February 16, 2012 – Joshua 18

It appears that the surveyors were to divide the land into chunks and then lots were chosen as to who got what. This way the surveyors would be just. Same idea as having the one person cut the pie and the other person pick the piece. You have motivation to make them equal because if you make one too big, you will get less.

13 sections, 3 on the East side of the Jordan, 3 to Judah, Manasseh west, and Ephraim, then the 7 pieces here. The 3 in the East asked for them. Caleb got Judah a bigger chunk because of his faithfulness and Joseph’s boys got chunks because of his special relationship with God. Then the Levites did not get any because of their priestly role. Everyone else gets these chunks. When Israel splits into two later on, I wonder how much of this division now plays a role in that.