Joshua 13

The account of the land distribution, which forms the latter half of the book of Joshua, begins in this chapter. Whereas the preceding chapter, Joshua 12, lists the kings defeated east and west of the Jordan, this chapter turns to the division of that land among the tribes.

Outline

• Verses 1–7: The LORD informs the aged Joshua of the land that remains. It includes the territory of the five lords of the Philistines, Geshur, Sidon, Gebal, Lebanon, and other regions. He then commands that the land be divided among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
• Verses 8–14: An overview of the land east of the Jordan that Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh received from Moses. This land had formerly been the kingdoms of Sihon and Og. Israel did not drive out the Geshurites and the Maachathites. The tribe of Levi receives the offerings made by fire to the LORD in place of an inheritance.
• Verses 15–23: The inheritance of the tribe of Reuben. The text adds that Moses slew Sihon and the five princes of Midian, and that the soothsayer Balaam was also slain with the sword.
• Verses 24–28: The inheritance of the tribe of Gad, which includes the cities of Gilead and half the land of the children of Ammon.
• Verses 29–31: The inheritance of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, the children of Machir, which includes all of Bashan and the sixty cities of Jair.
• Verses 32–33: A summary of the distribution Moses made in the plains of Moab, restating that the LORD is the inheritance of the tribe of Levi.

Key Verses

• Joshua 13:1 "Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed" — the starting point of the chapter, showing that the conquest was not yet complete.
• Joshua 13:33 "The LORD God of Israel was their inheritance" — a summary of the distinctive position of the tribe of Levi.

People and Places

• Sihon: An Amorite king whose capital was Heshbon.
• Og: King of Bashan and one of the remnant of the Rephaim.
• Machir: A son of Manasseh whose descendants received land east of the Jordan.
• Jair: Sixty cities within Bashan were called by his name.
• Jordan River, Jericho: Reference points marking the western boundary of the eastern inheritances and the place of the distribution.

Points for Reflection

• Joshua 11:23 states that Joshua "took the whole land," yet this chapter says that very much land remains. Interpreters differ on how to read the two statements together. Many see them as describing both an overall victory and a gradual settlement, a reading that connects with Judges 1.
• The teaching that the tribe of Levi receives the LORD as its inheritance instead of land is grounded in Numbers 18:20 and Deuteronomy 18:1–2. The cities in which the Levites were to dwell are treated separately in Joshua 21.
• Balaam's death is also recorded in Numbers 31:8. In the New Testament, 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, and Revelation 2:14 refer to Balaam as a negative example.

In the Korean Church

The "land that remains" of 13:1 is frequently cited in sermons to mean that a calling remains even in old age, or that much work in missions and evangelism is still unfinished.