The big picture
Joseph's descendants receive a shared territorial framework before Ephraim's boundaries are traced more closely. The arrangement already resists an overly simple tribal map. Ephraim possesses separate cities and villages inside Manasseh's inheritance, showing that local holdings can overlap broader tribal territories without being identical claims. Gezer then becomes the chapter's closing test case for the difference between allotted land and completed possession. Canaanites remain there among the Ephraimites, but not as an undefeated force beyond Israel's reach. They serve under tribute. That makes the failure more exact. Ephraim has enough power to impose control while stopping short of the commanded expulsion. The Book of Joshua therefore ends this portion of the allotment record on an unresolved note. Boundaries are real, inheritance is real, and practical dominance is real, yet obedience remains incomplete inside the very territory Ephraim has received.
Central truth
Joshua 13–19 records the promised land becoming named inheritances through boundaries, cities, surveys, lots, and lawful claims, while repeatedly acknowledging both land still to possess and individuals such as Caleb and Zelophehad’s daughters whose inheritances must be honored.
The study notes have a page of their own
The movement by movement analysis, the words to trace, the verse by verse notes and where readers differ are written for someone studying alone. They are on the Deep Personal Reflections page for this chapter. This page is the lesson.
A chapter-specific teaching brief
These anchors come from this chapter itself. They help a teacher use the Level 1 overview, the Level 2 study, and the Scripture text as one lesson.
Open with the chapter’s first image
Joshua 16:1: “And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho…”
Slow down at the turning point
Joshua 16:5: “And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth-addar…”
Keep this word trail visible
children, border, Beth, Ephraim, inheritance, Jericho
What to explain, in order
Teach the passage in this order. Each step names the verses it rests on, so every point can be shown in the text before it is applied.
Joshua 13:1-7
Old Joshua and land still to take
Start with the LORD's words to an old man. Read 13:1 and let it stand: the conquest is not complete, and Joshua will not finish it. Then show the list of what remains, Philistine cities, Lebanon, Sidonian land, and the promise of 13:6, "them will I drive out". Explain "by lot" as a sacred casting that left the decision to the LORD (Proverbs 16:33). Teach this first because it frames all seven chapters: the inheritance is distributed in faith, on the strength of a promise, including land not yet possessed.
Joshua 13:8-33
The east bank and the tribe with no land
Summarise the east bank allotment of Reuben, Gad and half Manasseh briefly with a map. Then underline the refrain that interrupts it, 13:14 and 13:33: Levi has no territory, because "the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance". Explain that the priests and Levites lived from the offerings and were spread through the tribes. Mention 13:13, the Geshurites who remained, and 13:22, Balaam's death. Teach this step to show that the allotment is not merely real estate; the tribe nearest to God receives God himself.
Joshua 14:1-15
Caleb asks for the mountain
Read Caleb's speech in full; it is the warmest passage in the section. Remind the class of Numbers 13 and 14, where Caleb and Joshua alone trusted the LORD. Explain "wholly followed", which appears three times (14:8, 9, 14), as following fully with nothing held back. Read his age and strength in verses 10 and 11, and his request in verse 12. Note that Hebron, the city he asks for, is where Abraham was buried. Teach Caleb here, at the head of the allotments, because he shows what receiving an inheritance in faith looks like.
Joshua 15:1-63
Judah's portion and a daughter's request
Do not read every boundary. Show Judah's territory on a map and pick out two scenes. First, Caleb takes Hebron and offers his daughter Achsah to whoever takes Debir; Othniel, later the first judge, does it (15:13-17). Then Achsah asks her father for springs of water and receives "the upper springs, and the nether springs" (15:19). Explain that a dry south land without water was useless. Then read 15:63, the Jebusites still in Jerusalem. Teach this to show that even the lists hold people, requests and honest gaps.
Joshua 16:1-17:18
Joseph's tribes and a complaint
Summarise Ephraim and Manasseh, then focus on three moments. Read 16:10 and 17:12-13: Canaanites remain and are put to tribute rather than driven out. Read 17:3-6, the daughters of Zelophehad, and name all five. Then read the complaint in 17:14-18: Joseph's tribes say they are "a great people" with too little land, and Joshua answers that if they are great they should clear the forest and face the iron chariots. Teach this so the class sees Joshua refusing to hand out easy land and calling a tribe to do its own work.
Joshua 18:1-10
Shiloh, slackness and a survey
Read 18:1, the tabernacle set up at Shiloh, and point out that the land is now said to be "subdued". Then read Joshua's rebuke: "How long are ye slack". Explain that seven tribes have lingered without claiming their portion. Show his solution: three men from each tribe, a survey written in a book, lots cast "before the LORD". Teach this here because it names a temptation the class will recognise: settling for comfort when there is a promise still to claim. It also shows that planning, writing and walking are part of faith.
Joshua 18:11-19:51
The last lots and the leader's share
Summarise the remaining allotments of Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan on the map. Note 19:9, Simeon within Judah, and 19:47, Dan seeking more land. Then read 19:49-51: Joshua receives his inheritance last, and the division is completed "in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation". Teach this last because the section ends where it should, before the LORD, with the leader taking his portion after everyone else. Close by connecting Caleb at the start and Joshua at the end, the two faithful spies.
Where learners get stuck
The misreadings this passage tends to produce, and how to answer each from the text.
"These chapters are just lists of borders and have nothing to say to us."
The lists are the LORD's promise to Abraham made concrete, tribe by tribe, city by city (14:1-2). They also contain some of the most human moments in the book: Caleb's request (14:6-12), Achsah's springs (15:18-19), Zelophehad's daughters (17:3-6), and Joshua's rebuke of slackness (18:3). The detail shows that God's promises land in real places for real families. Teachers can choose a few scenes and let the map carry the rest.
"Israel took the whole land, so these lists are describing territory fully under their control."
The section begins with "there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed" (13:1) and keeps reporting what remained: the Geshurites (13:13), the Jebusites in Jerusalem (15:63), the Canaanites in Gezer (16:10) and in Manasseh's cities (17:12). The allotments assign territory; possession is still to be worked out. Judges 1 continues the account. The lists are a charter of inheritance, not a report of completed occupation.
"The Levites were left out and treated unfairly."
Twice the text gives the reason: "the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance" (13:14) and "the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance" (13:33). In 18:7, "the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance." Chapter 21 will give them forty eight cities across all the tribes. Their portion is not smaller but different; they are scattered so that every tribe has those who teach the law among them.
"The daughters of Zelophehad were demanding something the law did not allow."
They appeal to a ruling already given: "The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren" (17:4). In Numbers 27:1-11 the LORD himself said "The daughters of Zelophehad speak right". Joshua and Eleazar honour it "according to the commandment of the LORD". The text presents their request as faithfulness to God's word, and the Book of Joshua takes care to record each of their names.
Learning objectives
- Explain why the allotment section begins with the surprising statement that Joshua is old and much land still remains to be possessed.
- Distinguish the eastern inheritances already given by Moses from the western allotments made under Joshua and Eleazar.
- Trace Caleb’s request for Hebron from the promise made during the spy episode to the grant in Joshua 14.
- Identify the major sequence of western tribal allotments from Judah and Joseph’s descendants to the seven tribes surveyed from Shiloh.
- Explain why the daughters of Zelophehad receive an inheritance among Manasseh in Joshua 17.
- Describe how Joshua himself receives Timnathserah only after the tribal distributions are completed.
Teacher preparation
- Bring a clear tribal-allotment map.
- Read Numbers 13–14, Numbers 27:1–11, and Numbers 36:1–12.
- Mark every statement that the Levites receive no territorial inheritance, including Joshua 13:14, 13:33, and 18:7.
- Note the unresolved possession statements: for example, Judah does not drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem in 15:63, and Ephraim does not drive out the Canaanites in Gezer in 16:10.
- Mark Joshua 18:1–10.
Evidence and interpretation checks
Explicit
Joshua 13:1 explicitly says much land remains to be possessed.
Scripture-supported
Numbers 14:24 and Deuteronomy 1:34–36 support Caleb’s promised inheritance, while Numbers 27:1–11 establishes the inheritance ruling later applied to Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah in Joshua 17.
Strong inference
The laborious boundaries and city lists show that “land” is becoming administratively real.
Possible or traditional reading
Many ancient place-names and boundary points have debated modern identifications.
Limit
These chapters do not say every allotted district is immediately controlled.
Discussion with answer guidance
1. Why is Joshua 13:1 an intentionally awkward opening for an allotment section?
What a good answer contains
Because it opens the division of the land with an admission: "Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed" (13:1). The LORD lists the territory still unconquered (13:2-6), then promises "them will I drive out", and tells Joshua to divide it anyway: "only divide thou it by lot" (13:6). A good answer sees that the allotment is an act of faith, giving tribes land they do not yet hold. A weak answer reads 13:1 as a failure and misses the promise that follows.
Show teacher guidance
It says Joshua is old and much land remains to be possessed.
2. What makes Caleb’s request in Joshua 14:6–12 more than an elderly soldier asking for a favorite hill?
What a good answer contains
He appeals to a promise made forty five years earlier. At Kadesh-barnea he "brought him word again as it was in mine heart" and "wholly followed the LORD my God" (14:7-8), and Moses swore that the land his feet had trodden would be his (14:9). Now at eighty five he asks for the hardest ground: "give me this mountain", where the Anakim and great fenced cities were (14:12). A good answer sees that he asks for a fight, not a retirement, and that his confidence rests on "if so be the LORD will be with me".
Show teacher guidance
He appeals to the word spoken through Moses after the spy mission, notes that he was forty then and eighty-five now, and asks for the mountain that had been promised because he wholly followed the LORD.
3. What unresolved population issue appears at the end of Judah’s allotment in Joshua 15:63?
What a good answer contains
"As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day" (15:63). A good answer notices that the largest tribe, given the largest portion, fails at the city that will become David's capital, which he takes in 2 Samuel 5:6-7. It also notices the Book of Joshua's honesty: it records the gap at the end of a triumphant list. A weak answer misses that this sets a pattern repeated in 16:10 and 17:12.
Show teacher guidance
Judah cannot drive out the Jebusites inhabiting Jerusalem, and the verse says they dwell there with Judah unto this day.
4. Why do Zelophehad’s daughters appear in Joshua 17:3–6, and what are their names?
What a good answer contains
Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah (17:3). Their father Zelophehad "had no sons, but daughters", and they come before Eleazar, Joshua and the princes saying, "The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren" (17:4). That command is in Numbers 27:1-11. A good answer sees that they hold Israel's leaders to a ruling already given, and the leaders honour it. A weak answer misses that the Book of Joshua names all five women in a list otherwise dominated by men and boundaries.
Show teacher guidance
Their father has no sons, and they appeal to the command the LORD gave Moses.
5. What administrative problem is addressed at Shiloh in Joshua 18:1–10?
What a good answer contains
The problem is stated plainly: "there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance" (18:2). Joshua asks, "How long are ye slack to go to possess the land" (18:3), and sends three men from each tribe to walk the land and write it "by cities into seven parts in a book" (18:9). Then he casts lots "before the LORD in Shiloh" (18:10). A good answer sees that a survey and a book are part of faithfulness. A weak answer misses the rebuke of slackness.
Show teacher guidance
Seven tribes have not yet received their inheritance.
6. When does Joshua receive his own inheritance, and what does that ordering suggest?
What a good answer contains
Last: "When they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts, the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them" (19:49), and it is a modest city in Ephraim that he builds himself (19:50). Moses was denied the land; Joshua receives his share only after every tribe has received theirs. A good answer sees the leader serving the people before himself, and notices that Caleb and Joshua, the two faithful spies, frame the allotments, Caleb near the start and Joshua at the end. A weak answer gives the place without the order.
Show teacher guidance
Joshua 19:49–50 places his grant after the tribal allotments.
Responsible application
Heart and habits
Compare broad promise language with the painstaking boundary work in these chapters.
Relationships and community
Examine the cases of Caleb, Zelophehad’s daughters, and the seven unassigned tribes.
Do not confuse assigned with possessed
Place Joshua 13:1, 15:63, and 16:10 beside the allotment lists.
Session plans
Two timings of the same lesson. The shorter keeps the reading, the central discussion and one response; the longer gives the confusions and the application their own time.
45 minutes
Old Joshua
Read 13:1-7. Take question one and explain casting lots.
Caleb's mountain
Read 14:6-15. Take question two. Underline wholly followed each time it appears.
Judah and Jerusalem
Read 15:13-19 and 15:63. Take question three and the second confusion.
Five daughters
Read 17:3-6. Take question four and the fourth confusion.
Shiloh and the last share
Read 18:1-10 and 19:49-51. Take questions five and six.
Close
Hand out the sheet, read 14:8 together, and pray.
90 minutes
A map
Show a tribal map of Israel. Ask the class what they notice, and explain that the next hour covers seven chapters.
Old Joshua and land remaining
Read 13:1-7 and Proverbs 16:33. Take question one and the second confusion.
The tribe with no land
Read 13:14, 13:33 and 18:7. Work through the third confusion.
Caleb
Read Numbers 14:6-9 and 14:24, then Joshua 14:6-15. Take question two.
Judah and Achsah
Read 15:13-19 and 15:63. Take question three. Talk about Achsah's bold request.
Joseph's tribes
Read 17:3-6 and 17:14-18. Take question four and the fourth confusion. Discuss Joshua's answer to the complaint.
Slackness and survey
Read 18:1-10 and 19:49-51. Take questions five and six.
Application
Complete the do not confuse assigned with possessed application from the plan, and work through the first confusion.
Close
Read the key verse together and pray for wholehearted faith.
Adapting the lesson
Children
Make a large floor map from paper with twelve spaces and let each child pick a tribe name from a bag, as Israel cast lots. Then tell about Caleb, who was eighty five and still strong, asking for the mountain with giants on it because he trusted God. Act out Achsah asking for springs of water. Keep it to these scenes and let the map do the rest.
Youth
Use Caleb to challenge the idea that faith is for when you are young and then you settle down. Read 14:10-12 and ask what it would mean to still be asking for a mountain at eighty five. Then read 18:3, "How long are ye slack", and ask what they are putting off. Point out Achsah and the daughters of Zelophehad as young women who asked boldly and were heard.
Adults
Adults can handle the map and the structure: Caleb at the start, Joshua at the end, and the honest notes of land not taken. Discuss Caleb's long faithfulness and the waiting between promise and possession. Explore the inheritance of the Levites as a picture of God as one's portion (Psalm 16:5). Ask where the group has received a promise but not yet taken possession of it.
One to one
Read Caleb's words in 14:6-12 together and ask the person whether there is a promise or calling they have been waiting a long time to see. Let Caleb's patience encourage them. If they are older, let his strength at eighty five speak to them. Then read 18:3 gently and ask if there is anything they have been slack to take up.
Song and video learning lab
A song or video may interpret, compress, or dramatize the text. Its value becomes clearer when its choices are compared with Scripture.
- Before the media: the exact passage and its central movement.
- During the media: the words, people, events, and emotions the artist emphasizes.
- After the media: what it clarifies, what it leaves out, and what belongs back in the biblical text.
Handout
One page for learners to take home. The print button prints this section alone.
Joshua 13:1–19:51
The passage in brief
Joshua is now old, and much land is still to be taken, but the LORD tells him to divide it among the tribes by lot. Caleb, who trusted God forty five years earlier, asks at eighty five for the hill country of Hebron, where giants lived, and receives it. The daughters of Zelophehad ask for the inheritance God promised them and are given it. At Shiloh, Joshua sends men to map the rest of the land, and the last seven tribes receive their share. Joshua receives his own inheritance last.
A verse to keep
Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the LORD my God.
Joshua 14:8 · King James Version
Questions to take home
What did Caleb ask for at eighty five, and why did he think he could take it (14:10-12)?
Why did the tribe of Levi not receive land (13:33)?
What did Joshua say to the seven tribes who had not yet claimed their land (18:3)?
This week
Name one thing God has called you to that you have been slow to take up, and take one step toward it this week.
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
