Yehoshua Chapter 20: Cities on a Hill

Yehoshua Chapter 23: It's So Hard to Say Goodbye

Chapters 23 and 24 of Yehoshua contain two farewell addresses by Yehoshua. In chapter 31 of Deuteronomy, Moshe gives his final address to the people. In it, he includes a fatalistic message from God. When the people enter the land they will disobey me, they will worship other gods, and they will be punished. In Yehoshua’s chapter 23 address, he tries to break this fate set up by Moshe. He warns the people not to worship idols. They must resist the temptations of the people around them. God will help them remove the people, but the ones that remain will be a snare and a test. Resist the trap. Chapter 24 has a different goodbye message. In chapter 24, Joshua reviews the history of the Israelites starting from Terach. Why does Yehoshua start with Terach? Moshe never started his reviews of the history of the Israelites that far back. The answer to that may also answer the question if the farewell addresses in chapters 23 an 24 are linked or not. “Then Joshua said to all the people, ‘Thus said the LORD, the God of Israel: In olden times, your forefathers—Terach, father of Abraham and father of Nahor—lived beyond the Euphrates and worshiped other gods/But I took Abraham from beyond the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan and multiplied his offspring. I gave him Isaac, and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession, while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt” (וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ אֶל־כָּל־הָעָם כֹּה־אָמַר ה׳ אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר יָשְׁבוּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם מֵעוֹלָם תֶּרַח אֲבִי אַבְרָהָם וַאֲבִי נָחוֹר וַיַּעַבְדוּ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים׃ וָאֶקַּח אֶת־אֲבִיכֶם אֶת־אַבְרָהָם מֵעֵבֶר הַנָּהָר וָאוֹלֵךְ אֹתוֹ בְּכָל־אֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן וָאַרְבֶּה אֶת־זַרְעוֹ וָאֶתֵּן לוֹ אֶת־יִצְחָק׃ וָאֶתֵּן לְיִצְחָק אֶת־יַעֲקֹב וְאֶת־עֵשָׂו וָאֶתֵּן לְעֵשָׂו אֶת־הַר שֵׂעִיר לָרֶשֶׁת אוֹתוֹ וְיַעֲקֹב וּבָנָיו יָרְדוּ מִצְרָיִם) (24:1-3). Avraham grew up surrounded by idols. His father worshipped them, and yet he was not tempted. God was able to take Avraham away from the life of idol worship. All three of the forefathers lived in the land of Canaan surrounded by idol worshipers. Jacob also had to deal with Esav. All the forefathers and foremothers were able to continue to follow God despite these temptations of living in Canaan. Between these two chapters, Joshua tries two different ways to warn the people. Chapter 23 is direct and experiential. Do not be tempted. It is the real life answer to Moshe’s hypothetical in Devarim. Yeshoshua is on the ground and reporting on what he sees. In contrast, Chapter 24 is historical. Your forefathers were in the same position as you are right now. They were able to follow God despite the idol worship around them. You should be able to do the same.

Yehoshua Chapter 22: Rebels

Joshua gives permission to the two and a half trans-Jordan tribes to return to their land. They kept their promise to assist in the conquest of the land. Now they can go back to their lands. But immediately something goes wrong. They build a large altar on the Jordan river. The tribes in Canaan are quite upset. It seems like these tribes are creating their own tabernacle. A few centuries later, in the book of Kings, Yerovam will break with the tribe of Yehudah creating the northern kingdom. Yerovam will be concerned that the northern tribes will return to the south because of the Temple. To avoid this problem, he builds new religious centers on the border with the southern kingdom and in the north, including new altars. The Western tribes’ concern is not far off. They gather their forces for a possible attack- the first inter-tribal war. But, they do give the eastern tribes the benefit of the doubt and send a special delegation. The delegation is headed by Pinchas, the son of Elazar and ten leaders one from each tribe. There are two questions with this delegation. First, why do they send Pinchas? Shouldn’t Yehoshua have gone? Next, if two and a half tribes are across the river- who are the ten tribes represented in the delegation? Pinchas was known for his zealous attack in defense of God during the sin of Baal Peor. He was also the kohen assigned to accompany the army into battle. Appointing Pinchas to lead the delegation sends a message that the in Canaan tribes are ready to fight and protect God. The delegation also references the sin of Baal Peor, so having Pinchas there was especially symbolic both as the hero of that story, and, again, as a message that Pinchas is willing to fight to save God’s reputation. The ten tribal chieftains could have broken down in two ways. The first is that the ten included delegates from Levi with three tribes represented in the trans-Jordan (Reuven, Gad and half of Manashe). That would mean Menashe was not included likely sitting out an inter-tribal fight. Having Levi involved would have further increased the importance of the issue. The other possibility is that Manashe actually was included in the ten. This could mean that half the tribe was for and half the tribe was against the altar or that Manashe was not part of the decision to build the altar. Half of Manashe is referenced throughout the chapter except for the very last verse where they are conspicuously absent: “The Reubenites and the Gadites named the altar [“Witness”], meaning, “It is a witness between us and them that the LORD is [our] God” (וַיִּקְרְאוּ בְנֵי־רְאוּבֵן וּבְנֵי־גָד לַמִּזְבֵּחַ כִּי עֵד הוּא בֵּינֹתֵינוּ כִּי ה׳ הָאֱלֹהִים) (verse 34). Perhaps this verse shows that the motivation for building the altar only came from these two tribes, and not from Manashe. Manashe was included in earlier in the chapter simply because they lived in the trans-Jordan. Ultimately, crisis is averted as the trans-Jordan tribes clarify the intention of building the altar.

Yehoshua Chapter 21: Symbiosis

Now it is time for the Leviim to get their promised lands. The chapter begins with the Leviim approaching Joshua and Elazar the Kohen Gadol, but Joshua and Elazar are not the ones who give out the cities at all. In fact, it seems like there is a contradiction. “So the Israelites, in accordance with the LORD’s command, assigned to the Levites, out of their own portions, the following towns with their pastures” (וַיִּתְּנוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל לַלְוִיִּם מִנַּחֲלָתָם אֶל־פִּי ה׳ אֶת־הֶעָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וְאֶת־מִגְרְשֵׁיהֶן) (verse 3). Verse 3 seems to indicate that the individual tribes gave over the cities. But the next verse says there was a lottery: “The [first] lot among the Levites fell to the Kohathite clans” (וַיֵּצֵא הַגּוֹרָל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹת הַקְּהָתִי) (verse 4). Which is it- Yehoshua and Elazar, the tribes, or a lottery? Most likely this was a three step process. The first step was back in Deuteronomy when Moshe promised that the Leviim and kohanim would be entitled to cities scattered throughout the land. The purpose of this scattering was to make sure that representatives of the temple/Mishkan were spread throughout the land and not just concentrated in one area. It also allowed the priestly class to focus on their temple service and teaching torah without having to defend of handle whole territories. This was the initial ask to Yehoshua and Elazar- to begin the process to fulfill the promise of Moshe. The Leviim being scattered among the tribes was also a way to make sure that the priestly class was always reliant on the various tribes around them. At the same time, each tribe- through the laws of Teruma and Maaser, were responsible for supporting the priestly class. That brings up step two. Each tribe was given the task of donating a certain number of cities to the Leviim. This way, the tribes had a direct interest in this process, and these were not simply cities mandated by God. Then, once these cities were “donated” to the lottery, Joshua initiated the lottery to determine which families would live in which city. The lottery also left out the possibility of favoritism or bribing that could happen if each tribe could both donate the priestly city and choose its inhabitants.

Yehoshua Chapter 20: Cities on a Hill

Moshe set aside three cities of refuge in Deuteronomy and now Joshua completes the project. The three established by Moshe could not function without the three inside the land that Joshua establishes. The text lays out the exact locations of the cities: “So they set aside Kedesh in the hill country of Naphtali in Galilee, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba—that is, Hebron—in the hill country of Judah/ And across the Jordan, east of Jericho, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness, in the Tableland, from the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad; and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh” (וַיַּקְדִּשׁוּ אֶת־קֶדֶשׁ בַּגָּלִיל בְּהַר נַפְתָּלִי וְאֶת־שְׁכֶם בְּהַר אֶפְרַיִם וְאֶת־קִרְיַת אַרְבַּע הִיא חֶבְרוֹן בְּהַר יְהוּדָה׃ וּמֵעֵבֶר לְיַרְדֵּן יְרֵחוֹ מִזְרָחָה נָתְנוּ אֶת־בֶּצֶר בַּמִּדְבָּר בַּמִּישֹׁר מִמַּטֵּה רְאוּבֵן וְאֶת־רָאמֹת בַּגִּלְעָד מִמַּטֵּה גָד וְאֶת־גּוֹלָן בַּבָּשָׁן מִמַּטֵּה מְנַשֶּׁה) (verses 7-8). The Three in the trans-Jordan are easy to split. Each of the three tribes gets one city. This allows someone who needs to flee a close place no matter where they are. Inside Canaan, things would be more complicated with nine and half tribes. The cities are evenly spread out there as well, with one in the far north in Naftali, one in the center in Ephraim and one in the south in Yehuda. There is a geographical note that the text mentions- all three cities of refuge in Canaan were in hilltop cities. What would the Navi need to emphasize that there cities were on hills? Two of the cities in the trans-Jordan do not have geographical descriptors. Perhaps there was a strategic reason for the cities to be on hills. A city full of accidental murderers would be a target for the vengeful relatives, despite the decree of safety. The strategic hilltop location would provide extra security. Perhaps the high elevation also allowed the city elders and watchmen to be on the lookout for refugees. The ability to see someone running from afar would allow those in the city to quickly prepare for the arrival of a potential inhabitant in case a decision needed to be made post-haste. Perhaps the cities were high up to make it difficult to get to the cities. One could not willy-nilly approach one of the cities. One needed to exert the effort that only one fleeing for their life would exert. The cities could have been high up so as to be readily visible to those from afar. Because the cities in Canaan were only in a few tribal lands, unlike those in the Trans-Jordan, perhaps those fleeing from other tribal lands would not be as familiar with the terrain. It would be helpful then to be able to see these cities form far away. Finally, perhaps it was more symbolic. The cities of refuge represented the desire for law and order despite what local custom would be. Such symbols of a just society should be places up high for all to see and remember.

Yehoshua Chapter 19: Scattered Shimon

All the tribes receive select portions of land except for Shimon. “The portion of the Simeonites was part of the territory of the Judites; since the share of the Judites was larger than they needed, the Simeonites received a portion inside their portion” (וַיְהִי חֵבֶל בְּנֵי שִׁמְעוֹן מִתּוֹךְ נַחֲלַת בְּנֵי יְהוּדָה כִּי־הָיָה חֵלֶק בְּנֵי יְהוּדָה רַב מֵהֶם וַיִּנְחֲלוּ בְנֵי־שִׁמְעוֹן בְּתוֹךְ נַחֲלָתָם) (verse 9). The official line is that Shimon did not receive its own portion because Yehudah’s portion was too small, so it spilled over enveloping Shimon’s portion. It is a nice attempt to whitewash the situation. The only other tribe with portions in another is within the family of Yosef. And there, each tribe has its own main potion, but only overlap a little. Shimon is most likely treated different as a result of Moshe leaving Shimon out of the final blessings at the end of Deuteronomy. The commentators explain that Moshe did not give Shimon a blessing because of their sin in leading the rebellion at Baal Peor. Actually, Shimon is not the only tribe to be scattered throughout other territories without a set boundary of their own. The other tribe is Levi. Levi’s scattered lot was an oft repeated declaration starting back in Deuteronomy and continuing though the book of Joshua. The official line is that Levi is scattered as their portion is with Hashem, and they need to focus on Temple/Mishkan duties. Maybe Shimon’s lack of land does not have to do with Moshe’s lack of a blessing. Perhaps Shimon and Levi do not get portions because of Yaacov’s blessing. “Shimon and Levi are brothers. Instruments of violence are their wares/My soul will not enter their secret council, let my honor not be identified with their assembly. For in their anger they killed a man, and through their willfulness they maimed an ox/Cursed be their anger for it is powerful, and their fury for it is cruel. I will divide them throughout Yaakov and scatter them throughout [the land of] Israel” (שִׁמְעוֹן וְלֵוִי אַחִים כְּלֵי חָמָס מְכֵרֹתֵיהֶם׃ בְּסֹדָם אַל־תָּבֹא נַפְשִׁי בִּקְהָלָם אַל־תֵּחַד כְּבֹדִי כִּי בְאַפָּם הָרְגוּ אִישׁ וּבִרְצֹנָם עִקְּרוּ־שׁוֹר׃ אָרוּר אַפָּם כִּי עָז וְעֶבְרָתָם כִּי קָשָׁתָה אֲחַלְּקֵם בְּיַעֲקֹב וַאֲפִיצֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל) (Genesis 49:5-7). Yaacov was still upset with his two sons for the trick and massacre they led on Sechem following the kidnap and rape of their sister Dinah. Yaacov’s curse/blessing links the two tribes. Both tribes are told they would be scattered as a way to keep them forever separated. Levi’s reputation was only rehabilitated through the chet haegel and Levi’s support of Moshe against the people. Shimon only further sullied their reputation with the sin of Baal Peor. This could be why Shimon is scattered an ultimately subsumed into Yehudah, but Levi is scattered but still maintains their independence and role in the Temple. The text in Yehoshua may offer a hint to this as the text matches the blessing of Yaacov. Shimon is scattered in the tribe of Yehudah and the very next blessing after Yaacov discusses Shimon in Genesis is to Yehudah and chapter 20 of Yehoshua details the cities of the Levites. This could be the subtle way of the Navi giving the real reason why these two tribes are scattered.