Study Desk

So these are the towns and fields around them that were given to Zebulun. Each family in Zebulun got its part of the land.

But the people of Dan had trouble taking their land. There were strong enemies there and the people of Dan could not easily defeat them. So the people of Dan went to the northern part of Israel and fought against Laish. They defeated Laish and killed the people who lived there. So the people of Dan lived in the town of Laish. They changed the name to Dan because that was the name of the father of their tribe.

So the leaders finished dividing the land and giving it to the different tribes. After they finished, all the Israelites decided to give Joshua son of Nun some land too. This was land that was promised to him.

The Lord had commanded that he get this land. So they gave Joshua the town of Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. This was the town that Joshua told them he wanted. So he built the town stronger and lived there.

All these lands were given to the different tribes of Israel. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of each tribe met together at Shiloh to divide the land. They met before the Lord at the entrance of the Meeting Tent. So they finished dividing the land.

So the Israelites chose some cities to be called cities of safety. These are the cities: Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim; Kiriath Arba (Hebron) in the hill country of Judah;

So the Israelites obeyed this command from the Lord and gave the Levites these towns and the land around them for their animals:

So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and the fields around them, just as the Lord had told Moses.

So they gave the city of Hebron to Aaron's descendants. (Hebron was a city of safety.) They also gave Aaron's descendants the towns of Libnah,

So the Levites were given a total of 48 towns and some land around each town for their animals. All these towns were in areas that belonged to the other tribes.

So the Lord kept the promise that he had made to the Israelites and gave the people all the land that he had promised. The people took the land and lived there.

The Lord your God promised to give the Israelites peace. And now, he has kept his promise, so now you can go home. The Lord 's servant Moses gave you the land on the east side of the Jordan River. Now you can go home to that land.

So the people from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh left the other Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan. They went back home to Gilead. This was their own land, the land that Moses gave them, as the Lord had commanded.

So the Israelites sent some men to talk to the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. The leader of these men was Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest.

So these eleven men went to Gilead. They went to talk to the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. The eleven men said to them,

But that is not why we built it. We built it because we were afraid that in the future your descendants might not accept us as part of God's people. So your children might say to our children, ‘You people have no reason to worship the Lord , the God of Israel.

The Lord separated you people of Reuben and Gad from us by giving you the land on the other side of the Jordan River. So you are not part of the Lord 's people.' If your children said that, it might make our children stop worshiping the Lord .

"So we decided to build this altar. But we did not plan to use it for burning offerings and sacrifices.

So Phinehas the priest said, "Now we know that the Lord is with us and that you did not turn against him. We are happy that the Israelites will not be punished by the Lord ."

So you must continue to love the Lord your God.