Passage Study
Much Land Remains, Yet the Lord Assigns an Inheritance
Joshua 13:1–13:33
Joshua 13 opens when Joshua is old and much land remains to be possessed. The Lord names the territories still outstanding, promises to drive out their inhabitants, and commands Joshua to apportion the land by lot. The chapter then rehearses the eastern inheritance and repeatedly notes that Levi receives no territorial share because the Lord is its inheritance. It directs readers to Jesus, who gives a lasting inheritance and calls His people to receive God’s gifts without abandoning unfinished obedience.
- In this study
- 33 verses · 5 movements
Joshua 13
13:1Now Joshua was old and well advanced in years. The LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed.
13:2“This is the land that still remains: all the regions of the Philistines, and all the Geshurites;
13:3from the Shihor, which is before Egypt, even to the border of Ekron northward, which is counted as Canaanite; the five lords of the Philistines; the Gazites, and the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avvim,
13:4on the south; all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the border of the Amorites;
13:5and the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal Gad under Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath;
13:6all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim, even all the Sidonians. I will drive them out from before the children of Israel. Just allocate it to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you.
13:7Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
13:8With him the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them:
13:9from Aroer, that is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain of Medeba to Dibon;
13:10and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, to the border of the children of Ammon;
13:11and Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah;
13:12all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (who was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for Moses attacked these, and drove them out.
13:13Nevertheless the children of Israel didn’t drive out the Geshurites, nor the Maacathites: but Geshur and Maacath live within Israel to this day.
13:14Only he gave no inheritance to the tribe of Levi. The offerings of the LORD, the God of Israel, made by fire are his inheritance, as he spoke to him.
13:15Moses gave to the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their families.
13:16Their border was from Aroer, that is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain by Medeba;
13:17Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the plain; Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon,
13:18Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,
13:19Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar in the mount of the valley,
13:20Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth Jeshimoth,
13:21all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck with the chiefs of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land.
13:22The children of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, with the sword, among the rest of their slain.
13:23The border of the children of Reuben was the bank of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and its villages.
13:24Moses gave to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad, according to their families.
13:25Their border was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, to Aroer that is near Rabbah;
13:26and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir;
13:27and in the valley, Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, the Jordan’s bank, to the uttermost part of the sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan eastward.
13:28This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and its villages.
13:29Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh. It was for the half-tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families.
13:30Their border was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities.
13:31Half Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even for the half of the children of Machir according to their families.
13:32These are the inheritances which Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho, eastward.
13:33But Moses gave no inheritance to the tribe of Levi. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as he spoke to them.
CONTEXTUAL OVERVIEW
Joshua 13 changes pace from battle records to land distribution, but it begins with an honest assessment: Joshua is old, and much land remains. The statement guards against triumphalism. God’s promise is reliable, yet Israel has unfinished work and must receive the inheritance in the ordered way He commands.
The Lord’s response is not despair or withdrawal. He names the regions still to be possessed, promises to drive out their inhabitants, and tells Joshua to divide the land by lot. The book holds divine gift and human responsibility together: Israel inherits what God gives and must obey within the boundaries He assigns.
HISTORICAL AND LITERARY CONTEXT
The chapter looks back to the eastern land assigned by Moses to Reuben, Gad, and half Manasseh. Recalling those boundaries establishes continuity between Moses and Joshua and prepares for the fuller allotment account in the following chapters. It also notes failures, including the continued presence of the Geshurites and Maacathites and the execution of Balaam.
Levi’s lack of a territorial allotment is repeated because it is theologically important. The Levites receive cities and offerings rather than a tribal region; the Lord Himself is their inheritance. This arrangement is particular to Israel’s priestly order and should not be used to claim that Christian ministry workers automatically have the same land or economic pattern.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
- Much land remains · Joshua 13:1Joshua’s age and Israel’s unfinished task make dependence on the Lord’s promise necessary, not optional.
- Apportion it by lot · Joshua 13:14The inheritance is distributed as God’s gift rather than claimed by tribal competition.
- The Lord is Levi’s inheritance · Joshua 13:33Levi’s distinct portion keeps priestly service and worship bound to God Himself.
CHRIST IN THIS PASSAGE
Joshua 13’s allotments are real gifts within Israel’s covenant life, but they do not exhaust God’s promise. The New Testament speaks of an inheritance kept in heaven and of believers receiving it through union with Christ. The land’s boundaries and remaining conflicts prepare readers to long for a permanent inheritance no enemy or death can threaten.
Levi’s portion also provides a thematic echo: the deepest gift is God Himself. Jesus brings His people near to the Father, not merely toward material blessings. He calls believers to faithful labor in an unfinished world while resting their hope in the inheritance secured by His resurrection.
REFLECTION
“Much land remains” is an honest sentence for faithful people who have labored long. It acknowledges limits without making limits the final story. Joshua is not told to deny his age or pretend the work is easy; he is told to distribute what God promises and continue in the order God gives.
Bring your unfinished responsibilities to Jesus without shame or fantasy. Receive today’s assignment as a gift from Him, serve where He has placed you, and remember that your final inheritance is not a completed personal project but life with God through Christ.
Original Hebrew Word Study
Joshua 13:1
יָרַשׁ
yarash · H3423
Usually translated: to possess
Yarash means to possess. Much land remains, yet the Lord continues assigning inheritance, teaching Israel to receive His gift while completing the work He commands.
Follow the Scripture trail
Much Land Remains, Yet the Lord Assigns an Inheritance in the larger story
The connection: Joshua distributes a real land inheritance while unfinished work remains, and Levi’s portion reminds Israel that God Himself is the supreme gift. Jesus secures the imperishable inheritance of life with God and sends His people to faithful service until that hope is fully seen.
Respond to the passage
Name one unfinished responsibility that tempts you toward despair or self-reliance. Entrust it to Jesus, do the next faithful work He has given, and anchor your hope in the inheritance He has secured.
- Why does the Lord command allotment when much land remains?
- What does Levi’s different inheritance teach Israel about worship and possession?
- How does the New Testament’s inheritance language reshape our response to unfinished work?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, You are my lasting inheritance and living hope. Give me patience in unfinished work, faithfulness in the place You assign, and joy in belonging to the Father through You. Amen.