These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun.
Moses had already fixed the bounds of the country to be divided when Israel came into possession of Canaan. The apportioning of Canaan was committed to Joshua together with Eleazar the high priest. A prince or head from each tribe was appointed to share in the work of distribution and to attend to it alongside them. The location of each tribe was to be determined by lot. The division covered the whole land, both the parts already conquered and what was yet unsubdued.
The apportioning was a distinct work Joshua had to perform before relinquishing command instead of continuing the war. The tribe of Levi was exempt from receiving a tribal inheritance and was assigned cities instead. Levi was left out because it was devoted to sanctuary service, and forty-eight cities in different parts of the country were assigned to the Levites as their inheritance. The allotment did not complete the conquest, for each tribe had the duty to fully subdue its own inheritance, with the promise that if faithful to God and true to His covenant He would drive out their enemies from before them and give them still greater possessions.
Moses had already fixed the bounds of the country to be divided when Israel came into possession of Canaan. The apportioning of Canaan was committed to Joshua together with Eleazar the high priest. A prince or head from each tribe was appointed to share in the work of distribution and to attend to it alongside them. The location of each tribe was to be determined by lot. The division covered the whole land, both the parts already conquered and what was yet unsubdued.
The apportioning was a distinct work Joshua had to perform before relinquishing command instead of continuing the war. The tribe of Levi was exempt from receiving a tribal inheritance and was assigned cities instead. Levi was left out because it was devoted to sanctuary service, and forty-eight cities in different parts of the country were assigned to the Levites as their inheritance. The allotment did not complete the conquest, for each tribe had the duty to fully subdue its own inheritance, with the promise that if faithful to God and true to His covenant He would drive out their enemies from before them and give them still greater possessions.