Rest of the Land Divided

18 Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at (A)Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.

But there remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance. So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “(B)How long will you [a]put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? Provide for yourselves three men from [b]each tribe so that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall [c]return to me. And they shall divide it into seven portions; (C)Judah shall stay in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their territory on the north. And you shall write a description of the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. (D)Then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. For (E)the Levites have no portion among you, because the priesthood of the Lord is [d]their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh also have received their inheritance eastward beyond the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

Then the men arose and went, and Joshua commanded those who went to write a description of the land, saying, “Go and walk through the land and write a description of it, and return to me; then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in (F)Shiloh.” So the men went and passed through the land, and wrote a description of it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. 10 (G)Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land for the sons of Israel according to their divisions.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 18:3 Or show yourselves lax in
  2. Joshua 18:4 Lit the
  3. Joshua 18:4 Lit come
  4. Joshua 18:7 Lit his

Other Tribal Allotments

18 After this, the entire assembly of the Israelis gathered together at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there, where the land lay conquered before them. Seven tribes remained among the Israelis for whom their inheritances had not yet been allocated.

So Joshua told the Israelis, “How long will you delay invading and taking possession of the land that the Lord God of your ancestors has given you? Appoint three men from each tribe and I’ll send them. They’ll begin to go through the land and record a description of it, categorized according to their inheritance, and then they’ll report[a] back to me. They’ll divide it seven ways. Judah will stay in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph will remain in its territory on the north. Lay out the land in seven divisions, then bring your report[b] here to me. I will then cast lots in the presence of the Lord our God. The descendants of Levi have no allotment among you, since the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh received their inheritance to the east, beyond the Jordan River given to them by Moses the servant of the Lord.”

So the men started out, following Joshua’s command to those who went to scout the land, “Go through the land and record a description of it, and then return to me. I will then cast lots in the presence of the Lord your God in Shiloh.” Then the men left camp and went throughout the land, describing its cities in a book with seven divisions. Then they returned to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. 10 Joshua threw lots in Shiloh in the Lord’s presence and divided the land accordingly among the Israelis according to their divisions.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 18:4 Lit. come
  2. Joshua 18:6 The Heb. lacks your report