Commentary - Joshua 18:11-28

Bird's-eye view

At first glance, this passage appears to be little more than the minutes from a county zoning meeting. We have borders, cities, and landmarks, a text that seems designed to make our eyes glaze over. But we must not read the Bible like modern gnostics, as though God is only interested in ethereal spiritual principles. God is the God of creation, the God of dirt and rivers and rocks. The Incarnation settled that question for good. This passage is about a real, tangible inheritance given by God to a real people. It is a divine property deed. Specifically, it is the deed for Benjamin, the smallest tribe, whose inheritance is strategically and precariously wedged between the two great powers of Israel: Judah to the south and the house of Joseph (Ephraim) to the north. This geographical fact would shape Benjamin's entire tumultuous history. Furthermore, within this small plot of land lie some of the most significant and blood-soaked sites in all of Scripture, including Jericho, Bethel, Gibeah, and most importantly, the city of Jerusalem. This is not just a land grant; it is the setting of a stage for centuries of redemptive history to come.

The central lesson is that God's promises are concrete. He doesn't promise us a vague, fuzzy feeling in our hearts. He promises a kingdom, a city, a renewed creation. The allotment to Benjamin, with all its specificity, is a down payment on the ultimate promise that the meek will inherit the earth. And like Benjamin's inheritance, which included cities still occupied by the enemy, our inheritance in Christ is both a present reality and a future prize that must be seized by faith and battle.

Outline

Context In Joshua

This section of Joshua marks a transition in the life of Israel. The initial, large-scale campaigns of conquest under Joshua's unified command are largely complete. The Tabernacle, the center of Israel's worship, has been established at Shiloh (Josh 18:1). Now the task is to formally survey and distribute the remaining land to the seven tribes that had not yet received their inheritance. The casting of lots at the door of the Tabernacle underscores that this is not a political negotiation or a land grab. It is a sacred act, superintended by God Himself, to give His people their appointed place. The detailed nature of these chapters demonstrates the orderly and deliberate fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham. God promised a specific land, and now He is delivering it, piece by piece, to Abraham's descendants.

Key Issues

The Wolf's Lair

In his final blessing, Jacob prophesied that "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf; in the morning he devours the prey, and at evening he divides the spoil" (Gen 49:27). This was a tribe of fierce warriors, and God gave them a territory that would require every bit of that ferocity. It was a borderland, a buffer state, a place of constant friction. But it was also the place God would choose to place His name. Our God is not a tame God, and He often works out His greatest purposes in the most contested and dangerous of places. This description of Benjamin's inheritance is not a dry list of coordinates; it is the marking out of the wolf's lair, the territory from which some of Israel's greatest triumphs and most horrific tragedies would spring.

Verse by Verse Commentary

11 Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot lay between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.

The process begins with the casting of the lot, a method used to discern God's will, removing the decision from the realm of human politics and favoritism. The result is immediately significant. Benjamin is placed right in the middle, between Judah and Joseph (represented by Ephraim). This is the fault line of Israelite history. Judah, the tribe of the scepter and the line of David, and Ephraim, the proud and powerful leader of the northern tribes. Benjamin is the hinge, the buffer zone. When the kingdom eventually splits, Benjamin will be torn, but will ultimately side with Judah, preserving the city of Jerusalem for the Davidic king. Their geographical lot determined their historical destiny.

12-14 And their border on the north side was from the Jordan; then the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north and went up through the hill country westward, and it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. From there the border passed on to Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel) southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, near the hill which lies on the south of lower Beth-horon. Then the border curved from there and turned round on the west side southward, from the hill which lies before Beth-horon southward; and it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the west side.

The surveyors get to work. The northern border starts at the Jordan and includes Jericho, the site of Israel's first great victory, a constant reminder of God's power to give what He has promised. It moves west through the hill country, passing by Bethel, the "house of God," a place of sacred memory from the patriarchs that would later become a center of idolatry under Jeroboam. The western border is established, ending at Kiriath-jearim, a city that would one day host the Ark of the Covenant for twenty years. Every landmark in this list is saturated with meaning and future significance. God is not just drawing lines on a map; He is weaving a story.

15-19 Then the south side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went out westward and went out to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah. Then the border went down to the edge of the hill which is in the valley of Ben-hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel. Then it curved northward and went out to En-shemesh and went out to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. Then it continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward and went down to the Arabah. And the border passed on to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the south border.

The southern border is particularly noteworthy. It runs along the Valley of Ben-hinnom. This valley, just south of Jerusalem, would later become a place of horrific child sacrifice to the pagan god Molech. Because of this, its name in Aramaic, Gehenna, became the New Testament word for hell. Benjamin's inheritance borders the very picture of hell. This is a spiritually contested piece of property. The border is drawn right up to the "slope of the Jebusite," which is Jerusalem itself, a city they have been allotted but do not yet fully possess. The border ends at the Salt Sea, a place of death and judgment.

20 Moreover, the Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin, according to their families and according to its borders all around.

The eastern border is the Jordan River, the boundary they miraculously crossed to enter the land. It serves as a permanent memorial of God's faithfulness. The summary statement concludes the survey. God has given them a clearly defined inheritance. These are their lines. This is their home. This is the place where they are to live out their covenant faithfulness to God.

21-24 Now the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho and Beth-hoglah and Emek-keziz, and Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Bethel, and Avvim and Parah and Ophrah, and Chephar-ammoni and Ophni and Geba; twelve cities with their villages.

The text now moves from boundaries to inventory. God's provision is not just a tract of undeveloped land; it includes cities. He is giving them homes, infrastructure, and established places to live. Again, we see Jericho and Bethel listed. These are not just geographical points but centers of community life. God settles His people in communities, not as isolated individuals.

25-28 Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth, and Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah, and Rekem and Irpeel and Taralah, and Zelah, Haeleph and the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin according to their families.

This second list of cities contains some of the most explosive names in Israel's history. Gibeon, the city that deceived Israel into a covenant God would still honor. Ramah, the future home of the prophet Samuel. Mizpeh, a place of national repentance and assembly. And then the two most significant: Jerusalem and Gibeah. Gibeah would become the capital of Israel's first king, Saul the Benjamite, but it would also be the site of the atrocious crime in Judges 19 that led to a brutal civil war and the near annihilation of the tribe of Benjamin. And then there is Jerusalem, identified here as the city of the Jebusites. It is listed as part of Benjamin's inheritance, but the parenthetical note reminds us that it is still enemy territory. The greatest prize in their lot is a city they must still conquer. This is the principle of faith in action. God gives the title deed, but His people must move in and take possession.

Application

First, we must learn to see the world as God does. He is not a God of abstractions. He is the God of real estate, of property lines, of cities and towns. Our faith must therefore be an earthy faith, one that applies to our physical lives, our homes, our work, and our communities. The doctrine of the Incarnation, that God took on a physical body and lived on a particular plot of ground, forbids us from ever trying to escape into a disembodied spirituality.

Second, we must understand the "already and not yet" nature of our own inheritance. Like Benjamin, who was given the deed to a territory that still contained enemy strongholds like Jerusalem, we have been given every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. We are seated with Him in the heavenly places. That is the "already." But we still live in a fallen world, battling indwelling sin and spiritual opposition. We must, by faith, take possession of what has already been granted to us. Sanctification is the long, slow process of conquering the Jebusites who still dwell in the capital city of our hearts.

Finally, we are reminded that God appoints our lot. Benjamin was placed in a difficult, dangerous, and strategic position. So are we. Your family, your church, your neighborhood, your nation, this is the inheritance God has assigned to you for this moment in history. It is not an accident. He has placed you on a particular borderland for His own glory. The call is not to wish for a different, easier lot, but to be faithful in the one we have been given, to be a ravenous wolf for the cause of Christ, devouring the prey of sin and injustice in the morning, and dividing the spoil of victory with the saints in the evening.