Joshua 19 explained: Land for the Final Six Tribes

Simeon inside Judah (vv. 1-9)

Judah's share turned out bigger than it needed, so Simeon's towns were taken out of it in the far south, around Beersheba. This left Simeon without a block of land of its own, which matches Jacob's words in Genesis that this tribe would be scattered.

Zebulun and Issachar (vv. 10-23)

These two tribes received the fertile valleys of lower Galilee, including Jezreel and Shunem, which appear in later Bible stories, and Gath Hepher, the hometown of the prophet Jonah. Many of the border towns listed here can no longer be located with certainty.

Asher and Naphtali (vv. 24-39)

On paper, Asher's land ran up the northern coast as far as the great Phoenician port of Sidon, though the book of Judges says Asher never drove out the people of Sidon and several other coastal towns. Naphtali got the far north beside the Sea of Galilee, which Christians remember as the area where much of Jesus' public work took place.

Dan moves north (vv. 40-48)

Dan was given land in the west near Joppa, but lost it, and Judges says the Amorites pushed them back into the hills. They then attacked the distant northern town of Leshem, killed its people, and renamed it Dan, a story told in full in Judges 18.

Joshua's town and the finish (vv. 49-51)

Only after every tribe was settled did the people give Joshua the town he asked for, Timnath Serah, in his own tribe's hill country, where he rebuilt it and was later buried. The last verse formally closes the land division, done by lot at the sacred tent in Shiloh, where the result was understood as God's choice.

Key verse: Joshua 19:49

Something to think about

What does it tell you about a leader when they take their own share only after everyone else has been provided for?