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Joshua

About this book
Chapter 13

1 When Joshua was very old, the Lord told him, “You are very old, and a great deal of land remains to be conquered. 2 This is the land that remains: all the territory of the Philistines and all the Geshurites,⁠ 3 from the Shihor River east of Egypt northward to the territory of Ekron (it is regarded as Canaanite territory), including the area belonging to the five Philistine lords who ruled in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as Avvite land 4 to the south; all the Canaanite territory, from Arah in the region of Sidon to Aphek, as far as Amorite territory; 5 the territory of Byblos and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath. 6 I will drive out before the Israelites all who live in the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim, all the Sidonians; you be sure to parcel it out to Israel as I instructed you. 7 Now, divide up this land among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.” 8 The other half of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad received their allotted tribal lands on the east side of the Jordan, just as Moses, the Lord’s servant, had assigned them. 9 Their territory started from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley), included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba as far as Dibon, 10 and all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon, and ended at the Ammonite border. 11 Their territory also included Gilead, Geshurite and Maacathite territory, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah— 12 the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was one of the few remaining Rephaites.) Moses defeated them and took their lands. 13 But the Israelites did not conquer the Geshurites and Maacathites; Geshur and Maacah live among Israel to this very day.⁠ 14 However, Moses did not assign land as an inheritance to the Levites; their inheritance is the sacrificial offerings made to the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed them. 15 Moses assigned land to the tribe of Reuben by its clans. 16 Their territory started at Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba, 17 Heshbon and all its surrounding cities on the plain, including Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley, 20 Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth. 21 It encompassed all the cities of the plain and the whole realm of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon. Moses defeated him and the Midianite leaders Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba (they were subjects of Sihon and lived in his territory).⁠ 22 The Israelites killed Balaam son of Beor,⁠ the omen reader, along with the others. 23 The border of the tribe of Reuben was the Jordan. The land allotted to the tribe of Reuben by its clans included these cities and their towns. 24 Moses assigned land to the tribe of Gad by its clans. 25 Their territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the Ammonite territory as far as Aroer near Rabbah. 26 Their territory ran from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir. 27 It included the valley of Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Sukkoth, and Zaphon, and the rest of the realm of King Sihon of Heshbon, the area east of the Jordan to the end of the Sea of Kinnereth. 28 The land allotted to the tribe of Gad by its clans included these cities and their towns. 29 Moses assigned land to the half-tribe of Manasseh by its clans. 30 Their territory started at Mahanaim and encompassed all Bashan, the whole realm of King Og of Bashan, including all 60 cities in Havvoth Jair in Bashan. 31 Half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities in the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were assigned to the descendants of Makir son of Manasseh, to half the descendants of Makir by their clans. 32 These are the land assignments made by Moses in the rift valley plains of Moab east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho. 33 However, Moses did not assign land as an inheritance to the Levites; their inheritance is the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed them.

Texts in conversation

Compare Joshua 10:40 and Joshua 13:13 and Joshua 16:10

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Joshua describes total destruction of the land’s inhabitants yet later describes the survival of Gibeonite and Canaanite cities. Distinct traditions were likely edited together, or early claims of total conquest were not meant to be literal.

Passages

Joshua 10:40

Hebrew Bible
40 Joshua defeated the whole land, including the hill country, the Negev, the foothills, the slopes, and all their kings. He left no survivors. He annihilated everything that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. 41 Joshua conquered the area between Kadesh Barnea and Gaza and the whole region of Goshen, all the way to Gibeon. 42 Joshua captured in one campaign all these kings and their lands, for the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 43 Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joshua

Joshua 13:13

Hebrew Bible
12 the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was one of the few remaining Rephaites.) Moses defeated them and took their lands. 13 But the Israelites did not conquer the Geshurites and Maacathites; Geshur and Maacah live among Israel to this very day. 14 However, Moses did not assign land as an inheritance to the Levites; their inheritance is the sacrificial offerings made to the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed them.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joshua

Joshua 16:10

Hebrew Bible
8 From Tappuah it went westward to the Valley of Kanah and ended at the sea. This is the land assigned to the tribe of Ephraim by its clans. 9 Also included were the cities set apart for the tribe of Ephraim within Manasseh’s territory, along with their towns. 10 The Ephraimites did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites live among the Ephraimites to this very day and do hard labor as their servants.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Joshua

References

"... The text of Joshua presents the reader with a puzzling contradiction. On the one hand, there are commands to slaughter all of the enemy, descriptions of complete destruction and statements recording the success of the conquest, and on the other hand, Rahab's family, the Gibeonites and others continue to live in the land. To this puzzling contradiction, several explanations have been offered ... Smend also realizes that the ideas of the annihilation of the nations and their continued existence in the land are incompatible, and therefore belong to different redactional strata. He designates 13.1b-6 and 23.1b-16, together with 1.7-9, as part of a later deuteronomistic redaction which he calls DtrN ... Unfortunately, neither Smend nor Auld explains the prominence given to Rahab and the Gibeonites in the Joshua narrative. It is these stories that constitute one of the major contradictions to the idea of the complete destruction of the occupants of the land ..."
Gordon Mitchell, Together in the Land: A Reading of the Book of Joshua, JSOTSup 134 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1993), 13–15.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Joshua 10:40 and Joshua 13:13 and Joshua 16:10

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