Joshua 18:1-28
1 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.
2 And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance.
3 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?
4 Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me.
5 And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north.
6 Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God.
7 But the Levites have no part among you; for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance: and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.
8 And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh.
9 And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.
10 And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.
11 And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
12 And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Bethaven.
13 And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward; and the border descended to Atarothadar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Bethhoron.
14 And the border was drawn thence, and compassed the corner of the sea southward, from the hill that lieth before Bethhoron southward; and the goings out thereof were at Kirjathbaal, which is Kirjathjearim, a city of the children of Judah: this was the west quarter.
15 And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjathjearim, and the border went out on the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah:
16 And the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to Enrogel,
17 And was drawn from the north, and went forth to Enshemesh, and went forth toward Geliloth, which is over against the going up of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben,
18 And passed along toward the side over against Arabaha northward, and went down unto Arabah:
19 And the border passed along to the side of Bethhoglah northward: and the outgoings of the border were at the north bayb of the salt sea at the south end of Jordan: this was the south coast.
20 And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the coasts thereof round about, according to their families.
21 Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Bethhoglah, and the valley of Keziz,
22 And Betharabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel,
23 And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah,
24 And Chepharhaammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages:
25 Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth,
26 And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
27 And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah,
28 And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.
SURVEYING AND DIVIDING THE REST OF THE LAND
(vs.1-10)
Though Jerusalem was God's purposed center for Israel, they had not been able to take this city from the Jebusites, so that they found Shiloh in the territory of Ephraim convenient for the setting up of the tabernacle (v.1). The land was generally subdued before Israel but there were still seven tribes that had not been apportioned their inheritance (v.2).
Joshua remonstrates with Israel in verse 3 as to their neglect to actually possess what God had given them (v.3). Well might believers today take to heart such an admonishment. We have not possessed what God has given us title to. Joshua told Israel therefore to pick out three men from each tribe who could pass through the remaining territory, survey it and part it into seven portions (vs.4-6). Then Joshua would cast lots before the Lord as to which portion each of the tribes would receive. The men would be thus put in a position of wanting to be fully impartial as to the dividing of the land.
The men whom Joshua was sending to survey the land were reminded (v.7) that the Levites had no stated inheritance and the 2½ tribes had theirs on the east side of Jordan. With Joshua's backing therefore the men left on the survey. How long it took we are not told, but when completed they returned to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh. Joshua did as he said, casting lots as to which of the seven tribes was to inherit which portion (v.10).
THE TERRITORY OF BENJAMIN
(vs.11-28)
Benjamin means "son of my right hand," so that the tribe emphasizes the glory of the Lord Jesus as reigning at the right hand of God. Appropriately therefore, Benjamin included Jerusalem (v.28), which was on the border of Benjamin and Judah (ch.15:63). Authority (in Benjamin) and praise (Judah) are beautifully united therefore in this capital city which was God's center, though it was a long time before Jerusalem was taken from the Jebusites (in David's day).
Benjamin's borders are described in verses 1-20, and its cities named in verses 21-28. Its territory was comparatively small, lying between Judah and Ephraim, bounded by the River Jordan on the east and the tribe of Dan on the west.