Joshua 19:49-51
English Standard Version

The Inheritance for Joshua
49 When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. 50 By command of the LORD they gave him the city that he asked, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he rebuilt the city and settled in it.

​51 These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed by lot at Shiloh before the LORD, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

Notice that the people, by command of the LORD, gave Joshua, the son of Nun, a special inheritance from among the people.  No other person other than Caleb had been offered a particular inheritance like this.  They gave him the city that he asked for--Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, for he was of the tribe of Ephraim (though the passage makes it sound as if he would have been allowed to choose his portion from any of the allotments given to any of the tribes).  He rebuilt the city so that he and his family could settle in it.

The division of all the Land was done at the direction of Eleazar the High Priest and Joshua in Shiloh before the Tabernacle (the passage refers to it as the Tent of Meeting, for it is where the people came to not just meet with each other, but with the LORD) that had been set up there, so that it was clear that though the allotments were made by choosing lots, even that "random chance" was done at the direction of the LORD so that it was His election at work.  Only after all the Land had been divided as such could the Levites receive their allotment of the Cities of Refuge from among the people.  We'll talk more about this in the next journal article, but if you'd like to see the promise the the LORD is going to fulfill, please read Numbers 35 ahead of time.

Joshua 19:40-48
English Standard Version
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The Inheritance for Dan
40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans. 41 And the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46 and Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the territory over against Joppa. 47 When the territory of the people of Dan was lost to them, the people of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and after capturing it and striking it with the sword they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. 48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

The tribe of Dan will receive the last of the tribal allotments before Joshua receives his special inheritance.  I can't say much good about Dan because the LORD didn't have much good to say about Dan.  When the LORD blessed each of the twelve tribes through Jacob in Genesis 48 and 49, all that is said to Dan is,


Genesis 49:16-18
English Standard Version
​16 “Dan shall judge his people
    as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way,
    a viper by the path,
that bites the horse's heels
    so that his rider falls backward.
18 I wait for your salvation, O LORD.

His name literally means "judge," and comes from his mother saying "The LORD has judged me worthy to bear a son."  However, his name will become synonymous with those who are worthy of the LORD's judgment because the tribe of Dan would be wicked and apostate, and would turn the hearts of the people back to idolatry, witchcraft, and sexual immorality.  They would encourage the people to become just like the former inhabitants of the Land so that the LORD would have to judge them by sending them out of the Land, and we see that the tribe of Dan is the one tribe not counted in the 144,000 that are sealed in the book of Revelation which I think is telling that no apostates will be protected from God's coming judgment (though that is a specific people in a specific place in a specific time and I would not go so far to say that all of the tribe of Dan was accursed and none ever followed after Him).

We do not see all that at this point though, for this passage indicates that the tribe of Dan was faithful to make war against the Canaanites that still dwelt in their allotted land.  At some point, and I'm not exactly sure why or when, the hearts of the tribe of Dan were turned against the LORD and it became a generational issue and became part of the identity of that tribe.  We'll see this progression as we follow them throughout the book of Judges and the other books of History.

Joshua 19:32-39
English Standard Version
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The Inheritance for Naphtali
32 The sixth lot came out for the people of Naphtali, for the people of Naphtali, according to their clans. 33 And their boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and it ended at the Jordan. 34 Then the boundary turns westward to Aznoth-tabor and goes from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun at the south and Asher on the west and Judah on the east at the Jordan. 35 The fortified cities are Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, 38 Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—nineteen cities with their villages. 39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Naphtali according to their clans—the cities with their villages.

The sixth lot for the tribe of Naphtali was also located in the North and was the the part of what we would later call Galilee that touched the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.  Towns like Capernaum, Gennesaret, Cana, and Tiberius were all in this allotment.  So this is no unimportant region of the country.  It is where Jesus will call most of His disciples, perform His first sign (turning the water into wine in the wedding in Cana) and where he will have his "home base" of His ministry in Capernaum.

We only have one more tribal allotment to talk about next time and that is the allotment for the tribe of Dan.  After that, Joshua will receive his inheritance from the LORD and then we'll look at the allotment of the Cities of Refuge for the Levites that come from within this allotments that have been made, along with their connected pasture lands.  After this the eastern tribes will return home to the inheritance that they had chosen for themselves and the last part of the book of Joshua will be Joshua's last sermon where he will charge the people and their leaders to keep the covenant and choose to serve the LORD and not to serve the gods of the Egyptians or the Amorites, "Choose you this day whom you will serve....but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."  These will be some of Joshua's final words before he dies and is buried in the place of his inheritance.

Joshua 19:24-31
English Standard Version
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The Inheritance for Asher
24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans. 25 Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west it touches Carmel and Shihor-libnath, 27 then it turns eastward, it goes to Beth-dagon, and touches Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel. Then it continues in the north to Cabul, 28 Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as Sidon the Great. 29 Then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre. Then the boundary turns to Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab, Achzib, 30 Ummah, Aphek and Rehob—twenty-two cities with their villages. 31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

The tribe of Asher is going to receive the fifth allotment of six that were to be chosen by lot.  There territory is listed here along with their cities and boundaries.  This land to the far north would go as far as Tyre and Sidon and it would touch Mount Carmel, a mountain used to have a contest between the Baals and the LORD, the God of Israel, in 1 Kings 18.  They received many cities and villages with their inheritance.

This land would be taken over by the Gentiles in the time of Jesus and would be called the land of Phoenicia.  This passage that I will quote from Mark 7 is about we hear of this area in the time of Jesus.


Mark 7:24-31
English Standard Version
24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

​31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.
(The Decapolis is another Gentile area in the Trans-Jordan area where East Manasseh used to reside.  I'll post both maps today--the allotments to the Twelve Tribes as well as Land at the time of the Macabees (the post-Exilic period right before the rule of the Romans, which is a different map I'll show later).  Notice how the northern ten tribes no longer maintained their ancestral territories and they have ceded some of their northern, eastern and southern borders to the Gentiles and let nations like Moab that had once been driven out back into the Land.

The last tribal allotment that we will talk about next time is for the tribe of Dan, a tribe that is mostly known for its apostacy and leading the northern ten tribes to worship idols.

Joshua 19:17-23
English Standard Version
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The Inheritance for Issachar
17 The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the people of Issachar, according to their clans. 18 Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez. 22 The boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and its boundary ends at the Jordan—sixteen cities with their villages. 23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Issachar, according to their clans—the cities with their villages.

The tribe of Issachar would later be known for its wise men "the sons of Issachar" who understood the times and could tell Israel what they were to do (1 Chronicles 12:32).  Here the boundaries of the land of Issachar are established.  We will hear much of the main city of Jezreel later in the Old Testament.  For now though, let's look again at our map we've been referencing to find out what these borders are that were established for the inheritance for Issachar.  I think I haven't posted this in a couple days now, so you should also be able to find the land of Simeon and Zebulun.  Other places of note for the land of Issachar are Mount Tabor (which some believe to be the Mount of Transfiguration) and En-dor (where King Saul went to go consult with the witch of En-dor).  It also borders Megiddo, which is a place of many historic battles and the Kishon River runs through this land which is also important..  You may not know much of this tribe or this land, but it is nevertheless an important part of the history of God's people.

Joshua 19:10-16
English Standard Version
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The Inheritance for Zebulun
10 The third lot came up for the people of Zebulun, according to their clans. And the territory of their inheritance reached as far as Sarid. 11 Then their boundary goes up westward and on to Mareal and touches Dabbesheth, then the brook that is east of Jokneam. 12 From Sarid it goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chisloth-tabor. From there it goes to Daberath, then up to Japhia. 13 From there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Neah, 14 then on the north the boundary turns about to Hannathon, and it ends at the Valley of Iphtahel; 15 and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve cities with their villages. 16 This is the inheritance of the people of Zebulun, according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

When the text speaks of the "third lot," remember that many had their land given to them without being chosen by lot (Reuben, Gad, Manasseh, Judah, and Ephraim) and of those that were had their portion chosen by lot, the first lot fell to Benjamin, and the second lot to Simeon, now the third lot fell to Zebulun.  The boundaries of this allotment as decided by the survey completed by the 36 men sent out by Joshua is described here.

Zebulun would be the area in which the city of Nazareth would be in the northern part of Israel.  Matthew 4:15-16, quoting Isaiah 9:1-2, says,

Matthew 4:15-16
English Standard Version
​15 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
    the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles--
16 the people dwelling in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
    on them a light has dawned.”

The land of Zebulun would be part of Jesus' Great Galilean Ministry and he would spend much time there as well as in the territory of Naphtali (their allotment is a couple passages away).  This would be  an area that after the Exile would be a place associated with sin and darkness and would be overrun by the Gentiles as the passage from Matthew makes clear calling it Galilee of the Gentiles.

Of note, the Bethlehem mentioned here is not the Bethlehem where Jesus was born.  This is in the far north, and Jesus was born in the Bethlehem that was "the city of David" in the South in the land that belonged to the tribe of Judah, to which Joseph belonged.  That is why the LORD through the prophet Micah specified exactly which Bethlehem Jesus would be born in,


Micah 5:2
English Standard Version
​2 But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
    from ancient days.

The two towns were distinguished because the one in the South had an ancient name of Ephrathah and its citizens were called Ephrathites (you'll see this in the book of Ruth for instance).  So then, God made it clear in the prophecies He gave that Jesus would minister in Zebulun and many would even say He was from there as that's where He would grow up, but He was actually to be born in the land of Judah.

Joshua 19:1-9
English Standard Version

The Inheritance for Simeon
19 The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the people of Simeon, according to their clans, and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah. 2 And they had for their inheritance Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, 3 Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, 6 Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen cities with their villages; 7 Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities with their villages, 8 together with all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negeb. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Simeon according to their clans. 9 The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.

In today's text we will discuss the allotment of the Land that was for Simeon.  Simeon's lot is interesting because Judah decided that it was given more than its fair share of land according to the census of how many people were in the tribe of Judah, and they willingly gave up part of their allotment to another tribe.  Simeon received this allotment as part of the lottery, though as I mentioned in the last part of yesterday's journal article, Simeon would not stay as part of the southern kingdom of Judah during the time of the Divided Kingdom.

We normally think of the name "Negeb" or "Negev" (depending on translation) to mean a specific desert or "the wilderness," but it literally means "the South," since the southern part of Israel is mostly a dry, arid wilderness or desert place.  However, God would bless the people of Israel and He would bring life out of this desert place.  Not much else is said about Simeon and their inheritance for now, and once Simeon deserts their allotted land to go to the North, Judah and the Levites from the North that move to the South seem to occupy this allotment.  That said, Simeon was very close to Judah for a long time and we'll see that Simeon and Judah will join forces to help each other fight against the Canaanites in their respective areas so that the Canaanites had to face two tribes at once in battle.