"*** Joshua08 ***"
"The Tabernacle set up at Shiloh The Israelites had now gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tabernacle there. However there were still seven tribes who had not yet received their inheritances. The remaining land is surveyed Joshua said to the Israelites, How long will you wait before you take possession of the land Jehovah has given you? Appoint three men from each tribe and send them out to survey the land and write a description of it. Divide the land into seven parts and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord. Joshua casts lots to allocate the land for the last seven tribes So the"
"surveyors departed and travelled throughout the land and returned with written descriptions of the land. Joshua then cast lots to allocate the land among the seven tribes. Benjamins inheritance The first lot fell to Benjamin. Their territory lay between the tribes of Judah, and Ephraim and Manasseh; 26 towns including Jericho and Jerusalem. Simeons inheritance The second lot fell to Simeon. Their inheritance lay inside the territory of Judah; 17 towns including Beersheba. The inheritance of Simeon was taken from the share of Judah for Judahs portion was more than they needed. Zebulun,"
"Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dans inheritances The third lot fell to Zebulun; 12 towns. The fourth lot fell to Issachar; 16 towns. The fifth lot fell to Asher; 15 towns and the fortified city of Tyre. The sixth lot fell to Naphtali; 19 towns and fortified cities. The seventh lot fell to Dan; 18 districts and the seaport city of Joppa. Joshua receives a town as an inheritance When they had finished dividing the land the Israelites gave Joshua the town he asked for, Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. Cities of refuge appointed Then the Lord said to Joshua, Have the Israelites appoint"
"cities of refuge as I instructed Moses, so that anyone who kills unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood. So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Hebron in the hill country of Judah. On the east side of the Jordan they set apart Bezer among the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth among the tribe of Gad, and Golan among the tribe of Manasseh. The Levites receive their towns Then the Levites approached Eleazar the high priest and Joshua and said to them, The Lord commanded Moses that you give us towns to live in with pasture"
"lands for our livestock. So they gave the Levites who were descendants of Aaron 13 towns from among the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. The rest of the Levites were allotted towns among the other tribes. The total number of cities allotted to the Levites was 48, along with their pasture lands. So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers."
"*** Joshua09 ***"
"The eastern tribes return home to Gilead Then Joshua summoned the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh and blessed them and said to them, You have done all that Moses commanded and have not deserted your brothers. Now return to your homes in Gilead on the east side of the Jordan with your great wealth, the spoil from your enemies, your large herds of livestock, your silver, gold, bronze and iron, and great quantity of clothing and divide it equally among yourselves. But be very careful to keep all the commandments that Moses gave you. Love the Lord your God and serve him with"
"all your heart and all your soul. Eastern tribes erect a great altar at the Jordan So the men of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh left the Israelites in Shiloh in Canaan to return to Gilead their own land east of the Jordan. On the way they stopped and erected a large altar by the Jordan river. Western tribes think the altar a sign of rebellion and prepare for war When the Israelites in Canaan heard that the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had erected an altar, they were angered and gathered at Shiloh to war against them. Phinehas the priest and other leaders first sent to speak with the Gilead"
"tribes But first they sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar the high priest, and ten other leaders to the land of Gilead to speak with the eastern tribes. The altar built as a memorial only When they reached Gilead they said, How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from him and build an altar in rebellion against him? But the leaders of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh answered, Jehovah, God of gods, he knows. And let Israel know, if this was done in rebellion do not spare us. If we have built an altar to offer sacrifice to turn away from Jehovah, may he himself"
"call us to account. But no, we did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, What do you have to do with the God of Israel? Jehovah has made the Jordan a boundary between you and us. You have no share in the Lord. So your descendants may cause ours to stop worshipping Jehovah. That is why we said, Let us build an altar, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between you and us, and the generations that follow that we will worship the Lord at his Tabernacle. The western tribes are glad and talk no more of war When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of"
"the Israelites heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh said, they were pleased and returned to Canaan and reported to the people. The men of Israel too, were glad to hear their report and spoke no more of going to war against their brothers."
"*** Joshua10 ***"
"Joshua summons all Israel and gives them his final address Now after the Lord had given Israel rest from their enemies for many days, Joshua summoned all Israel to the town of Shechem. There he gathered the leaders of the people around him and said to them, I am old and well advanced in years and am about to go the way of all the earth. You have seen everything the Lord has done to these nations for your sake, and you have been allotted all the land of the nations that still remain. The Lord will drive them before you and you will be able to take possession of the whole land. He has driven before"
"you great and powerful nations. No one has been able to withstand you. One of you puts to flight a thousand because your God fights for you. Israelites not to associate or intermarry with remaining Canaanites Now be very careful to love Jehovah your God and to obey all that is written in the book of the Law of Moses. Do not associate or intermarry with the nations that remain among you. Do not invoke the names of their gods or bow down to them. If you do, you may be sure that Jehovah your God will no longer drive them before you. Instead they will become whips to your backs and thorns in your"
"sides until you perish. Joshua declares that he and his family will serve the Lord If you are unwilling to serve the Lord then choose this day whom you will serve. As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. The people answered, We too will serve the Lord. Joshua repeats the laws and commandments and writes in the book of the Law On that day there at Shechem, Joshua made a covenant with the people. He repeated all the laws and commandments they were to follow and wrote in the book of the Law all that took place. Joshua sets up a stone as a witness Then he took a large stone and set it"
"up under the oak tree at Shechem and said to all the people, This stone will be a witness for it has heard the words that the Lord has given us. It will be a witness against you if you are unfaithful. Joshua dies and is buried After these things, Joshua the servant of the Lord died at the age of 110. They buried him in the land of his inheritance at Timnath Serah. Josephs bones buried at Shechem Josephs bones which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt were also buried at Shechem, in the same tract of land that Jacob bought for 100 pieces of silver from Hamor. Eleazar the high priest dies"
"Eleazar the high priest also died and was buried at Gibeah which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim."