Joshua 18:11
in Joshua 18The first lot came up for the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
KJV
And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
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This verse in Joshua 18
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families,.... This was the first lot of the seven that came up; it was but a small lot, and therefore called "little Benjamin", Psa 68:27; but the land was very pleasant and fruitful.
This site's exposition
The first lot came up for the clans
on Joshua 18:11-20
Benjamin draws first and gets a strip between Judah and Joseph. The southern border is Judah's northern line from 15:5-9 traced in reverse. Barnes holds that the text of this chapter and the next is in disorder and that many places named can no longer be located.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the children of Joseph - Wherein we see the wisdom of Divine Providence, this being the only place in which that prophecy, Deut. xxxiii, 12, could have been accomplished.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
See the marginal references. There are many indications found in this and the next chapter that the text is in great disorder, and many of the places are still unknown. Jos 18:14 And compassed the corner ... - Render “and turned on the west side southward.” The meaning is, that at lower Beth-horon the northern boundary-line of Benjamin curved round and ran southward - Beth-horon being its extreme westerly point. Jos 18:21 The “Valley of Keziz,” or “Emek-Keziz,” is perhaps the “Wady el Kaziz,” at no great distance east of Jerusalem.
And the lot - of Benjamin came up - On the manner of casting the lot, see on Jos 14:2 (note), and Num 26:55 (note). There were probably two urns, one of which contained the names of the seven tribes, and the other that of the seven portions. They therefore took out one name out of the first urn, and one portion out of the second, and thus the portion was adjudged to that tribe.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Their northern boundary. Their northern boundary was the Jordan, since the border started from the east and went up alongside Yericho from the north. It went from there westward alongside Yericho and the border line is drawn on the northside of Yericho.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיַּ֗עַל | vaiyaal | and it came up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| גּוֹרַ֛ל | goral | [the] lot of | H1486 → | 78 times |
| מַטֵּ֥ה | mateh | [the] tribe of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בִנְיָמִ֖ן | vinyamin | Benjamin | H1144 → | 166 times |
| לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑ם | lemishpechotam | to clans their | H4940 → | 303 times |
| וַיֵּצֵא֙ | vaiyetze' | and it went out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| גְּב֣וּל | gevul | [the] territory of | H1366 → | 240 times |
| גּֽוֹרָלָ֔ם | goralam | lot their | H1486 → | 78 times |
| בֵּ֚ין | bein | [was] between | H996 → | 407 times |
| בְּנֵ֣י | benei | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וּבֵ֖ין | uvein | and between | H996 → | 407 times |
| בְּנֵ֥י | benei | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יוֹסֵֽף׃ | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
וַיַּ֗עַלand it came up
vaiyaalH5927 →890 times
גּוֹרַ֛ל[the] lot of
goralH1486 →78 times
מַטֵּ֥ה[the] tribe of
matehH4294 →252 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] descendants of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
בִנְיָמִ֖ןBenjamin
vinyaminH1144 →166 times
לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑םto clans their
lemishpechotamH4940 →303 times
וַיֵּצֵא֙and it went out
vaiyetze'H3318 →1067 times
גְּב֣וּל[the] territory of
gevulH1366 →240 times
גּֽוֹרָלָ֔םlot their
goralamH1486 →78 times
בֵּ֚ין[was] between
beinH996 →407 times
בְּנֵ֣י[the] descendants of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וּבֵ֖יןand between
uveinH996 →407 times
בְּנֵ֥י[the] descendants of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יוֹסֵֽף׃Joseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
2 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 13:12If, regarding one of the cities the LORD your God is giving you to inhabit, you hear it said
it leads to
- Joshua 22:11–34
Then the Israelites received the report: “Behold, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the border of the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on…
- Judges 20:1–17
Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out, and the congregation assembled as one man before the LORD at Mizpah.
- Joshua 22:11–34
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.