Bible Study Joshua 19
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Joshua 19 · WEB

Territories for Six Tribes; Joshua's Inheritance

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The second lot came out for Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. Their inheritance was in the middle of the inheritance of the children of Judah.
2They had for their inheritance Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah,
3Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem,
4Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
5Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah,
6Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages;
7Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan; four cities with their villages;
8and all the villages that were around these cities to Baalath Beer, Ramah of the South. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.
9The inheritance of the children of Simeon was taken out of the portion of the children of Judah; for the portion of the children of Judah was too much for them. Therefore the children of Simeon had inheritance in the middle of their inheritance.
10The third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families. The border of their inheritance was to Sarid.
11Their border went up westward, even to Maralah, and reached to Dabbesheth. It reached to the brook that is before Jokneam.
12It turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrise to the border of Chisloth Tabor, and went out to Daberath, and went up to Japhia.
13From there it passed along eastward to Gath Hepher, to Eth Kazin; and it went out at Rimmon which stretches to Neah.
14The border turned around it on the north to Hannathon, and it ended at the valley of Iphtah El;
15Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.
16This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
17The fourth lot came out for Issachar, even for the children of Issachar according to their families.
18Their territory was to Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem,
19Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath,
20Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez,
21Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez.
22The border reached to Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh. Their border ended at the Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages.
23This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.
24The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.
25Their border was Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph,
26Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. It reached to Carmel westward and to Shihor Libnath.
27It turned toward the sunrise to Beth Dagon, and reached to Zebulun, and to the valley of Iphtah El northward to Beth Emek and Neiel. It went out to Cabul on the left hand,
28and Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, even to great Sidon.
29The border turned to Ramah, to the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah. It ended at the sea by the region of Achzib;
30Ummah also, Aphek, and Rehob: twenty-two cities with their villages.
31This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.
32The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families.
33Their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, Adaminekeb, and Jabneel, to Lakkum. It ended at the Jordan.
34The border turned westward to Aznoth Tabor, and went out from there to Hukkok. It reached to Zebulun on the south, and reached to Asher on the west, and to Judah at the Jordan toward the sunrise.
35The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth,
36Adamah, Ramah, Hazor,
37Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor,
38Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages.
39This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.
40The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.
41The border of their inheritance was Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh,
42Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,
43Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
44Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,
45Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon,
46Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border over against Joppa.
47The border of the children of Dan went out beyond them; for the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and lived in it, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.
48This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
49So they made an end of distributing the land for inheritance by its borders. The children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun in the middle of them.
50According to the commandment of Yahweh, they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He built the city and lived there.
51These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers' households of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed by lot in Shiloh before Yahweh, at the door of the Tent of Meeting. So they made an end of dividing the land.
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Summary

The remaining six tribes — Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan — each receive their allotted territories in the second great distribution session at Shiloh. Simeon's cities are entirely absorbed within Judah's already-oversized territory. The northern tribes receive portions spanning the Galilee region and the Mediterranean coastline up to Sidon. Dan's tribe, pressed out of its original coastal allotment by Canaanite resistance, seizes the northern city of Leshem and renames it Dan. The entire distribution closes with a fitting final detail: Joshua himself — who has overseen the entire process — receives his own personal inheritance last of all, the city of Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim.

Themes

  • God's comprehensive care — every tribe, even the smallest, receives its portion
  • Joshua's servant leadership — he receives his own inheritance last, after all others
  • The necessity of actively fighting to possess the inheritance (Dan's example)
  • The completeness of the land distribution as a fulfillment of God's promise to the patriarchs

Key verses

  • Josh 19:47 — “The children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and took it...and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.”
  • Josh 19:49–50 — “The children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun...According to the commandment of Yahweh, they gave him the city which he asked.”
  • Josh 19:9 — “The inheritance of the children of Simeon was taken out of the portion of the children of Judah; for the portion of the children of Judah was too much for them.”

Context & background

This chapter covers the full span of the land from south to north. Simeon's cities in the deep south, including Beersheba (a major modern city in southern Israel's Negev region), are geographically within Judah's borders, reflecting Simeon's later absorption into Judah as Jacob had prophesied (Genesis 49:5–7). Zebulun and Issachar occupy the Lower Galilee and Jezreel Valley regions of modern northern Israel. Asher's coastal territory runs along what is today northern Israel and southern Lebanon, reaching all the way to the ancient Phoenician city of Sidon (in modern Lebanon). Naphtali's territory includes the Sea of Galilee (called Chinnereth here) and the hills above it, the same region where Jesus would later conduct much of his ministry. Dan's original territory was along the modern central Israeli coast near Joppa (modern Tel Aviv-Jaffa), but pressure from the Philistines drove them north to Leshem (modern Tel Dan, in northern Israel near the Lebanese and Syrian borders). Joshua's personal city, Timnath Serah, is identified with Khirbet Tibneh in the West Bank.

Cross-references

  • Genesis 49:13 — Jacob foretells Zebulun will dwell at the seashore — fulfilled in this coastal allotment
  • Genesis 49:5–7 — Jacob prophesies that Simeon and Levi will be scattered in Israel due to their violence
  • Judges 13:2 — Samson is born in Zorah, a city in Dan's original territory — within a generation of the conquest
  • Judges 18:1–31 — The tribe of Dan migrates north and seizes Leshem (Laish), exactly as recorded here
  • Matthew 4:13–15 — Jesus settles in Capernaum in Naphtali's territory, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy about light in Galilee

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What happens to Joshua at the end of the distribution, and what city does he receive?

  2. Observe

    What did the tribe of Dan do when their original territory proved too difficult to hold?

  3. Interpret

    What does Joshua's pattern of receiving his inheritance last reveal about the character God looks for in leaders?

  4. Interpret

    What does Dan's story suggest about the inheritance God gives versus what we are willing to fight for?

  5. Apply

    How might we practice "receiving last" in our own positions of authority?

  6. Apply

    How does ending a major work in God's presence challenge how we close out projects and seasons?

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