Day 43 Reading Schedule: Joshua 14-18

Joshua 14: The Distribution of the Land West of the Jordan 

[Summary]

Following the previous chapter on the distribution of the land east of the Jordan, this chapter deals with the distribution of the land west of the Jordan. In particular, this chapter focuses on the special distribution to Caleb, the only survivor of the first generation of the Exodus along with Joshua. God commanded Joshua to divide the land west of the Jordan among the nine tribes, dividing the descendants of Joseph into two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and excluding the tribe of Levi (verses 1-5). At this time, Caleb, who became a hero through the incident of spying out Canaan as a member of the first generation of the Exodus, reminded Moses of his promise and requested that the land be distributed specifically for him (verses 6-12). In response, Joshua blessed Caleb and gave him the land of Hebron as an inheritance (verses 13-15). By distributing the inheritance through casting lots, Joshua eliminated discontent between the tribes in advance and encouraged the people's desire for the conquest of Canaan, which had not yet been completed.

When the distribution of the land of Canaan began, the territory of the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan River was given first, and in this chapter, the distribution principles are presented before the distribution of the land west of Canaan. Meanwhile, a scene is presented where a fair price is paid to Caleb, who worked hard with Joshua in the war to conquer Canaan.

Joshua 15: The Inheritance of the Tribe of Judah 

[Summary]

This chapter records the inheritance of the tribe of Judah and its boundaries. The boundaries of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah were from the Wilderness of Zin in the south to the Salt Sea in the east, from the Gulf of Zion in the north to the Great Sea in the west (verses 1-12). Among them, Joshua gave Hebron to Caleb according to God's command. At that time, Caleb distributed the inheritance to his daughter Achsah, who was getting married (verses 13-19). The remaining land was distributed equally among the families of the tribe of Judah, but the Jebusites, who lived in Jerusalem, were not driven out by the children of Judah, so they continued to live there (verses 20-63). They were later completely occupied by David, and Jerusalem became the capital of the united Israel.

The promised land of Canaan was divided among the tribes according to the principle of fair distribution. However, the actual divided territory can be seen to have some differences depending on the tribe. In particular, the tribe of Judah occupied the best and widest land. This distinction can be seen as a reflection of the glorious plan that God wanted to accomplish. God wanted to accomplish His holy redemptive history through the tribe of Judah among Israel. From this tribe of Judah, David and David's descendant Jesus Christ will appear.

Joshua 16: The Inheritance of the Descendants of Joseph 

[Overview]

This chapter records the inheritance of the descendants of Joseph. The inheritance of the tribe of Joseph was divided among the tribes of Ephraim and half the tribe of Manasseh in the central region of Canaan (verses 1-4). This chapter especially describes the borders of the tribe of Ephraim, the younger brother (verses 5-10), which was in accordance with Jacob’s will to pass on the eldest son’s inheritance to his younger brother Ephraim (see Gen. 49:8-20).

Following the territorial division of the tribe of Judah, which would play an important role among the 12 tribes of Israel, this chapter mentions the territorial division of the tribe of Joseph (the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh), which had made great contributions when Israel went down to Egypt during the famine. God will never forget the devotion and loyalty of each person and will repay them with grace.

Joshua 17: The Inheritance of the Half-Tribe of Manasseh 

[Summary]

This chapter records the boundaries of the inheritance that the tribe of Manasseh received following the tribe of Ephraim. Since the half-tribe of Manasseh, centered on the descendants of Machir, had already received an inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, the west side of the Jordan was distributed to the remaining half-tribe, centered on Abiezer (verses 1-6). The western border of the half-tribe of Manasseh stretched from the upper part of the tribe of Ephraim to Megiddo and Pyongyang, and bordered the southern borders of the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Issachar (verses 7-13). At this time, the descendants of Joseph complained to Joshua that the inheritance they had been given was too small. Then Joshua advised Ephraim and the half-tribe of Manasseh to directly conquer the remaining Canaanite tribes and expand their territory on their own (verses 14-18).

Following the division of land for the tribe of Joseph, who received a double blessing for their past service in preserving the Israelite family during the great famine, this time it introduces the land that would be occupied by the half-tribe of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan River. The remaining half of the tribe of Manasseh had already received their territory on the east side of the Jordan River.

Joshua 18: The Inheritance of the Tribe of Benjamin 

[Summary]

From this chapter on, the land distribution for the seven tribes who had not yet received their inheritance is recorded. Joshua chose three representatives from each of the seven tribes who had not yet received their inheritance and had them draw the boundaries of the remaining land and divide it into seven parts. Then, he distributed it equally to each tribe by drawing lots (verses 1-10). The land distributed to the tribe of Benjamin was in the middle area between the tribes of Judah and Joseph, bordering Bethel to the north, Jerusalem to the south, the Jordan River to the east, and Beth Horon to the west (verses 11-20). The cities in the area they received were a total of fourteen cities and their villages (verses 21-28).

Joshua 18-19 deals with the issue of territorial distribution for the remaining tribes, in addition to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Manasseh, Judah, and Ephraim, whose territories had been divided up to that point. Meanwhile, Joshua felt the need to renew the Israelites' disturbed faith before God before dividing their territory, so he set up the tabernacle in Shiloh.