@Jos 13:1-33. BOUNDS OF THE LAND NOT YET CONQUERED.
1. Now Joshua was old and stricken in years--He was probably above a hundred years old; for the conquest and survey of the land occupied about seven years, the partition one; and he died at the age of one hundred ten years (@Jos 24:29). The distribution, as well as the conquest of the land, was included in the mission of Joshua; and his advanced age supplied a special reason for entering on the immediate discharge of that duty; namely, of allocating Canaan among the tribes of Israel--not only the parts already won, but those also which were still to be conquered.
2-6. This is the land that yet remaineth--that is, to be acquired. This section forms a parenthesis, in which the historian briefly notices the districts yet unsubdued; namely, first, the whole country of the Philistines--a narrow tract stretching about sixty miles along the Mediterranean coast, and that of the Geshurites to the south of it (@1Sa 27:8). Both included that portion of the country "from Sihor, which is before Egypt," a small brook near El-Arish, which on the east was the southern boundary of Canaan, to Ekron, the most northerly of the five chief lordships or principalities of the Philistines.
3, 4. also the Avites: From [on] the south--The two clauses are thus connected in the Septuagint and many other versions. On being driven out (@De 2:23), they established themselves in the south of Philistia. The second division of the unconquered country comprised
4. all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah--("the cave")
that is beside the Sidonians--a mountainous region of Upper Galilee,
remarkable for its caves and fastnesses.
unto Aphek--now Afka; eastward, in Lebanon.
to the borders of the Amorites--a portion of the northeastern territory
that had belonged to Og.The third district that remained unsubdued:
5. all the land of the Giblites--Their capital was Gebal or Bylbos
(Greek), on the Mediterranean, forty miles north of Sidon.
all Lebanon, toward the sunrising--that is, Anti-libanus; the eastern
ridge, which has its proper termination in Hermon.
entering into Hamath--the valley of Baalbec.
6, 7. All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto
Misrephoth-main--(See on Jos 11:8)--that
is, "all the Sidonians and Phoenicians."
them will I drive out--The fulfilment of this promise was conditional.
In the event of the Israelites proving unfaithful or disobedient, they
would not subdue the districts now specified; and, in point of fact,
the Israelites never possessed them though the inhabitants were
subjected to the power of David and Solomon.
only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance--The
parenthetic section being closed, the historian here resumes the main
subject of this chapter--the order of God to Joshua to make an
immediate allotment of the land. The method of distribution by lot was,
in all respects, the best that could have been adopted, as it prevented
all ground of discontent, as well as charges of arbitrary or partial
conduct on the part of the leaders; and its announcement in the life of
Moses (@Nu 33:54), as the system according to which the allocations
to each tribe should be made, was intended to lead the people to the
acknowledgment of God as the proprietor of the land and as having the
entire right to its disposal. Moreover, a solemn appeal to the lot
showed it to be the dictate not of human, but divine, wisdom. It was
used, however, only in determining the part of the country where a
tribe was to be settled--the extent of the settlement was to be decided
on a different principle (@Nu 26:54). The overruling control of God
is conclusively proved because each tribe received the possession
predicted by Jacob (@Ge 49:3-28) and by Moses
(@De 33:6-25).
8. With whom--Hebrew, "him." The antecedent is evidently to Manasseh, not, however, the half-tribe just mentioned, but the other half; for the historian, led, as it were, by the sound of the word, breaks off to describe the possessions beyond Jordan already assigned to Reuben, Gad, and the half of Manasseh (see on Nu 32:1; Nu 32:33; also see @De 3:8-17). It may be proper to remark that it was wise to put these boundaries on record. In case of any misunderstanding or dispute arising about the exact limits of each district or property, an appeal could always be made to this authoritative document, and a full knowledge as well as grateful sense obtained of what they had received from God (@Ps 16:5,6).