Bible Study Joshua 18
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Joshua 18 · WEB

Tabernacle at Shiloh; Benjamin's Territory

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The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The land was subdued before them.
2Seven tribes remained among the children of Israel, which had not yet divided their inheritance.
3Joshua said to the children of Israel, "How long will you neglect to go in to possess the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has given you?
4Appoint for yourselves three men from each tribe. I will send them, and they shall arise and walk through the land and describe it according to their inheritance, and they shall come to me.
5They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall live in his borders on the south, and the house of Joseph shall live in their borders on the north.
6You shall survey the land into seven parts and bring the survey here to me. I will cast lots for you here before Yahweh our God.
7For the Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of Yahweh is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave them."
8The men arose and went. Joshua commanded those who went to survey the land, saying, "Go walk through the land, survey it, and come back to me. I will cast lots for you here before Yahweh in Shiloh."
9The men went and passed through the land, and surveyed it by cities into seven portions in a book. They came to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh.
10Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Yahweh. Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel there according to their divisions.
11The lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families. The border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
12Their border on the north side was from the Jordan. The border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward. Its border ended at the wilderness of Beth Aven.
13The border passed along from there to Luz, to the side of Luz (the same is Bethel), southward. The border went down to Ataroth Addar, by the mountain that lies on the south of Beth Horon the lower.
14The border extended, and turned around on the west side southward, from the mountain that lies before Beth Horon southward; and it ended at Kiriath Baal (the same is Kiriath Jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west side.
15The south side was from the farthest part of Kiriath Jearim. The border went out westward and went out to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.
16The border went down to the farthest part of the mountain that lies before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the valley of the Rephaim northward. It went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En Rogel.
17It extended northward, went out at En Shemesh, and went out to Geliloth, which is over against the ascent of Adummim. It went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.
18It passed along to the side over against the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah.
19The border passed along to the side of Beth Hoglah northward. The border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the south border.
20The Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the borders around it, according to their families.
21The cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,
22Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
23Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,
24Chephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages.
25Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,
26Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,
27Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,
28Zelah, Eleph, the Jebusite (the same is Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.
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Summary

Five years into the distribution of the land, seven tribes have still not received their allotments. Joshua challenges the assembly gathered at Shiloh with pointed words — "How long will you neglect to go in and possess the land?" — and organizes a systematic survey expedition: three men from each remaining tribe walk through the undivided territory, map it into seven portions, and bring the survey back. Joshua then casts lots before Yahweh at Shiloh for each tribe. Benjamin is the first to receive its portion, a compact but strategically vital piece of land nestled between Judah to the south and Ephraim to the north, containing the city of Jericho and bordering Jerusalem.

Themes

  • The Tent of Meeting established at Shiloh as the new center of Israelite worship
  • Challenge against spiritual passivity — the land is given but must be possessed
  • God's orderly and fair distribution of inheritance by lot before Him
  • Benjamin's strategic position between the two most powerful tribes

Key verses

  • Josh 18:1 — “The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The land was subdued before them.”
  • Josh 18:10 — “Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Yahweh. Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel there according to their divisions.”
  • Josh 18:3 — “How long will you neglect to go in to possess the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has given you?”

Context & background

Shiloh (modern Khirbet Seilun in the West Bank, about 20 miles north of Jerusalem) became the central Israelite sanctuary for roughly 300 years after the conquest, until the Philistines destroyed it around 1050 BC and captured the Ark of the Covenant (1 Samuel 4). The Tent of Meeting (Tabernacle) being set up there marks a major transition: the mobile sanctuary of the wilderness period is now planted in a permanent location at the heart of the land. Benjamin's territory was tiny but critically located — it contained Jericho, Bethel, Gibeon, and Mizpah, and shared a border with the Jebusite stronghold of Jerusalem. The valley of the son of Hinnom mentioned in the boundary description is the Hinnom Valley in Jerusalem, later called Gehenna, which became a symbol of judgment in the New Testament.

Cross-references

  • 1 Samuel 1:3 — Hannah and Elkanah make their annual pilgrimage to Shiloh to worship, confirming its long role as the sanctuary
  • 1 Samuel 4:10–11 — The Ark is captured and Shiloh is effectively destroyed by the Philistines
  • Acts 13:19 — Paul summarizes this period: "He gave them their land as an inheritance for about 450 years"
  • Deuteronomy 12:5–11 — God commands Israel to establish a central place of worship where He will put His name
  • Jeremiah 7:12–14 — God uses the destruction of Shiloh as a warning to Jerusalem: "Go to my place at Shiloh"

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What two things happen at the opening of the chapter, and what is said about the state of the land?

  2. Observe

    What process does Joshua use to survey and divide the remaining land, and why does Levi not receive a portion?

  3. Interpret

    What might cause God's people to fail to possess promises already given to them?

  4. Interpret

    What does the setting up of the Tabernacle at Shiloh before the land is fully distributed signify?

  5. Apply

    How should we respond if there is a promise or calling from God we have heard but not yet pursued?

  6. Apply

    How does the model of surveying combined with casting lots apply to our approach to decisions and goals?

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