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CHAPTER XVIII

The tabernacle is set up at Shiloh, 1. Seven of the tribes having not yet received their inheritance, 2. Joshua orders three men from each tribe to be chosen, and sent to examine the land and divide it into seven parts, which should be distributed among them by lot, 3-7. The men go and do as commanded, and return to Joshua, 8, 9. Joshua casts lots for them, 10. The lot of Benjamin, how situated, 11. Its northern boundaries, 12-14. Its southern boundaries, 15-19. Its eastern boundary, 20. Its cities, 21-28.

NOTES ON CHAP. XVIII

Verse 1. "Israel assembled together at Shiloh" - This appears to have been a considerable town about fifteen miles from Jerusalem, in the tribe of Ephraim, and nearly in the center of the whole land. To this place both the camp of Israel, and the ark of the Lord, were removed from Gilgal, after a residence there of seven years. Here the tabernacle remained one hundred and thirty years, as is generally supposed, being the most conveniently situated for access to the different tribes, and for safety, the Israelites having possession of the land on all sides; for it is here added, the land was subdued before them-the Canaanites were so completely subdued, that there was no longer any general resistance to the Israelitish arms.

Verse 3. "How long are ye slack to go to possess the land" - We find an unaccountable backwardness in this people to enter on the inheritance which God had given them! They had so long been supported by miracle, without any exertions of their own, that they found it difficult to shake themselves from their inactivity. When it was necessary that all the people should go out to battle, they went with a measure of confidence, expecting miraculous help from God, and confiding in their numbers, but when each tribe found it necessary to fight for itself, in order to its establishment and the extension of its borders, it was discouraged, and chose rather a life of inglorious ease than the possession of an inheritance which would cost it much labour to conquer.

Verse 4. "Three men for each tribe" - Probably meaning only three from each of the seven tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. It is likely that these twenty-one men were accompanied by a military guard, for without this they might have been easily cut off by straggling parties of the Canaanites.

"They shall-describe it" - It is likely they were persons well acquainted with geography and mensuration, without which it would have been impossible for them to have divided the land in the way necessary on this occasion.

Verse 5. "Judah shall abide-on the south, and the house of Joseph-on the north." - Joshua does not mean that the tribe of Judah occupied the south, and the tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh the north of the promised land; this was not the fact: but being now at Shiloh, a considerable way in the territory of Ephraim, and not far from that of Judah, he speaks of them in relation to the place in which he then was. Calmet considers him as thus addressing the deputies: "Go and examine the whole of the country which remains yet to be possessed; do not take into consideration the tribe of Judah, which is on the south, nor the tribe of Ephraim, which is on the north of where we now are, but carefully divide the remaining land which is not occupied by these tribes into seven equal parts." This makes a very good sense, and frees the place from embarrassment.

Verse 7. "The priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance" - We have already seen that the priests and Levites had the sacrifices, oblations tithes, first-fruits, redemption-money of the firstborn, &c., for their inheritance; they had no landed possessions in Israel; the LORD was their portion.

Verse 9. "And described it in a book" - This as far as I can recollect, is the first act of surveying on record. These men and their work differed widely from those who had searched the land in the time of Moses; they went only to discover the nature of the country, and the state of its inhabitants; but these went to take an actual geographical survey of it, in order to divide it among the tribes which had not yet received their portions. We may suppose that the country was exactly described in a book, that is, a map, pointing out the face of the country, accompanied with descriptions of each part.

Verse 11. "And the lot-of Benjamin came up" - On the manner of casting the lot, see on chap. xiv. 2, and Num. xxvi. 55. There were probably two urns, one of which contained the names of the seven tribes, and the other that of the seven portions. They therefore took out one name out of the first urn, and one portion out of the second, and thus the portion was adjudged to that tribe.

Verse 12. "The wilderness of Beth-aven." - This was the same as Beth-el; but this name was not given to it till Jeroboam had fixed one of his golden calves there. Its first name signifies the house of God; its second, the house of iniquity.

Verse 16. "To the side of Jebusi" - The mountain of Zion, that was near Jerusalem; for Jebusi, or Jebus, was the ancient name of this city.

Verse 17. "En-shemesh" - The fountain of the sun; a proof of the idolatrous nature of the ancient inhabitants of this land.

"Geliloth" - As the word signifies borders or limits, it is probably not the proper name of a place: And went forth towards the BORDERS which are over against the ascent to Adummim.

Verse 19. "The north bay of the Salt Sea" - As the word w�l leshon signifies the tongue, it may here refer to the point of the Dead or Salt Sea.

Of these tongues or points it had two, one on the north, and the other on the south.

Verse 21. "Now the cities" - Some of these cities have been mentioned before, and described; of others we know nothing but the name.

Verse 24. "And Gaba" - Supposed to be the same as Gibeah of Saul, a place famous for having given birth to the first king of Israel; and infamous for the shocking act towards the Levite's wife, mentioned Judg. xix. 16-30, which was the cause of a war in which the tribe of Benjamin was nearly exterminated. Judges xx. 29-48.

Verse 25. "Gibeon" - See before, chap. x. 1-14. This place is famous for the confederacy of the five kings against Israel, and their miraculous defeat.

Ramah, a place about six or eight miles north of Jerusalem. Beeroth, i.e., wells; one of the four cities which belonged to the Gibeonites, who made peace with the Israelites by stratagem. See chap. ix. 3-15.

Verse 26. "And Mizpeh" - This place is celebrated in the sacred writings.

Here the people were accustomed to assemble often in the presence of the Lord, as in the deliberation concerning the punishment to be inflicted on the men of Gibeah, for the abuse of the Levite's wife. Judg. xx. 1-3.

Samuel assembled the people here to exhort them to renounce their idolatry, 1 Sam. vii. 5, 6. In this same place Saul was chosen to be king, 1 Sam. x. 17. It was deemed a sacred place among the Israelites; for we find, from 1Mac iii. 46, that the Jews assembled here to seek God, when their enemies were in possession of the temple.

Verse 28. "And Zelah" - This was the burying-place of Saul, Jonathan, and the family of Kish. See 2 Sam. xxi. 14.