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Joshua 19

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1 And the second heritage came out for the tribe of Simeon by their families; and their heritage was in the middle of the heritage of the children of Judah.

2 And they had for their heritage Beer-sheba and Shema and Moladah

3 And Hazar-shual and Balah and Ezem

4 And Eltolad and Bethul and Hormah

5 And Ziklag and Beth-marcaboth and Hazar-susah

6 And Beth-lebaoth and Sharuhen; thirteen towns with their unwalled places;

7 Ain, Rimmon, and Ether and Ashan; four towns with their unwalled places;

8 And all the unwalled places round about these towns as far as Baalath-beer-ramah to the south. This is the heritage of the tribe of Simeon by their families.

9 The heritage of Simeon was taken out of Judah's stretch of land, for Judah's part was more than they had need of, so the heritage of the children of Simeon was inside their heritage.

10 And the third heritage came out for Zebulun by their families; the limit of their heritage was as far as Sarid;

11 And their limit goes up to the west to Maralah, stretching to Dabbesheth, and to the stream in front of Jokneam;

12 Then turning east from Sarid to the limit of Chisloth-tabor, it goes out to Daberath, and up to Japhia;

13 And from there it goes on east to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin; ending at Rimmon which goes as far as Neah;

14 And the line goes round it on the north to Hannathon, ending at the valley of Iphtah-el;

15 And Kattath and Nahalal and Shimron and Idalah and Beth-lehem; twelve towns with their unwalled places.

16 This is the heritage of the children of Zebulun by their families, these towns with their unwalled places.

17 For Issachar the fourth heritage came out, for the children of Issachar by their families;

18 And their limit was to Jezreel and Chesulloth and Shunem

19 And Hapharaim and Shion and Anaharath

20 And Rabbith and Kishion and Ebez

21 And Remeth and En-gannim and En-haddah and Beth-pazzez;

22 And their limit goes as far as Tabor and Shahazimah and Beth-shemesh, ending at Jordan; sixteen towns with their unwalled places.

23 This is the heritage of the tribe of the children of Issachar by their families, these towns with their unwalled places.

24 And the fifth heritage came out for the tribe of Asher by their families.

25 And their limit was Helkath and Hali and Beten and Achshaph

26 And Alammelech and Amad and Mishal, stretching to Carmel on the west and Shihor-libnath;

27 Turning to the east to Beth-dagon and stretching to Zebulun and the valley of Iphtah-el as far as Beth-emek and Neiel to the north; on the left it goes as far as Cabul

28 And Ebron and Rehob and Hammon and Kanah, to great Zidon;

29 And the limit goes round to Ramah and the walled town of Tyre and Hosah, ending at the sea by Heleb and Achzib;

30 And Ummah and Aphek and Rehob; twenty-two towns with their unwalled places.

31 This is the heritage of the tribe of the children of Asher by their families, these towns with their unwalled places.

32 For the children of Naphtali the sixth heritage came out, for the children of Naphtali by their families;

33 And their limit was from Heleph, from the oak-tree in Zaanannim, and Adami-hannekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, ending at Jordan;

34 And turning west to Aznoth-tabor, the limit goes out from there to Hukkok, stretching to Zebulun on the south, and Asher on the west, and Judah at Jordan on the east.

35 And the walled towns are Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath, and Chinnereth

36 And Adamah and Ramah and Hazor

37 And Kedesh and Edrei and En-Hazor

38 And Iron and Migdal-el, Horem and Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh; nineteen towns with their unwalled places.

39 This is the heritage of the tribe of the children of Naphtali by their families, these towns with their unwalled places.

40 For the tribe of Dan by their families the seventh heritage came out;

41 And the limit of their heritage was Zorah and Eshtaol and Ir-shemesh

42 And Shaalabbin and Aijalon and Ithlah

43 And Elon and Timnah and Ekron

44 And Eltekeh and Gibbethon and Baalath

45 And Jehud and Bene-berak and Gath-rimmon;

46 And on the west was ... opposite Joppa.

47 (But the limit of the children of Dan was not wide enough for them; so the children of Dan went up and made war on Leshem and took it, putting it to the sword without mercy, and they took it for their heritage and made a place for themselves there, giving it the name of Leshem-Dan, after the name of their father, Dan.)

48 This is the heritage of the tribe of the children of Dan by their families, these towns with their unwalled places.

49 So the distribution of the land and its limits was complete; and the children of Israel gave Joshua, the son of Nun, a heritage among them;

50 By the orders of the Lord they gave him the town for which he made request, Timnath-serah in the hill-country of Ephraim: there, after building the town, he made his living-place.

51 These are the heritages which Eleazar the priest and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the heads of families of the tribes of the children of Israel gave out at Shiloh, by the decision of the Lord, at the door of the Tent of meeting. So the distribution of the land was complete.

   

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Exploring the Meaning of Joshua 19

Napsal(a) New Christian Bible Study Staff, Julian Duckworth

Joshua 19: The last six tribes receive their territories, and Joshua his inheritance.

This chapter is the last of seven chapters detailing the division of the land of Canaan among the tribes. In this chapter, the remaining six tribes receive their portions.

Simeon received land very much in the south, below that of Judah, and Simeon’s territory was made a part of Judah. Simeon means ‘to hear’. To hear the Lord, and to hear the truth, means wanting to live in obedience with what the Lord teaches. Simeon was important in earlier biblical events, but is rarely mentioned later on; obeying the Lord can and should be a quiet affair (see Swedenborg’s work, Apocalypse Revealed 87).

The area given to Zebulun was modest and towards the north, between the Sea of Galilee and the coast. Zebulun’s name means ‘place of exaltation and honor’, and its spiritual meaning is just as glorious: it refers to honoring the Lord through the way we live our lives, both inwardly and outwardly (see Swedenborg’s Heaven and Hell 390).

Issachar’s territory was a small, fertile area in the north, next to the Jordan. The name “Issachar” means ‘a man of hire’ or ‘a hired man’. Spiritually, this is about wanting to serve the Lord, and dedicating our lives to this. Then we are ‘employed’ as servants of the Lord, and we are rewarded with spiritual strength, joy, and blessings (see Swedenborg’s Arcana Caelestia 6388).

Asher means ‘happy’ - a delightful name - and its territory was along the northern coastline, extending inland. It included Mount Carmel and the Plain of Sharon, which were both beautiful places. Spiritual happiness is quite deep, and is really a feeling of joy, contentment, and well-being. When we are spiritually happy, we feel glad to be alive, to know the Lord, and to do what is good because of God (Arcana Caelestia 6408).

Naphtali had territory going up from the Sea of Galilee to the northern border. Naphtali means ‘crafty and cunning’, which does not sound very heavenly. However, the idea is that we use our intelligence to bring heavenly results from the countless decisions we make each and every day. Earlier in the Bible, Naphtali is blessed and called ‘a deer let loose’, which would then be free to bound away (see Genesis 49:21, Arcana Caelestia 3928).

Dan had two small territories: one in the centre on the coast, and one in the far north near the source of the River Jordan. Dan means ‘to judge well’, and it stands for our need to treat people fairly because of our relationship with the Lord. Perhaps there are two territories because one is our mind (north), and the other is in life (center) (Arcana Caelestia 3923).

Finally, Joshua himself is given his inheritance, a place in Ephraim called Timnath Serah. The name means ‘an extra portion’, and this suggests that beyond everything Joshua has done, he is to be given something further. Spiritually, this could be the unexpected delight we get when we devote ourselves to serving the Lord (Arcana Caelestia 995[3]).

The spiritual meaning of receiving a portion of land is that we are able to experience blessings and goodness from the Lord, but only after we have ‘conquered the land’. This means working through our temptations and overcoming weaknesses during our natural life.

Since the land of Canaan stands for heaven – and also for the growth of heaven in us – each of the twelve tribes represent a part of heavenly life that needs to be active in us. We must learn hear the word of the Lord, judge well in our daily actions, and honor His name by the way we live.

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Genesis 49:21

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21 "Naphtali is a doe set free, who bears beautiful fawns.