Joshua 18:4-9 NASB

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 18:9

And described it in a book - This as far as I can recollect, is the first act of surveying on record. These men and their work differed widely from those who had searched the land in the time of Moses; they went only to discover the nature of the country, and the state of its inhabitants; but these went to take an actual geographical survey of it, in order to divide it among the tribes which had not yet received their portions. We may suppose that the country was exactly described... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 18:4

Verse 4 4.Give out from among you three men, etc Caleb and Joshua had already surveyed those regions, and the people had learned much by inquiry: Joshua, however, wishes the land to be divided as if according to actual survey (162) and orders three surveyors to be appointed for each of the seven tribes, in order that by the mouth of two or three persons every dispute may be settled. But nothing seems more incongruous than to send twenty-one men, who were not only to pass directly through a... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 18:9

Verse 9 9.And the men went and passed, etc Here not only is praise bestowed on the ready obedience by which their virtue shone forth conspicuous, but the Lord gives a signal manifestation of his favor by deigning to bestow remarkable success on pious Joshua and the zeal of the people. Had they crept along by subterranean burrows, they could scarcely have escaped innumerable dangers, but now, when they are taking notes of the cities and their sites, of the fields, the varying features of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 18:1-28

Progress in the great work. The tribes gathered together at Shiloh, set up the common tabernacle for worship, and then proceeded, at Joshua's instance, to complete the division of the land. Several detached considerations may be derived from this chapter. I. THE DUTY OF A PUBLIC RECOGNITION OF GOD . The duty of public worship has been universally recognised in all religions, and is founded in a natural tendency of mankind. Philosophical sects, in which religious... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 18:4

Give out from among you. Calvin enlarges much upon the boldness of these twenty-one men in venturing upon the task of the survey, rightly supposing that the difficulty of the task was enhanced by the number who undertook it (see note on Joshua 14:12 ). And here it is impossible to come to any other conclusion than that the twenty-one commissioners went together, for the object of their selection was to obviate complaints of a kind which, as we have already seen, the Israelites were not... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 18:6

Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts. Literally, ye shall write the land, seven parts. Similarly in Joshua 18:8 . That is to say, a written report was to be brought up in seven parts, a fair and equal division of the land having previously been agreed upon among the commissioners. This report having been accepted, division was afterwards made ( Joshua 18:10 ) by lot. Bishop Horsley and Houbigant here, as elsewhere, would rearrange the chapter, supposing it to have been... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 18:7

But the Levites (see Joshua 13:14 , Joshua 13:33 ). The priesthood of the Lord. An equivalent expression to that in Joshua 13:1-33 . Here the office of the priesthood, there, more accurately, the sacrifices which it was the privilege of that tribe to offer up, are said to be the possession of the tribe of Levi. By cities. It was evidently not a land survey, entering into such particulars as the physical conditions of the ground, its fitness for agriculture, for pasture and the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 18:8

Shiloh (see note on Joshua 18:1 and Joshua 24:1 ). The seat of the tabernacle became, for the present at least, the headquarters of the Israelites. read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Joshua 18:4

Three men for each tribe - i. e. 21 in all. Their duty would be to describe the land, especially with reference to the cities it contained Joshua 18:9, that Joshua might have the means of making a first apportionment among the tribes according to their varying numbers. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joshua 18:3-4

Joshua 18:3-4. How long are ye slack? It is probable, that being weary of war, and now having sufficient plenty of all things, they were unwilling to run into new hazards. Give out three men Three, not one, for the more exact observation both of the measure and quality of the several portions, and for greater assurance of their care and faithfulness in giving in their account. Of each tribe For each one of the tribes which were yet unprovided for. They shall describe it Set down, not... read more

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 18:9

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 18:4

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 18:9

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 18:1-28

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 18:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 18:6

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 18:7

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 18:8

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Joshua 18:4

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joshua 18:3-4

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