Their inheritance was by lot, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and 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.
- KJV By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of 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.
- 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 33:54You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the more you shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer you shall give the less inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to any man, that shall be his. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers.
- Num 34:13Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, “This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which Yahweh has commanded to give to 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 its every decision is from Yahweh.
- Ps 16:5–6Yahweh assigned my portion and my cup. You made my lot secure.
- Matt 25:34Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world;
- Prov 18:18The lot settles disputes, and keeps strong ones apart.
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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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