Joshua 13

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¹Now Joshua was old and advanced in years when the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and a very large amount of the land remains to be possessed. ✦ ²This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the Geshurites; ✦ ³from the Shihor which is east of Egypt, even as far as the border of Ekron to the north (it is counted as Canaanite); the five governors of the Philistines: the Gazite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, the Ekronite; and the Avvite ✦ ⁴to the south, all the land of the Canaanite, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, as far as Aphek, to the border of the Amorite; ✦ ⁵and the land of the Gebalite, and all of Lebanon, toward the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon as far as Lebo-hamath. ✦ ⁶All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon as far as Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, I will drive out from the sons of Israel; only allot it to Israel as an inheritance as I have commanded you. ✦ ⁷Now therefore, apportion this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.” ✦ ⁸With the other half-tribe, the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance which Moses gave them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the Lord gave to them; ✦ ⁹from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain of Medeba, as far as Dibon; ✦ ¹⁰and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the sons of Ammon; ✦ ¹¹and Gilead, and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah; ✦ ¹²all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for Moses struck them and drove them out. ✦ ¹³But the sons of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites; instead, Geshur and Maacath live among Israel to this day. ✦ ¹⁴Only to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He spoke to him. ✦ ¹⁵So Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their families. ¹⁶Their territory was from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley and all the plain by Medeba; ✦ ¹⁷Heshbon and all its cities which are on the plain: Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, ✦ ¹⁸Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ✦ ¹⁹Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, ✦ ²⁰Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth, ✦ ²¹even all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck with the leaders of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the leaders of Sihon, who lived in the land. ✦ ²²The sons of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword among the rest of their dead. ✦ ²³The border of the sons of Reuben was the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the sons of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages. ²⁴Moses also gave an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad according to their families. ✦ ²⁵Their territory was Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the sons of Ammon, as far as Aroer which is opposite Rabbah; ✦ ²⁶and from Heshbon as far as Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim as far as the border of Debir; ✦ ²⁷and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan as a border, as far as the lower end of the Sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan to the east. ✦ ²⁸This is the inheritance of the sons of Gad according to their families, the cities and their villages. ²⁹Moses also gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh; and it was for the half-tribe of the sons of Manasseh according to their families. ³⁰Their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities; ✦ ³¹also half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the sons of Machir according to their families. ✦ ³²These are the territories which Moses apportioned as an inheritance in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho to the east. ³³But to the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He had promised to them. ✦

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Where this chapter connects

Josh 12 ·12 Deut 3 ·11 Num 32 ·11 Num 21 ·9 Josh 13 ·8 Josh 23 ·4 Num 33 ·4 Josh 14 ·4

Christ at the center

Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.

How Joshua 13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereDocumentaryExpedition BibleJoel Kramer · Free · evangelical
On-location biblical archaeology from a credentialed archaeologist (M.A., excavated in Israel) — the best free place to start on "did it really happen?"
★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Joshua videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Joshua 13YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Joshua 13David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on JoshuaMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Joshua 13Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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