Joshua 19-21

1. Allotment for Simeon
In this passage, the Lord allots land for the tribe of Simeon.  It is noted that their allotment lies within the allotment of the tribe of Judah.  In verse 9 we see that "Judah's portion was more than they needed.  So the Simeonites received their inheritance within the territory of Judah."

This allotment essentially fulfills Jacob's curse on Simeon in Genesis 49:7.

2. Allotment for Zebulun
In this passage, the Lord allots land for the tribe of Zebulun.  Their allotment includes the town of Rimmon.

3. Allotment for Issachar
In this passage, the Lord allots land for the tribe of Issachar.  Their allotment includes the town of Jezreel.

4. Allotment for Asher
In this passage, the Lord allots land for the tribe of Asher.  Their allotment includes the city of Tyre.


5. Allotment for Naphtali
In this passage, the Lord allots land for the tribe of Naphtali.  Their allotment includes the city of Kedesh.


6. Allotment for Dan
In this passage, the Lord allots land for the tribe of Dan.  In verse 47 we see that the Danites had trouble conquering their assigned territory, so they ended up attacking Leshem and conquering it.

I'm assuming that the Danites' difficulties in terms of conquering their assigned territory stemmed from their lack of faith and trust in the Lord.  As I've noted in previous posts, I would have been quite fearful if I had been a Danite at that time - war is not something to be taken lightly.  Also, did the Lord actually condone their attacking and conquering Leshem?  The passage doesn't provide an explicit indication of His reaction to their change of plans.


7. Allotment for Joshua
In this passage, Israel fulfills the Lord's command that they give Joshua the town of Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim.  This concludes the division of the Promised Land for Israel.

Now I cannot recall the reason why Joshua chose the town of Timnath Serah as his inheritance.  If any readers can shed some light on this, that would be neat.

8. Cities of Refuge
In this passage, the Lord designates six "cities of refuge" in Israel.  The function of these cities can be described as follows: assume that Person A kills Person B by accident.  Person A can flee to one of these cities and be protected from the avenger of blood, who is typically the closest male relative of Person B.  After a trial occurs, Person A is ostensibly pardoned; he must then remain in that city until the high priest at the time has passed away.  Person A is then free to return to his hometown.

This is a rather interesting passage and it raised some (probably fanciful) questions.  Were there instances in the Old Testament period when Person A killed Person B by accident, yet Person A was caught and killed by the avenger of blood before he reached a city of refuge?  Why did Person A need to wait for the death of the high priest at that time before leaving a city of refuge?  Were there cases where Person A was pardoned,  left a city of refuge too early and was then killed by the avenger of blood?


9. Towns for the Levites
In this passage, the Israelites give the Levites several towns - and pasturelands - out of their inheritance.  In particular, the allotment for the Levites is divided among the 1) Kohathites who are descendants of Aaron, 2) all other Kohathites, 3) Gershonites and 4) Merarites.  In verse 43, we see that this passage concludes the allotment of the Promised Land for Israel; the Lord has defeated all of their enemies and given them peace - fulfilling all of His promises to them.

It is interesting to note that all six of the cities of refuge from the previous passage are given to the Levites.  Does this have some correlation with the "death of the high priest" stipulation as noted above?  Also, it should be stressed that this passage is the culmination of the second part of God's three-fold promise to Abraham in Genesis 15 - his descendants have taken possession of the Promised Land.  Of course, their sinfulness will prevent them from holding on to it...