Joshua 14:1-5 meaning
In Joshua 14:1-5, the division of the land west of the Jordan River begins.
Previously, the Israelites led a successful campaign in the land of Canaan, destroying Jericho and capturing it (Joshua 6). Then, after an initial attempt, they attacked Ai, east of Bethel, and defeated it (Joshua 8). Turning south, they fought against a coalition of five Canaanite kings: Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, who attacked the Hivites in Gibeon for allying with Israel. They also destroyed the northern Canaanite towns (Joshua 10:1 - 12:24). After breaking the major Canaanite powers, Joshua assigned land to the nine and one-half tribes, as Moses had done for the two and one-half eastern tribes (Joshua 13).
Now the remaining allotments are determined:
These are the territories, which the sons of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan (v 1). The verb inherit (Hebrew "nāḥal") refers to an allotted portion of land granted to someone, a property inherited by descendants. This definition reminds us that the land of Canaan was a gift to the Israelites, a promise rooted in God's covenant with Abraham (Genesis 13). The people occupied the land by conquest, but the LORD fought on their behalf and orchestrated all the events to give them victory over their foes.
God selected leaders among Israel to distribute the land to the people: Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of the sons of Israel apportioned to them for an inheritance (v 1). Eleazar was the son of Aaron. When his father died, he "served as priest in his place" (Deuteronomy 10:6). God had named Eleazar and Joshua for this task before Israel crossed the Jordan and had told Moses to add one leader from every tribe (Numbers 34:17-18).
The Biblical text reminds the reader that Joshua was the son of Nun. We know virtually nothing about Nun, except that he descended from the tribe of Ephraim (1 Chronicles 7:20-27). The mention of Joshua's father here was to identify him as the successor of Moses. He was "filled with the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him" (Deuteronomy 34:9). Thus, as the general of the Israelite army, Joshua supervised the land distribution along with Eleazar and the heads of the families of the tribes.
The people’s inheritance was by lot (v 2). A lot casting was a sacred act. The Israelites knew that the LORD holds the fate of human beings in His hands and often reveals His will through the casting of lots. For this reason, they employed this method to discern God's will and receive His final answer on the matter. As the text in Proverbs puts it, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Proverbs 16:33). In Joshua, the drawing of lots was to show that the LORD alone would undertake the task of distributing and allotting the land of Canaan, as He commanded through Moses (Numbers 34:13).
The lot settled where each tribe would live; the census settled how much each tribe received. God had told Moses, "To the larger group you shall increase their inheritance, and to the smaller group you shall diminish their inheritance," and in the same breath, "the land shall be divided by lot" (Numbers 26:54-55). God chose the place, and the size matched the people. This kept a strong tribe from grabbing the best ground and a small tribe from being crowded out.
The drawing or casting of lots was a technique Israel would use for generations to discern God's will (Leviticus 16:8, Joshua 18:6, 1 Samuel 14:42). Even the eleven apostles implemented this method to discern who should take Judas's place as the twelfth; they did the best they could in nominating candidates who had each followed Jesus throughout His ministry, but when it came to choosing, they left this to God (Acts 1:21-26). The lot casting was not a matter of chance; God was in control of it to ensure each tribe received a proportionate share.
The land distribution was for the nine tribes and the half-tribe, for Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan (v 3). The phrase beyond the Jordan refers to the land on the east side of the Jordan River. It has a mountainous terrain and fertile valleys. When the Israelites left the wilderness and arrived near the Jordan, they subdued the kings there and captured their land. Then, Moses assigned the enemy’s land to the eastern tribes (the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh), per their request.
Although two-and-a-half tribes received their land in Transjordan, their armed men were to leave their wives and children to help the remaining tribes conquer the western side before settling into their land (Numbers 32:28-33). Since they consented to help their fellow brothers, Moses distributed the eastern land to them. But he did not give an inheritance to the Levites among them (v 3).
The Levites descended from the man named Levi, a son of Jacob/Israel (Genesis 29:34, Deuteronomy 33:8). Aaron was a descendent of Levi. The sons of Aaron served as priests (Numbers 18:7), and the rest of the Levites assisted them and served the tabernacle (Numbers 3:6-7).
The priests were called to serve before the LORD, offering sacrifices to Him on behalf of the people. They were the ones carrying "the ark of the covenant of the LORD" when the Israelites traveled or when they needed to move the ark for some other purposes (Deuteronomy 10:8, 31:9). The Levites also pronounced the priestly benediction upon the people (Numbers 6:24-26; Deuteronomy 10:8). They had the greatest responsibility for ministering before the LORD and leading the other tribes in righteousness and truth. Their duties were so important that they received no allotment of land, per se. As a result, Joshua and the Israelite leaders were to assign land to the nine tribes and the half-tribe, for the sons of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim (v 4).
Joseph was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Before Jacob died, he adopted Joseph's oldest sons (Ephraim and Manasseh) as his children. Through this act, the tribe of Joseph became two distinct tribes of Israel. Hence, he received a double portion of the land inheritance, as Jacob predicted when he pronounced a blessing upon Joseph (Genesis 48:21-22).
However, the leaders of Israel did not give a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities to live in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their property (v 4). In other words, the Levites received towns and pasturelands, not territories, since they were to focus on their religious duties rather than spending time farming or ranching. Thus, the sons of Israel did just as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they divided the land (v 5). They obeyed the divine command and were faithful to its terms.
The note about Levi explains why the count still comes to twelve. Joseph's line counted as two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, which filled the slot Levi left empty. Levi's portion was the LORD Himself: "I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel" (Numbers 18:20). King David later prayed about his own life in the same words: "The LORD is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot" (Psalm 16:5).