Book of Joshua Chapter 13 Summary

Divide, Already Conquered

  • Joshua is now advanced in years.
  • We imagine some type of battle-hardened Clint Eastwood type character.
  • Or maybe Stallone?
  • God tells Joshua that he's old and that he needs to get a move on divvying up the land to the twelve tribes of Israel.
  • Apparently God is not known for his tact.
  • The book discusses that the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had already received their land. The nine other tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh are waiting to receive their territories. Duly noted.
  • The Levites receive no inheritance. Instead they receive delicious meat products meant as a sacrifice. Ron Swanson would have no beef with this arrangement (pun totally intended).
  • The next chunk of this chapter is basically a verbal map, letting us know which tribe gets which parcels of land. We can't help noticing that after marching through all of Canaan, the Israelites have basically just gone back to the Jordan River to settle.
  • This very fancy map shows the tribe allotments of Israel during this splendid time. It also shows the other nations that remain in the land (29-33).