Joshua 13

II. THE DIVISION OF THE LAND CHS. 13-21

Chapters 13-24 describe how Joshua divided the land and the results of that division. Many, if not all, of the Israelite tribes did not conquer or control all the land allotted to them (Joshua 15:63; Joshua 16:10; Joshua 17:12-13). The record of the actual division of the land is in chapters 13-21, and the arrangements for settlement in it follow in chapters 22-24.

At the end of the seven-year period of conquest Israel occupied very little of the Promised Land. "Very much" of it remained for them to possess (Joshua 13:1). [Note: For maps showing the areas as yet unpossessed, see L. Wood, map 8, p. 209; or Yohanan Aharoni and Michael Avi-Yonah, The Macmillan Bible Atlas, maps 68 and 69, pp. 50 and 51.] Consequently dividing all the land among the tribes required faith that God would give His people all of it. Joshua had removed the significant military threats to Israel’s existence. From now on each tribe was responsible to conquer and colonize its designated territory.

"Resisting the temptation to skip over this section of Joshua [chs. 13-21] can result in an appreciation of important features of God’s covenant with Israel. Beyond the obvious detail of the content of these chapters and the means by which God blessed those who remained faithful in the conquest of the land, this passage also addresses the question why the land formed so significant a part of God’s promises to the patriarchs and remained a key feature of the covenant." [Note: Hess, pp. 53-54.]