions and bring it to me. I will draw lots for you here before the Lord our God. But the Levites will not have an allotted portion among you, for their inheritance is to serve the Lord.[j] Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their allotted land[k] east of the Jordan, which Moses the Lord’s servant assigned them.”

When the men started out, Joshua told those going to map out the land, “Go, walk through the land, map it out, and return to me. Then I will draw lots for you before the Lord here in Shiloh.” The men journeyed[l] through the land and mapped it and its cities out into seven regions on a scroll. Then they came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. 10 Joshua drew lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord and divided the land among the Israelites according to their allotted portions.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 18:1 tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”sn On the tent of meeting see Exod 33:7-11.
  2. Joshua 18:1 tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”
  3. Joshua 18:2 tn Heb “there were left among the sons of Israel who had not divided up their inheritance seven tribes.”
  4. Joshua 18:3 tn Heb “How long are you putting off entering and possessing.”
  5. Joshua 18:3 tn Or “fathers.”
  6. Joshua 18:4 tn Heb “I will send them so they may arise and walk about in the land and describe it in writing according to their inheritance and come to me.”
  7. Joshua 18:5 tn Heb “portions.”
  8. Joshua 18:5 tn Heb “stand.”
  9. Joshua 18:5 tn Heb “the house.”
  10. Joshua 18:7 tn Or “the priesthood of the Lord.”
  11. Joshua 18:7 tn Or “inheritance.”
  12. Joshua 18:9 tn Heb “went and passed through.”

The Territories of the Remaining Tribes

18 Then the whole congregation of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.(A)

There remained among the Israelites seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you be slack about going in and taking possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you?(B) Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may begin to go throughout the land, writing a description of it with a view to their inheritances. Then come back to me. They shall divide it into seven portions, Judah continuing in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph in their territory on the north.(C) You shall write a description of the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me, and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage, and Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”(D)

So the men started on their way, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go throughout the land and write a description of it and come back to me, and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.”(E) So the men went and traversed the land and set down in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions; then they came back to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh, 10 and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua apportioned the land to the Israelites, to each a portion.(F)

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