The Inheritance of the Tribes of Issachar and Asher

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 19:17) The fourth lot came out to Issachar for the children of Issachar according to their families.

The previous chapters and posts have been describing the lots that were given to each of the tribes of Israel.  After a pause from giving out the lots, seven tribes remained that had not yet received their inheritances (Joshua 18:2).  This was the fourth of those seven that came up for Issachar.

(18) And their border was toward Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem,

From Zebulun that was described at the end of the last post, Issachar's border went to Jezreel bordering on Manasseh and included the cities of Chesulloth and Shunem.  This map borrowed from Biblical Toolbelt shows the inheritance of Issachar:

And this map from the same site shows Issachar in relation to the other tribes:

(19) And Hapharaim, and Shion, and Anaharath, (20) And Rabbith, and Kishion, and Abez, (21) And Remeth, and En Gannim, and En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez.

The inheritance of Issachar included all the cities above, although very few are shown on the map.  

(22) And the coast reached to Tabor, and Shahazimah, and Beth Shemesh, and the outgoings of their border were at Jordan, sixteen cities with their villages.

Issachar's territory included the sixteen cities named above, and its eastern border was the Jordan River.  It was suggested by John Wesley in his Notes on the Bible that since the lot of Issachar lay between other tribes on all its other sides, and those tribes' borders had been described, it was not necessary to describe them again.  That may be, but it borders Naphtali, and those borders have not yet been described.  It just may be that these later tribes are of less importance than the first tribes described.

(23) This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages.

Thus ended the description of the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar.

(24) And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.

The fifth of those seven remaining lots after the pause went to the tribe of Asher.

(25) And their border was Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Achshaph,

The inheritance of Asher included the cities of Helkath and Achshaph seen in the following map borrowed from History of Israel.  In the map of the twelve tribes above you can see Asher north of Issachar in relation to the other tribes.

(26) And Alammelech, and Amad, and Mishal, and reached to Carmel westward and to Shihor Libnath.

It included the cities of Alammelech and Mishal seen in the map above and went westward toward Mt. Carmel at the Mediterranean Sea.

(27) And turned toward the sunrising to Beth Dagon and reached to Zebulun and to the valley of Jiphthah El toward the north side of Beth Emek and Neiel and goes out to Cabul on the left hand.

Toward the east the border reached to Zebulun and the valley of Jiphthah El up to Cabul and Neiel, and the territory included Beth Emek going back toward the Mediterranean Sea.  Once again, the directions in the verse made no sense and I just followed the map to see where the territory was.  However, Dr. John Gill implied in his Exposition of the Bible that no one knew where Beth Emek was, so perhaps the map above is incorrect about the location of that city.  On the map there is a question about the location of Neiel, so perhaps it was south of Cabul, and when faced eastward, the left would be the north, and now the text makes sense.

(28) And Hebron, and Rehob, and Hammon, and Kanah, to great Sidon.

The territory went northward and included the cities of Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, seen on the map, up to Sidon which was north of Tyre.  It was called great for its antiquity, riches, and glory, according to John Wesley.

(29) And the coast turned to Ramah and to the strong city Tyre, and the coast turned to Hosah, and the outgoings of it are at the sea from the coast to Achzib.

This seems to be describing the western border going southward from Sidon to Tyre to Achzib along the Mediterranean Sea, although Hammon is probably misplaced on the map.  

(30) Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob, twenty-two cities with their villages.

The territory also included the cities of Ummah and Aphek.  Rehob had already been mentioned, and Sidon was not actually in their territory, but their border reached up to it.  Carmel being a mountain and not a city, and Jiphthah El being a valley, the list comes to twenty-two cities with their villages within the tribe of Asher.

(31) This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Thus ended the description of the inheritance that went to the tribe of Asher.