Joshua 13 Chapter Introduction

Structure and Formatting

In this chapter, the author begins to describe how Joshua divided among the various tribes the land the Israelites conquered. (This description continues through chapter 21.) This chapter summarizes the land that remained for the Israelites to conquer (13:1–7) and reviews how Moses distributed the land the Israelites conquered east of the Jordan River to some of the tribes (13:8–32).

Translation Issues in This Chapter

See Part 4 of the Introduction to Joshua for a discussion of translation issues specific to the descriptions in chapters 13–21 of territories and their borders. These issues include:

1. The author uses the idea of “inheritance” to mean a lasting possession that would be passed down to future generations.
2. The author marks travel for change in elevation. He says, for example, “went up” or “went down” rather than just “went.”
3. The author describes the location of one place relative to another in the way that is characteristic of his culture. Specifically, he says the direction from which someone would be approaching a new location when coming from a location he has already named.
4. The author often says simply “the sea” when he means the Mediterranean Sea, which he calls the Great Sea when he names it.
5. The author often uses the term “sea” by association to mean the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, that is, from his perspective, the west.
6. Similarly, the author often uses the term “sunrise” by association to mean the direction in which the sun rises, that is, the east.
7. All names in border descriptions and lists are the names of cities and towns unless otherwise indicated in the biblical text, in a note, or in the UST.