BibleProject | One Story That Leads to JesusSample

With most of Canaan conquered, it’s time for Israel to settle into the rest of the land. This section’s long, long list of strange names and places feels boring, even confusing. It’s like trying to understand a map made of words but no diagrams or lines.

But to the Israelites, the details in this section of Joshua offer a concrete reminder of Yahweh’s faithfulness to real people in the real world. God promised to provide land, not just to Israel in general, but to specific individuals like Caleb and the daughters of Zelophehad. In today’s reading, God delivers.

The boundary lines described in this section are not geographic factoids. They represent a necessary change for the wandering community. In their world, owning land means ongoing life, so taking all or part of a neighbor’s land could be devastating for generations to come. These boundaries work to recall God’s great blessing (the gift of land) and to nourish everyone’s lives.

God kept his promises about the land. Will the Israelites keep theirs? Peppered throughout this section are subtle hints that Israel is not following God’s instruction to drive out all the Canaanites, casting an uneasy shadow over Israel’s future. For now, the end of war brings rest to Israel and to the land they call home.

Reflection Questions

• After 400 years of slavery and 40 years of wandering, the people finally have a place to call home. How do you think this homecoming impacted their trust in Yahweh’s promises? What emotions might the people feel after conquering the land?
• Joshua 15:13-16 describes Caleb’s battle with the Canaanites living in Hebron and Debir. According to Joshua 10:36-38, what happened to the inhabitants of those cities in Joshua’s earlier campaign? What does this tell you about the language of Joshua 10-12?