Numbers 26:55
Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.
The land was to be divided by lot according to the names of the tribes of their fathers, under God's direction. The allotment by tribe and family gave every family a home on the land and sufficient ground to cultivate. Distribution by lot kept anyone from selecting the best portions for themselves and helped prevent any one person from accumulating the land.
The inheritance was not to be traded for profit or sold permanently. Poverty might compel a sale, but the land could be redeemed by the owner himself or by a relative, and if not redeemed it returned to its original family at the Jubilee. These safeguards gave the poor and unfortunate an equal chance to retain their home and land. This arrangement supplied both the means and the incentive for a useful, industrious, self-supporting life.