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Chapter 15: The Lands Allotted the Tribe of Judah
Chapter 15 is divided into four parts:
- The boundaries of the tribe of Judah (verses 1-12)
- the southern boundary (verses 2-4)
- the eastern boundary (verse 5)
- the northern boundary (verses 6-11)
- the western boundary and concluding statement (verse 12)
- The inheritance of the clan of Calebites within Judah's lands (verses 13-20)
- Caleb's conquest of Hebron
- Othniel's conquest of Debir
- The list of Judah's towns and their villages and dependencies* (verses 21-62)
- towns in the Negeb (verses 21-32)
- towns in the lowlands (verses 33-47)
- towns in the highlands (verses 48-60)
- towns in the desert (verses 61-62)
- Conclusion: Judah's failure to capture Jerusalem (verse 63)
*dependences (literally "daughters" in Hebrew) are very small settlements probably consisting of an extended family or a single family occupation site. The inheritance of the tribal lands is determined by Divine guidance in the casting of lots "according to their clans" (see 13:15, 24, 29) and overseen by a commission consisting of the High Priest Eleazar, the commander Joshua, and twelve tribal elders (Num 34:16-29; Josh 14:1). Caleb was the tribal representative for Judah, the first man named by God in the list of twelve elders (Num 34:19).
| The Twelve Sons/Tribes of Jacob-Israel | ||
|---|---|---|
| Birth Order Genesis 29:31-30:34; 35:16-20 | Mother Order L = Leah R = Rachel Z= Zilpah B = Bilhah | Tribal Allotment Order Joshua chapters 13-19 |
| Reuben | Reuben = L | Reuben (east) |
| Simeon | Simeon = L | Gad (east) |
| Levi | Levi = L | ½ Manasseh (east) |
| Judah | Judah = L | Judah (west) |
| Dan | Issachar = L | Ephraim (west) |
| Naphtali | Zebulun = L | ½ Manasseh (west) |
| Gad | Joseph = R | Benjamin (west) |
| Asher | Benjamin = R | Simeon (west within Judah) |
| Issachar | Gad = Z | Zebulun (west) |
| Zebulun | Asher = Z | Issachar (west) |
| Joseph | Dan = B | Asher (west) |
| Benjamin | Naphtali = B | Naphtali (west) |
| Dan (west) | ||
| Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2012 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved. | ||
The tribe of Levi did not receive an allotment of tribal lands (Num 18:20-21; Josh 13:14, 33).
Joshua 15:1-12 ~ The boundaries of the tribe of Judah
Southern boundary:
Question: Who was Judah, the patriarchal ancestor of the tribe of Judah? What does his name, in Hebrew Yahudah/Yehudah, mean?
Answer: He was the son of Jacob-Israel and Leah, the fourth son in birth order of the twelve sons of Jacob-Israel. Judah's name, according to Genesis 29:35, is a theophoric name (containing the name of the deity) meaning "praise/worship Yahweh."
Judah's boundaries are laid out in a counterclockwise direction beginning in the south (verses 2-4) and moving to the east (verse 5a), to the north (verses 5b-11) and finally to the west (verse 12a). The desert of Zin is northeast of Kadesh-Barnea (see Num 20:1) and is a region in the Negeb.
Eastern boundary:
In this case, the "mouth of the Jordan" refers to where the Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea (Salt Sea). The southern and eastern borders of Judah are the same as southern and eastern borders of Canaan. The Torrent of Egypt is probably the Wadi el-Arish, southwest of Gaza.
Northern boundary:
The northern territory is laid out in greatest detail. Judah's boundary passes south of Jerusalem, across the Valley of Hinnom. Jerusalem will be allotted to the tribe of Benjamin (Josh 18:28). Judah will not conquer the Jebusites and take Jerusalem until the era of the United Monarchy under the leadership of King David (2 Sam 5:6-12; 1 Chr 11:4-9). The "stone circle" mentioned in verse 7 is probably one of many such memorial sites still visible in the Holy Land and throughout the ancient Near East. The "Stone of Bohan son of Reuben" is an unknown monument that is also mentioned in Joshua 18:17.
In verses 9-11, the boundary continued "from the mountain top" in a northwesterly direction. Then the border turned westward to Mt. Seir (verse 10), not the same Mt. Seir that is in Edom on Israel's southeastern border. Then the border ran north to the ridge of Ekron, one of the five cities of the Philistines near the Mediterranean coast. The last site on the east-to-west boundary is Jabneel "the Jamnia of 1-2 Maccabees.
Western boundary:
The western boundary is the Mediterranean Sea.
Joshua 15:13-19 ~ The inheritance of the clan of Calebites within Judah's lands
The Hebrew word kiriath means "city;" for example Kiriath-Baal means "city of Baal," Kiriath-sepher means "city of books/scrolls," and Kiriath-Arba means "city of Arba" (Josh 14:15). The Hebrew word beth means "place" or "house;" for example Beth-lehem means "house/place of bread.
Just as the narrative of Judah's allotment began with an account of Caleb's promised heritage within the tribal lands of Judah, so now in the middle of the allotment of territory and towns comes another part of Caleb's personal story. This account completes the promise he made to Joshua in 14:12 to drive the Anakim out of Hebron and to take the town of Debir; the taking of Debir was covered in a general summary in the story of the southern campaign in Joshua 10:38-39. See this same story recounting Caleb's conquest of Hebron repeated in Judges 1:9-15.
Question: What promise does Caleb make to the man who successfully took the city of Debir?
Answer: He promised to give his daughter as a bride to the victory.
Question: Who was Othniel, who was Othniel's father, and what is the relationship to Caleb? See Josh 15:17; Judg 1:13.
Answer: Othniel was the Judahite chieftain under Caleb's command who took Debir. Othniel's father was a man named Kenaz who was Caleb's younger brother; therefore Othniel was Caleb's nephew and his father was a Gentile convert like Caleb.
According to the genealogies of the tribe of Judah in 1 Chronicles, in addition to his daughter, Achsah, Caleb also had three sons (1 Chr 4:15), and his brother Kenaz had two sons (1 Chr 4:13). Achsah and Othniel's mothers were probably women of the tribe of Judah. As he promised, Caleb gave his nephew his daughter in marriage as a reward for Othniel's victory over Debir. It was common for first cousins to marry and there was no prohibition against it in the Holiness Code (see Lev 20:8-21).
Question: What other important role will Othniel of Judah play in the history of Israel?
Answer: Othniel became the first warrior Judge of Israel. God placed His spirit on Othniel to be Israel's deliver in a time of apostasy when the king of Edom (on Judah's southern border) attacked Israel and made the people his vassals for eight years. Othniel went to war and delivered the Israelites from Cushan-Rishathaim, king of Edom. Othniel then continued to serve as a judge of Israel in a time of peace for 40 years until his death.
The story of Caleb began the allotment of ancestral lands to his adopted tribe in 14:6-15, and now the narrative Caleb's final victory comes in the middle of the recounting of the borders and towns of Judah's heritage. The former Gentile has been recognized as a leader in Judah, and it is the remembrance of this faithful man who submitted his life to the God of Israel and who was completely incorporated into the covenant of God's people that foreshadows the millions of Gentiles and Jews that will one day be united in the New Covenant in Jesus Christ.
Joshua 15:20-63 ~ The list of Judah's towns
The list in verses 20-63 is the longest and most detailed of all the tribal town lists. Usually when counts are made in Scripture the total equals the number of sites, or kings, or clans listed (i.e., list of Jacob and his descendants who arrived in Egypt in Gen 49:8-27 or the census in Num 26), but not in this case.
Question: Which tribe was the largest?
Answer: The tribe of Judah was the largest of the twelve tribes. The census lists the number of fighting men as 76,500 warriors.
Question: Which was the next largest single tribe and which tribe was the smallest?
Answer: The next largest tribe was Dan and the smallest was Simeon.
Question: What role did Judah play in the tragedy involving his half-brother Joseph, the favored son of Jacob-Israel and Jacob's second wife, Rachel? See Gen 37:18-27.
Answer: It was the plan of the jealous sons of Jacob-Israel to kill their favored half-brother Joseph. It was Judah who suggested that they sell him to the slave traders so that they were not guilty of the sin of shedding the innocent blood of a brother.
Question: By what unselfish act did Judah redeem himself and atone for his sin against his brother? Gen 44:1-13, 30-34. How does Judah's act of willing self-sacrifice foreshadow future events in salvation history?
Answer: Judah offers his life as a substitute for the life of his youngest brother, Benjamin. This unselfish, self-sacrificial act prefigures his descendant Jesus of Nazareth's self-sacrifice in offering His life for the lives of His "brothers" "the men and women of all humanity.
Joseph may have been Jacob-Israel's choice for the favored son, but Judah became God's choice. From the time of Judah's act of courage and unselfishness forward in the history of Israel, the tribe of Judah will have dominance over the other tribes of Israel. This is confirmed by Jacob-Israel's deathbed prophecy of Judah in Genesis 49:8-12. In that prophecy (see the quote above), the tribe of Judah is to have dominance over the other tribes with the promise of kingship. It is also confirmed by God selecting the tribe of Judah to lead all the other tribes in the march to the Promised Land (Num 2:3-4; 10:11-14) and Prince Nahshon of Judah to be the first in the order of princes/chieftains to bring their gifts to God's completed Sanctuary (Num 7:10-17).
Question: What future king of Israel is from the tribe of Judah and in what Judahite town will he be born? See 1 Sam 16:1, 11-13; 2 Sam 2:1-4; 5:1-5.
Answer: David of Bethlehem.
David is the first king from the tribe of Judah and the second King of Israel. He will establish Jerusalem as his capital and as the center of worship for Yahweh. He will be succeeded by his son, King Solomon (2 Sam 1:38-42) who will built the Jerusalem Temple on Mt. Moriah (1 Cor 3:1). However, the united monarchy of the Twelve Tribes will become a divided nation when ten tribes refuse to acknowledge the kingship of Solomon's son Rehoboam and elect their own king, a man named Jeroboam from the tribe of Ephraim (1 Kng 12:15-20). This political schism ushers in the era of the divided kingdoms of Israel in the north and Judah in the south. Nine different dynasties will rule the Northern Kingdom. However, true to Jacob-Israel's prophecy that the "scepter will not depart from Judah," only the House of David ruled over the Southern Kingdom of Judah (see Gen 49:8-12).
The prophecy was that Judah will retain the claim as the legitimate kings of Israel "until the one who has been sent comes" to whom the people render their obedience (Gen 49:10). According to the prophecy, the "One" will come on the foal of an ass (Gen 49:11); it is a prophecy repeated by the 6th century BC prophet Zechariah who declares that the Messiah will come to Jerusalem riding on the foal of an ass.
Question: Who is the "One" who will signal the climax of Judah's dominance over the tribes of Israel and where will he be born? See Zech 9:9; Mic 5:1/2; Mt 2:1; 21:1-9; Mk 11:1-11; Lk 2:1-7; 19:28-38; Jn 12:12-16; Rev 5:1-10.
Answer: That person, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the One sent by God, is Jesus of Nazareth; He who is the rightful Davidic King and the Divine Messiah who was born in the city of King David "Bethlehem.
Judah is named in both Matthew's and Luke's genealogies of Jesus (see Mt 1:3; Lk 3:34).
Chapters 16-17: The Allotment to the Two Tribes of Joseph
Chapters 16-17 are one unit divided into four parts:
- The general boundaries of the tribe of Joseph (16:1-4)
- Ephraim's boundaries (16:5-10)
- Manasseh's boundaries (17:1-13)
- The complaint of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh concerning their lot (17:14-18)
The Tribal Allotments for Ephraim and Manasseh
Joshua 16:1-4 ~ The boundaries of the descendants of Joseph son of Jacob
This introduction reminds the reader that the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh were at one time the single tribe of Joseph "the people descended from the first born son of Jacob-Israel and his second wife, Rachel, and also points out that Manasseh was Joseph's first born son. Manasseh and Ephraim were the sons of Joseph son of Jacob-Israel.
Question: Who was the mother of Manasseh and Ephraim? See Gen 41:45.
Answer: Their mother was Asenath, daughter of the Egyptian priest of On.
Question: Bethel, meaning "house/place of God," is mentioned as part of the southern boundary of the tribe of Joseph. How was the site of Bethel important in the history of Jacob-Israel? See Gen 28:10-22; 35:1-15.
Answer: Leaving Canaan on his way to Haran, it was where Jacob had a vision of ascending and descending angels and where God first spoke to Jacob, repeating the covenant promises made to Abraham. Jacob named the site "Beth-el." Jacob was told by God to settle at Bethel after his return to Canaan from Haran. There the covenant promises were repeated and God affirmed his name change to "Israel."
Joshua 16:5-10 ~ The boundaries of the descendants of Ephraim
Question: Sons are usually named in birth order (see 16:4) unless a younger son is more prominent. Why are Ephraim's boundaries described before Manasseh's in 16:5-16 even though Manasseh was the first-born of Joseph (Gen 41:50-52; Josh 17:1)? See Gen 48:8-22.
Answer: This preference for Ephraim reflects Jacob-Israel's blessing of the sons of Joseph when he blessed Ephraim with his right hand, making the younger dominant over his brother.
Joshua 17:1-6 ~ The boundaries of the descendants of Manasseh by clans
This section recalls the inheritance of the clans of Machir on the east side of the river in the northern Transjordan, but fails to mention the other Manasseh clans who also received land on the east side of the river (Num 32:41-42). Perhaps mention of the dominate clan is enough to remind the reader that Manasseh had additional lands on the east side of the Jordan River.
Verse 3 recalls God's command for the inheritance of daughters. Zelophehad's daughters are the great-granddaughters of Machir son of Manasseh. The names of the four daughters are reflected in the names of sites situated north of Shechem.
Joshua 17:7-13 ~ The boundaries and shared borders of the descendants of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan by clans continued
Manasseh shared its northern border with the tribe of Asher (verses 7 and 10), its eastern border with the tribe of Issachar (verse 10), and its southern border with the tribe of Ephraim. There were also some shared cities, like the important city of Beth-Shean (verse 11). "These towns" in verse 12 are the towns listed in verse 11. They are all located in the Jezreel Valley, an area of strategic and economic importance that was also a Canaanite stronghold. The "torrent" refers to a ravine or Wadi that has swiftly flowing waters especially during the spring and the "Three Slopes" in verse 11 probably refers to three geographic areas. The inability for the tribes to remove the Canaanites will present future problems for the confederacy of tribes both spiritually and politically. Manasseh and Ephraim's boundaries are much less detailed than the account of Judah's boundaries and there is no detailed town list.
Joshua 17:14-18 ~ Ephraim and Manasseh's complaint to Joshua
Question: Why did Ephraim and Manasseh complain about the size of their allotment?
Answer: They claimed to be the most numerous of the tribes, which they are if their numbers of fighting men are counted together instead as separate tribes. However, the allotment was fair because it was based on the numbers of fighting men in each tribe and the allotment was issued through the tribunal of the high priest, Joshua and the elders by divine decree.
Notice that they went to Joshua, a member of the tribe of Ephraim, and not to Joshua and the other members of the commission. Joshua responds to their complaint as only referring to the lack of cleared land for farming and grazing their herds and flocks.
Question: How do verses 15-18 indicate that this is Joshua's understanding of their complaint?
Answer: He suggests they just get busy and clear the land and remove the Canaanites still living there.
Question: Not satisfied with Joshua's suggestion, what is the second argument the tribes of Joseph offer for receiving more land and what is Joshua's response?
Answer: They complain that the highlands are not enough land and the Canaanites living in the plain are too powerful. Joshua is unmoved and tells them to get busy clearing the land and driving out the Canaanites who live in the plains.
Chapters 18-19: The Allotment of the Land is Completed at Shiloh with the Allotments to the Seven Remaining Tribes
Chapters 18-19 are a single unit divided into three parts:
- Land allotments continue at Shiloh after a survey of the remaining land (18:1-10)
- The allotments for the remaining seven tribes
- the boundary lines and towns of the tribe of Benjamin (18:11-28)
- the boundary lines and towns of the tribe of Simeon (19:1-9)
- the boundary lines and towns of the tribe of Zebulun (19:10-16)
- the boundary lines and towns of the tribe of Issachar (19:17-23)
- the boundary lines and towns of the tribe of Asher (19:24-31)
- the boundary lines and towns of the tribe of Naphtali (19:32-39)
- the boundary lines and towns of the tribe of Dan (19: 40-48)
- Joshua's heritage and the allotment concluded (19:49-51)
| The Twelve Sons/Tribes of Jacob-Israel | ||
| Birth Order Genesis 29:31-30:34; 35:16-20 | Mother Order L = Leah R = Rachel Z = Zilpah B = Bilhah | Tribal Allotment Order Joshua chapters 13-19 |
| 1. Reuben | Reuben = L | Reuben (east) |
| 2. Simeon | Simeon = L | Gad (east) |
| 3. Levi | Levi = L | ½ Manasseh (east) |
| Judah | Judah = L | Judah (west) |
| 5. Dan | Issachar = L | Ephraim (west) |
| 6. Naphtali | Zebulun = L | ½ Manasseh (west) |
| 7. Gad | Joseph = R | Benjamin (west) |
| 8. Asher | Benjamin = R | Simeon (west within Judah) |
| 9. Issachar | Gad = Z | Zebulun (west) |
| 10. Zebulun | Asher = Z | Issachar (west) |
| 11. Joseph | Dan = B | Asher (west) |
| 12. Benjamin | Naphtali = B | Naphtali (west) |
| Dan (west) | ||
The tribe of Levi did not receive an allotment of tribal lands (Num 18:20-21; Josh 13:14, 33; 18:7). Leah's slave girl was Zilpah and Rachel's slave girl was Bilhah.
Joshua 18:1-7 ~ Joshua establishes God's Sanctuary at Shiloh
Shiloh was located about ten miles north of Bethel within the lands assigned to the inheritance of Joshua within the tribal lands of Ephraim (Josh 24:30; Judg 2:9). It is at Shiloh that the Sanctuary is now established, making Shiloh the center of worship as well as center for the civil court of law for the twelve tribes of Israel. It was to remain the religious and administrative center until Shiloh was destroyed by the Philistines in the late eleventh century BC (1 Sam 4; Jer 7:12-14; 26:6-9). God's Divine Presence now rested at Shiloh and it was at Shiloh that Joshua called an assembly of the people of Israel.
Joshua 18:8-10 ~ The survey of the remaining lands
The purpose of the survey was to make an accurate assessment of the extent of the remaining land that the surveyors then divided into seven sections. Joshua and the commission then cast lots to determine which tribe received which of the seven sections.
Joshua 18:11-20 ~ The land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin
Question: What other tribal lands bordered the lands of Benjamin? See Josh 17:10.
Answer: The lands of the tribe of Judah were to the south and the tribal lands of Ephraim were to the north.
Joshua 18:21-28 ~ The towns of the tribe of Benjamin
Question: Who was Benjamin among the sons of Jacob-Israel? See Gen 35:16-20; 44:1-34.
Answer: He was the youngest of the twelve sons of Jacob. His mother was Rachel and his full blood brother was Joseph. His mother died at his birth, and he was deeply loved by his father. Judah offered his life in exchange for the freedom of Benjamin when he thought the Vizier of Egypt (Joseph) was going to make Benjamin his slave.
Question: The tribal lands of Judah and Joseph (Ephraim) bordered the tribe of Benjamin. Why is it significant that these two tribes shared a border with the Benjaminites and what will be the historical significance? 1 Kng 12:20-24
Answer: The Judahites are the descendants of the brother who offered his life for the freedom the ancestor of the Benjaminites, while the Ephraimites of the tribe of Joseph are the descendants of the brother who wanted to keep his younger brother with him. The tribe of Benjamin stands between these two powerful tribes "one is God's choice and the other was Jacob's choice. The tribe of Benjamin will have to make a choice when the United Monarchy splits into two nations "the nation of Israel in the north ruled by an Ephraimite king and the nation of Judah in the south, ruled by a Judahite king. The tribe of Benjamin will remain with the nation of Judah.
CHALLENGE: “The burden of proof is on those who believe in God. Atheists don’t have to prove God doesn’t exist; believers have to prove he does.”
DEFENSE: This misunderstands the burden of proof. The concept is borrowed from civil law, where it refers to the obligation a party has to provide sufficient evidence for a claim or lose his case.
U.S. law establishes a presumption of innocence, according to which a prosecutor must prove the accused is guilty of an offense or the accused will be acquitted and be legally treated as innocent. The presumption of innocence is a choice our society has made to favor the accused, lest prosecutors use the power of the state to falsely convict large numbers of innocent people and bring about a reign of terror.
However, the burden of proof works differently in other settings, such as philosophical or religious discussions. From a logical point view, it does not matter whether one is arguing for a proposition (P) or for its denial (not-P).
In the absence of evidence, neither is more probable than the other. Consequently, as long as things remain in the abstract, nobody has a burden of proof. The burden is created when one person begins asserting either P or not-P.
If he wants to convince a person of a proposition or its denial, then he needs to offer that person reasons why. The philosophical burden of proof thus does not intrinsically fall on either party. It is something that you assume when you try to convince someone else of a position. All of this applies to situations where one is making a claim about whether something exists. Until you consider the evidence, neither the proposition “X exists” nor the proposition “X does not exist” can be deemed more probable than the other, and it doesn’t matter what X is.
As long as you have no evidence favoring the existence or non-existence of X, both propositions are equally probable. Thus if a theist wants to convince a non-theist that God exists, he needs to provide arguments for his position, and if an atheist wishes to convince a non-atheist that God does not exist, he similarly needs to offer arguments for his position. The burden of proof is assumed by whoever is trying to convince the other.
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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