Yehoshua 18 - Summary
(Text) - After the land has been conquered, all of the people of Israel gathered in Shiloh, and erect there the Mishkan. There remained at this point seven tribes who had not yet received their land. Yehoshua reprimands the people over the fact that there still remained some land that was not under their control. He commands that three men be sent from each tribe to go and scout out the remaining land so that it can be divided up on paper for these seven tribes. These portions would be divided through divine lottery, the same way in which the other borders had been set. (This does not include the two and a half tribes to the East of the Jordan, or the tribe of Levi who will not receive land). And the men from the different tribes set out as Yehoshua had commanded and recorded the borders for seven more areas of land from that which had not yet been parceled out.
Binyamin is the first tribe of these seven to receive their portion. Their land is North of Yehuda, between Yehuda and the children of Yosef. There is a detailed description of their land, its borders and the major cities contained within. Included within the land of the tribe of Binyamin are twenty-four cities, including Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
Posted in Chapter 18, Summaries, Yehoshua - Joshua by Yaakov Ellis on May 14, 2007 | No Comments
Yehoshua 17 - Summary
(Text) - This chapter picks up where the previous one ended. Its main topic is the inheritance of the tribe of Menashe West of the Jordan river. After going through the main families that make up the tribe of Menashe (Aviezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Chefer and Shemidah) we are reintroduced to the family of Tzelafechad, the son of Hefer, who had five daughters (Machlah, Noah, Chaglag, Milkah and Tirtzah) but no sons. As we learned in Sefer Bamidbar (chapter 27), after Tzelafechad died, his daughters approached Moshe and received their father’s share of Eretz Yisrael. The daughters now approach Yehoshua and Elazar (who are carrying out the division of the land), ask for and receive their land, among the land given to the rest of the descendants of Menashe.
The borders and cities of the land belonging to the children of Yosef, Menashe and Efrayim, are listed. In some of the cities belonging to the children of Menashe, the Jews were unable to drive out the Canaanites who lived there (they eventually were able to impose a tax on these Canaanites who remained in their cities).
After the children of Yosef received their land, they complained to Yehoshua - their population was proportionately larger than that of other tribes, and they therefore wanted to know why they were receiving the same area of land as other tribes, and not a larger area commensurate with their number of people. Yehoshua responded that if they were too numerous for their land, that they should conquer some of the land inhabited by the Perrizim and Repha’im. The children of Yosef responded that these Canaanites (living in Beth-Shean and the Valley of Yizrael) had iron chariots (and would therefore be formidable foes in a war of conquest). Yehoshua responded by encouraging the children of Yosef - the people of the tribes of Menashe and Efrayim - that they were numerous and strong, and that they would be able to drive out the Canaanites, despite their iron chariots and strength.
Posted in Chapter 17, Summaries, Yehoshua - Joshua by Yaakov Ellis on March 21, 2007 | No Comments
Yehoshua 16 - Summary
(Text) - This chapter discusses the inheritance of the tribes of Joseph (Menashe and Efraim) located on West of the Jordan River. Borders are given for the overall land of both tribes, and then for the borders on all sides of Efraim. The chapter ends by noting that Efraim was not able to drive out the Canaanites that lived in the area of Gezer. These people remained in the area as servants, through the time when the book of Yehoshua was completed.
Posted in Chapter 16, Summaries, Yehoshua - Joshua by Yaakov Ellis on March 06, 2007 | 1 Comment
Yehoshua 15 - Summary
(Text) - This chapter is dediated to outlining the borders and the describing the land and cities inside the inheritance of the tribe of Yehuda.
The chapter starts out by describing the borders of Yehuda - The sea, wilderness of Tzin, Kadesh Barnea and river of Egypt in the South; The Dead Sea along the Eastern border; The Mediterranean along the West; The Northern border tracing its way across the landscape, cutting through Yerhushalayim, Beit Shemesh and Kiryat Ye’arim.
The middle of the chapter talks about how after Calev inherited the lands surrounding Hevron (see chapter 14), he drove out the three sons of the anak (giant) - Sheishai, Achiman and Talmai. He then offered his daughter Achsah as a wife for whomever could conquer the neighboring Kiryat Sefer. This turned out to be Calev’s brother: Otniel ben Kenaz.
The end of the chapter gives a listing of all the cities that were included within the land of Yehuda.
Posted in Chapter 15, Summaries, Yehoshua - Joshua by Yaakov Ellis on February 22, 2007 | No Comments
Yehoshua 14 - Summary
(Text) - The beginning of the chapter starts as an overall introduction to the division of land among the nine and ahalf tribes who will be inheriting land on the Western side of the Jordan (not including the two and a half tribes who inherited East of the Jordan River, or the tribe of Levi, but counting two tribes for Yossef - Menashe and Efrayim).
Before the actual division of the land can begin, Calev ben Yefuneh from the tribe of Yehudah approaches Yehoshua to discuss his situation. He recounts how when he had stood up against the spies forty years before, Moshe had sworn to him that he (Calev) would inherit the Land which he had seen. In fulfilment of this promise, Calev (who is now 85 years old) is given by Yehoshua the area around the city of Hevron (also known as Kiryat Arba).
Posted in Chapter 14, Summaries, Yehoshua - Joshua by Yaakov Ellis on February 21, 2007 | 1 Comment
Yehoshua 13 - Summary
(Text) - The chapter begins a number of years after the initial battles surrounding Bnei Yisrael’s entrance into Eretz Yisrael. God tells Yehoshua that he is old and that there still remains much land to be conquered. God then tells Yehoshua of the remaining nations and lands that are not yet under Jewish rule.
Having gone through the remaining lands, Yehoshua is commanded to divide the lands among the nine and a half tribes of Bnei Yisrael. He is commanded to divide among nine full tribes and half of Menashe because Reuven, Gad and half of Menashe have already received their portions East of the Jordan River, as promised to them during Moshe’s time.
The rest of the chapter goes through the borders of the inheritances of these two and a half tribes, located on the other side of Jordan. (The remaining tribe - Levi - does not receive an inheritance of Land because “God is their inheritance” as is stated in this perek and in the Torah).
Posted in Chapter 13, Summaries, Yehoshua - Joshua by Yaakov Ellis on February 19, 2007 | No Comments