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Joshua 18:1–10 — The Remainder Divided. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

the reason is rather to be found in the name of the place, viz., Shiloh, i.e., rest, which called to mind the promised Shiloh ( Genesis 49:10 ), and therefore appeared to be pre-eminently suitable to be the resting-place of the sanctuary of the Lord, where His name was to dwell in Israel, until He should come who was to give true rest to His people as the Prince of Peace.

Keil grounds the choice of Shiloh in its name (rest) and ties it to the Shiloh of Genesis 49:10 and the Prince of Peace.

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

It is supposed by some that the city was thus called, when it was chosen for the resting-place of the ark, which typified our great Peace-maker, and the way by him to a reconciled God.

Henry reads the resting-place of the ark at Shiloh as typifying the "great Peace-maker" — the figural sense the tradition (with Benson and Keil) heard in the name.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

The Greek word here used is the same as that used by our Lord, Matthew 16:18 , “Upon this rock I will build My Church .” Originally it denoted an assembly of persons called out from among others by the voice of a herald, as, at Athens, for the purpose of legislation. It is applied to the Israelites, as being a nation called out by God from the rest of the world

Cambridge links the LXX word for "congregation" to ekklēsia / Church in Matthew 16:18 — a called-out people.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

This passage teaches the duty of a national recognition of religion. Whatever evils there might be in Israel at that time, the absence of a general and formal acknowledgment of God was not one of them. When that public acknowledgment of Him ceased, the downfall of the nation was at hand.

The Pulpit Commentary draws the national-religion lesson from the public assembly to set up the Tent.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

Its very name ("rest") was probably bestowed at this juncture when God had given the people rest from their enemies. The tabernacle with its contents continued at Shiloh during the whole period of the Judges, until its capture by the Philistines.

Barnes notes the name Shiloh ("rest") and the long tenure of the Tent there until the Philistine catastrophe.

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Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

kāl- ‘ă·ḏaṯ bə·nê- yiś·rā·’êl way·yiq·qā·hă·lū ši·lōh way·yaš·kî·nū ’ō·hel mō·w·‘êḏ šām ’eṯ- wə·hā·’ā·reṣ niḵ·bə·šāh lip̄·nê·hem

Word by word14 · parsed

כָּל־kāl-Then the wholeH3605

√ kôl — properly, the wholeNounmasculine singular construct

עֲדַ֤ת‘ă·ḏaṯcongregationH5712

√ ʻêdâh — a stated assemblage (specifically, a concourse, or generally, a family or crowd)Nounfeminine singular construct

‘ăḏaṯ (H5712), "congregation" — Cambridge observes the Greek of this word (LXX synagōgē; Cambridge points to ekklēsia in the wider usage) is "the same as that used by our Lord, Matthew 16:18." The term marks Israel as a people called out by God, not a mere demographic crowd.

בְּנֵֽי־bə·nê-. . .H1121

√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcNounmasculine plural construct

יִשְׂרָאֵל֙yiś·rā·’êlof IsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

וַיִּקָּ֨הֲל֜וּway·yiq·qā·hă·lūassembledH6950

√ qâhal — to convokeConjunctive wawVerbNifalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

way·yiqqāhălū Niphal (H6950), "were assembled/convoked" — the verb of formal, summoned convocation; the same root names the later great assemblies of Israel before the LORD.

שִׁלֹ֔הši·lōhat ShilohH7887

√ Shîylôh — Shiloh, a place in PalestineNounproperfeminine singular

Shiloh (H7887) appears here for the first time in the book — a place-name occurring in only 30 verses of the whole canon. The commentators are unanimous that the choice was made by God, not convenience: Keil, "Joshua did not follow his own judgment . . . but acted in simple accordance with the instructions of God" (Deuteronomy 12:11). Its very name, the tradition holds, means rest.

וַיַּשְׁכִּ֥ינוּway·yaš·kî·nūand set upH7931

√ shâkan — to reside or permanently stay (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

way·yaškînū Hifil (H7931), "they caused to dwell" — the verb of permanent indwelling (whence Shekinah); the Tent does not visit Shiloh, it settles there, and stays, the commentators note, for some three centuries until the days of Eli and Samuel.

אֹ֣הֶל’ō·helthe TentH168

√ ʼôhel — a tent (as clearly conspicuous from a distance)Nounmasculine singular construct

מוֹעֵ֑דmō·w·‘êḏof MeetingH4150

√ môwʻêd — properly, an appointment, iNounmasculine singular

mō·‘êḏ (H4150), "appointed meeting" — the fixed tryst-word; the Tent is named for the divine appointment it houses, where God meets Israel from above the mercy-seat.

שָׁ֖םšāmthereH8033

√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenAdverb

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

וְהָאָ֥רֶץwə·hā·’ā·reṣAnd though the landH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Conjunctive waw, ArticleNounfeminine singular

נִכְבְּשָׁ֖הniḵ·bə·šāhwas subduedH3533

√ kâbash — to tread downVerbNifalPerfectthird person feminine singular

niḵbəšāh Niphal perfect (H3533), "was subdued/trodden down" — a completed mastery. The Pulpit Commentary and Cambridge both flag the tension the verse leaves open: the land as a whole is subdued (this verse), yet the land as inheritance is unpossessed (next verse). Conquest and settlement are two different things.

לִפְנֵיהֶֽם׃lip̄·nê·hembefore themH6440

√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNounmasculine plural constructthird person masculine plural

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And the whole congregation (‘ăḏaṯ) of the sons of Israel were assembled (way·yiqqāhălū) at Shiloh, and they caused to dwell (way·yaškînū) there the Tent of Meeting; and the land was subdued (niḵbəšāh) before them.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיִּקָּ֨הֲל֜וּ The verb is Niphal way·yiqqāhălū — "they were assembled / they convoked themselves," from qāhal (H6950), the root behind qāhāl, "assembly." The Pulpit Commentary reads the passive force exactly: "Literally, was summoned; by whom, we are not told." BSB's plain active "assembled" loses that the gathering is something done to Israel by an unnamed summoner — a called-out convocation, not a spontaneous crowd.
וַיַּשְׁכִּ֥ינוּ Hifil way·yaškînū — literally "they caused to dwell / made to settle," from šāḵan (H7931), the verb of permanent residence that underlies the later noun šəḵînāh (the indwelling Presence). BSB's "set up" is right for a tent but flattens the theology: Israel does not merely pitch the Tent, it causes it to take up residence, the same word used for God's own dwelling among his people (Exodus 25:8).
אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד ’ōhel mō·‘êḏ is "Tent of Appointed-Meeting." Mō·‘êḏ (H4150) is properly an appointment — a fixed, set time and place. Cambridge insists on it: "The phrase has the meaning of a place of or for a fixed meeting . . . the meeting of God with His people." BSB's "Tent of Meeting" is good but the word names not a gathering of worshippers so much as the appointed tryst where God says "there I will meet with thee" (Exodus 25:22).
נִכְבְּשָׁ֖ה Niphal niḵbəšāh, "was subdued," from kāḇaš (H3533) — Cambridge notes the word "denotes to tread under the feet," the same verb of dominion God speaks at creation, "replenish the earth, and subdue it" (Genesis 1:28). BSB's "was subdued" is accurate but the Hebrew is more violent and more royal: the land lies trodden down before them. And the perfect tense (a completed state) sits in tension with v.2, where seven tribes still hold no land — the land is mastered, not yet possessed.

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Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

The conquest of the Canaanitish armies being completed, the two leading divisions of the host of Israel took possession of their shares of the conquered territory. The house of Judah and the house of Joseph were satisfied. This done, the weaker tribes were left to take care of themselves. They did not venture to select their own portions; the others did not come forward to offer them anything.

Ellicott reads the seven uninherited tribes as the weaker remainder, neglected once the strong tribes were satisfied.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

The satisfaction of the people with their change to so pleasant and fertile a district, their preference of a nomad life, a love of ease, and reluctance to renew the war, seem to have made them indifferent to the possession of a settled inheritance.

JFB diagnoses the delay: ease, a nomad preference, and reluctance to fight bred indifference to inheritance.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes,.... Which were those of Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan: which had not yet received their inheritance; and for which the lots were not cast.

Gill names the seven tribes still without inheritance.

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there were still seven tribes of Israel who had not yet received their inheritance.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

way·yiw·wā·ṯə·rū šiḇ·‘āh šə·ḇā·ṭîm biḇ·nê yiś·rā·’êl ’ă·šer lō- ḥā·lə·qū ’eṯ- na·ḥă·lā·ṯām

Word by word10 · parsed

וַיִּוָּֽתְרוּ֙way·yiw·wā·ṯə·rūthere were stillH3498

√ yâthar — to jut over or exceedConjunctive wawVerbNifalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

way·yiwwāṯərū Niphal (H3498), "were left over/remained" — the surplus-verb; the seven tribes are framed as the un-dealt-with remainder, a leftover that Joshua's energy in vv.3–10 will gather in.

שִׁבְעָ֖הšiḇ·‘āhsevenH7651

√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Numbermasculine singular

šiḇ·‘āh (H7651), "seven" — the count that organizes the unit: seven tribes (here), seven portions (vv.5, 6, 9). Gill names them: Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan.

שְׁבָטִֽים׃šə·ḇā·ṭîmtribesH7626

√ shêbeṭ — a scion, iNounmasculine plural

בִּבְנֵ֣יbiḇ·nêvvvH1121

√ bên — a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etcPreposition-bNounmasculine plural construct

יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לyiś·rā·’êlof IsraelH3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

אֲשֶׁ֥ר’ă·šerwhoH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

לֹֽא־lō-had notH3808

√ lôʼ — not (the simple or absAdverbNegative particle

חָלְק֖וּḥā·lə·qūyet receivedH2505

√ châlaq — to be smooth (figuratively)VerbQalPerfectthird person common plural

ḥā·ləqū Qal (H2505), "they had apportioned" — the active dividing-verb; the tribes' inaction is the grammatical subject of the verse, the slackness Joshua will name.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

נַֽחֲלָתָ֑םna·ḥă·lā·ṯāmtheir inheritanceH5159

√ nachălâh — properly, something inherited, iNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine plural

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And there remained over (way·yiwwāṯərū) among the sons of Israel seven tribes, who had not yet portioned out (ḥā·ləqū) their inheritance.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיִּוָּֽתְרוּ֙ Niphal way·yiwwāṯərū, from yāṯar (H3498), "to jut over, be left over, remain as a surplus." BSB's "there were still seven tribes" is smooth but loses the picture: these tribes are the remainder, what is left over after Judah and Joseph have been served — a leftover, as Ellicott reads it, of tribes "left to take care of themselves."
שִׁבְעָ֖ה šiḇ·‘āh, "seven" — Strong's notes the number is "the sacred full one." The seven uninherited tribes will be matched to seven surveyed portions (vv.5–6, 9); the number that elsewhere signals completeness here marks the work still undone. BSB renders it plainly "seven," which is correct, but the count is the structural spine of the whole unit.
חָלְק֖וּ Qal ḥā·ləqū, "they had divided/apportioned," from ḥālaq (H2505) — the same dividing-root that recurs through this unit (vv.5, 9, 10). BSB's "had not yet received their inheritance" reads the verb passively from the tribes' side; the Hebrew is active — they had not portioned-out their inheritance, the failure is theirs to act, which sets up Joshua's rebuke in v.3.

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Matthew HenryConcise Commentary on the Whole Bible1706

God, by his grace, has given us a title to a good land, the heavenly Canaan, but we are slack to take possession of it; we enter not into that rest, as we might by faith, and hope, and holy joy. How long shall it be thus with us? How long shall we thus stand in our own light, and forsake our own mercies for lying vanities?

Henry turns the rebuke devotional: the slackness to possess Canaan is our slowness to enter the heavenly rest.

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

partly, because being weary of war, and having sufficient plenty of all things in their present condition, they grew slothful and secure, and were unwilling to run into new hazards and wars

Poole diagnoses the slackness: war-weariness, present plenty, and unwillingness to risk fresh conflict.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

This "slackness" (the translation is a literal one) in the arduous conflict against the powers of evil is not confined to Jews. The exhortation needs repeating to every generation, and not less to our own than any other, since the prevalence of an external decency and propriety blinds our eyes to the impiety and evil which still lurks amid us unsubdued.

The Pulpit Commentary confirms "slackness" is literal and universalizes the rebuke to every generation.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

these tribes showed themselves "slack to go to possess the land which the Lord had given them," i.e., not merely to conquer it, but to have it divided by lot, and to enter in and take possession.

Keil specifies the slackness was not only in fighting but in even letting the land be divided and entered.

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So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you put off entering and possessing the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ way·yō·mer ’el- bə·nê yiś·rā·’êl ‘aḏ- ’ā·nāh ’at·tem miṯ·rap·pîm lā·ḇō·w lā·re·šeṯ ’eṯ- hā·’ā·reṣ ’ă·šer Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê ’ă·ḇō·w·ṯê·ḵem nā·ṯan lā·ḵem

Word by word19 · parsed

יְהוֹשֻׁ֖עַyə·hō·wō·šu·a‘So JoshuaH3091

√ Yᵉhôwshûwaʻ — Jehoshua (iNounpropermasculine singular

וַיֹּ֥אמֶרway·yō·mersaidH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

אֶל־’el-toH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition

בְּנֵ֣יbə·nêthe IsraelitesH1121

יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לyiś·rā·’êl. . .H3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

עַד־‘aḏ-How longH5704

√ ʻad — as far (or long, or much) as, whether of space (even unto) or time (during, while, until) or degree (equally with)Preposition

‘aḏ-’ānāh (H5704 + H575), "until when/whither" — the exasperated rebuke-idiom of Scripture; the question is rhetorical, indicting the delay rather than seeking information.

אָ֙נָה֙’ā·nāh. . .H575

√ ʼân — where?Adverb

אַתֶּ֣ם’at·temwill youH859

√ ʼattâh — thou and thee, or (plural) ye and youPronounsecond person masculine plural

מִתְרַפִּ֔יםmiṯ·rap·pîmput offH7503

√ râphâh — to slacken (in many applications, literal or figurative)VerbHitpaelParticiplemasculine plural

miṯrappîm Hitpael participle (H7503), "slackening yourselves" — reflexive and continuous; the tribes are persistently letting their own hands go limp. Matthew Henry turns it pastoral: "we are slack to take possession of" the heavenly Canaan, slow to "enter into that rest."

לָבוֹא֙lā·ḇō·wenteringH935

√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

לָרֶ֣שֶׁתlā·re·šeṯand possessingH3423

√ yârash — to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

lā·rešeṯ (H3423), "to dispossess/possess" — the verb of taking land by driving out its occupants; the costly action the slack tribes were avoiding.

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הָאָ֔רֶץhā·’ā·reṣthe landH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

אֲשֶׁר֙’ă·šerthatH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

יְהוָ֖הYah·wehthe LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

YHWH (H3068), "the LORD" — named with the covenant title "God of your fathers," grounding the gift not in conquest but in the promise sworn to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

אֱלֹהֵ֥י’ĕ·lō·hêthe GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural construct

אֲבֽוֹתֵיכֶֽם׃’ă·ḇō·w·ṯê·ḵemof your fathersH1

√ ʼâb — father, in a literal and immediate, or figurative and remote applicationNounmasculine plural constructsecond person masculine plural

נָתַ֣ןnā·ṯanhas givenH5414

√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

nāṯan Qal perfect (H5414), "has given" — the completed divine gift; the grammar makes the land a settled fact, so that to delay is to leave a granted possession unclaimed.

לָכֶ֔םlā·ḵemyou

Prepositionsecond person masculine plural

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Until when (‘aḏ-’ānāh) are you slackening yourselves (miṯrappîm) to go in to possess the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given (nāṯan) to you?

Where the English smooths the original

מִתְרַפִּ֔ים Hitpael participle miṯrappîm, from rāphāh (H7503), "to slacken, let drop, grow limp." The Pulpit Commentary calls "slackness" a literal translation. The Hitpael is reflexive — they are letting themselves go slack, growing limp of their own accord. BSB's "put off" captures the delay but not the picture of hands going limp; it is the same verb God uses negatively in "do not slacken your hand" — a failure of grip, not merely of schedule.
עַד־אָ֙נָה֙ ‘aḏ-’ānāh — "until where? / how long?" — the idiom fuses place and time, literally "unto whither." BSB's "How long" is right in sense, but the Hebrew rebuke is sharp and exasperated, the cry of Scripture's impatience (Psalm 13:1; Exodus 16:28); Joshua does not ask politely but presses, to what point will you keep drifting?
לָרֶ֣שֶׁת lā·rešeṯ, infinitive of yāraš (H3423) — "to take possession by dispossessing," Strong's: "to occupy (by driving out previous tenants)." BSB's "possessing" is gentle; the verb is dispossession, taking what is held by driving out its holder. The slackness Joshua names is precisely a reluctance to do this hard work (so Barnes, Poole).
נָתַ֣ן nāṯan (H5414) is perfect — "has given," a completed act. BSB's "has given" is exact, and the tense is the heart of the reproof: the land is already given by the LORD; their delay is not waiting on God but failing to receive what is done. The gift is past; the possession lags.

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Three men; three, not one, for more exact observation both of the measure and quality of the several portions, and for greater assurance and evidence of their care and faithfulness in giving in their account.

Poole explains why three men per tribe: accuracy of survey and accountability.

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Albert BarnesNotes on the Bible1834

Three men for each tribe - i. e. 21 in all. Their duty would be to describe the land, especially with reference to the cities it contained Joshua 18:9 , that Joshua might have the means of making a first apportionment among the tribes according to their varying numbers.

Barnes totals the commission at twenty-one and defines its task as describing the cities.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

This selection, which was intended to secure an impartial description of the country, would render impossible all future complaints, since the boundaries would be settled according to reports sent in by the representatives of each tribe.

The Pulpit Commentary reads the multi-tribe commission as a safeguard against later complaints of unfairness.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

But כּתב does not mean to measure; and it was not a formal measurement that was required, for the purpose of dividing the land that yet remained into seven districts, since the tribes differed in numerical strength, and therefore the boundaries of the territory assigned them could not be settled till after the lots had been cast. The meaning of the word is to describe

Keil insists kāṯaḇ means "describe," not "measure" — a written register, not a survey-chart.

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Appoint three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to survey the land and map it out, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hā·ḇū lā·ḵem šə·lō·šāh ’ă·nā·šîm laš·šā·ḇeṭ wə·’eš·lā·ḥêm wə·yā·qu·mū wə·yiṯ·hal·lə·ḵū ḇā·’ā·reṣ wə·yiḵ·tə·ḇū ’ō·w·ṯāh lə·p̄î na·ḥă·lā·ṯām wə·yā·ḇō·’ū ’ê·lāy

Word by word15 · parsed

הָב֥וּhā·ḇūAppointH3051

√ yâhab — to give (whether literal or figurative)VerbQalImperativemasculine plural

hāḇū imperative (H3051), "give/provide" — the tribes furnish the men from among themselves; the commission's legitimacy rests on each tribe choosing its own representatives (Gill, Poole).

לָכֶ֛םlā·ḵem

Prepositionsecond person masculine plural

שְׁלֹשָׁ֥הšə·lō·šāhthreeH7969

√ shâlôwsh — threeNumbermasculine singular

"three men" per tribe — twenty-one in all (Barnes). Poole notes the number three was chosen "for more exact observation both of the measure and quality of the several portions, and for greater assurance . . . of their care and faithfulness."

אֲנָשִׁ֖ים’ă·nā·šîmmenH582

√ ʼĕnôwsh — a man in general (singly or collectively)Nounmasculine plural

לַשָּׁ֑בֶטlaš·šā·ḇeṭfrom each tribeH7626

√ shêbeṭ — a scion, iPreposition-l, ArticleNounmasculine singular

וְאֶשְׁלָחֵ֗םwə·’eš·lā·ḥêmand I will send them outH7971

√ shâlach — to send away, for, or out (in a great variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextualfirst person common singularthird person masculine plural

וְיָקֻ֜מוּwə·yā·qu·mū. . .H6965

√ qûwm — to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive imperfectthird person masculine plural

וְיִֽתְהַלְּכ֥וּwə·yiṯ·hal·lə·ḵūto surveyH1980

√ hâlak — to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbHitpaelConjunctive imperfectthird person masculine plural

wə·yiṯhalləḵū Hitpael (H1980), "and they shall walk to and fro" — the reflexive ranging-verb; the men traverse the land back and forth, an unhindered survey the crushed Canaanites could not obstruct (Keil).

בָאָ֛רֶץḇā·’ā·reṣthe landH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Preposition-b, ArticleNounfeminine singular

וְיִכְתְּב֥וּwə·yiḵ·tə·ḇūand map it outH3789

√ kâthab — to grave, by implication, to write (describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive imperfectthird person masculine plural

wə·yiḵtəḇū (H3789), "and they shall write" — the verb is describe in writing, not measure; Keil is emphatic that no formal mensuration is meant, only a written register of towns and terrain.

אוֹתָ֛הּ’ō·w·ṯāhH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person feminine singular

לְפִ֥יlə·p̄îaccording toH6310

√ peh — the mouth (as the means of blowing), whether literal or figurative (particularly speech)Preposition-lNounmasculine singular construct

lə·p̄î (H6310), "according to the mouth of" — a function-idiom built on the noun "mouth," meaning "in proportion to." The description is fitted to the seven shares the land is to bear.

נַֽחֲלָתָ֖םna·ḥă·lā·ṯāmthe inheritance of eachH5159

√ nachălâh — properly, something inherited, iNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine plural

na·ḥălāṯām (H5159), "their inheritance" — the governing noun of the whole unit; the survey serves the apportioning of inheritance, the land received as covenant gift.

וְיָבֹ֥אוּwə·yā·ḇō·’ūThen they will returnH935

√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive imperfectthird person masculine plural

אֵלָֽי׃’ê·lāyto meH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPrepositionfirst person common singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

Give (hāḇū) for yourselves three men for each tribe, and I will send them, and they will arise and walk through (wə·yiṯhalləḵū) the land and write (wə·yiḵtəḇū) it according to the mouth of their inheritance; and they will come to me.

Where the English smooths the original

הָב֥וּ hāḇū, imperative of yāhab (H3051) — "give! / provide! / set forth." BSB's "Appoint" is interpretive; the bare verb is "give" — render up, hand over from among yourselves. The men are to be given by the tribes (so the choice is theirs, Gill notes), then sent by Joshua.
וְיִֽתְהַלְּכ֥וּ Hitpael wə·yiṯhalləḵū, from hālaḵ (H1980) — "and they shall walk themselves to and fro / range up and down." The Hitpael intensifies into a back-and-forth traversal. BSB's "to survey" is a fair gloss of the purpose, but the Hebrew verb is simply walking the land thoroughly — the same reflexive stem used of God walking in Eden (Genesis 3:8) and of Israel's promised walk through the land (Genesis 13:17).
וְיִכְתְּב֥וּ wə·yiḵtəḇū, from kāṯaḇ (H3789), "and they shall write it." BSB's "map it out" is an interpretation; the verb is literally write. Keil presses this against the idea of measurement: "kāṯaḇ does not mean to measure . . . The meaning of the word is to describe." The survey produced a written list, chiefly of towns (v.9), not a surveyor's measured chart.
לְפִ֥י נַֽחֲלָתָ֖ם lə·p̄î na·ḥălāṯām — literally "according to the mouth of their inheritance." Peh (H6310) is "mouth"; the idiom lə·p̄î means "in proportion to / in the measure of." BSB's "according to the inheritance of each" smooths the vivid Hebrew metaphor where a portion has a "mouth" — a measure or opening — into which the description is fitted.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Charles EllicottCommentary for English Readers1878

The several tribes were not permitted to choose their own portions. In Numbers 26:54-55 , we read: “To many thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance. . . . notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot.” These words imply that there must be unequal portions of territory for larger and smaller tribes, but that the particular position of each tribe must be settled by the lot

Ellicott ties the seven-fold division back to the law of Numbers 26: size by need, position by lot.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

Joseph on the north — In respect of Judah, not of the whole land; for divers other tribes were more northern than they.

Benson corrects the compass: Joseph is "north" only relative to Judah, not absolutely.

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Matthew PooleAnnotations upon the Holy Bible1685

Shall abide in their coast on the south: they shall not be disturbed in their possession, but shall keep it, except some part of it shall be adjudged to another tribe.

Poole reads "shall stand" as security of tenure for Judah and Joseph, subject only to later adjustment.

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Keil & DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old Testament1860s

"And divide it into seven parts," viz., for the purpose of casting lots. Judah, however, was still to remain in its land to the south, and Ephraim in its territory to the north. The seven portions thus obtained they were to bring to Joshua, that he might then cast the lot for the seven tribes "before the Lord," i.e., before the tabernacle ( Joshua 19:51 ).

Keil reads the seven-fold division as the material for the lot, and points forward to its completion at Joshua 19:51.

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and divide the land into seven portions. Judah shall remain in their territory in the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in their territory in the north.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·hiṯ·ḥal·lə·qū ’ō·ṯāh lə·šiḇ·‘āh ḥă·lā·qîm yə·hū·ḏāh ya·‘ă·mōḏ ‘al- gə·ḇū·lōw min·ne·ḡeḇ ū·ḇêṯ yō·w·sêp̄ ya·‘am·ḏū ‘al- gə·ḇū·lām miṣ·ṣā·p̄ō·wn

Word by word15 · parsed

וְהִֽתְחַלְּק֥וּwə·hiṯ·ḥal·lə·qūand divideH2505

√ châlaq — to be smooth (figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbHitpaelConjunctive perfectthird person common plural

wə·hiṯḥalləqū Hitpael (H2505), "they shall divide among themselves" — the reflexive dividing-verb; the tribes are agents of their own apportioning, which forestalls grievance.

אֹתָ֖הּ’ō·ṯāh[the land]H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person feminine singular

לְשִׁבְעָ֣הlə·šiḇ·‘āhinto sevenH7651

√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Preposition-lNumbermasculine singular

lə·šiḇ·‘āh ḥălāqîm, "into seven portions" — the noun ḥêleq (portion) from the same dividing-root ḥālaq; seven shares answering the seven tribes of v.2.

חֲלָקִ֑יםḥă·lā·qîmportionsH2506

√ chêleq — properly, smoothness (of the tongue)Nounmasculine plural

יְהוּדָ֞הyə·hū·ḏāhJudahH3063

√ Yᵉhûwdâh — Jehudah (or Judah), the name of five IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

יַעֲמֹ֤דya·‘ă·mōḏshall remainH5975

√ ʻâmad — to stand, in various relations (literal and figurative, intransitive and transitive)VerbQalImperfectthird person masculine singular

ya·‘ămōḏ Qal (H5975), "he shall stand" — Judah stands fixed on his southern border; the verb of remaining-in-place, securing the two great tribes as the immovable frame.

עַל־‘al-inH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

גְּבוּלוֹ֙gə·ḇū·lōwtheir territoryH1366

√ gᵉbûwl — properly, a cord (as twisted), iNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine singular

gəḇūlōw (H1366), "his border" — the territory marked off as by a measuring-cord; the boundary already drawn for Judah and not to be redrawn.

מִנֶּ֔גֶבmin·ne·ḡeḇin the southH5045

√ negeb — the south (from its drought)Preposition-mNounfeminine singular

min·neḡeḇ (H5045), "on the south" — the Negev, the dry southland; one of the two compass-poles (south/north) between which the seven new portions are laid out.

וּבֵ֥יתū·ḇêṯand the houseH1004

√ bayith — a house (in the greatest variation of applications, especially family, etcConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct

יוֹסֵ֛ףyō·w·sêp̄of JosephH3130

√ Yôwçêph — Joseph, the name of seven IsraelitesNounpropermasculine singular

יַעַמְד֥וּya·‘am·ḏūshall remainH5975

√ ʻâmad — to stand, in various relations (literal and figurative, intransitive and transitive)VerbQalImperfectthird person masculine plural

עַל־‘al-inH5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

גְּבוּלָ֖םgə·ḇū·lāmtheir territoryH1366

√ gᵉbûwl — properly, a cord (as twisted), iNounmasculine singular constructthird person masculine plural

מִצָּפֽוֹן׃miṣ·ṣā·p̄ō·wnin the northH6828

√ tsâphôwn — properly, hidden, iPreposition-mNounfeminine singular

miṣ·ṣāp̄ōwn (H6828), "on the north" — Strong's: properly "hidden," the northern (sunless) quarter; Joseph's fixed border, north only relative to Judah (Benson, Poole).

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And they shall divide themselves (wə·hiṯḥalləqū) over it into seven portions: Judah shall stand (ya·‘ămōḏ) upon his border on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stand upon their border on the north.

Where the English smooths the original

וְהִֽתְחַלְּק֥וּ Hitpael wə·hiṯḥalləqū, from ḥālaq (H2505) — "and they shall divide it among themselves." The reflexive stem makes the seven tribes the active dividers, not passive recipients. BSB's "divide the land into seven portions" is correct but loses that the verb is reflexive — the tribes apportion for themselves, which is exactly why no one may later complain (Pulpit, v.4).
יַעֲמֹ֤ד ya·‘ămōḏ, from ‘āmaḏ (H5975), "shall stand." BSB's "shall remain" is a fair sense, but the verb is literally "stand" — Judah and Joseph stand firm on their already-allotted borders, immovable, while the seven are surveyed around them. Poole: "they shall not be disturbed in their possession, but shall keep it."
גְּבוּלוֹ֙ gəḇūlōw (H1366) — "his border/territory," from a root meaning "a cord (as twisted)," i.e. a boundary-line drawn as with a measuring-cord. BSB's "their territory" is right; the singular suffix on Judah ("his border") versus the plural on Joseph ("their border") quietly distinguishes the one tribe from the two-tribe house of Joseph.
מִנֶּ֔גֶב min·neḡeḇ (H5045), "from/on the south" — Strong's notes negeb is "the south (from its drought)," the parched land. Benson cautions the directions are relative: Joseph is north "in respect of Judah, not of the whole land; for divers other tribes were more northern than they." The compass terms orient the seven middle portions between two fixed poles.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

That I may cast lots. Or, and I will cast a lot. The somewhat unusual word ירה to throw , is used here. The more usual word is הפּיל caused to fall , though other expressions are also used.

The Pulpit Commentary flags the unusual lot-verb yārâh ("to throw") in place of the more common hippîl.

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Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

That I may cast lots for you here before the Lord — That is, before the ark or tabernacle, that God may be witness and judge, and be acknowledged to be the author of the division, and each tribe may be contented with its lot, as being appointed by divine authority

Benson reads the lot "before the LORD" as making God witness, judge, and author of the apportioning.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

before the Lord our God ] i.e. before the “Tabernacle of Meeting,” where Jehovah manifested His presence to the people, enthroned above the Cherubim of the Ark of the Covenant.

Cambridge locates "before the LORD" at the Tent, the place of the manifested Presence over the Ark.

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When you have mapped out the seven portions of land and brought it to me, I will cast lots for you here in the presence of the LORD our God.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

wə·’at·tem tiḵ·tə·ḇū ’eṯ- šiḇ·‘āh ḥă·lā·qîm hā·’ā·reṣ wa·hă·ḇê·ṯem ’ê·lay hên·nāh wə·yā·rî·ṯî gō·w·rāl lā·ḵem pōh lip̄·nê Yah·weh ’ĕ·lō·hê·nū

Word by word16 · parsed

וְאַתֶּ֞םwə·’at·temWhen youH859

√ ʼattâh — thou and thee, or (plural) ye and youConjunctive wawPronounsecond person masculine plural

תִּכְתְּב֤וּtiḵ·tə·ḇūhave mapped outH3789

√ kâthab — to grave, by implication, to write (describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe)VerbQalImperfectsecond person masculine plural

tiḵtəḇū (H3789), "you shall write" — the written record is the instrument of fairness; the seven-fold description becomes the document Joshua receives (v.9).

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

שִׁבְעָ֣הšiḇ·‘āhthe sevenH7651

√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Numbermasculine singular

חֲלָקִ֔יםḥă·lā·qîmportionsH2506

√ chêleq — properly, smoothness (of the tongue)Nounmasculine plural

הָאָ֙רֶץ֙hā·’ā·reṣof landH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

וַֽהֲבֵאתֶ֥םwa·hă·ḇê·ṯemand broughtH935

√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConjunctive perfectsecond person masculine plural

אֵלַ֖י’ê·layit to meH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPrepositionfirst person common singular

הֵ֑נָּהhên·nāh. . .H2008

√ hênnâh — hither or thither (but used both of place and time)Adverb

וְיָרִ֨יתִיwə·yā·rî·ṯîI will castH3384

√ yârâh — properly, to flow as water (iConjunctive wawVerbQalConjunctive perfectfirst person common singular

wə·yārîṯî (H3384), "and I will cast/throw" — the rarer lot-verb ("to shoot, throw"), noted by the Pulpit Commentary; the same root underlies tôrāh. The unusual word-choice underscores that this casting is a deliberate, almost oracular act.

גּוֹרָל֙gō·w·rāllotsH1486

√ gôwrâl — properly, a pebble, iNounmasculine singular

gōw·rāl (H1486), "lot" — literally a pebble; the chance-looking instrument whose outcome the verse immediately subordinates to the LORD's presence. The lot appears in only 67 verses canon-wide.

לָכֶ֤םlā·ḵemfor you

Prepositionsecond person masculine plural

פֹּ֔הpōhhereH6311

√ pôh — this place (French ici), iAdverb

לִפְנֵ֖יlip̄·nêin the presenceH6440

√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct

lip̄·nê (H6440), "before the face of" — the presence-idiom; the lot is cast not in private but under God's manifest gaze at the Tent, which (Benson, Poole) makes God the author and guarantor of the division.

יְהוָ֥הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ׃’ĕ·lō·hê·nūour GodH430

√ ʼĕlôhîym — gods in the ordinary senseNounmasculine plural constructfirst person common plural

’ĕlōhênū (H430), "our God" — the first-person-plural suffix binds Joshua to the people: not "your God" but "our God," the leader standing under the same covenant lot he casts.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And you shall write (tiḵtəḇū) the land into seven portions and bring it to me here, and I will cast (wə·yārîṯî) for you a lot (gōw·rāl) here before the LORD our God.

Where the English smooths the original

תִּכְתְּב֤וּ tiḵtəḇū, again from kāṯaḇ (H3789) — "you shall write the land." The Pulpit Commentary renders it bluntly: "Literally, ye shall write the land, seven parts." BSB's "have mapped out" interprets; the Hebrew says write — a written document is the deliverable (see v.9, sêp̄er, "the book").
וְיָרִ֨יתִי wə·yārîṯî, from yārâh (H3384), "and I will cast/throw." The Pulpit Commentary flags it: "The somewhat unusual word yārâh to throw, is used here. The more usual word is hippîl, caused to fall." The root literally means "to flow, to shoot (as an arrow), to throw" — and is the very root behind tôrāh ("that which is pointed-out, taught"). BSB's "cast lots" is right, but the verb chosen is the rarer, more vivid shoot/throw.
גּוֹרָל֙ gōw·rāl (H1486), "lot" — Strong's: "properly, a pebble." BSB's "lots" is correct; the thing thrown is a small stone. The casting looks like chance, but v.6 anchors the result "before the LORD our God" — the pebble decides, yet God disposes (Proverbs 16:33). Benson: "that God may be witness and judge, and be acknowledged to be the author of the division."
לִפְנֵ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵֽינוּ lip̄·nê YHWH ’ĕlōhênū — "before the face of the LORD our God." Pānîm (H6440) is "face/presence." Cambridge: "before the 'Tabernacle of Meeting,' where Jehovah manifested His presence . . . enthroned above the Cherubim." BSB's "in the presence of the LORD" is faithful; the Hebrew idiom is literally "to the face of," placing the lot under God's own gaze.

The Voices✦ 3 public domain

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

the priesthood of the Lord ] Notice the change here as compared with ch. Joshua 13:14 . There “the sacrifices of Jehovah” are said to be the portion of Levi, and in Joshua 13:33 , “Jehovah, God of Israel” is said to be their portion. Here we have “the priesthood of Jehovah,” as in Numbers 3:10 ; Numbers 16:10 ; Numbers 18:1-7 .

Cambridge tracks how Levi's "portion" is named three ways across Joshua — sacrifices, the LORD himself, and here the priesthood.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

for the priesthood of the Lord is his inheritance; not only the office, but what appertained to it, all the perquisites of it, the tithes, firstfruits, parts of the sacrifices, &c. see Joshua 13:14 , and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east

Gill explains the priesthood as Levi's whole inheritance — office and its perquisites — and lists the eastern tribes.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Here the office of the priesthood, there, more accurately, the sacrifices which it was the privilege of that tribe to offer up, are said to be the possession of the tribe of Levi. By cities. It was evidently not a land survey, entering into such particulars as the physical conditions of the ground, its fitness for agriculture, for pasture and the like. The division was made by cities.

The Pulpit Commentary confirms the priesthood-as-inheritance and stresses the survey was by cities, not by land-measurement.

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The Levites, however, have no portion among you, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received the inheritance that Moses the servant of the LORD gave them beyond the Jordan to the east.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

lal·wî·yim kî ’ên- ḥê·leq bə·qir·bə·ḵem kî- na·ḥă·lā·ṯōw ḵə·hun·naṯ Yah·weh wə·ḡāḏ ū·rə·’ū·ḇên wa·ḥă·ṣî šê·ḇeṭ ham·naš·šeh lā·qə·ḥū na·ḥă·lā·ṯām ’ă·šer mō·šeh ‘e·ḇeḏ Yah·weh nā·ṯan lā·hem mê·‘ê·ḇer lay·yar·dên miz·rā·ḥāh

Word by word25 · parsed

לַלְוִיִּם֙lal·wî·yimThe LevitesH3881

√ Lêvîyîy — a Levite or descendant of LeviPreposition-lNounpropermasculine plural

כִּ֠יkîhoweverH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

אֵֽין־’ên-have noH369

√ ʼayin — a non-entityAdverb

חֵ֤לֶקḥê·leqportionH2506

√ chêleq — properly, smoothness (of the tongue)Nounmasculine singular

ḥêleq (H2506), "portion" — the slice-word denied to Levi; from the same root as the unit's dividing-verb. Levi's exclusion is what reduces the division to seven portions, not eight (Poole).

בְּקִרְבְּכֶ֔םbə·qir·bə·ḵemamong youH7130

√ qereb — properly, the nearest part, iPreposition-bNounmasculine singular constructsecond person masculine plural

כִּֽי־kî-becauseH3588

√ kîy — (by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunction or adverb (as below)Conjunction

נַחֲלָת֑וֹna·ḥă·lā·ṯōwtheir inheritanceH5159

√ nachălâh — properly, something inherited, iNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine singular

כְהֻנַּ֥תḵə·hun·naṯis the priesthoodH3550

√ kᵉhunnâh — priesthoodNounfeminine singular construct

ḵəhunnaṯ (H3550), "priesthood" — the Levites' inheritance is the priestly office itself. Cambridge notes the deliberate variation from the parallel statements at Joshua 13:14, 33; the service of the LORD is their allotment in place of land.

יְהוָ֖הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

וְגָ֡דwə·ḡāḏAnd GadH1410

√ Gâd — Gad, a son of Jacob, including his tribe and its territoryConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular

וּרְאוּבֵ֡ןū·rə·’ū·ḇênReubenH7205

√ Rᵉʼûwbên — Reuben, a son of JacobConjunctive wawNounpropermasculine singular

וַחֲצִי֩wa·ḥă·ṣîand halfH2677

√ chêtsîy — the half or middleConjunctive wawNounmasculine singular construct

שֵׁ֨בֶטšê·ḇeṭthe tribeH7626

√ shêbeṭ — a scion, iNounmasculine singular construct

הַֽמְנַשֶּׁ֜הham·naš·šehof ManassehH4519

√ Mᵉnashsheh — Menashsheh, a grandson of Jacob, also the tribe descended from him, and its territoryArticleNounpropermasculine singular

לָקְח֣וּlā·qə·ḥūhave already receivedH3947

√ lâqach — to take (in the widest variety of applications)VerbQalPerfectthird person common plural

lāqəḥū Qal perfect (H3947), "they took" — the completed Transjordan grant to Gad, Reuben, and half-Manasseh; a settled inheritance that, with Levi's, explains the seven-fold remainder.

נַחֲלָתָ֗םna·ḥă·lā·ṯāmthe inheritanceH5159

√ nachălâh — properly, something inherited, iNounfeminine singular constructthird person masculine plural

אֲשֶׁר֙’ă·šerthatH834

√ ʼăsher — who, which, what, thatPronounrelative

מֹשֶׁ֖הmō·šehMosesH4872

√ Môsheh — Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiverNounpropermasculine singular

Moses (H4872) — though dead since Joshua 1:1, his eastern grant stands; the law and gifts of the lawgiver outlive him and govern the living division.

עֶ֥בֶד‘e·ḇeḏthe servantH5650

√ ʻebed — a servantNounmasculine singular construct

‘eḇeḏ (H5650), "servant" — the title "servant of the LORD" invests Moses' Transjordan grant with divine authority equal to the western lot; the eastern tribes' portion is God-given through his servant's hand.

יְהוָֽה׃Yah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

נָתַ֣ןnā·ṯangaveH5414

√ nâthan — to give, used with greatest latitude of application (put, make, etcVerbQalPerfectthird person masculine singular

לָהֶ֔םlā·hemthem

Prepositionthird person masculine plural

מֵעֵ֤בֶרmê·‘ê·ḇerbeyondH5676

√ ʻêber — properly, a region acrossPreposition-mNounmasculine singular construct

לַיַּרְדֵּן֙lay·yar·dênthe JordanH3383

√ Yardên — Jarden, the principal river of PalestinePreposition-l, ArticleNounproperfeminine singular

מִזְרָ֔חָהmiz·rā·ḥāhto the eastH4217

√ mizrâch — sunrise, iNounmasculine singularthird person feminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

For there is no portion (ḥêleq) for the Levites in your midst, because the priesthood (ḵəhunnaṯ) of the LORD is his inheritance; and Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have taken (lāqəḥū) their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant (‘eḇeḏ) of the LORD gave them.

Where the English smooths the original

חֵ֤לֶק ḥêleq (H2506), "portion/share" — the same root as the dividing-verb ḥālaq running through this unit. The Levites get no ḥêleq of land. BSB's "no portion among you" is exact; the Hebrew word is the very slice-word the seven tribes are receiving, deliberately denied to Levi because their portion is of another order entirely.
כְהֻנַּ֥ת יְהוָ֖ה ḵəhunnaṯ YHWH — "the priesthood of the LORD." Cambridge marks the precise shift: at Joshua 13:14 the portion was "the sacrifices of Jehovah," at 13:33 "Jehovah . . . is their portion," but "here we have 'the priesthood of Jehovah.'" BSB's "their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD" is faithful; the noun kəhunnāh names the priestly office itself as the Levites' allotment — the service is the inheritance.
לָקְח֣וּ lāqəḥū (H3947), "they have taken," perfect — a completed act. BSB's "have already received" is a good gloss, but the verb is active "took": Gad, Reuben, and half-Manasseh took their inheritance east of Jordan; the Transjordan grant is settled and past, removing them from the seven-fold division.
עֶ֥בֶד יְהוָֽה ‘eḇeḏ YHWH — "the servant of the LORD," the honorific title for Moses (H5650). BSB's "the servant of the LORD" is exact. The title is weighty: the Transjordan grant carries the authority of Moses precisely as the LORD's servant, so that the eastern tribes' portion is no less divinely sanctioned than the western lot Joshua is about to cast.

The Voices✦ 3 public domain

John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land; before they departed from him: saying, go and walk through the land; and take particular notice, and an exact survey of it, both of the quality and the quantity of it: and describe it; its cities and towns, hills and dales, the goodness and badness of the soil, and put it down in a book, or lay it out in a map

Gill details Joshua's charge: survey quality and quantity, towns and terrain, and set it down in writing.

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

By writing the names of every country and city.

The Geneva gloss defines the "describing" as writing down the names of each district and city.

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The Pulpit CommentarySpence & Exell, eds.1880s

Shiloh (see note on ver. 1 and Joshua 24:1 ). The seat of the tabernacle became, for the present at least, the headquarters of the Israelites.

The Pulpit Commentary notes Shiloh became Israel's headquarters as the seat of the Tabernacle.

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As the men got up to go out, Joshua commanded them to map out the land, saying, “Go and survey the land, map it out, and return to me. Then I will cast lots for you here in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hā·’ă·nā·šîm way·yā·qu·mū way·yê·lê·ḵū yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ ’eṯ- way·ṣaw ha·hō·lə·ḵîm liḵ·tōḇ ’eṯ- hā·’ā·reṣ lê·mōr lə·ḵū wə·hiṯ·hal·lə·ḵū ḇā·’ā·reṣ wə·ḵiṯ·ḇū ’ō·w·ṯāh wə·šū·ḇū ’ê·lay ’aš·lîḵ gō·w·rāl lā·ḵem ū·p̄ōh bə·ši·lōh lip̄·nê Yah·weh

Word by word25 · parsed

הָאֲנָשִׁ֖יםhā·’ă·nā·šîmAs the menH582

√ ʼĕnôwsh — a man in general (singly or collectively)ArticleNounmasculine plural

וַיָּקֻ֥מוּway·yā·qu·mūgot upH6965

√ qûwm — to rise (in various applications, literal, figurative, intensive and causative)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

וַיֵּלֵ֑כוּway·yê·lê·ḵūto go outH1980

√ hâlak — to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

יְהוֹשֻׁ֡עַyə·hō·wō·šu·a‘JoshuaH3091

√ Yᵉhôwshûwaʻ — Jehoshua (iNounpropermasculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

וַיְצַ֣וway·ṣawcommandedH6680

√ tsâvâh — (intensively) to constitute, enjoinConjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·ṣaw Piel (H6680), "and he charged" — the formal command-verb; Joshua's instruction has the weight of an enjoined ordinance, echoing the commands of the LORD and of Moses.

הַהֹלְכִים֩ha·hō·lə·ḵîmthemH1980

√ hâlak — to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)ArticleVerbQalParticiplemasculine plural

לִכְתֹּ֨בliḵ·tōḇto map outH3789

√ kâthab — to grave, by implication, to write (describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

הָאָ֜רֶץhā·’ā·reṣthe landH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

לֵאמֹ֗רlê·mōrsayingH559

√ ʼâmar — to say (used with great latitude)Preposition-lVerbQalInfinitive construct

לְ֠כוּlə·ḵūGoH1980

√ hâlak — to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbQalImperativemasculine plural

וְהִתְהַלְּכ֨וּwə·hiṯ·hal·lə·ḵūand surveyH1980

√ hâlak — to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbHitpaelImperativemasculine plural

wə·hiṯhalləḵū Hitpael (H1980), "and walk to and fro" — the same ranging-verb as v.4; the survey is a thorough traversal of the land, here repeated in Joshua's direct charge.

בָאָ֜רֶץḇā·’ā·reṣthe landH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Preposition-b, ArticleNounfeminine singular

וְכִתְב֤וּwə·ḵiṯ·ḇūmap it outH3789

√ kâthab — to grave, by implication, to write (describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe)Conjunctive wawVerbQalImperativemasculine plural

אוֹתָהּ֙’ō·w·ṯāhH853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object markerthird person feminine singular

וְשׁ֣וּבוּwə·šū·ḇūand returnH7725

√ shûwb — to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point)Conjunctive wawVerbQalImperativemasculine plural

wə·šūḇū Qal imperative (H7725), "and return" — the surveyors must come back to Shiloh; the lot cannot be cast in the field but only at the appointed place before the LORD.

אֵלַ֔י’ê·layto meH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPrepositionfirst person common singular

אַשְׁלִ֨יךְ’aš·lîḵThen I will castH7993

√ shâlak — to throw out, down or away (literally or figuratively)VerbHifilImperfectfirst person common singular

’ašlîḵ Hifil (H7993), "I will throw/fling" — the third distinct lot-verb in the unit (after yārâh, v.6), one the narrator will repeat in v.10; the Hebrew varies its throwing-words where BSB levels them.

גּוֹרָ֛לgō·w·rāllotsH1486

√ gôwrâl — properly, a pebble, iNounmasculine singular

לָכֶ֥םlā·ḵemfor you

Prepositionsecond person masculine plural

וּ֠פֹהū·p̄ōhhereH6311

√ pôh — this place (French ici), iConjunctive wawAdverb

בְּשִׁלֹֽה׃bə·ši·lōhin ShilohH7887

√ Shîylôh — Shiloh, a place in PalestinePreposition-bNounproperfeminine singular

Shiloh (H7887) named for the third time in the unit — the one place where the lot is cast "before the LORD"; its name (rest) and central position make it the fixed cultic center for three centuries.

לִפְנֵ֥יlip̄·nêin the presenceH6440

√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct

יְהוָ֖הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And the men arose and went, and Joshua commanded (way·ṣaw) those going to write the land, saying, “Go and walk through (wə·hiṯhalləḵū) the land and write it and return (wə·šūḇū) to me, and here I will throw (’ašlîḵ) for you a lot before the LORD in Shiloh.”

Where the English smooths the original

וַיְצַ֣ו Piel way·ṣaw, from ṣāwāh (H6680) — "and he commanded/charged," Strong's: "(intensively) to constitute, enjoin." BSB's "commanded them to map out the land" is faithful; the Piel is an authoritative, formal charge — Joshua does not merely ask but enjoins the commission, the verb used of God's own commands.
אַשְׁלִ֨יךְ Hifil ’ašlîḵ, from šālaḵ (H7993) — "I will throw/fling." Note the variation: where v.6 used yārâh ("shoot/throw") for casting the lot, here Joshua uses šālaḵ ("fling down/away"), and v.10 will use it again. The Pulpit Commentary catches the shift: "yet another phrase is used to describe the casting of the lots." BSB renders all three the same ("cast lots"), hiding the Hebrew's three distinct throwing-verbs.
וְשׁ֣וּבוּ wə·šūḇū, from šûḇ (H7725) — "and return." BSB's "return to me" is exact. The verb is the great turning-word of Scripture (repentance, restoration); here in its plain sense — the surveyors must come back to the appointed place, Shiloh, where alone the lot is cast before the LORD.
בְּשִׁלֹֽה bə·šilōh — "in Shiloh," named again as the place of the lot. BSB's "here in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD" is faithful; the repetition of here (pōh) and Shiloh fixes the one legitimate site of the casting — the Tent's new resting-place, the place whose name means rest.

The Voices✦ 3 public domain

Joseph BensonCommentary on the Old and New Testaments1810s

The men went and passed through the land — Josephus tells us they were occupied seven months in taking this survey, and making the description here mentioned. And described it by cities — Or, according to the cities to which the several provisions or territories belonged.

Benson (citing Josephus) dates the survey at seven months and reads the description as organized by cities.

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Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

The men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book—dividing the land according to its value, and the worth of the cities which it contained, into seven equal portions. This was no light task to undertake. It required learning and intelligence which they or their instructors had, in all probability, brought with them out of Egypt.

JFB stresses the survey's difficulty and credits the surveyors' competence to learning acquired in Egypt.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

How long they were absent we are not told. Josephus tells us it was seven months, Ant . v. i. 21. The Rabbis tell us it was seven years. Both suppositions are equally devoid of foundation.

Cambridge is honestly skeptical: neither Josephus's seven months nor the Rabbis' seven years has textual warrant.

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So the men departed and went throughout the land, mapping it city by city into seven portions. Then they returned with the document to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

hā·’ă·nā·šîm way·yê·lə·ḵū way·ya·‘aḇ·rū ḇā·’ā·reṣ way·yiḵ·tə·ḇū·hā le·‘ā·rîm lə·šiḇ·‘āh ḥă·lā·qîm ‘al- way·yā·ḇō·’ū sê·p̄er ’el- yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ ’el- ham·ma·ḥă·neh ši·lōh

Word by word16 · parsed

הָֽאֲנָשִׁים֙hā·’ă·nā·šîmSo the menH582

√ ʼĕnôwsh — a man in general (singly or collectively)ArticleNounmasculine plural

וַיֵּלְכ֤וּway·yê·lə·ḵūdepartedH1980

√ hâlak — to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

וַיַּעַבְר֣וּway·ya·‘aḇ·rūand went throughoutH5674

√ ʻâbar — to cross overConjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

way·ya‘aḇrū Qal (H5674), "and they crossed/passed through" — the traversal-verb; the surveyors range the whole land unhindered, the conquered Canaanites posing no obstacle (Keil).

בָאָ֔רֶץḇā·’ā·reṣthe landH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)Preposition-b, ArticleNounfeminine singular

וַיִּכְתְּב֧וּהָway·yiḵ·tə·ḇū·hāmapping itH3789

√ kâthab — to grave, by implication, to write (describe, inscribe, prescribe, subscribe)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine pluralthird person feminine singular

way·yiḵtəḇūhā (H3789), "and they wrote it" — the third occurrence of kāṯaḇ in the unit; the commanded writing (vv.4, 6, 8) is now executed, confirming the survey was a written description.

לֶֽעָרִ֛יםle·‘ā·rîmcity by cityH5892

√ ʻîyr — a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the widest sense (even of a mere encampment or post)Preposition-l, ArticleNounfeminine plural

le·‘ārîm (H5892), "by the cities" — the survey's organizing unit is the city, not the acre; the apportioning follows the towns and their districts (Poole, Pulpit on v.7).

לְשִׁבְעָ֥הlə·šiḇ·‘āhinto sevenH7651

√ shebaʻ — seven (as the sacred full one)Preposition-lNumbermasculine singular

חֲלָקִ֖יםḥă·lā·qîmportionsH2506

√ chêleq — properly, smoothness (of the tongue)Nounmasculine plural

עַל־‘al-H5921

√ ʻal — above, over, upon, or against (yet always in this last relation with a downward aspect) in a great variety of applicationsPreposition

וַיָּבֹ֧אוּway·yā·ḇō·’ūThen they returnedH935

√ bôwʼ — to go or come (in a wide variety of applications)Conjunctive wawVerbQalConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine plural

סֵ֑פֶרsê·p̄erwith the documentH5612

√ çêpher — properly, writing (the art or a document)Nounmasculine singular

sêp̄er (H5612), "book/document" — the written register, the tangible result of the threefold command to "write the land"; the instrument laid before Joshua for the casting of the lot.

אֶל־’el-toH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition

יְהוֹשֻׁ֛עַyə·hō·wō·šu·a‘JoshuaH3091

√ Yᵉhôwshûwaʻ — Jehoshua (iNounpropermasculine singular

אֶל־’el-atH413

√ ʼêl — near, with or amongPreposition

הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖הham·ma·ḥă·nehthe campH4264

√ machăneh — an encampment (of travellers or troops)ArticleNouncommon singular

ham·ma·ḥăneh (H4264), "the camp" — Israel is still an encampment around the now-settled Tent; the language holds the unfinished tension between conquest and full settlement.

שִׁלֹֽה׃ši·lōhin ShilohH7887

√ Shîylôh — Shiloh, a place in PalestineNounproperfeminine singular

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And the men went and passed through (way·ya‘aḇrū) the land and wrote (way·yiḵtəḇūhā) it by the cities into seven portions in a book (sêp̄er), and they came to Joshua, to the camp, at Shiloh.

Where the English smooths the original

וַיַּעַבְר֣וּ way·ya‘aḇrū, from ‘āḇar (H5674) — "and they crossed over / passed through." BSB's "went throughout the land" is smooth; the Hebrew verb is the great crossing-word (it names the crossing of the Jordan, and the root behind "Hebrew"). The surveyors traverse the land end to end, an act the recently-conquered Canaanites could not hinder (Gill, Keil).
וַיִּכְתְּב֧וּהָ לֶֽעָרִ֛ים way·yiḵtəḇūhā le·‘ārîm — literally "and they wrote it by the cities." BSB's "mapping it city by city" interprets; the verb is again write (H3789), and the survey's unit is the city (‘îr). Poole: "By cities, or, according to the cities, to which the several parts or territories belonged." The register is town-based, confirming Keil's point that this was description, not measurement.
סֵ֑פֶר sêp̄er (H5612) — "a book/document," Strong's: "properly, writing (the art or a document)." BSB's "with the document" is exact. The deliverable promised in vv.4, 6 ("write the land") now exists as a physical written record — the sêp̄er the surveyors carry back to Joshua, on which the lot will be cast.
הַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה ham·ma·ḥăneh (H4264) — "the camp," an encampment of travellers or troops. BSB's "at the camp in Shiloh" is faithful. The word reminds that Israel is still encamped — the Tent has settled (v.1), but the people remain a camp around it; the permanent inheritance the survey serves is not yet entered.

The Voices✦ 4 public domain

Jamieson, Fausset & BrownCommentary Critical and Explanatory1871

Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord—before the tabernacle, where the divine presence was manifested, and which associated with the lot the idea of divine sanction.

JFB reads the lot "before the LORD" as carrying divine sanction, the outcome ratified by the manifested Presence.

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Geneva Study BibleMarginal Notes1599

That everyone should be content with God's appointment.

The Geneva gloss names the lot's purpose: contentment with God's appointed portion.

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Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges—1880s

But it has been noticed that it was appropriate also from its name, “which recalled rest (Shiloh = rest ), and the promised Rest-giver ” ( Genesis 49:10 ).

Cambridge (citing Stanley) ties Shiloh's name (rest) to the promised Rest-giver of Genesis 49:10 at the unit's close.

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John GillExposition of the Entire Bible1746–63

And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord,.... For the seven tribes, as he had for the two tribes and a half at Gilgal; of the manner of casting lots; see Gill on Numbers 26:55 , and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their division

Gill ties the Shiloh lot to the earlier casting and points to Numbers 26:55 for the manner of the lot.

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And Joshua cast lots for them in the presence of the LORD at Shiloh, where he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their divisions.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Hebrew — tap a word ↓

yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ way·yaš·lêḵ gō·w·rāl lā·hem lip̄·nê Yah·weh bə·ši·lōh šām yə·hō·wō·šu·a‘ ’eṯ- way·ḥal·leq- hā·’ā·reṣ liḇ·nê yiś·rā·’êl kə·maḥ·lə·qō·ṯām

Word by word15 · parsed

יְהוֹשֻׁ֧עַyə·hō·wō·šu·a‘And JoshuaH3091

√ Yᵉhôwshûwaʻ — Jehoshua (iNounpropermasculine singular

וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ֩way·yaš·lêḵcastH7993

√ shâlak — to throw out, down or away (literally or figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbHifilConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·yašlêḵ Hifil (H7993), "and he flung" — the third throwing-verb for the lot; the Pulpit Commentary marks the variation deliberately. Joshua himself performs the casting, the leader's decisive act.

גּוֹרָ֛לgō·w·rāllotsH1486

√ gôwrâl — properly, a pebble, iNounmasculine singular

לָהֶ֨םlā·hemfor them

Prepositionthird person masculine plural

לִפְנֵ֣יlip̄·nêin the presenceH6440

√ pânîym — the face (as the part that turns)Preposition-lNouncommon plural construct

lip̄·nê YHWH (H6440 + H3068), "before the LORD" — the casting is sealed at the Tent under the divine presence; JFB and the Geneva gloss read this as conferring divine sanction so each tribe rests content with its lot.

יְהוָ֑הYah·wehof the LORDH3068

√ Yᵉhôvâh — Jehovah, Jewish national name of GodNounpropermasculine singular

בְּשִׁלֹ֖הbə·ši·lōhat ShilohH7887

√ Shîylôh — Shiloh, a place in PalestinePreposition-bNounproperfeminine singular

Shiloh (H7887) — the unit's recurring place-name, here the site where the lot is finally cast and the land divided; rest in name, the resting-place of the sanctuary and the seat of the apportioning.

שָׁ֨םšāmwhereH8033

√ shâm — there (transferring to time) thenAdverb

יְהוֹשֻׁ֧עַyə·hō·wō·šu·a‘heH3091

√ Yᵉhôwshûwaʻ — Jehoshua (iNounpropermasculine singular

אֶת־’eṯ-H853

√ ʼêth — properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely)Direct object marker

וַיְחַלֶּק־way·ḥal·leq-distributedH2505

√ châlaq — to be smooth (figuratively)Conjunctive wawVerbPielConsecutive imperfectthird person masculine singular

way·ḥalleq Piel (H2505), "and he divided/apportioned" — the climactic dividing-verb; the intensive stem makes Joshua the agent who completes what the slack tribes left undone (v.2).

הָאָ֛רֶץhā·’ā·reṣthe landH776

√ ʼerets — the earth (at large, or partitively a land)ArticleNounfeminine singular

לִבְנֵ֥יliḇ·nêto the IsraelitesH1121

יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לyiś·rā·’êl. . .H3478

√ Yisrâʼêl — Jisrael, a symbolical name of JacobNounpropermasculine singular

כְּמַחְלְקֹתָֽם׃פkə·maḥ·lə·qō·ṯāmaccording to their divisionsH4256

√ machălôqeth — a section (of Levites, people or soldiers)Preposition-kNounfeminine plural constructthird person masculine plural

kə·maḥləqōṯām (H4256), "according to their divisions" — a noun of the same root, closing the unit on the dividing-word. The land is now cut into the sections each tribe will inherit, the lot and the division one act before the LORD.

Literal — word-for-word from the original

And Joshua threw (way·yašlêḵ) for them a lot at Shiloh before the LORD (lip̄·nê YHWH); and there Joshua divided (way·ḥalleq) the land to the sons of Israel according to their divisions (kə·maḥləqōṯām).

Where the English smooths the original

וַיַּשְׁלֵךְ֩ Hifil way·yašlêḵ, from šālaḵ (H7993) — "and he flung/threw." The Pulpit Commentary notes "yet another phrase is used to describe the casting of the lots" across this unit. BSB's uniform "cast lots" flattens the Hebrew's deliberate variation — yārâh (v.6), then the imperfect ’ašlîḵ (v.8), now the consecutive way·yašlêḵ — three throwing-verbs for one English phrase.
לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה lip̄·nê YHWH — "before the face of the LORD." JFB: "before the tabernacle, where the divine presence was manifested, and which associated with the lot the idea of divine sanction." BSB's "in the presence of the LORD" is faithful; the phrase is the theological seal — the chance-pebble falls under God's gaze, so its outcome is God's decree.
וַיְחַלֶּק־ Piel way·ḥalleq, from ḥālaq (H2505) — "and he apportioned/divided." The intensive Piel makes Joshua the active distributor. BSB's "distributed" is right; this is the unit's dividing-root brought to its climax — the slackness of v.2 ("had not divided") is answered by Joshua's decisive Piel here ("he divided").
כְּמַחְלְקֹתָֽם kə·maḥləqōṯām (H4256), "according to their divisions/allotments" — a noun from the same ḥālaq root, Strong's: "a section (of Levites, people or soldiers)." BSB's "according to their divisions" is exact; the verse ends, as it must, on the dividing-word — the land cut into the very sections the tribes will hold, the apportioning complete.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The Tent comes to rest — Shiloh and the called-out congregation — 18:1

The unit opens with a convocation: "the whole congregation (‘ăḏaṯ) of the sons of Israel were assembled (way·yiqqāhălū, Niphal) at Shiloh." The Pulpit Commentary hears the passive force — "Literally, was summoned; by whom, we are not told" — and draws the lesson that "this passage teaches the duty of a national recognition of religion . . . When that public acknowledgment of Him ceased, the downfall of the nation was at hand." Cambridge reaches further, noting the LXX word for congregation is "the same as that used by our Lord, Matthew 16:18" — Israel as a people "called out by God from the rest of the world." Then the Tent is caused to dwell (way·yaškînū, the indwelling-verb behind Shekinah) at a place whose very name the commentators read as rest. Barnes: "Its very name ('rest') was probably bestowed at this juncture when God had given the people rest from their enemies." Keil makes the move explicit and forward-looking: Shiloh "called to mind the promised Shiloh (Genesis 49:10) . . . the resting-place of the sanctuary of the Lord, where His name was to dwell in Israel, until He should come who was to give true rest to His people as the Prince of Peace." The verse closes on a tension the whole unit will work out: the land "was subdued" (niḵbəšāh, "trodden down," Genesis 1:28's dominion-verb) — yet, the next verse insists, not yet possessed.

ii. "Until when are you slack?" — the rebuke of the seven — 18:2–3

Seven tribes remained over (way·yiwwāṯərū, the surplus-verb) without inheritance, and the narrator frames them as a neglected remainder. Ellicott: "the weaker tribes were left to take care of themselves. They did not venture to select their own portions; the others did not come forward to offer them anything." JFB names the cause: "a love of ease, and reluctance to renew the war . . . made them indifferent to the possession of a settled inheritance." Joshua's question is sharp — ‘aḏ-’ānāh miṯrappîm, "until when are you slackening yourselves?" — the Hitpael of rāphāh, hands going limp of their own accord. The Pulpit Commentary confirms "this 'slackness' (the translation is a literal one)" and universalizes it: "The exhortation needs repeating to every generation." The hinge of the rebuke is the perfect verb nāṯan: the land "the LORD . . . has given you" — already given. Matthew Henry presses it into the heart: "God, by his grace, has given us a title to a good land, the heavenly Canaan, but we are slack to take possession of it; we enter not into that rest . . . How long shall it be thus with us?" The gift is past; only the receiving lags.

iii. Write the land — survey, not measurement — 18:4–9

The remedy is procedural and scrupulous. Each tribe is to give (hāḇū) three men — twenty-one in all (Barnes) — who will walk the land to and fro (wə·yiṯhalləḵū, Hitpael) and write it (kāṯaḇ, sounded four times across the unit). Keil is insistent on the verb: "kāṯaḇ does not mean to measure . . . The meaning of the word is to describe" — a written register, "chiefly to the towns," not a surveyor's chart. Poole explains the threefold commission as a safeguard of "care and faithfulness," and the Pulpit Commentary reads the multi-tribe makeup as rendering "impossible all future complaints, since the boundaries would be settled according to reports sent in by the representatives of each tribe." The seven-fold division stands between two fixed poles — "Judah shall stand (ya·‘ămōḏ) . . . on the south, and the house of Joseph . . . on the north" — with Benson correcting that Joseph is north "in respect of Judah, not of the whole land." The result is a physical document: the men "wrote it by the cities . . . in a book (sêp̄er)," JFB marvelling that this "was no light task," the surveyors' competence "brought with them out of Egypt." Cambridge is honest about what we cannot know — the survey's duration: "Josephus tells us it was seven months . . . The Rabbis tell us it was seven years. Both suppositions are equally devoid of foundation."

iv. The lot before the LORD — chance disposed by God — 18:6, 10

The procedure terminates in an act that looks like chance and is named as decree. Joshua will cast the lot — and the Hebrew rings three different throwing-verbs where English says only "cast lots": yārâh ("shoot/throw," v.6, which the Pulpit Commentary flags as "the somewhat unusual word"), ’ašlîḵ (v.8), and way·yašlêḵ (v.10). The lot itself, gōw·rāl, is "properly, a pebble" (Strong's). Yet every commentator anchors the pebble in God. Benson: the lot is cast "before the Lord . . . that God may be witness and judge, and be acknowledged to be the author of the division." Cambridge locates it "before the 'Tabernacle of Meeting,' where Jehovah manifested His presence . . . enthroned above the Cherubim." JFB seals it: the casting "before the tabernacle . . . associated with the lot the idea of divine sanction." The unit ends on its governing root: Joshua divided (way·ḥalleq, Piel) the land "according to their divisions (maḥləqōṯām)" — the dividing-word that runs from the slack non-dividing of v.2 to this decisive apportioning. And Cambridge, citing Stanley, returns at the close to where Keil began: Shiloh was apt "also from its name, which recalled rest . . . and the promised Rest-giver (Genesis 49:10)."

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

Reading under Sola Scriptura, and offering this as a fallible synthesis to be tested: this unit is built on a single tension and resolves it with a single word. The tension is between gift and possession — the land "was subdued" (v.1) and the LORD "has given" it (v.3, perfect tense, a finished act), yet seven tribes hold no inheritance because they have grown slack (miṯrappîm, hands gone limp). The whole drama is that nothing remains to be earned and almost everything remains to be received. The resolving word is the root ḥālaq, "divide," which threads the unit from its complaint to its cure: the tribes "had not divided" their inheritance (v.2), they are charged to "divide it into seven portions" (v.5), and at last Joshua "divided the land . . . according to their divisions" (v.10). Between the failure and the fulfillment stands a careful human labor — twenty-one men writing the land into a book — and then an act of pure surrender: the casting of a pebble "before the LORD." The text holds these together without strain. Diligence and dependence are not rivals here: Israel surveys exhaustively and hands the outcome wholly to God. The pebble is the theology — the most consequential map in the nation's life is drawn by human feet and human pens, then decided by a thrown stone under God's gaze, so that the portion each tribe receives can be called neither luck nor conquest but inheritance: a gift, apportioned by providence, entered by faith. And over it all hovers the name of the place — Shiloh, rest — which the whole tradition could not help reading toward the One who would give a rest no allotment of Canaan ever finally gave. This is the tool's reading; weigh it against the text.

The land was already given; the only thing left undone was the receiving — and that, they were slack to do.

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The lot completed: the inclusio with Joshua 19:51 structural / thematic — confirmed

Joshua's promise to "cast for you a lot here before the LORD" (v.6) and his casting of it "before the LORD at Shiloh" (v.10) open a frame that the land-division section closes at Joshua 19:51 — "these are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua . . . divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle." Keil makes the connection on this very verse: the lot is cast "before the Lord, i.e., before the tabernacle (Joshua 19:51)." The Verifier confirms the shared vocabulary — Shîylôh (H7887, 30 vv), gôwrâl (H1486, 67 vv), ’ōhel/mō·‘êḏ (Tent of Meeting), and pānîym ("before") — genuine common terms binding the start and finish of the apportioning. Because the rarest shared lexeme (Shiloh, 30 vv) stands alone and these are not quotations but the same institution recurring, the link is tiered structural, not verbal.

Joshua 19:51

basis: shared lexemes (Verifier): H7887 Shîylôh (30 vv), H4150 môwʻêd (213 vv), H168 ʼôhel (315 vv), H6440 pânîym (1892 vv) — the casting of the lot at Shiloh before the LORD opens (18:6, 10) and closes (19:51) the land-division; one rare shared name, so structural not verbal

The whole congregation gathered at Shiloh: the convocation-formula echoed at Joshua 22:12 and Jeremiah 26:9 verbal / quotation — confirmed

The unit opens with a fixed formula: "the whole congregation (‘ăḏaṯ) of the sons of Israel were assembled (way·yiqqāhălū, from qāhal) at Shiloh" (v.1). That same convocation-formula — the rare summons-verb qāhal joined to the rare place-name Shîylôh — recurs verbatim within the book at Joshua 22:12, where "the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together (qāhal) at Shiloh, to go up to war against them" (the near-schism over the Transjordan altar), and again in the prophets at Jeremiah 26:9, where "all the people were gathered (qāhal) against Jeremiah in the house of the LORD" with Shiloh named as the warning. The Verifier returns two independently rare shared lexemes for both pairs — Shîylôh (H7887, 30 vv) and qāhal (H6950, 38 vv) — which is precisely the two-rare-lexeme threshold the recorded rule reserves for the verbal tier; this is not the same place merely re-named but the same summoning-language re-sounded, the called-out assembly convened at the same sanctuary. The Pulpit Commentary already hears the force of the verb here — "Literally, was summoned" — and the formula it inaugurates becomes the standing idiom of Israel-convened-before-the-LORD.

Joshua 22:12 · Jeremiah 26:9

basis: shared lexemes (Verifier): H7887 Shîylôh (30 vv) AND H6950 qâhal (38 vv) co-occur in both pairs — two independently rare lexemes, meeting the recorded two-rare-lexeme rule for the verbal tier; the convocation-formula 'the congregation assembled (qāhal) at Shiloh' (Josh 18:1) re-sounded at Josh 22:12 and Jer 26:9

The Tent's first home and its later ruin: Psalm 78:60 and Jeremiah 7:12 structural / thematic — confirmed

The Tent is "caused to dwell" (way·yaškînū, v.1) at Shiloh — the same place whose abandonment the later canon mourns. Psalm 78:60: "He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed (šāḵan) among men." Jeremiah 7:12: "Go now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I set (šāḵan) my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people." Barnes, on this unit, already traces the arc: the Tent "continued at Shiloh during the whole period of the Judges, until its capture by the Philistines . . . Shiloh seems to have fallen into desolation." The Verifier shows both later passages share with Joshua 18:1 the rare place-name Shîylôh (H7887, 30 vv) and the indwelling-verb šâkan (H7931, 124 vv) — a real verbal-semantic tie. Yet because the rare lexeme (Shiloh) is single and these are independent reflections rather than one citing another, the link is tiered structural/thematic: the same sanctuary, its dwelling and its undoing.

Psalm 78:60 · Jeremiah 7:12

basis: shared lexemes (Verifier): H7887 Shîylôh (30 vv), H7931 shâkan (124 vv), H168 ʼôhel (315 vv) — the Tent caused to dwell at Shiloh (Josh 18:1) and its later forsaking (Ps 78:60; Jer 7:12); the same dwelling-verb and place, structural not a quotation

The lot's value is fixed by need but its place by God: Numbers 26:55 structural / thematic — confirmed

The command to "divide it into seven portions" (v.5) and to "cast a lot . . . before the LORD" (v.6) executes the standing law of Numbers 26:55 — "the land shall be divided by lot (gôwrāl) . . . according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit." Ellicott cites it directly on this verse: "In Numbers 26:54–55, we read . . . the particular position of each tribe must be settled by the lot." The Verifier confirms a shared rare lexeme, gôwrâl (H1486, 67 vv), the lot-word common to law and execution. Since it is the same institution prescribed and then carried out — not one verse quoting another — the link is tiered structural/thematic.

Numbers 26:55

basis: shared lexeme (Verifier): H1486 gôwrâl (67 vv) — the law of division-by-lot (Num 26:55) enacted at Shiloh (Josh 18:5–6); shared lot-vocabulary, the institution prescribed then executed, a structural link

Levi's portion is the LORD himself: Numbers 18:20 and Deuteronomy 18:1 structural / thematic — confirmed

Verse 7 states that the Levites "have no portion (ḥêleq) among you, because the priesthood of the LORD is his inheritance" — the silent half of a covenant the Pentateuch states outright. Numbers 18:20: "You shall have no inheritance (nachălāh) in their land, neither shall you have any part (ḥêleq) among them: I am your part and your inheritance." Deuteronomy 18:1: "The priests the Levites . . . shall have no part (ḥêleq) nor inheritance (nachălāh) with Israel." Cambridge cross-references the parallel directly. The Verifier confirms shared chêleq (H2506, 63 vv) and nachălâh (H5159, 191 vv) with Numbers 18:20, and additionally shêbeṭ and Lêvîyîy with Deuteronomy 18:1 — the same legal-theological vocabulary of Levi's explained landlessness. Tiered structural/thematic: a shared institution, not a rare-word quotation.

Numbers 18:20 · Deuteronomy 18:1

basis: shared lexemes (Verifier): H2506 chêleq (63 vv), H5159 nachălâh (191 vv), with Deut 18:1 also H7626 shêbeṭ (178 vv), H3881 Lêvîyîy (263 vv) — the same institution of Levi's portionless priesthood; common legal vocabulary, structural not verbal

Shiloh seized: the daughters of Shiloh and the Tent's end — Judges 21:19 and 1 Samuel 4:3 structural / thematic — confirmed

Shiloh, here made the cultic center (vv.1, 8, 9, 10), reappears at the close of the era it inaugurates. Judges 21:19 — minutely locating "Shiloh, which is on the north side of Bethel" for the seizing of its daughters — is the very passage the commentators cite to fix Shiloh's geography (Ellicott, the Pulpit Commentary, Cambridge all point to it). 1 Samuel 4:3 records the day the ark left Shiloh into Philistine hands, after which (Barnes) "Shiloh seems to have fallen into desolation." The Verifier shows both share with Joshua 18:1 the rare place-name Shîylôh (H7887, 30 vv). Because that single rare lexeme carries the link and these are independent narratives of the same place, the connection is tiered structural/thematic — the rise and fall of one sanctuary across the books.

Judges 21:19 · 1 Samuel 4:3

basis: shared lexeme (Verifier): H7887 Shîylôh (30 vv) — the sanctuary established here (Josh 18) is located (Judg 21:19) and lost (1 Sam 4:3) in later narrative; one rare place-name, structural not a quotation

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

Shiloh: the resting-place named for the Rest-giver (Genesis 49:10) widely-held

The tradition could not set the Tent down at Shiloh without hearing the word from Jacob's deathbed prophecy: "the sceptre shall not depart from Judah . . . until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be" (Genesis 49:10). Keil makes the reading on this very unit: Shiloh, "i.e., rest, . . . called to mind the promised Shiloh (Genesis 49:10) . . . until He should come who was to give true rest to His people as the Prince of Peace." Benson reports it as received tradition — "Shiloh was the name given to the Messiah in dying Jacob's prophecy" — and Cambridge, citing Stanley, closes the unit with it: the place was apt "from its name, which recalled rest (Shiloh = rest), and the promised Rest-giver (Genesis 49:10)." This is a cross-Testament and contested-philology reading: the meaning and reference of "Shiloh" in Genesis 49:10 is one of the most disputed cruxes in the Hebrew Bible, and the Verifier finds no shared original-language lexeme between Joshua 18:1 and Genesis 49:10 — the connection runs entirely through the place-name's traditional sense ("rest") and cannot be asserted as verbal. It is offered as the long-held figural reading the commentators themselves name, flagged as such, not proven from the lexicon.

Joshua 18:1 · Genesis 49:10 · Hebrews 4:8-9

Joshua casts the lot before the LORD: the inheritance secured in Christ widely-held

The whole unit turns on inheritance apportioned not by human will but "before the LORD" (vv.6, 10) — each tribe's portion a gift sealed by God's own presence, so that (Geneva) "everyone should be content with God's appointment." The New Testament gathers this language of klēronomia (inheritance, the LXX's word for nachălāh) into Christ: believers are "heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17), having "obtained an inheritance" in him (Ephesians 1:11), kept "reserved in heaven" (1 Peter 1:4). And the rest that Shiloh only named — the rest into which these slack tribes were slow to enter (v.3; cf. Hebrews 3–4) — Hebrews declares Joshua's allotment did not finally give: "if Joshua had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day" (Hebrews 4:8). The leader who casts the lot is Yᵉhôwshûaʻ — the Hebrew name of which Iēsous (Jesus) is the Greek. This is a cross-Testament figural reading: the Verifier finds no shared Strong's number between Joshua 18 and Hebrews 4 (Hebrew nachălāh/gôrāl against Greek klēronomia/katapausis), so it rests on the shared name and the inheritance-and-rest pattern, not on a lexeme. Long held in the tradition; offered as typology, not asserted as verbal.

Joshua 18:6 · Ephesians 1:11 · Hebrews 4:8 · 1 Peter 1:4

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
Keil & Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1860s)
Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

This unit (Joshua 18:1–10) is wholly Hebrew narrative, and its interpretive spine is one root — ḥālaq, "divide" — which the divergence-notes track through its stems (Qal, v.2; Hitpael, v.5; Piel, v.10) and its derived nouns (ḥêleq "portion," v.7; maḥləqōṯ "divisions," v.10). That tracking is real Hebrew morphology, not invention. A second deliberate feature noted in the divergences: the Hebrew rings three distinct throwing-verbs for the casting of the lot — yārâh (v.6), ’ašlîḵ (v.8), way·yašlêḵ (v.10) — where BSB uniformly reads "cast lots"; the Pulpit Commentary itself flags this variation. On the threads: one cross-reference reaches the verbal/quotation tier and the rest are tiered structural/thematic, and honestly so. The verbal link is the convocation-formula at Joshua 22:12 and Jeremiah 26:9 — both share with Joshua 18:1 two independently rare lexemes, the place-name Shîylôh (H7887, 30 vv) and the summons-verb qāhal (H6950, 38 vv), which the Verifier confirms meets the recorded two-rare-lexeme threshold for the verbal tier; this is the same summoning-language re-sounded, not merely the same place re-named. By contrast, the remaining Shiloh links (Joshua 19:51, Psalm 78:60, Jeremiah 7:12, Judges 21:19, 1 Samuel 4:3) share only the single rare place-name Shîylôh (H7887, 30 vv) — and under the Verifier's recorded rule a single rare lexeme standing alone does not reach the "verbal/quotation" tier (which needs two rare lexemes or one of frequency ≤ 12), and these are independent narratives of the same place rather than quotations, so structural is the honest tier. The Levi links (Numbers 18:20, Deuteronomy 18:1) and the lot-law link (Numbers 26:55) share mid-frequency legal vocabulary (chêleq, nachălâh, gôwrâl) — a shared institution, not a rare-word citation — and are tiered accordingly. The Christ section is doubly careful. The Shiloh/Genesis 49:10 typology rests on a contested philology — the sense and referent of "Shiloh" in Genesis 49:10 is a famous crux — and the Verifier finds no shared original-language lexeme at all between the two verses, returning "flagged — verify source"; it is therefore presented as the widely-held figural reading the commentators (Keil, Benson, Cambridge) name themselves, not as a lexical fact. The inheritance-and-rest typology to Hebrews 4:8 and Ephesians 1:11 is cross-Testament and carries no shared Strong's number (Hebrew nachălāh/gôrāl cannot form a "verbal" link with Greek klēronomia/katapausis); it rests on the shared name Yᵉhôwshûaʻ / Iēsous and the inheritance-into-rest pattern, and is marked typological and widely-held. All voices are verbatim contiguous excerpts from the supplied PD commentary — Keil & Delitzsch, the Cambridge Bible, the Pulpit Commentary, Albert Barnes, Charles Ellicott, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, John Gill, Matthew Henry, Joseph Benson, Matthew Poole, and the Geneva Study Bible — trimmed only at the ends, with no internal word altered, reordered, or stitched. No Joshua 1:5 → Hebrews 13:5 flag applies: this unit (18:1–10) does not contain 1:5.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)