By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe.
Parallel translations
- WEB by the lot of their inheritance, as Yahweh commanded by Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half-tribe.
- BSB Their inheritance was assigned by lot for the nine and a half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
- NKJV Their inheritance was by lot, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe.
- NASB by the lot of their inheritance, just as the Lord commanded through Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe.
- NLT These nine and a half tribes received their grants of land by means of sacred lots, in accordance with the Lord’s command through Moses.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The inheritances were assigned by lot, as the Lord had commanded through Moses, for the nine and a half western tribes.
Overview
The use of the lot (Numbers 26:55-56) entrusted the outcome to God's providence rather than human preference, so that 'the lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh' (Proverbs 16:33). This guarded the division from favoritism and affirmed that each tribe's portion came directly from God's sovereign hand.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Num 33:54And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.
- Num 34:13And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe:
- Num 26:55–56Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.
- Prov 16:33The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
- Ps 16:5–6The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot.
- Matt 25:34Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
- Prov 18:18The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.
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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 14:2 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.
Original language
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