Boaz Marries Ruth

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Ruth 4:1) Then Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by, to whom he said, "Ho, such a one! Turn aside, sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down.

At the end of the last chapter and post, Ruth had let Boaz know he was her next of kin, and by law, should marry her.  Boaz, in turn, let Ruth know that although he was her kin, he knew she had one who was nearer in kin to her than he was.  So Boaz went to the city gate and sat and waited until that kinsman he had spoken of came by.  He did indeed come by, and Boaz said something to the effect of he was the one Boaz had been looking for, and he asked him to sit down.  The man did as Boaz asked and sat down with him.

(2) And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." And they sat down.

Boaz also called ten elders of the city to come and sit by him.  His purpose was to call a court to determine whether or not Ruth's next of kin would assume his responsibility as laid out in Deuteronomy 25:7-9.

(3) And he said to the kinsman, "Naomi, who has come again out of the country of Moab, sells a parcel of land which was our brother Elimelech's, (4) And I thought to advise you, saying, 'Buy it before the inhabitants and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it, but if you will not redeem it, tell me that I may know, for there is no one to redeem it besides you, and I after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem it."

Boaz began by explaining to his kinsman that Naomi who had come back from Moab was now needing to sell a parcel of land that had belonged to their mutual kinsman, Elimelech.  He had come to inform Elimelech's nearest kinsman that he might buy it and redeem it, preserving the inheritance in the family according to the law (Leviticus 25:25).  Boaz asked his kinsman to tell him then and there if he would redeem the land, for if he didn't, then it was Boaz's responsibility to redeem it as he was the nearest of kin after the kinsman to whom he now spoke.  The kinsman said he would indeed redeem it.

(5) Then said Boaz, "What day you buy the field of the hand of Naomi, you must buy also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance."

Boaz went on to explain that on the day the kinsman bought the field from Naomi, he was also buying it from Ruth, as her husband had been the rightful heir of Elimelech's land upon his passing.  Now that her husband was also dead, it was the redeemer's duty to raise up the name of Ruth's husband and Naomi's son, Mahlon, perpetuating it according to the law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

(6) And the kinsman said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance; you redeem my right to yourself as I cannot redeem it."

At that, the kinsman said he would not be able to redeem the land, for he had his own inheritance to think of and pass on to the next generation.  He was surely married and had children and thought that marrying Ruth and raising up children in her husband's name would greatly diminish his own inheritance for his children.

(7) Now this was the custom in former time concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things, a man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor, and this was a testimony in Israel.

The custom at that time concerning redemption and the exchanging of property, in order to confirm the transaction, a man was to take off his shoe and give it to the other party, in this case Boaz, to confirm that he had refused his right of redemption and allowed it to pass to Boaz.  In Deuteronomy 25:8-9, we saw a stricter version of this custom that was the law, where the widow of the brother of the man who refused to uphold his responsibility in taking his brother's widow as his wife, she herself took off her brother-in-law's shoe and spit in his face because he refused to do his duty in perpetuating his brother's name.  As this kinsman was not a brother to Mahlon, he was therefore not obliged to take Ruth as his wife, but it appears that it remained a custom in the transferring of property to remove the shoe and pass it to the other party to confirm the transaction in the presence of the elders in Israel.

(8) Therefore the kinsman said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." So he drew off his shoe. 

So the kinsman told Boaz to buy the land for himself, and he took off his shoe to confirm that he was relinquishing his right to the land and giving Boaz the right to redeem it.

(9) And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi. (10) Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead not be cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of this place, you are witnesses this day."

Boaz then said to the elders and thus in testimony to all the people of Israel that they were witnesses to the fact that he had bought all that had been Elimelech's, and all that would have been passed down to his sons, Chilion and Mahlon, from Elimelech's widow, Naomi.  In addition, he was purchasing the right to make Ruth his wife and agreeing to raise up the names of Mahlon and his father Elimelech, so that their names would not be cut off and forgotten among their brethren.  From their position at the gate of the city, the elders and the people present were witnesses to those facts that day.

(11) And all the people who were in the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and like Leah, the two who built the house of Israel, and may you do worthily in Ephratah and be famous in Bethlehem, (12) And let your house be like the house of Pharez whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give you of this young woman."

The elders and the people present at the gate of the city declared they were indeed witnesses.  They blessed the union of Boaz and Ruth.  The fact that they wished that Ruth who was coming into his house be like Rachel and Leah seems to indicate that Boaz had married before this time, and their wish was that both women would continue to build up the house of Israel as Rachel and Leah had done.  They wished that Boaz might do well in Ephratah and Bethlehem, which were one and the same place, where Rachel had died and was buried, according to Genesis 35:19.  The elders and the people also wished that Boaz's house might be like that of Pharez, the son of Judah, by Tamar who was actually Judah's daughter-in-law.  When Tamar's husband Er died, the other sons of Judah and Judah himself refused to do their duty to Tamar to raise up an inheritance to her dead husband.  However, she tricked Judah into impregnating her when he did not know it was his daughter-in-law.  This event was detailed in Genesis 38.  The people wished that Boaz's house might be like that of Pharez who was the result of the union between his mother and a redeemer, although an unwitting one.  May he as Ruth's redeemer have descendants as numerous as Judah by Pharez.  The fact that Ruth was a Moabitess, although often mentioned, seems to be of no concern, as Ruth had obviously become a proselyte or convert to the Jewish religion.  

(13) So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife, and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.

Boaz took Ruth as his wife, and he performed his conjugal duty.  As the ultimate proof that God blessed this union, it is said that He gave her conception, and she bore a son.

(14) And the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. (15) And he shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him."

The women of Bethlehem, neighbors of Naomi, told her that the Lord had not abandoned her and left her without descendants after all.  Through her daughter-in-law Ruth, who so loved her, and was better to her than seven sons would have been, she had a grandson.  They wished that his name be famous in Israel as he was to her a restorer of life and nourisher to her in her old age at a time when she had felt alone and abandoned.

(16) And Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom and became nurse to him.

Naomi took the baby and laid him in her bosom as a sign of her tender love and affection for him, and she became a nurse to him, aiding Ruth in her care of him.

(17) And the women her neighbors gave him a name, saying, "There is a son born to Naomi," and they called his name Obed; he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

The neighbor women suggested a name for the baby that was indeed adopted by Ruth and Boaz.  They suggested the name of Obed which meant "serving," as they saw him serving, nourishing, and comforting Naomi in her old age as they had wished for her in verse 15.  However, the name had greater significance than they knew as Obed's grandson, David, was God's beloved servant.  Life was restored to Naomi's name as a son, actually a grandson, was born to her son's wife.  Obed would go on to have a son Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David.  In this would Obed's name become famous in Israelite history as the grandfather of David, as the women neighbors had wished (v. 14).

(18) Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

The author of Ruth now inserted a descendant genealogy of Pharez, the son of Judah and Tamar, whose house the people of Israel wished for the descendants of Boaz and Ruth to mirror (v. 12).  Pharez's son was Hezron.

(19) And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, (20) And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, (21) And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,

Pharez's son Hezron had a son Ram who produced Amminadab, who produced Nahshon, and Nahshon produced Salmon, the father of Boaz.  And of course, Boaz's son was Obed.

(22) And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

Completing the genealogy from Judah (by his son Pharez) to David, Obed would go on to have a son Jesse, who was the father of David.  How beautiful and fitting that Ruth the Moabitess should play a prominent role in the genealogy of David which would also extend to Jesus, the Son of David, the Lion of Judah.  Of course, Ruth had converted to Judaism, so was not really a Moabite at the time she married Boaz.  But this shows how the Gentile, someone not originally of the Jewish faith, was grafted into the line of Jesus, just as Jesus offered his salvation to the Gentiles and allowed them to be grafted into His living vine (Romans 11).  As the author of Ruth linked her to her great-grandson David, we know her book was written after David's anointing which agrees with Jewish tradition that the prophet Samuel may have written it.

The Continuing Conquest of Canaan

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 1:1) Now after the death of Joshua, it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, "Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?"

Joshua had died in the last chapter and post.  As he left no successor, no commander in chief, the people inquired of the Lord, either by prayer or the Urim and Thummim, which were some sort of objects worn by the high priest that were used to determine God's will, about who would go first to fight the Canaanites that remained in their land.

(2) And the Lord said, "Judah shall go up; behold, I have delivered the land into his hand."

The Lord said that the tribe of Judah should go first against the Canaanites that remained in their land.  He said He had already delivered that Canaanite land into their hand.

(3) And Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into my lot that we may fight against the Canaanites, and I likewise will go with you into your lot." So Simeon went with him.

As the tribe of Simeon lay in the middle of the tribe of Judah, Judah's tribe asked the tribe of Simeon to go with them to fight the Canaanites, and in turn, Judah would go with Simeon when they were called to fight.  The tribe of Simeon agreed and went with the tribe of Judah.

(4) And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

Judah with Simeon went up against the Canaanites and the Perizzites.  The term "Canaanites" often referred to the seven nations that occupied Canaan as a whole, but there was one nation of Canaanites, and it, as well as the nation of Perizzites, were delivered into Israel's hand by the Lord.  The Israelites killed ten thousand men in and around the area of Bezek which was just west of Jerusalem.  This section of a map borrowed from Psalms to God shows the tribes of Judah and Simeon and where they went up to fight in the northeastern part of Judah:

(5) And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. (6) But Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued after him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

The Israelites found the king of Bezek there and fought against him.  They slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites, but King Adoni-Bezek fled from them.  They pursued him and eventually caught him, and they cut off his thumbs and his big toes.  This would have disabled him from fighting as he would not be able to hold a weapon, and he would no longer be able to run.  It was unusual for the Israelites to inflict such torture and punishment, but it may have been God's will as the king himself recognized:

(7) And Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off gathered scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has requited me." And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

The king confessed that he had cut off the thumbs and big toes of seventy kings who were then left to gather scraps from under his table.  He said that as he had done so cruelly to others, God had repaid him by doing the same to him.  It's interesting that a pagan king would realize that God had done that to him, so it may be that he spoke under the influence of God's Holy Spirit.  The Israelites brought him to Jerusalem where he died.

(8) Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem and had taken it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

Judah had previously conquered Jerusalem which was how they were able to take the king there.  During the time of Joshua, the Israelites had not yet been able to drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:63), but apparently Judah had been able to do it.

(9) And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, and in the south, and in the valley.

After the death of King Adoni-Bezek, the Israelites went southward to fight against the Canaanites who still dwelt in other areas of Judah, in the mountains, in the valley, and in the southern part of Judah.

(10) And Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath Arba), and they killed Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

The tribe of Judah went against the Canaanites who still dwelt in Hebron.  The city of Hebron was before named Kirjath Arba for Arba, a chief among the Anakims who were giants in the city.  Caleb had previously driven out the giants, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai (Joshua 15:14), but it seems they must have regained at least parts of the city.  This time the tribe of Judah killed the three giants.

(11) And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir, and the name of Debir before was Kirjath Sepher.

This and what follows in the next few verses appears to be a retelling of Joshua 15:15-19.  It couldn't have happened after Joshua died because Joshua wrote about it.  Since Jewish tradition considers the prophet Samuel to be the author of Judges, and he would have written this about 300 years after the fact, it may be reasonable to believe he might not have gotten the chronology exactly right.  However, here Samuel was writing about the lands that were conquered after Joshua's initial conquest, and the conquest of Hebron did happen after that.  It was after the tribe of Judah had been given their allotment that Caleb (of Judah) went against the inhabitants of Debir.  Before it was renamed Debir the city was called Kirjath Sepher.

(12) And Caleb said, "He who strikes Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter to wife."

Caleb had said at the time that whoever was able to take Kirjath Sepher would be given his daughter Achsah in marriage (Joshua 15:16).

(13) And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it, and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

It was Caleb's nephew Othniel, the son of Kenaz who was Caleb's younger brother, who took Kirjath Sepher, and Caleb indeed gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage.

(14) And it came to pass when she came, that she moved him to ask of her father a field, and she dismounted, and Caleb said to her, "What do you want?" (15) And she said to him, "Give me a blessing, for you have given me a south land; give me also springs of water." And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

When Achsah came to Othniel on her donkey, she persuaded him to ask for a field from her father.  She dismounted her donkey, and Caleb asked her what she wanted.  She asked for an extra blessing.  He had already given her a south land, which might indicate a dry land, so she now asked for springs of water.  Caleb gave her upper springs and lower springs.

The fact that this account was written twice made me look harder at the reason why it was so important.  I read many commentaries and understood what others had found.  It was an illustration of how we can boldly approach our Father in heaven with our requests.  Imagine that!  The holy God of the universe wants to have a father/child relationship with us sinful creatures, and He urges us to come to Him with our petitions.  However, we must remember that the only way we unclean sinners are able to approach Him is because of the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ that purifies us when we accept His gift.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:11, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?"  However, we are to use wisdom and discernment as Achsah did.  She didn't ask for a gold-plated castle, but for springs for her dry land to make it more fruitful for her family.  James said in James 4:3, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."  Our Father in heaven wants to bless us with the things that will help us grow and be more effective servants for His church, not with worthless trinkets.  He knows what is best for us, but He invites us to come confidently to Him with our requests, having faith that He will give us what we need, but perhaps not always what we want.

(16) And the children of the Kenite, Moses's father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad, and they went and dwelt among the people.

Moses's father-in-law was Jethro, a Kenite.  There is no consensus for whom the Kenites were named, but they were an ancient people living in Canaan in the time of Abraham (Genesis 15:19).  They were among ten tribes whose land God said He was giving to Abram.  However, during the time of Moses and Joshua, only seven nations were named as occupying Canaan.  The Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, had either become extinct, moved out of Canaan, or mixed with other nations.  Jethro's daughter Zipporah married Moses.  Jethro and his son Hobab had joined with Moses, and Hobab's descendants lived among the Israelites in the land of Canaan; they were the Kenites.  The city of palm trees was Jericho (Deuteronomy 34:3).  The Kenites had apparently resided in Jericho, but they now left it to go with the tribe of Judah and settled in the wilderness of Judah which was south of Arad, which would put them east of the tribe of Simeon according to the map above.  According to Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, the rabbinical story was that Jericho had been given to Hobab.  Joshua had cursed that city and any person who rose up to rebuild it (Joshua 6:26), so apparently the descendants of Hobab had determined to leave that cursed city and dwell among the tribe of Judah in the wilderness.

(17) And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.

As the tribe of Judah had promised, they went with the tribe of Simeon and killed the Canaanites who inhabited a city called Zephath in eastern Simeon, and they renamed it Hormah.

(18) Also Judah took Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.

Judah also took Gaza and Ashkelon on the Mediterranean coast and Ekron in the north.  The Biblical scholars I study wrote that the cities were later retaken and possessed by the Philistines.  John Wesley in his Notes on the Bible, observed that the scripture did not say they slew the people as it did in the verse before it.  The people, being spared, regained their control of the cities.

(19) And the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the mountaineers, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron.

The Lord was with Judah, and the tribe was able to drive out the inhabitants of the mountainous region of Judah.  However, it appears their faith failed when they feared the chariots of iron, and they were unable to drive out the inhabitants of the valley.  The Lord was with them, and there was no reason to believe that He wouldn't be with them to drive out those people, but it appears they didn't even try because of their fear.

(20) And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses said, and he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.

 

Once again, the author of this book wrote in this chapter about the areas that had been left unconquered after Joshua's conquest. He referred again to Hebron which had been given to Caleb.  Caleb had driven out the three giants, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, whom Judah later killed (v.10).

(21) And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem, but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

The tribe of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem.  Although the tribe of Judah had previously taken the city (v. 8), it appears it was reinhabited by the Jebusites.  They remained dwelling with the tribe of Benjamin to the day the author, probably Samuel, wrote this.  John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, wrote that Samuel wrote the book of Judges before the reign of David who would dispossess the Jebusites.

(22) And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

The house of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, went up against Bethel in the southern portion of Ephraim.  The inhabitants of Bethel had been driven away from the city by Joshua (Joshua 8:17), but apparently the city had become reinhabited by the Canaanites.  The Lord was with Ephraim and Manasseh as they went against the inhabitants of Bethel.  This map borrowed from Precept Austin, shows all of the tribes, and Bethel is seen in southern Ephraim:

(23) And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh sent spies into Bethel to examine the conditions.  The name of Bethel was formerly Luz.

(24) And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, "Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will show you mercy."

The spies saw a man coming out of Bethel.  They asked him to tell them how to get into the city, and they in turn would show him mercy.

(25) And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all of his family go.

The man showed the spies a way into the city, and the tribes of Joseph struck the city and killed its inhabitants, but they let the man and his entire family go free.

(26) And the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.

The man and his family went into the land of the Hittites where the Hittites apparently dwelt after being expelled from Canaan.  He built a city and called it Luz after the city he had been forced to leave.  Luz was still there at the writing of this book, although it was no longer there at the writing of the Biblical scholars I study, as they didn't know where this city of Luz would have been.

(27) Neither did Manasseh drive out Beth Shean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

Beth Shean, Taanach, Ibleam, Dor, and Megiddo, were cities given to the half tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan River out of the lots of Issachar and Asher (Joshua 17:11).  Apparently, they never made any attempt to drive out the inhabitants of the cities and inhabit them as their cities, so the Canaanites dwelt in their land.  The map above shows most of these cities in northern West Manasseh.

(28) And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute and did not utterly drive them out.

When Israel became strong, they still did not drive out the Canaanites but made them tributaries under them.

(29) Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

Neither did Ephraim, the other son of Joseph, drive out Canaanites in his land, specifically Gezer, and the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.  

(30) Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites dwelt among them and became tributaries.

Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or Nahalol, and the Canaanites there became tributaries.

(31) Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob, (32) But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

The tribe of Asher appears especially slothful in driving the Canaanites out of their land as God had instructed.  Out of 22 cities they had been given (Joshua 19:30), they failed to drive the enemy out of seven of them, about one third of their allotted cities.

(33) Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh nor the inhabitants of Beth Anath, but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became tributaries to them.

The tribe of Naphtali failed to drive out the Canaanites from Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath, so they dwelt among the Canaanites, but they did make the Canaanites in those cities tributaries to them.

(34) And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley.

The Amorites in the tribe of Dan's territory forced their tribe into the mountains and would not allow them to go down to the valley.  There must have been a serious lack of faith in God to drive out their enemies that their enemies were able to drive them from their land.

(35) But the Amorites would dwell in Mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed so that they became tributaries.

It appears that the Amorites even dwelt among Dan in the mountains.  However, the house of Joseph helped its brother tribe, as Ephraim and Manasseh bordered Dan.  They at least made the Amorites tributaries in Mount Heres in Aijalon and in Shaalbim, however it doesn't appear that they were ever able to make tributaries of the Amorites in the valley.

(36) And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock and upward.

Akrabbim means "scorpion," so this is believed to be the Scorpion Pass, a pass between the south end of the Dead Sea and Zin.  "The rock" is believed to be Petra which was located east of that region on the east side of the Dead Sea.  Looking at the map above, I believe the territory of the Amorites at this time was from the eastern edge of the Wilderness of Zin, eastward below the Dead Sea, and upward on the east side of the Dead Sea, the regions of Edom and Moab.  The Amorites were said to be the most powerful people among the Canaanites and would prove to be very troublesome to Israel.

The Israelites were very careless with their duty to drive out all the Canaanites from their land.  Whether it was laziness or fear and a lack of faith, they did not do as their Lord God had told them to do.  Some of the cities where the Israelites failed to remove the Canaanites were cities that had been given to the Levites, including Taanach, Gezer, Nahalal, and Rehob, which may have been the reason they were lax in driving out the Canaanites.  However, you would think they would take better care of their priests and ministers who served their Lord God.  There may have been some covetousness on Israel's part as well, as they decided making the Canaanites pay tribute was more advantageous to them than driving them out.  However, God's way is always the best way, and by disobeying Him in their total conquest of Canaan, they brought troubles on themselves.  However, this may have been by divine design.  The Israelites had proved to be a people lacking faith and easily drawn away from their Lord.  Perhaps they needed adversity to keep them in check.  It's most often in adversity that people turn toward God.  It's not that God purposely designed things the way they were in order to punish His people.  He just allowed them to do or not do according to their own desires, letting them learn great lessons as He brought them through their adversities.

Cities Allotted to Levi

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 21:1) Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel.

In the past chapters and posts, Eleazar the high priest and Joshua, along with heads of the tribes, had divided the land and given inheritance to each of the tribes.  Then the people appointed cities of refuge among their tribes.  Now the heads of the Levites came to Eleazar, and Joshua, and those heads of the other tribes.

(2) And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, "The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs of them for our cattle."

The Levites reminded them that the Lord had commanded through Moses that they should have cities and suburbs within the other tribes, to live in and keep livestock.  The Levites had not been given a lot of their own as had been given the other tribes, because as the priests, God was to be their inheritance.  However, God did provide for them cities in which to dwell within the other tribes (Numbers 35:2).

(3) And the children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their inheritance at the commandment of the Lord, these cities and their suburbs.

The Israelites indeed gave to the Levites cities out of their inheritance in which to dwell, descriptions of which follow.

(4) And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites, and the children of Aaron the priest of the Levites had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.

The first lot came out for the Kohathites, descendants of Kohath, a son of Levi.  The children of Aaron the priest, son of Amram who was a son of Kohath, were the only priests of the Levites.  The other Levites assisted the priests and acted as ministers for the people.  The children of Aaron, the priests, were given cities out of the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin, thirteen cities in all.

(5) And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan River, ten cities.

The rest of the Kohathites, Levites, but not priests, had their cities assigned by lot within the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities in all.

(6) And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.

The children of Gershon, another son of Levi, had cities assigned by lot within the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh east of the Jordan River.

(7) The children of Merari by their families, had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

The children of Merari, the third son of Levi, were given cities within the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun, twelve cities in all.  All the tribes were to give cities to the Levites as a sort of tithe.  They were to provide for the priests and the ministers who attended the priests and ministered to the people within each tribe.  Although it was a benefit to the other tribes to have Levite ministers living among them, it was the fulfillment of a curse made by Jacob, that because of their anger and cruel wrath, they would be scattered throughout Israel (Genesis 49:7).  A total of forty-eight cities were given to the Levites according to the commandment of the Lord (Numbers 35:7).

(8) And the children of Israel gave by lot to the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses.

The Israelites gave by lot cities along with their suburbs within each of their tribes, just as the Lord had commanded.

(9) And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are mentioned by name, (10) Which the children of Aaron of the families of the Kohathites of the children of Levi had, for theirs was the first lot. (11) And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which is Hebron, in the hills of Judah with the suburbs of it round about it.

The Israelites gave the children of Aaron who were of the Kohathites, cities, names which follow in the text, out of the tribes of Judah and Simeon.  First, they gave them the city and suburbs of Kirjath Arba, "city of Arba," Arba being a son of the Anakims, a race of giants among whom Arba was chief.  It was renamed Hebron (Joshua 14:15) and it lay in the hill country of Judah.  

(12) But the fields of the city, and its villages, they gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.

However, the fields and villages surrounding Hebron belonged to Caleb (Joshua 14:13).  He had been given Hebron, but as with all the tribes, he gave a city in which the Levites could dwell.  According to Biblical scholars, the suburbs of the Levitical cities were generally 2000 cubits, about 1000 yards.  Anything beyond that belonged to the tribe that was giving the city for Levitical use.

(13) Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Libnah and her suburbs.

The Israelites gave the children of Aaron, the priests, the city of Hebron which was also a city of refuge (Joshua 20:7) and the city of Libnah and their suburbs.

(14) And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs, (15) And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs, (16) And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, Beth Shemesh with her suburbs, nine cities out of those two tribes.

The priests also had the cities of Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, in which to live and dwell.  They had a total of nine cities within the tribes of Judah and Simeon, Simeon being within Judah.

(17) And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs, (18) Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.

Out of the tribe of Benjamin, the Levitical priests had the cities of Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon, four cities and their suburbs.  Anathoth and Almon were not listed among the cities within Benjamin's tribe in chapter 18 and must have been a couple of the smaller villages that were said to be part of the larger cities.  The cities within Benjamin were described as cities with their villages rather than cities with their suburbs.

(19) All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, totaled thirteen cities with their suburbs.

(20) And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.

The rest of the Kohathites, those who were not of Aaron and the priests, also had cities, theirs from the tribe of Ephraim.

(21) For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Gezer with her suburbs.

The rest of the Kohathites were given the cities of Shechem, also a city of refuge (Joshua 20:7), and Gezer.

(22) And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Beth Horon with her suburbs, four cities.

The Kohathites were also given the cities of Kibzaim and Beth Horon in the tribe of Ephraim.

(23) And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs, (24) Aijalon with her suburbs, Gath Rimmon with her suburbs, four cities.

Out of the tribe of Dan, the Kohathites were given the cities of Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, a total of four cities.

(25) And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs and Gath Rimmon with her suburbs, two cities.

Two cities were given out of the half tribe of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan River, Tanach and Gath Rimmon, which appears to be a different city than the one in the tribe of Dan.

(26) All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath who remained.

The Kohathites who were not descendants of Aaron, and therefore not priests, had a total of ten cities within the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh.

(27) And to the children of Gershon of the families of the Levites, out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Be Eshterah with her suburbs, two cities.

The Levites who were children of Gershon received the city of Golan, which was also a city of refuge, and Be Eshterah, with their suburbs, out of the half tribe of Manasseh on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

(28) And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Daberath with her suburbs, (29) Jarmuth with her suburbs, En Gannim with her suburbs, four cities.

The Gershonites were also given four cities out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En Gannim, with their suburbs.

(30) And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs, (31) Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs, four cities.

They were also given four cities out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob, with their suburbs.

(32) And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Hammoth Dor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs, three cities.

They were given three cities out of the tribe of Naphtali, Galilee, also a city of refuge, Hammoth Dor, and Kartan.

(33) All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.

The total number of cities given to the Levitical tribe of the Gershonites was thirteen.

(34) And to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs, (35) Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs, four cities.

The rest of the Levites, children of Merari, were given four cities out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal, with their suburbs.

(36) And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahaz with her suburbs, (37) Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs, four cities.

They were also given four cities out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath.

(38) And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, a city of refuge for the slayer, and Mahanaim with her suburbs, (39) Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs, four cities in all.

The children of Merari also received four cities out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth, also a city of refuge, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer, with their suburbs.

(40) So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were their lot, twelve cities.

The children of Merari were given twelve cities in all.

(41) All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their suburbs. (42) These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them, thus all these cities.

All the cities given to the Levites within all the other tribes of Israel numbered forty-eight, just as God had commanded (Numbers 35:7).  They were also given the suburbs, said to be about 2000 cubits, or about 1000 yards, round about the cities so that they would have space for livestock and provisions.

(43) And the Lord gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and dwelt in it.

Thus the Lord had given to Israel all the land of Canaan as He had sworn to their fathers.  All the tribes having received their lots of inheritance, they possessed their land and dwelt in it.

(44) And the Lord gave them rest round about according to all that He swore to their fathers, and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.

At that time, the Lord gave Israel peace and rest in their land flowing with milk and honey as He had sworn to their forefathers.  Finally, they had settled into their promised land, that land promised so many years before, and there were no enemies before them, as the Lord had delivered all their enemies into their hand.

(45) There failed not one of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel; all came to pass.

Every good thing the Lord had promised Israel came to pass.  God's promises were exactly fulfilled down to the prophetic blessings and curses that told where some of the tribes might live.  "Your word is true from the beginning, and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever" (Psalm 119:160).  Every word of promise God made from the beginning of the world is true and has never failed.  If anything has not yet been fulfilled, you can be sure it will be in the future.  The Lord is not slack concerning His promises, but is ever-patient, giving us all time to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

The Inheritance of the Tribes of Simeon and Zebulun

The past few chapters and posts have been describing each of the tribe's inheritance that was given to them by lot.  Continuing with that chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 19:1) And the second lot came forth to Simeon, for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families, and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah.

The second of the seven remaining lots that were cast after a break of some time went to Simeon.  It's interesting that a lot would be made within another lot, but Simeon's inheritance was within the inheritance of Judah.  This fulfilled prophecy of Jacob when he cursed Simeon's anger and speaking the words of the Lord, said He would divide and scatter Simeon in Israel.  It may have been decided that Judah's inheritance was much larger than its tribe needed, but the prophecy of God would be fulfilled whatever the reasoning.

(2) And they had in their inheritance Beersheba, or Sheba, and Moladah,

Simeon had in their inheritance the cities of Beersheba and Moladah, cities within the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:26, 28).  I found this map of Simeon's tribe within the tribe of Judah at If I Walked With Jesus:

(3) And Hazar Shual, and Balah, and Ezem, (4) And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah, (5) And Ziklag, and Beth Marcaboth, and Hazar Susah, (6) And Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen, thirteen cities and their villages.

They also had these cities, thirteen cities with their villages, which appear to be in the north and east of the territory of Simeon.

(7) Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan, four cities and their villages, (8) And all the villages round about these cities to Baalath Beer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.

Four more cities and their villages were within the tribe of Simeon, and I would have assumed they were in the south of Simeon by the description above.  However, the following copy of an 1840 map borrowed from Antico Gallery shows all these cities, but interestingly they are in different locations from the first map.  This shows the difficulty of identifying the exact locations of ancient cities and explains why sometimes the scriptures detailing these places don't make sense.  Places move or they don't exist anymore.  But these are details which don't affect the big picture in a Bible study.  We know all the cities mentioned above were within the tribe of Simeon at the time it was allotted to Simeon, as well as all the smaller villages around them.

(9) Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon, for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them; therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them.

As speculated above, indeed, the tribe of Simeon was placed within the tribe of Judah because Judah had much more land and many more cities than they could fill, and Simeon, being a small tribe, could easily exist within the area given them.

(10) And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families, and the border of their inheritance was to Sarid.

The third lot of the seven remaining lots came up for the tribe of Zebulun.  This map borrowed from If I Walked With Jesus shows his small lot with its southern border near Sarid.

And this map used before from iBiblemaps.com shows the location of the tribe of Zebulun in relation to the other tribes:

(11) And their border went up toward the sea and Maralah and reached to Dabbasheth and reached to the river that is before Jokneam.

From Sarid in the south the border continued westward toward the Mediterranean Sea to Dabbasheth and a river that was before Jokneam, which appears to be the Kishon River in the map above.

(12) And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising to the border of Chisloth Tabor and then goes out to Daberath and goes up to Japhia.

From Sarid in the south the border went eastward toward the Sea of Galilee to Daberath and a little beyond.  Zebulun was nestled between two great seas which fulfilled Jacob's prophecy that Zebulun would dwell by the sea and be a haven of ships (Genesis 49:13).

(13) And from there passed on along on the east to Gath Hepher, to Eth Kazin and goes out to Rimmon to Neah.

From the southwest corner the border went northward to Rimmon.

(14) And the border compassed it on the north side to Hannathon, and the outgoings of it are in the valley of Jiphthah El.

The language is difficult, but from the map, it appears that the northern border went around in the north and came back to Hannathon.  The original word that was translated as "compassed" was "sabab" and meant "revolve, surround," so the meaning seems to me that the northern portion of their land went in a big circle northward from Rimmon and back to Hannathon.

(15) And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem, twelve cities with their villages.

These cities were included within the tribe of Zebulun.  Bethlehem within Zebulun is not the same place as Bethlehem in Judah where Christ was born.  Twelve cities with their villages were within the lot of Zebulun.  Since only five are mentioned in verse 15, as well as the fact that the western border was not described, some Biblical scholars have been led to think there may have been some text lost from the original manuscripts.

(16) This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Thus ended the description of the lot that fell to Zebulun.

The Inheritance of the Tribe of Benjamin

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 18:1) 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.

The past few chapters have been describing the lots of land the first few tribes had received.  The tribes of Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan, had not yet received their inheritance.  It seems a break was taken from the casting of lots, and the whole congregation met together at Shiloh and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there, moving it from their camp in Gilgal.  The land was subdued and quiet at that time.

(3) And Joshua said to the children of Israel, "How long will you be slack to go to possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?"

Joshua spoke to the Israelites who had thus far not received their lots of inheritance.  He asked how long they would be slothful about going in to possess their land.  It's not that they could claim land that had not yet been assigned by lot, but they were apparently not eager to get on with it.  They were probably happy living in camps off the spoils of the enemy and not earnest about receiving their own land where they might have to work to clear or to drive out the Canaanites who remained or might have come back. 

(4) "Give out from among you three men per tribe, and I will send them, and they shall arise and go through the land and describe it according to the inheritance of them, and they shall come to me."

Joshua asked that each tribe select three men from their tribe, and Joshua would send them out to the unallotted land to survey and describe and bring the information back to him.

(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."

The three men selected from each of the remaining seven tribes were to divide the land into seven parts for those seven tribes.  Judah already had his lot in the south, and the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, had their lots north of Judah, so those were established, and there was no need to survey their lands.

(6) "You shall therefore describe the land in seven parts and bring it here to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord our God."

Speaking about the three men from each of the seven tribes, Joshua said they were to survey and describe the land in each of the seven parts and bring that information back to him so that he could cast lots for each of the lots of land before their Lord 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."

Joshua pointed out that the Levites would not be receiving any land inheritance because as priests, the Lord was their inheritance.  Also the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh had already received their lots on the east of the Jordan River.  He had already mentioned the tribes of Judah and the sons of Joseph who had their allotments, so that left the tribes of Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan, who needed to receive their inheritance.

(8) And the men arose and went away, and Joshua charged them who 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."

Joshua spoke directly to the three surveyors from each tribe, telling them to go do their surveys and bring their descriptions back to him so that he could cast lots for the tribes there in Shiloh before the Lord.  The men arose and went their way.

(9) And the men went and passed through the land and described it by cities into seven parts in a book and came to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.

The men went through the remaining land and described it by cities and divided it into seven parts and put their information in a book that they brought back to Joshua at Shiloh.

(10) And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.

There in Shiloh Joshua cast lots for each of the seven remaining tribes, dividing the remaining land among them.

(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.

The first lot went to Benjamin.  It was a small lot, called "little Benjamin" in Psalm 68:27, but the land was said to be very pleasant and fruitful.  It lay between Judah and the children of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh.  This map borrowed from Biblical Toolbelt shows the lot of Benjamin:

(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 of it were at the wilderness of Beth Haven.

The eastern border was the Jordan River.  The northern border went from the Jordan westward to just north of Jericho and through the mountains west of Jericho and went out to the wilderness of Beth Haven, which was said to be a place near Bethel and Ai, to which there was a wilderness adjacent.

(13) And the border went over from there toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward, and the border descended to Ataroth Addar near the hill on the south side of the lower Beth Horon.

The border went from Bethel southward to Ataroth Addar to near the hill on the south side of Lower Beth Horon.  These places are better seen on this map taken from Precept Austin:

(14) And the border was drawn and compassed the corner of the sea southward from the hill before Beth Horon southward, and the goings out of it were at Kirjath Baal, which is Kirjath Jearim, a city of the children of Judah; this was the west quarter.

The border went from the hill on the south side of Lower Beth Horon and went southward to Kirjath Jearim, a city on the border of Judah.  This described the western border of Benjamin.  No one seems to know what sea is meant in verse 14.

(15) And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjath Jearim, and the border went out on the west and went out to the well of waters at Nephtoah. (16) And the border came down to the end of the mountain before the valley of the son of Hinnom, 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 En Rogel.

The southern border went from west of Kirjath Jearim, and it went down and eastward to Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, and to En Rogel.  The southwestern corner reached the northern part of the Rephaim, giants.

(17) And was drawn from the north and went forth to En Shemesh and went forth toward Geliloth, which is across the going up of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben.

The southern border then veered northward to En Shemesh, seen on the first map above.  It continued across some of the same unknown places that were mentioned when defining the northern border of Judah (Joshua 15:6-7).

(18) And passed along toward the side across from Arabah northward and went down to Arabah, (19) And the border passed along to the side of Beth Hoglah northward, and the outgoings of the border were at the north bay of the Salt Sea at the south end of Jordan; this was the south coast.

The language is difficult to follow, but you can see the southern border going across to Beth Hoglah and then to the Jordan River at the north bay of the Salt Sea.

(20) And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin by its coasts all around, according to their families.

The Jordan River was the eastern border of Benjamin's lot.  Thus ended the description of the borders of the inheritance of Benjamin.

(21) Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth Hoglah, and the valley of Keziz,

The cities belonging to the tribe of Benjamin were Jericho and Beth Hoglah in the eastern part of the lot of Benjamin, and the valley of Keziz which must have been in that region.

(22) Beth Arabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel, (23) And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah, (24) And Chephar Haammoni, and Ophni, and Geba, twelve cities with their villages.

These appear to be twelve cities in eastern Benjamin, a few of which can be seen on the maps.

(25) Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth, (26) And Mizpah, and Chephirah, and Mozah, (27) And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah, (28) And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeah, and Kirjath, fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

And these appear to be fourteen cities in western Benjamin, a few of which are seen on the maps.  All these cities and the description of the borders before that made up the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin.

The Inheritance of the Tribe of Judah

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 15:1) This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families, to the border of Edom, the wilderness of Zin southward, the uttermost part of the south coast.

In the last chapter, Caleb had requested and was granted the land of Hebron for his inheritance.  As he was from the tribe of Judah, it was within Judah's inheritance.  Now a description of all the boundaries of the tribe of Judah were given.  It ranged from Edom in the southeast to the wilderness of Zin in the south wherein lay Kadesh Barnea.  This map from the last chapter shows Judah's lot in the southern region of the land of Canaan:

(2) And their south border was from the shore of the Salt Sea, from the bay that looked southward.

Their south border ran from the southern tip of the Salt Sea, also called the Dead Sea.

(3) And it went out to the south side to Maaleh-Akrabbim and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side to Kadesh Barnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa.

The border went from the southern tip of the Salt Sea southward to the ascent of Akrabbim, which literally meant Mount of Scorpions, and went along Zin in the south, to Kadesh Barnea, and then up to Hezron and Adar, two cities evidently along the southwestern coast.  And it curved around to Karkaa.  I can't locate all those cities, so the general map above is good for me.  However, it was very important to God that the promised inheritance was well defined.  As discussed before, there will come a time when the people possess their full inheritance.

(4) It passed toward Azmon and went out to the river of Egypt, and the goings out of that coast were at the sea; this shall be your south coast.

The southern border continued toward Azmon out to the river of Egypt which might be the most eastern branch of the Nile, although Biblical scholars disagree on whether the promised land reached that far, so it might mean some other river of Egypt that extended to the promised land.  From there, the southern border ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

(5) And the east border the Salt Sea to the end of Jordan. And the border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan.

The eastern border was the Salt Sea, or the Dead Sea, to the place where the Jordan River flowed into it.  The northern border began from that point.

(6) And the border went up to Beth Hoglah and passed along by the north of Beth Arabah, and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.

Beth Hoglah and Beth Arabah were said to be cities within the tribe of Benjamin, so they must have been on the border between Benjamin and Judah.  No one seems to know where the stone of Bohan was or why it was placed where it was, but it would have certainly been well known at the time.

(7) And the border went up toward Debir from the valley of Achor and so northward looking toward Gilgal, which is before the going up to Adummim, which is on the south side of the river, and the border passed toward the waters of En Shemesh, and the goings out of it were at En Rogel.

I begin to get lost here, except to look at the map above.  There has to be a third place called Debir as neither one of the other Debirs fits here.  Also there must be another Gilgal.  En Shemesh and En Rogel are along that northern border of Judah.

(8) And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom to the south side of the Jebusite, the same is Jerusalem, and the border went up to the top of the mountain before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward.

Again I can't locate the exact places, but the border runs along the line of the former Jebusite city, Jebus, renamed Jerusalem, on the border of the tribe of Benjamin.

(9) And the border was drawn from the top of the hill to the fountain of the water of Nephtoah and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron, and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjath Jearim. (10) And the border compassed from Baalah westward to Mount Seir and passed along to the side of Mount Jearim, which is Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed on to Timnah. (11) And the border went out to the side of Ekron northward, and the border was drawn to Shicron and passed along to Mount Baalah and went out to Jabneel, and the goings out of the border were at the sea.

The northern border of Judah continued to be drawn as described above and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

(12) And the west border was to the great sea and its coast. This is the coast of the children of Judah round about according to their families.

The western border of the tribe of Judah was the Mediterranean Sea.  That ended the description of the boundaries of Judah's lot all around.

(13) And to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a part among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, the city of Arba the father of Anak, which is Hebron.

Joshua gave Caleb his own part among the tribe of Judah, according to what the Lord had promised, and Caleb was given in the last chapter (Joshua 14:13).  He gave him the land of Hebron, formerly called Kirjath Arba for Arba, the father of Anak, a great man among the Anakim (Joshua 14:15).

(14) And Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.

Caleb drove out the sons of Anak, the giants in the land, as he said he would if the Lord was with him (Joshua 14:12).

(15) And he went up from there to the inhabitants of Debir, and the name of Debir before was Kirjath Sepher.

After he conquered Hebron, Caleb went up to that third Debir which was surely close to Hebron, and was before named Kirjath Sepher.

(16) And Caleb said, "He who strikes Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter to wife."

Caleb announced that whoever struck and took Kirjath Sepher would be given his daughter Achsah as wife.  Such was the custom in those days, and to be married into the family of the chief prince of the tribe of Judah would have been a very great honor.

(17) And Othneil the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it, and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

Othneil, who appears to be Caleb's nephew, the son of his brother Kenaz, took Kirjath Sepher and was given Caleb's daughter Achsah as his wife.  Often the term brother was used to denote a kinsman, not necessarily a brother, but first cousins were allowed to be married then.

(18) And it came to pass as she came, that she moved him to ask of her father a field; and she lighted off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, "What do you want?"

As Achsah came to her husband Othneil, she persuaded him to ask for a field from her father.  I suppose she had been riding a donkey to go off with her new husband, but she dismounted, and her father asked her what she wanted.

(19) Who answered, "Give me a blessing, for you have given me a south land; give me also springs of water." And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

Achsah asked her father Caleb to give her a blessing or a gift.  Apparently he had already given her land.  She called it a south land which may have meant it was dry, so she asked for the extra blessing of springs of water.  Caleb gave her springs in the upper part of her land or perhaps in an additional field adjacent to her land, and he also gave her springs in the lower part.

(20) This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.

The description of the land in the first part of this chapter above and the following list of cities described the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah.

(21) And the uppermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur,

I found the following map on the same page previously mentioned, Psalms to God, that shows a little more detail of the cities within the tribe of Judah.  Judging by the location of Kabzeel, I suppose the meaning of the verse is that the "outermost" cities southward, the southern boundary, went from the coast of Edom at the tip of the Dead Sea westward across to Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea, and included the cities of Kabzeel, Eder, and Jagur.  As most of the cities mentioned do not appear on any maps I can find, I'll let the general lines of the boundaries of the tribe depicted in the map below be the best interpretation I have at this point in my study:

(22) And Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adadah, (23) And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan, (24) Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, (25) And Hazor-Hadattah, and Kerioth-Hezron, which is Hazor, 

I am completely lost as to where all these cities are located and will rely only on the general location in the map above.  There must have been at least four different Hazors as supposedly the Hazor in verse 23 is not the same as Hazor in Joshua 11:1.  Then we have Hazor-Hadattah which means New Hazor, and Kerioth-Hezron which is Hazor.  That should be as clear as mud!  Continuing with a list of the cities in this section of Judah's inheritance:

(26) Amam, and Shema, and Moladah, (27) Hazar Gaddah, and Heshmon, and Beth Pelet, (28) And Hazar Shual, and Beersheba, and Bizjothjah, (29) Baalah, and Iim, and Azem, (30) And Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah, (31) And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah, (32) And Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon; all the cities, twenty-nine, with their villages.

I counted thirty-six cities listed.  However, it is said that some of these cities were given to the tribe of Simeon (Joshua 19:1), which does indeed appear to be in the middle of the tribe of Judah.

(33) And in the valley, Eshtaol, and Zorah, and Ashnah, 

The valley within the tribe of Judah appears to begin in the north central part of Judah where Eshtaol and Zorah are seen on the map and continues south (north of the southern boundary) and westward:

(34) And Zanoah, and En Gannim, Tappuah, and Enam, (35) Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah, (36) And Sharaim, and Adithaim, and Gederah, and Gederothaim, fourteen cities with their villages.

Fourteen cities were in the valley region.  I counted fifteen, but ancient scholars said that Gederah and Gederothaim were one and the same, and it should have been translated "Gederah (or Gederothaim)."

(37) Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdal Gad, (38) And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel, (39) Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon, (40) And Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Kithlish, (41) And Gederoth, Beth Dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah, sixteen cities with their villages.

These appear to be sixteen other cities in the valley region of Judah.

(42) Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan, (43) And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib, (44) And Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah, nine cities with their villages.

This appears to be a list of nine more cities in the valley or plain region.

(45) Ekron with her towns and her villages, (46) From Ekron to the sea, all that is near Ashdod with their villages, (47) Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, to the river of Egypt and the great sea and its border.

Judah's inheritance included Ekron in the northwestern region to Ashdod on the Mediterranean Sea and along that coast down to Gaza with all their suburbs.

(48) And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh, (49) And Dannah, and Kirjath Sannah, which is Debir, (50) And Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim, (51) And Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh, eleven cities with their villages.

The mountain region included those eleven cities.

(52) Arab, and Dumah, and Eshean, (53) And Janum, and Beth Tappuah, and Aphekah, (54) And Humtah, and Kirjath Arba, which is Hebron, and Zior, nine cities with their villages.

These nine cities were also in the mountainous or hill country of Judea.

(55) Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Juttah, (56) And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah, (57) Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah, ten cities with their villages.

These were ten more cities in the mountainous or hill country.

(58) Halhul, Beth Zur, and Gedor, (59) And Maarath, and Beth Anoth, and Eltekon, six cities with their villages.

These appear to be six more cities in the mountain region of Judah.

(60) Kirjath Baal, which is Kirjath Jearim, and Rabbah, two cities with their villages.

These appear to be two more cities in the mountain region.

(61) In the wilderness, Beth Arabah, Middin, and Secacah, (62) And Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and En Gedi, six cities with their villages.

There were six cities in the wilderness region of Judah.

(63) As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out, but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

Although Jerusalem was within the tribe of Benjamin, it was on the border between Benjamin and Judah.  It is mentioned here because surely some of the Jebusites who had not been completely driven out of Jerusalem inhabited the outer regions of Jerusalem into Judah.  At the time of Joshua's writing, they still lived among the Israelites.

Thus ended the description of the allotment for the tribe of Judah, which included Caleb's portion and the blessing he gave his daughter.

Caleb's Inheritance

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 14:1) And these what the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them.

In the last chapter and post, Joshua had detailed the inheritance that was divided among Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh on the east side of the Jordan River.  What is to follow will be the land on the west side of the Jordan that was to be divided among the remaining tribes.  However, it seems there is a long parenthetical section in this chapter, followed by a description of the land in the next chapter.  Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and ten princes, a prince from each tribe as detailed back in Numbers 34:17-29, would be the ones to distribute the land of Canaan as an inheritance to each tribe.

(2) By lot their inheritance, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half tribe. (3) For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and a half tribe on the other side of the Jordan, but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them.

The inheritance of the nine and a half tribes that had not yet been given land was to be divided by casting lots as the Lord had commanded Moses in Numbers 26:55.  Once again it is stated that the Levites received no land inheritance because they were the priests, and God was their inheritance.

(4) For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim; therefore they gave no part to the Levites in the land, except cities to dwell in within their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.

The children of Joseph were divided into two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, Joseph receiving the double portion of inheritance that was usually granted to the firstborn.  That would have been Reuben, but he forfeited his rights as the firstborn when he defiled his father's bed (Genesis 49:4).  There was no land inheritance given to the Levites, and that explained how there were nine and a half tribes remaining to receive a land inheritance.  As the priests, the Levites received no land inheritance of their own, but they were given cities in the other tribes' portions in which to live and have cattle and keep their substance (Numbers 35:2).

(5) As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land.

The Israelites did as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they divided the land, but again, not until the next chapter.

(6) Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, said to him, "You know the thing that the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning me and you in Kadesh Barnea. (7) Forty years old I was when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as was in my heart."

The tribe of Judah came to Joshua, and Caleb from that tribe spoke to Joshua.  He reminded him of what the Lord had said to Moses concerning him in Kadesh Barnea.  That was the time that Moses sent Caleb when he was forty years of age as one of the twelve spies to spy out the land of Canaan.  He came back with a good report, which he now says was what was in his heart, and said they should go at once and possess their promised land (Numbers 13:30).

(8) "Nevertheless, my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God."

Caleb gave a good report of the land and wholly followed God who had told the Israelites to go possess their land.  However, his fellow spies came back with a bad report and frightened the people.  They claimed the people were too strong, many of them giants, and the cities were too fortified and strong (Numbers 13:28).

(9) "And Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance, and your children's forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.'"

Moses had told the people at that time that because the ten spies (excepting Caleb and Joshua) had come back with bad reports and all the people believed them, they and all the people would not be able to enter the promised land, but would have to wander in the wilderness forty years until they died off.  However, he said that Joshua and Caleb would live to enter the promised land.  He said specifically that Caleb would be given the land that he had trod upon because he had wholly followed the Lord (Deuteronomy 1:36).

(10) "And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive as He said these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke His word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, lo, I am this day eighty-five years old."

Caleb said that the Lord had kept him alive as He had promised (Numbers 14:24, Deuteronomy 1:36).  The Lord had told Moses that all that present generation would die out as they wandered in the wilderness, except for Joshua and Caleb.  Now Caleb was eighty-five years old and still alive as the Lord had promised.

(11) "As yet I am as strong this day as in the day that Moses sent me, as my strength was then, even so my strength now, for war, both to go out and to come in."

Caleb went on to say that he was as strong now as he was in the day that Moses had sent him as a spy.  He was just as strong as he had been back then, for war, or for whatever he had need to do.

(12) "Now therefore give me this mountain of where the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakims were there, and the cities were great and fenced; if so, be the Lord with me, then I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said."

Caleb requested that he be given that mountainous region of Judea.  It seemed very important to Caleb that he have that region because of what the Lord had spoken in that day.  Even though the reports of the other spies had been that there were giants in the region and that the cities were great and walled, he still had great faith in the Lord to drive them out as He had said.

(13) And Joshua blessed him and gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.

Even though the Lord had said the land should be divided by lot (v. 2), Joshua was well satisfied that it was the will of God that Caleb be given the land of Hebron for his inheritance, and he blessed Caleb and gave him that land.

(14) Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.

The land of Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb and the tribe of Judah to the day of Joshua's writing because he had wholly followed his Lord God and still had full faith in Him to that day.  I found this map at iBiblemaps.com that shows the division of the tribes' lands, including Caleb's (Judah):

(15) And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath Arba, a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.

Previously, the name of the main city of the land was Kirjath Arba, which meant City of Arba, who was a great man among the Anakim.  Caleb may have renamed it Hebron for his grandson as he had the same name (1 Chronicles 2:42).  The promised land of Canaan had rest from war.

In this chapter, the division of the inheritance west of the Jordan River had begun.  Caleb first made his request and was granted it.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote a beautiful epilogue to this chapter that deserves serious contemplation:

The Jewish economy furnishes, not only a history of God’s revelations to man, but also a history of his providence, and an ample, most luminous, and glorious comment on that providence. Is it possible that any man can seriously and considerately sit down to the reading even of this book, without rising up a wiser and a better man? This is the true history which everywhere exhibits God as the first mover and prime agent, and men only as subordinate actors. What a miracle of God’s power, wisdom, grace, justice, and providence are the people of Israel in every period of their history, and in every land of their dispersions! If their fall occasioned the salvation of the Gentile world, what shall their restoration produce! Their future inheritance is not left to what men would call the fortuitous decision of a lot; like Caleb’s possession it is confirmed by the oath of the Lord; and when the end shall be, this people shall stand in their lot at the end of the days, and shall again be great to the ends of the earth.