Bible

 

Jošua 13

Studie

   

1 Kad je Jošua ostario i odmakao u svojim godinama, reče mu Jahve: "Već si star i vremešan, a ostalo je mnogo zemlje da se osvoji.

2 Evo područja što još preostaju: sve pokrajine filistejske i sva zemlja gešurska;

3 od Šihora, što je pred Egiptom, sve do granice Ekrona na sjeveru, a računa se kao područje Kanaanaca; pet kneževina filistejskih: Gaza, Ašdod, Aškelon, Git i Ekron; zatim Avijci

4 na jugu. Sva zemlja kanaanska od Are koja pripada Sidoncima, pa do Afeka i do međe amorejske;

5 onda zemlja Giblijaca i sav Libanon prema istoku, od Baal Gada u podnožju gore Hermona do Lebo Hamata.

6 Sve stanovnike gorja, od Libanona do Misrefota na zapadu - sve Sidonce otjerat ću ispred sinova Izraelovih. Samo razdijeli Izraelu zemlju u baštinu, kao što sam ti zapovjedio.

7 Razdijeli, dakle, tu zemlju u baštinu među devet plemena i polovinu plemena Manašeova."

8 Druga polovina plemena Manašeova, a s njome pleme Rubenovo i Gadovo, primiše svoju baštinu koju im je predao Mojsije preko Jordana, na istoku. Mojsije, sluga Jahvin, dodijelio im je ovako:

9 od Aroera, koji se nalazi uz obalu potoka Arnona, i od grada usred doline, svu visoravan od Medebe do Dibona;

10 sve gradove Sihona, kralja amorejskoga, koji je vladao u Hešbonu, sve do međe sinova Amonovih;

11 i Gilead, i krajinu gešursku i maakansku sa svom gorom Hermonom, i sav Bašan do Salke;

12 a u Bašanu sve kraljevstvo Oga, koji je vladao u Aštarotu i Edreju i bio posljednji potomak Refaima. Mojsije ih je pobijedio i protjerao.

13 Ali sinovi Izraelovi nisu protjerali Gešurce i Maakance, pa tako ostadoše Gešurci i Maakanci usred Izraela sve do današnjega dana.

14 Samo plemenu Levijevu ne dade baštine: Jahve, Bog Izraelov, njegova je baština, kao što je rekao.

15 Mojsije dade plemenu sinova Rubenovih dijelove po njihovim porodicama.

16 Primili su zemlju od Aroera, koji leži uz obalu potoka Arnona, i od grada koji je u sredini doline i svu visoravan kod Medebe;

17 Hešbon sa svim njegovim gradovima koji leže na visoravni: Dibon, Bamot Baal, Bet Baal Meon;

18 Jahas, Kedemot, Mefaat;

19 Kirjatajim, Sibmu i Seret Hašahar na gori iznad doline;

20 Bet Peor, Ašdot Hapisgu, Bet Haješimot;

21 sve gradove na visoravni i sve kraljevstvo Sihona, amorejskog kralja, koji je vladao u Hešbonu. Mojsije ga je pobijedio kao i knezove midjanske: Avija, Rekema, Sura, Hura, Reba, podanike Sihonove, koji su živjeli u toj zemlji;

22 i vrača Bileama, sina Beorova, ubili su sinovi Izraelovi oštricom mača s ostalim žrtvama.

23 Međa sinova Rubenovih bijaše Jordan. To je bila baština sinova Rubenovih po njihovim porodicama: gradovi i sela njihova.

24 Onda dade Mojsije plemenu Gadovu, sinovima Gadovim, dijelove po porodicama njihovim.

25 Primili su u posjed: Jazer i sve gradove gileadske, polovinu zemlje sinova Amonovih sve do Aroera, nasuprot Rabi,

26 i od Hešbona do Ramat Hamispe i Betonima, i od Mahanajima do pokrajine Lo-Debar;

27 a u dolini: Bet Haram, Bet Nimru, Sukot i Safon, to jest ostatak kraljevstva Sihona, kralja hešbonskoga; Jordan s obalom sve do kraja Kineretskoga mora, na istočnoj strani Jordana.

28 To je baština sinova Gadovih, po njihovim porodicama, gradovi i sela njihova.

29 Mojsije je dao dio polovini plemena Manašeova po njegovim porodicama.

30 Dobili su u posjed zemlju od Mahanajima, sav Bašan, sve kraljevstvo Oga, kralja bašanskoga, i sva Sela Jairova što su u Bašanu - šezdeset gradova.

31 A polovina Gileada, Aštarot i Edrej, gradovi kraljevstva Ogova u Bašanu, pripali su sinovima Makira, sina Manašeova, i to polovini sinova Makirovih po njihovim porodicama.

32 Tako je Mojsije bio podijelio baštine na Moapskim poljanama, s druge strane Jordana, istočno od Jerihona.

33 Levijevu plemenu ne dade Mojsije baštine: Jahve, Bog Izraelov, njihova je baština, kao što im je sam rekao.

   

Komentář

 

Exploring the Meaning of Joshua 13

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

Joshua 13: The start of the tribal territory allocations.

Now that Israel had conquered the land of Canaan, the Lord commanded Joshua to divide the land between the twelve tribes. The next seven chapters tell how the the land of Canaan was divided (see Swedenborg’s work, Arcana Caelestia 1413, to read more about the spiritual meaning).

Chapter 13 deals with the territories given to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and one half of Manasseh, all of which are on the other side of the river Jordan. Reuben was given the southern lands; Gad was given the extensive middle region, much of which is an area called Gilead; and half the tribe of Manasseh received the northern land which is on the other side of the Jordan.

It is also worth noting that the first few verses say much of the land remained to be conquered. However, at the end of chapter 11, we read that Joshua took the whole land as the Lord had commanded Moses.

This may seem contradictory, but spiritually it fits very well. In our regeneration, we aim to conquer our self-centred nature, and allow the Lord to rule us with his truth. This is spiritually ‘conquering the whole land’. But even so, our natural thoughts and desires sometimes rise up to trouble us, and these times are like the parts of the land that remain to be conquered. This is why we must recognize our complete dependence on the Lord (Arcana Caelestia 8326).

The Lord giving land as inheritance to each of the twelve tribes represents the way that He gives us our spiritual life. As we do the work of spiritual ‘conquering’ - living by our purpose to serve the Lord - we feel more and more that we can use our understanding of God and His Word in our actions every day.

The twelve tribes stand for the whole spectrum of what spiritual life involves, and each tribe relates to a specific quality of our spiritual living (Arcana Caelestia 3858). For example, we need to be discerning, positive, respectful of others, and so on. Each tribe has a sizeable area of the land, and is part of the integrity of the whole nation.

The territories given to Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh are not part of Canaan, but they are linked to it. These areas represent our outward life: the way we work, live, rest, and relate with other people. This is the ‘casing’ of our spiritual life, and it is essential.

The tribe of Reuben – the eldest son of Jacob – stands for our initial need to see the truths from the Lord in the Word. By ‘seeing’ we mean meeting them, looking carefully, being attentive, coming to understand what they ask of us, and realising how important they are. It is not a vague impression that the Lord’s teachings are important, but a real first step for us (Arcana Caelestia 3866).

The tribe of Gad stands for our ability to see that knowledge and truth need to be used to perform good works. Gad’s name means ‘a troop,’ calling to mind soldiers marching in formation to go and sort things out properly. This is something we can apply to ourselves and to the world around us. We just need to watch that it doesn’t get too heavy-handed (See Swedenborg’s work, Apocalypse Explained 435[7]).

The tribe of Manasseh represents the spiritual good which supports our will to live a life which is just, fair and honourable because it is based on God. In fact, Manasseh – which means ‘forgetfulness’ – stands for our need to remember that ‘my will’ is really ‘the Lord’s will for me’. Our will needs to be focused on outward life and also inwardly open to the Lord, which is why half of Manasseh has land beyond the Jordan and half has land within Canaan (Arcana Caelestia 5353).