Bible Commentaries
Joshua 13

Verses 1-33

Joshua 13. Parts of the Land as yet Unconquered. In heritance of the Two and a Half Tribes on the E. of Jordan.— In Joshua 13:1 we meet with a statement which causes surprise. The whole land has been subdued ( Joshua 11:23 to Joshua 12:24), yet now we read that even in Joshua’ s old age there remained “ very much land to be possessed.” This plainly comes from an older source than ch. 12, and is very much nearer the true state of things. The later writer, however, in order to bring the statement into harmony with what he has written in Joshua 12, proceeds to explain the phrase “ very much land” by referring it to distant places in the W. and N. ( Joshua 13:2-6), some of which certainly never came into the possession of Israel at all. And these places were to be divided amongst the tribes and constitute their inheritance! For Joshua 13:29-31, which is unhistorical, see end of ch. 17.*