Joshua 12-14 Land to Conquer and Divide

Thoughts

Joshua 12

Section	King	Location/Region
East of Jordan (Moses)	Sihon	Heshbon (Amorites)
	Og	Bashan (Ashtaroth & Edrei)
		Given to Reuben, Gad, ½ Manasseh
West of Jordan (Joshua)	Jericho	Jericho
	Ai	Near Bethel
	Jerusalem	Central hill country
	Hebron	Southern hill country
	Jarmuth	Southern Canaan
	Lachish	Southern Canaan
	Eglon	Southern Canaan
	Gezer	Western foothills
	Debir	South, near Hebron
	Geder	Unknown
	Hormah	South Canaan
	Arad	Negev
	Libnah	Near Lachish
	Adullam	Shephelah (foothills)
	Makkedah	South-central Canaan
	Bethel	Central Canaan
	Tappuah	Lowlands
	Hepher	Central coastal plain
	Aphek	Northern coastal area
	Lasharon	Possibly near Sharon plain
	Madon	North of Galilee
	Hazor	Major northern capital
	Shimron-meron	Northern Canaan
	Achshaph	Galilee region
	Taanach	Near Megiddo
	Megiddo	Jezreel Valley
	Kedesh	Upper Galilee
	Jokneam	Near Mount Carmel
	Dor	Coast near Mt. Carmel
	Goiim in Gilgal	Unknown
	Tirzah	North-central Canaan
		Total Kings Defeated: 31

Joshua 13

We know Joshua dies at 110 years old so this puts him somewhere in his early 90s

God lists the regions not yet overtaken:

• Philistine territory (in the southwest):
• Gaza
• Ashdod
• Ashkelon
• Gath
• Ekron
• All territory of the Avvites
• Sidonian and Phoenician areas (in the northwest):
• Sidon
• Lebanon (including Mount Baal Hermon)
• Baal Gad, below Mount Hermon
• Hill country of Lebanon:
• From Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim
• Includes the Gebalites

God reminds Joshua of the division of land for those staying East of the Jordan

Tribe	Region Description
Reuben	Inherited land from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, the town in the middle of the gorge, the tableland of Medeba, and cities including Heshbon, Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zareth-shahar, the hill country of the valley, and the slope of Pisgah. Their border was the Jordan.
Gad	Territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, half the land of the Ammonites (as far as Aroer east of Rabbah), from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir, also including Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran in the Jordan Valley.
½ Tribe of Manasseh	Inherited land from Mahanaim, all of Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan (including 60 towns with high walls, gates, and bars), as well as half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the royal cities of Og.

Levites get no inheritance as God is their inheritance.

Joshua 14

The land west of the Jordan is divided among the remaining nine and a half tribes. The division is overseen by Eleazar, Joshua, and leaders

They divided land by lots. Even though it was done by lots, it was truly done by God (Proverbs 16:33)

Caleb recalls to Joshua how 45 years earlier Moses had promised him an inheritance for his faithful report when spying the land 
• He specifically asks for the region of Hebron, even though it’s still occupied by the Anakim he says
“It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.” (v. 12)

Joshua blesses Caleb and gives him Hebron as his inheritance.

• Hebron was formerly called Kiriath Arba, named after the greatest man among the Anakim.

The land was at rest from war – we don’t know what the timeline is and whether this was temporary or permanent after all wars had been had.

Questions

How can we appreciate these chapters today not knowing the geographical background that the people of that time did?

Application

It can be a bit hard to apply the land allotments and ancient battles to life today, but God’s character is the same then, now, and forever. I think these chapters challenge us to both celebrate our victories and plan for what’s next. So often we forget to pause and reflect on all that God has done. My mom keeps a prayer journal and reads it to us at the end of each year to give us a reminder of our requests and how faithfully God answered them. It’s amazing how quickly we forget what we once prayed so earnestly for! Even after major milestones, we’re still here for a purpose. The battle isn’t over and we never retire from faithfulness.