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Josué 18

BLIVRE · Chapter 18/24

1E toda a congregação dos filhos de Israel se juntou em Siló, e assentaram ali o tabernáculo do testemunho, depois que a terra lhes foi sujeita.

2Mas haviam restado nos filhos de Israel sete tribos, às quais ainda não haviam repartido sua possessão.

3E Josué disse aos filhos de Israel: Até quando sereis negligentes para vir a possuir a terra que vos deu o SENHOR o Deus de vossos pais?

4Assinalai três homens de cada tribo, para que eu os envie, e que eles se levantem, e percorram a terra, e a descrevam conforme suas propriedades, e se voltem a mim.

5E a dividirão em sete partes: e Judá estará em seu termo ao sul, e os da casa de José estarão no seu ao norte.

6Vós, pois, demarcareis a terra em sete partes, e me trareis a descrição aqui, e eu vos lançarei as sortes aqui diante do SENHOR nosso Deus.

7Porém os levitas nenhuma parte têm entre vós; porque o sacerdócio do SENHOR é a herança deles: Gade também e Rúben, e a meia tribo de Manassés, já receberam sua herança da outra parte do Jordão ao oriente, a qual lhes deu Moisés servo do SENHOR.

8Então aqueles homens se levantaram e se foram; e Josué deu ordem aos que iam demarcar a terra, dizendo-lhes: Ide, percorrei a terra, e demarcai-a, e voltai a mim, para que eu vos lance as sortes aqui diante do SENHOR em Siló.

9Foram, pois, aqueles homens e passaram pela terra, demarcando-a por cidades em sete partes em um livro, e voltaram a Josué ao acampamento em Siló.

10E Josué lhes lançou as sortes diante do SENHOR em Siló; e ali repartiu Josué a terra aos filhos de Israel por suas porções.

11E tirou-se a sorte da tribo dos filhos de Benjamim por suas famílias: e saiu o termo de sua porção entre os filhos de Judá e os filhos de José.

12E foi o termo deles ao lado do norte desde o Jordão: e sobe aquele termo ao lado de Jericó ao norte; sobe depois ao monte até o ocidente, e vem a sair ao deserto de Bete-Áven:

13E dali passa aquele termo a Luz, pelo lado de Luz (esta é Betel) até o sul. E desce este termo de Atarote-Adar ao monte que está ao sul de Bete-Horom a de abaixo.

14E torna este termo, e dá volta ao lado do mar, ao sul até o monte que está diante de Bete-Horom ao sul; e vem a sair a Quriate-Baal, que é Quriate-Jearim, cidade dos filhos de Judá. Este é o lado do ocidente.

15E o lado do sul é desde a extremidade de Quriate-Jearim, e sai o termo ao ocidente, e sai à fonte das águas de Neftoa:

16E desce este termo ao fim do monte que está diante do vale do filho de Hinom, que está na campina dos gigantes até o norte: desce logo ao vale de Hinom, ao lado dos jebuseus ao sul, e dali desce à fonte de Rogel;

17E do norte torna e sai a En-Semes, e dali sai a Gelilote, que está diante da subida de Adumim, e descia à pedra de Boã, filho de Rúben:

18E passa ao lado que está diante da campina do norte, e desce às planícies:

19E torna a passar este termo pelo lado de Bete-Hogla até o norte, e vem a sair o termo à baía do mar Salgado ao norte, ao fim do Jordão ao sul. Este é o termo do sul.

20E o Jordão acaba este termo ao lado do oriente. Esta é a herança dos filhos de Benjamim por seus termos ao redor, conforme suas famílias.

21As cidades da tribo dos filhos de Benjamim, por suas famílias, foram Jericó, Bete-Hogla, e Emeque-Queziz,

22Bete-Arabá, Zemaraim, e Betel;

23E Avim, e Pará, e Ofra,

24E Quefar-Amonai, Ofni, e Geba; doze cidades com suas aldeias:

25Gibeão, Ramá, Beerote,

26E Mispá, Quefira, e Moza,

27Requém, Irpeel e Tarala,

28E Zela, Elefe, Jebus, que é Jerusalém, Gibeá, e Quiriate; catorze cidades com suas aldeias. Esta é a herança dos filhos de Benjamim, conforme suas famílias.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Joshua rebukes the seven remaining tribes for not taking possession of their inheritance. He organizes the surveying of the land and distributes it by lot, beginning with Benjamin.

Explanation

After years of conquest, seven tribes had still not formally occupied the land allotted to them - a sign of complacency or hesitation that Joshua confronts directly with the question, 'How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land?' The process of mapping the land into seven written portions before casting lots combined careful human planning with trust in God's direction through sacred lot-casting, a common practice for major decisions in the Old Testament. The delay of these tribes is a realistic picture of how, even after receiving a promise from God, actually taking possession of it requires initiative and willingness to act.

Fun facts

  • Sacred lot-casting was used in the Old Testament as a recognized way of seeking God's decision on important matters, including later the choosing of Matthias as an apostle in Acts 1:26.
  • Shiloh, where the tent of meeting was set up in this chapter, would remain Israel's religious center for generations, up to the time of Eli and the young Samuel.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Josué 18:1The tent of meeting, the portable sanctuary used since the wilderness, is set up at Shiloh, which becomes Israel's religious center for generations, before Jerusalem takes on that role much later, in the days of David.
  2. Josué 18:2At this point, seven of the twelve tribes still had not received their share of the land.
  3. Josué 18:3Joshua confronts the people about this delay, asking how long they will put off taking possession of the land God has already given them.
  4. Josué 18:4Joshua organizes a survey: three men from each tribe will go across the land and map out what still needs to be divided.
  5. Josué 18:5The land will be divided into seven parts, since Judah and the tribe of Joseph already keep the territories they received to the south and north.
  6. Josué 18:6After the mapping, the results are to be brought back to Joshua so the division can be decided by lot before God.
  7. Josué 18:7The Levites are left out of this division, since their role is the priesthood; Gad, Reuben, and half of Manasseh had already received land on the other side of the Jordan.
  8. Josué 18:8The chosen men set out to map the land, following Joshua's instruction to describe it and then return for the casting of lots at Shiloh.
  9. Josué 18:9They cross the land, record everything in a book divided into seven parts by city, and return to camp at Shiloh.
  10. Josué 18:10Joshua casts lots before the LORD to divide the land among the seven tribes that still had not received their share. Casting lots was seen as a way to leave the decision in God's hands, avoiding disputes among the tribes over which piece of land each one deserved.
  11. Josué 18:11The lot falls to the tribe of Benjamin, whose territory ends up wedged between Judah and the tribe of Joseph.
  12. Josué 18:12Benjamin's northern border begins at the Jordan, climbs along the side of Jericho, and continues through the hill country to the wilderness of Beth-aven.
  13. Josué 18:13From there the line passes by Luz, also called Bethel, and goes down to Ataroth-adar, near Lower Beth-horon.
  14. Josué 18:14The border curves south and ends at Kirjath-jearim, a city belonging to Judah — this is the western extent of the territory.
  15. Josué 18:15To the south, the border starts at the edge of Kirjath-jearim and goes to the spring of Nephtoah.
  16. Josué 18:16The line goes down to the hill near the Valley of Hinnom, passing by the side of the Jebusites, and reaches En-rogel.
  17. Josué 18:17It continues to En-shemesh, then Geliloth, near the ascent of Adummim, and down to the stone of Bohan, son of Reuben.
  18. Josué 18:18The border passes by the side of Arabah, toward the north, and goes down into that region.
  19. Josué 18:19It ends at the north bay of the Salt Sea, where the Jordan flows in — this is the full southern border of Benjamin.
  20. Josué 18:20The Jordan marks the eastern limit, closing the whole outline of Benjamin's territory on every side.
  21. Josué 18:21The list of Benjamin's cities begins, including Jericho, already well known from earlier in the book.
  22. Josué 18:22Bethel is the most famous of these twelve cities of Benjamin — it was there that Jacob dreamed of the ladder reaching to heaven, and it later became one of Israel's great centers of worship.
  23. Josué 18:23Benjamin's list continues with three more towns; Ophrah reappears much later, when the Philistines send raiding parties there in the days of Saul.
  24. Josué 18:24This first group of Benjamin's cities closes with twelve cities and their villages.
  25. Josué 18:25A second group of cities begins, including Gibeon, the city of the Gibeonites and their deceptive treaty.
  26. Josué 18:26Three more cities join this second group of Benjamin's territory, including Mizpah.
  27. Josué 18:27Three more small towns in Benjamin's territory — the smallest of the tribes, but wedged into a strategic strip between Judah to the south and Ephraim to the north.
  28. Josué 18:28The second group closes with Jebus, which is Jerusalem, among the final fourteen cities of Benjamin's inheritance.

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