In our study of Joshua chapter thirteen, we look at the land on the eastern side of the Jordan River that was given to the people of Israel and the future expansion of Israel to include that land.
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Now Y'hoshua was old; the years had taken their toll. ADONAI said to him, "You are old, and the years have taken their toll; but there is yet a great deal of land to be possessed. "This is the land that still remains: all the regions of the P'lishtim and all the G'shuri, from the Shichor which fronts Egypt, to the border of 'Ekron (northward from there the land is considered as belonging to the Kena'ani) - that is, the territory of the rulers of the P'lishtim in 'Azah, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gat and 'Ekron; also the 'Avim to the south; all the land of the Kena'ani; Me'arah, which belongs to the Tzidonim, as far as Afek and on to the border with the Emori; the land of the Givli; all the L'vanon eastward, from Ba'al-Gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamat.
In the Hebrew text, this passage speaks of days not years and it does not say that they "had taken their toll". At any rate, Y'hoshua and Israel had been in the land for awhile but had not taken possession of all of the land that god had promised to Avraham.
"As for the inhabitants of the hills between the L'vanon and Misrefot-Mayim, that is, all the Tzidonim, I myself will expel them ahead of the people of Isra'el; all you have to do is assign it to Isra'el as an inheritance, as I have ordered you. So now, divide this land as an inheritance for the nine tribes and the half-tribe of M'nasheh."
Here, we see God's assurance that He will handle the Tzidonim and all that is required of Y'hoshua is to assign the land to the tribes.
With the half-tribe of M'nasheh, the Re'uveni and the Gadi received their inheritance, which Moshe had given them, beyond the Yarden eastward, just as Moshe the servant of ADONAI had given them - from 'Aro'er on the edge of the Arnon Valley, the city in the middle of the valley, all the plateau between Meidva and Divon, and all the cities of Sichon king of the Emori who ruled in Heshbon to the border with the people of 'Amon; and Gil'ad, the territory of the G'shuri and Ma'akhati, all Mount Hermon, all Bashan as far as Salkhah - that is, all the kingdom of 'Og in Bashan, who ruled in 'Ashtarot and Edre'i. 'Og was one of those remaining from the Refa'im, whom Moshe defeated and expelled.
This passage reminds us of the victory of Moshe on the east side of the Jordan and the fact that this land was given to the half-tribe of M'nasheh, the Re'uveni and the Gadi.
However, the people of Isra'el expelled neither the G'shuri nor the Ma'akhati, with the consequence that G'shur and Ma'akhat have lived among Isra'el to this day. Only to the tribe of Levi did Moshe give no inheritance; because the offerings made by fire for ADONAI the God of Isra'el are its inheritance; as [ADONAI] had said to Moshe.
Here, we see that the tribes did not take possession of the land and the G'shur and Ma'akhat people still lived there among Israel. We are reminded as well that the tribe of Levi was not to receive a land inheritance.
Moshe gave land to the tribe of the descendants of Re'uven by clans. Their territory included 'Aro'er on the edge of the Arnon Valley, the city in the middle of the valley, all the plateau near Meidva, Heshbon and its villages on the plateau, Divon, Bamot-Ba'al, Beit-Ba'al-M'on, Yahatz, K'demot, Mefa'at, Kiryatayim, Sivmah, Tzeret-Shachar at the top of the valley, Beit-P'or, the slopes of Pisgah, Beit-Yeshimot, all the cities of the plateau - all the kingdom of Sichon king of the Emori, who ruled in Heshbon. Moshe defeated him with the chiefs of Midyan, along with Evi, Rekem, Tzur, Hur and Reva the princes of Sichon who lived in the land. Along with the others the people of Isra'el killed with the sword, they also struck down Bil'am the son of B'or, who practiced divination. The Yarden formed the border for the descendants of Re'uven. This was the inheritance of the descendants of Re'uven by clans, with its cities and villages.
We see that part of the land that Sichon had controlled was given to the descendants of Re'uven by clans. Special emphasis is given to the fact that Bil'am the son of B'or was also killed and we find this mentioned in Numbers 22.
Moshe gave land to the tribe of the Gad, to the descendants of Gad by clans. Their territory included Ya'zer; all the cities of Gil'ad; half the land of the people of 'Amon, as far as 'Aro'er fronting Rabbah - that is, from Heshbon to Ramot-Mitzpeh and B'tonim; and from Machanayim to the border of Lidvir; while in the valley it included Beit-Haram, Beit-Nimrah, Sukkot and Tzafon - in other words, the rest of the kingdom of Sichon king of Heshbon; with the Yarden to the far end of Lake Kinneret as its border, their territory extended eastward. This is the inheritance of the descendants of Gad by clans, with its cities and villages.
Now, we see the land that was given to the tribe of Gad.
Moshe gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of the M'nasheh; it was for the half-tribe of the descendants of M'nasheh by clans. Their territory included Machanayim and all of Bashan - that is, all the kingdom of 'Og king of Bashan; all the villages of Ya'ir in Bashan, sixty cities; half of Gil'ad; and 'Ashtarot and Edre'i, the cities of the kingdom of 'Og in Bashan. All this was for the descendants of Makhir the son of M'nasheh, or, rather, for half of the descendants of Makhir, by clans.
Finally, we see the land that was given to the half tribe of M'nasheh.
These are the inheritances which Moshe distributed in the plains of Mo'av, beyond the Yarden and Yericho, eastward. But to the tribe of Levi Moshe gave no inheritance; ADONAI the God of Isra'el is their inheritance - as he told them.
Once again, we are told that the Levites did not receive a land inheritance and we are told that God is their inheritance. It is also important to know that much of the land that is mentioned in this chapter is not currently a part of Israel as much of it is a part of the modern country of Jordan. In the future, all of the land described here will be a part of Israel as it was given to them by God.
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