Joshua 13:1-7 meaning

In Joshua 13:1-7, the Lord speaks to Joshua in his old age, because much of the Promised Land has not been conquered.

Joshua 12 summarized Israel's conquests after the people wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Under Moses, they conquered the land east of the Jordan River by defeating King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan (Joshua 12:1-6). Then, under Joshua, the Israelites miraculously crossed over to the land of Canaan. They destroyed many cities and slaughtered thirty-one kings in total (Joshua 12:7-24).

The chosen people successfully won the victory because the LORD their God was with them. As the great warrior, He fought for His vassals to give them the title of the land of Canaan, thus fulfilling His promises to Abraham (Genesis 17:8). The Israelites had a massive military campaign in the land of Canaan (See Map), culminating in the defeat of the thirty-one kings (Joshua 12).

Although the Israelite army could rest, once the people could dwell securely in the Promised Land, the individual tribes still had much territory to take for themselves. Hebrews 4:8 points out that the rest that came under Joshua was a foreshadowing of the true rest that will come in the messianic era under Jesus (Yeshua). Thus, Joshua 13 begins with a description of the remaining Canaanite land that Joshua was to conquer and divide among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh (v 7). It ends with an explanation of the allotment that Moses had granted to the two-and-a-half tribes on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

The text begins by telling the reader about the physical condition of the Israelite leader: Now Joshua was old and advanced in years (v 1). It is difficult to know precisely how old Joshua was at the time of the conquest. He was "a young man" when he began to work alongside Moses (Exodus 33:11). He and Caleb were the only two Israelite men from the first generation after the exodus who entered Canaan because they trusted God (Numbers 14:38). All the men "from twenty years and upward" died during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness because they grumbled and rebelled against God, fearful of the negative report from the other spies, who discouraged the people from entering the Promised Land (Numbers 13:32, 14:29).

Thus, when Moses died, Joshua led the people across the Jordan River. He "waged war" with the Canaanites for "a long time" and conquered their land (Joshua 11:18). Since he died at the age of 110, he was probably about 100 when the war concluded (Joshua 24:29).

Although the Israelite leader was very old, the LORD spoke to him to give him additional instructions regarding the campaign in the west. God said to Joshua: "You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed" (v 1).

When God first commissioned Joshua, He charged him to lead the Israelites across the Jordan to the Promised Land and to give them "possession of the land" (Joshua 1:2-6). Joshua courageously fought several battles and defeated his foes.

The LORD specified the unconquered land from south to north. The first southern portion begins with all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the Geshurites (v 2). The Philistines were an aggressive people who many scholars believe were Minoans, who originated from Crete, and established a permanent colony on the coast of Canaan. For the most part, they were hostile to the Israelites (Ezekiel 25:15-17). The Geshurites lived in southwestern Canaan, bordering Philistia (1 Samuel 27:8).

The southern region extended from the Shihor, east of Egypt, even as far as the border of Ekron to the north. It is counted as Canaanite (v 3). The term Shihor is an Egyptian loanword meaning "river." It indicates the boundary between Canaan and Egypt. Ekron was the northernmost of the five major cities of Philistia. Also, the territory that Joshua was to conquer included the five lords of the Philistines: the Gazite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, and the Ekronite (v 3).

The term for lord here (Hebrew, "seren") is a foreign loanword related to the Greek word "turannos," meaning "tyrant." It is used exclusively in the Bible to refer to the Philistine rulers. Each king in the land of Canaan governed a city-state and retained autonomous control of it (1 Samuel 27:5-7). However, they worked in unison in times of national emergencies (Judges 16:5). Together, the five cities formed the Philistine pentapolis. Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon were on the Mediterranean coast, while Gath and Ekron were a few miles inland. In addition to the Philistine region, the Israelites were to conquer the Avvite to the south, a people group who dwelt "in villages as far as Gaza" (Deuteronomy 2:23).

The second portion of the remaining territory was in the northern region. It encompassed all the land of the Canaanite, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, as far as Aphek, to the border of the Amorite (v 4). Mearah was north of Sidon. The Phoenician city named Sidon was on the fertile plain between the mountains of Lebanon and the Mediterranean (see map). Sidon, who presumably settled the city which would take his name, was the firstborn son of Noah's grandson, Canaan (Genesis 10:15). The city-state Sidon is often mentioned with its close neighbor Tyre (Jeremiah 47:4, Zechariah 9:2, Matthew 11:21, 15:21, Luke 10:14). Tyre and Sidon exist to this day and are inhabited, making them both some of the oldest cities in the world still populated.

Aphek was 40 miles north of Sidon. It is not the same as the one mentioned in Joshua 12:18. The region of the Amorite here represents the kingdom of the Amurru people, which existed between 1550 and 1200 BC.

The unconquered areas in the northern region reached the land of the Gebalite, a port city known as Byblos, about 45 miles north of Sidon (v 5). In addition to the land of the Gebalite, all of Lebanon toward the east (v 5) remained to be conquered. Lebanon was the inland mountain range, north of Israel, known for its natural resources and beauty (Hosea 14:5). Moreover, the land that Joshua was to conquer extended from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon as far as Lebo-hamath (v 5). Baal-gad was in the region of Laish, a beautiful and lush area in the valley of Lebanon. Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in ancient Israel. It marked the northern boundaries of the Promised Land. Lebo-hamath was at the eastern edge of the Valley of Lebanon (Numbers 13:21, Judges 3:3).

The LORD reiterated His plan to give Israel victory over the geographic city-state of Sidon. He spoke in the first person "I" to address Joshua directly. In the Hebrew text, the pronoun "I" is emphatic to show that God was the one who would dispossess the enemy to grant the land to His covenant people as an inheritance. He stated, All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon as far as Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, I will drive them out from before the sons of Israel (v 6).

The place called Misrephoth-maim was on the south border of Sidon. God vowed to drive out all the Sidonians from before the Israelites so they could occupy the land. That is why, He said to Joshua, "Only allot it to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you" (v 6). The Israelites did not need to fight for these unconquered areas. Though because the Israelites did not totally eliminate the Canaanites, there would continue to be wars and fighting until King David would usher in a time of peace and rest that continued under his son, King Solomon (2 Samuel 7:1).  The LORD their God would grant the land to them. Joshua simply needed to trust God and act upon His promises.

Therefore, God told the Israelite leader to apportion this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh (v 7). Since Moses had already given the eastern tribes their portion of land, Joshua was to distribute the land west of the Jordan River to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh (v 7). God would ensure that each tribe received a proportionate share because He is impartial and righteous in all His ways. He would give His covenant people a place of rest.

As far back as Genesis 15:18-21, God laid out the extent of the covenant boundaries to Abraham, and Joshua and the Israelites had yet to possess its entirety. God had warned them this would be an incremental process, not a single conquest in one fell swoop (Exodus 23:29-30, Deuteronomy 7:22). By the time of Joshua's death, there would remain territories to posess (Joshua 23:1-5). Ultimately, the Israelites would not conquer the entirety of the lands God promised, and the nations which remained would create an ongoing cycle of corruption into idolatry and sin (Judges 3:1-4).