 Joshua 13 - 24 Questions and Answers |
| Q. After their rest, would they have to continue fighting for their promised land? | A. Joshua 13:1-2 = Yes. Though Joshua was getting old, God charged him with finishing conquering the rest of the promised land (see ch. 13). |
| Q. Why was Manasseh called a half-tribe? | A. Joshua 14:4 = Joseph was the actual son of Jacob/Israel. His 2 sons, Manasseh and Ephraim split their father's inheritance between them, as Jacob wished. |
| Q. How was the promised land divided? | A. Joshua 14:2 = They cast sacred lots for it. All was done in accordance withthe Law of Moses. |
| Q. What rewards did Caleb receive from God as a result of being the only other good spy besides Joshua who scouted the promised land originally? |
A. Joshua 14:0-12 = 1). Caleb received Hebron as his inheritance 2). Strength, even in old age and 3). Greater faith. |
| Q. What does God say to describe a faithful one? | A. Joshua 14:14 = He/she serves wholeheartedly. |
| Q. What does that mean? |
A. Joshua 14 = 1). Total and complete obedience in every area of life, 2). Boldness, 3). Trust in God, 4). Sacrificial living, 5). Remembering God's promises. |
| Q.So Caleb received his inheritance of Hebron and retired? | A. Joshua 15:13 = No way! He had to first drive out the descendants of Anak and fight against the people of Debir. |
| Q. How did Caleb find someone to conquer Debir? | A. Joshua 15:16 = He offered his daughter, Acsah's hand in marriage to its conqueror. |
| Q. Who conquered Debir for Caleb? | A. Joshua 15:17 = Othniel, Caleb's nephew. |
| Q. Did women have to go through their husbands for requests? | A. Joshua 15:18-19 = No. Acsah asked her new husband, Othniel, to request from her father, Caleb, land in Negev that had springs, but Caleb intercepted the request, asking her directly what she wanted. |
| Q. Did she get it? | A. Joshua 15:19 = Yes. |
| Q. What towns did Judah inherit? | A. Joshua 15:32-29 = 29 towns on the south border with their surrounding villges all named here in this chapter. On the west side, 14 towns with their surrounding villages; then 16 towns plus 9 more, then more mentioned, including Gaza. In the hill country was Debir, Goshen and 9 other towns. Then 9 more towns were mentioned, then 10 towns, then 6 towns, 2 towns, then 6 towns inthe wilderness. |
| Q. What are the most notable towns Judah inherited? | A. Joshua 15:47 = Gaza, Goshen, Hebron, Carmel, Jerusalem and Gilgal. |
| Q. Did they conquer all the cities? | A. Joshua 15:63 = No. They could not drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem, so they lived amongst them in that town. |
| Q. Was Caleb fromthe tribe of Judah? | A. Numbers 13:6 = Yes. |
| Q. What notable town(s) were part of the inheritance of Ephraim and Manasseh? | A. Joshua 16:1 = Bethel. |
| Q. Did Ephraim drive out the enemy from their lands? | A. Joshua 16:10 = No. They did not drive out Gezer's residents. |
| Q. Were they too strong for Ephraim? |
A. Joshua 16:10 = No. They were made slaves to the Ephraim tribe. Note: They must have had some influence as Joseph's descendants, since they had Egyptian blood from Joseph's wife, making slavery a viable option. |
| Q. Was the half-tribe of Manasseh divided into 2 quarter tribes? | A. Joshua 17:1 = Yes. They were known as West Manasseh and Manasseh. |
| Q. What notable town(s) did West Manasseh inherit? | A. Joshua 17:1 = Gilead and Barshan. As before, Zelophehad, who had no sons, inheritance went to his five daughters, along with Manasseh's male descendants. |
| Q. Did the territories overlap? | A. Joshua 17:11 = Yes. God gave territories to some, then other tribes had towns within those territories. |
| Q. Did Manasseh succeed in driving out all the peoples from their land? | A. Joshua 17:12 = No. They could not drive out the Canaanites right away. |
| Q. What became of the Canaanites? | A. Later on, when the Israelites became stronger, they made the Canaanites slaves, but still did not drive them out. |
| Q. What did the half-tribes of Joseph inherit? | A. Joshua 17:15 = The forest where the Perizzites and Rephaites lived, as well as their part of the hill country of Ephraim. |
| Q. Did they accept it? | A. Joshua 17:16 = Not without hesitation. They were afraid of the iron chariots of the Canaanites. |
| Q. Did Joshua reassure them of their ability to take the land anyway? | A. Joshua 17:17 = Yes. |
| Q. At this point, was the promised land under Israelite control? | A. Joshua 18:1 = Yes. |
| Q. What did that mean? | A. Joshua 18:1 = It was time to assemble and set up the Tabernacle! |
| Q. Where was the Tabernacle set up? | A. Joshua 18:1 = At Shiloh. |
| Q. Had all tribes been allotted their inheritance by then? | A. Joshua 18:2 = No. Seven tribes did not occupy their lands. |
| Q. Why not? | A. Joshua 18:3 = Because it required battle and they stalled. |
| Q. Did Joshua give them counsel? | A. Joshua 18:4 = Yes. As in the plan to take Jericho, Joshua told them to send out 3 scouts to survey the unconquered territory and turn in a written report of their proposed divisions of the inheritance. |
| Q. What would the scouts do? | A. Joshua 18:5 = Map out the land into seven sections. |
| Q. How would it be decided which tribe got which territory? | A. Joshua 18:6 = By casting sacred lots. |
| Q. Who were these hesitant tribes? | A. Joshua 18 = Benjamin; ch. 19 = Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan. |
| Q. How was the casting of sacred lots carried out? | A. Joshua 18 = Straws drawn by each tribe. Longest straw was first. The land was set first to last, by virtue of its desirability. |
| Q. So what wsa the order of lots drawn? |
A. Joshua 18:1 = 1st = Benjamin 2nd = Simeon 3rd = Zebulun 4th = Issachar 5th = Asher 6th = Naphtali 7th = Dan. |
| Q. Who were Rachel (through Bilhah, her maid) and Jacob/Israel's sons? | A. Genesis 46:23-24 = Dan and Naphtali. |
| Q. What notable towns were given to Benjamin? | A. Joshua 18:21 = Jericho, Ophrah, Gibeon, Ramah and Jerusalem. |
| Q. What was notable about Simeon's territory? | A. Joshua 19:1 = It was surrounded by Judah's territory. Simeon had 4 towns altogether. |
| Q. What notable town(s) did the tribe of Simeon inherit? | A. Joshua 19:2 = Beersheba. |
| Q. Why was it set up this way? | A. Joshua 19:9 = Because Judah's land was too large for them. |
| Q. What notable town(s) did Zebulun inherit? | A. Joshua 19:15 = Bethlehem. Zebulun had 12 towns altogether. |
| Q. What notable town(s) did Issachar inherit? | A. Joshua 19:18 = Jezreel. Issachar had 16 towns altogether. |
| Q. What notable town(s) did Asher inherit? | A. Joshua 19:26 = Carmel. Asher inherited 22 towns altogether. |
| Q. What notable town(s) were in Naphtali's inheritance? | A. Joshua 19:36 = Ramah. Naphtali had 19 cities altogether. |
| Q. What notable town(s) weer in Dan's inheritance? | A. Joshua 19:47 = Laish, which was renamed Dan. |
| Q. Did Dan have trouble conquering their land? |
A. Joshua 19:47 = Yes. They captured only one town of at least 18. They were so happy, they named it after themselves! Note: It looks like the territories of these last seven tribes were favorable from easiest to conquer to hardest to conquer. Dan is the only tribe within the last seven that had trouble conquering their land. |
| Q. After all the land was divided up, what special treatment did Joshua receive? | A. Joshua 19:49-50 = He got to choose his own land from all the promised land. |
| Q. What land did he decide to claim? | A. Joshua 19:50 = He liked the hill country of Ephraim. He chose Timnah-serah and rebuilt it and lived there. |
| Q. Who authorized Joshua to choose his own land anywhere in the promised land? | A. Joshua 19:50 = The Lord. |
| Q. What happened after Israel settled? | A. Joshua 20:1 = They set up the cities of refuge. |
| Q. Are these cities explained in further detail in the book of Joshua? | A. Joshua 20:4 = Yes. Deuteronomy, it states they could flee there and await a fair trial. Here, it further states that the accidental killer would meet the leaders of that city of refuge at the gate, explain what happened and they would be obliged to protect him. The community in the city of refuge would try him. |
| Q. And if they found him innocent? | A. Joshua 20:6 = The refugee remained in that city until the death of the high priest residing at the time of the incident. |
| Q. Then what? | A. Joshua 20:6 = He could return home a free man. |
| Q. What were the names of the cities of refuge set up in Joshua's time? |
A. Joshua 20:7-8 = Amongst the tribes stated here: In the hill country of Naphtali = Kedesh of Galilee Ephraim = Shechem Judah = Hebron In the wilderness plain of Reuben = Bezer In the territory of Gad = Ramoth in Gilead In the land of Manasseh = Golan in Bashan |
| Q. But the Levite tribe hand't received their inheritance yet! The land was doled out. How did they get theirs? | A. Joshua 21:4 = Towns from all over the promised land were reassigned to the Levites. |
| Q. How was this determined? | A. Joshua 21 = By casting sacred lots. |
| Q. So what were the Levites' (Aaron's descendants) inheritance? | A. Joshua 21 = Hebron and the surrounding pastures (a city of refuge), Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah and Beth-shemesh. 9 towns from Judah and Simeon. |
| Q. Did Benjamin give the Levites land as well? | A. Joshua 21:17 = Yes. The Levites were given Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth and Almon. 4 towns. 13 towns total went tothe descendants of Aaron, the Levites. |
| Q. What about Aaron's descendants who didn't qualify as priests? | A. Joshua 21:20 = They got their inheritance the same way, by casting sacred lots. They got Shechem (a city of refuge), Gezer, Kibzaim and Beth-horon. 4 towns here. |
| Q. Who else gave land to the rest of Aaron's clan? |
A. Joshua 21:23 = 1). Dan gave Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon and Gath-rimmon. 4 towns. 2). Manasseh gave Taanach and Gath-rimmon. 2 towns. Ten towns and their pasturelands total were given to the rest of Aaron's descendants. |
| Q. By what other name was Aaron's descendants known? | A. Joshua 21:20 = The Kohathite clan. |
| Q. Were any other land allotments given to the priests? |
A. Joshua 21:25 = Yes. 1). Gerson received Golan in Bashan, (a city of refuge) and Be-eshterah from Manasseh. 2). From Issachar, they received Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth and En-gennim. 4 towns. 3). From Asher, they received Mishal, Abdon, Kelkath and Rehob. 4 towns. 4). From Naphtali, they received Kedesh (a city of refuge), Hammoth-dor and Kartan. 3 towns. |
| Q. What did Merari receive? |
A. Joshua 21:34 = 1). Four towns from Zebulun - Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah and Nahalal 2). From Reuben, they received Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth and Mephaath. 4 towns 3). From Gad, they received Ramoth (a city of refuge), Mahanaim, Heshbon and Jazer. 4 towns. Twelve towns in all went to Merari. 48 towns with their surrounding pasturelands went to the Levites. |
| Q. So they drew lots and God decided what towns the Levites got? | A. Joshua 21 = Yes! |
| Q. What was significant about this final land distribution? |
A. Joshua 21 = By sacred lot, God gave the Levites all but one of the cities of refuge. The final one went to Merari's tribe, still in Aaron's family, but not in the priesthood. Note: Doesn't this seem like extra insurance for people in trouble? And since these cities were also for foreigners, there were priests always nearby! |
| Q. Did Israel receive then all God's good promises? | A. Joshua 21:45 = Yes! |
| Q. Does God expect us to assist those not strong enough to fight for themselves? | A. Joshua 22:3 = Yes. To the finish! |
| Q. How does God view those stronger ones who might get bored helping his weaker brother, or may want to just move on, or for whatever other reason, leave a weaker brother to fend for himself? |
A. Joshua 22:3 = God calls them deserters. Note: Don't desert a brother in need, but discern and pray about the time to let him got it alone. Remember that the tribe of Dan fought alongside his stronger and braver brothers. And don't do things for him, but assist him! |
| Q. After such a show of God's power, does faith increase so much that we will run on "automatic faith" and are now able to let down our guard just a little? | A. Joshua 22:5 = No. We must always be careful to serve God in obedience, faith, heart and soul. We must always be vigilant! |
| Q. Did the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh become richer as a result of the plunder of war? | A. Joshua 22:8 = Yes. |
| Q. What did the richer Israelites, Judah, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, do with the plunder? | A. Joshua 22:8 = Joshua told them to share it with their entire tribes. |
| Q. What was the plunder? | A. Joshua 22:8 = Large herds of cattle, silver and gold, bronze and iron and clothing. |
| Q. Is it important to be under the prayer covering of the church when pioneering a ministry? | A. Joshua 22:10-34 = Yes. |
| Q. Why? |
A. Joshua 22:16 = Because new ministries cropping up suddenly cause concern and are misunderstood by established and mainstream Christianity. It is easy to draw wrong conclusions based on experience (v.17) and entire regions can be affected (v.20). Note: It is best to be sent out from a church because you have their blessing and covering. |
| Q. What did Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh do when accused of building an idol worship altar when they got home on the other side of the Jordan River? | A. Joshua 22:21 = They verbally denied such a thing and made their intentions known to the priest, Phinehas, and the Israeli leaders who came to charge them. |
| Q. What were their intentions for the altar? | A. Joshua 22:24 = It was to be a memorial to all Israel so that in the future, their children would be reminded that those on the opposite side of theJordan river, just outside the borders of the promised land, were tribes of Israel too. They had no intention of sacrificing on it. They called on God as their witness to this truth. |
| Q. What did this confrontation of tribes and priest result in? | A. Joshua 22:31 = It rescued Israel from being destroyed bythe Lord by their brothers on the other side of the Jordan, who would have killed them to save themselves from God's judgment. In the past, Israel was punished as a nation for the sins of a few. |
| Q. How was the memorial's purpose solidified to all the tribes? | A. Joshua 22:33-34 = Phinehas and the leaders returned to the other tribes and explained the altar memorial to them and they rejoiced. Reuben and Gad named the memorial, "Witness," for they swaid, "It is a witness between us and them that the Lord is our God too." |
| Q. Joshua was an old man now. Did the Israelites conquer every land by now? | A. Joshua 23:4-5 = No. |
| Q. Joshua had last words to Israel. What good advice does he have for us living in a sinful world? |
A. Joshua 23:5 = 1). God will fulfill His promises 2). v. 6 = Be strong (it's a choice!) 3). Obey 4). Don't stray 5). Don't associate too closely with sinners 6). Don't take false idols lightly -- don't even mention the names of false gods 8). Don't swear by false gods 9). Be faithful 10). Love God (another choice). 11). Don't intermarry with non-believers. |
| Q. Why not marry a non-believer? |
A. Joshua 23:12-13 = 1). God withholds His blessing 2). The unbeliever becomes a trap or a snare to you 3). a pain in your side and a thorn in your eyes 4). You'll be wiped out and lose everything. Note: Unbalanced marriage happens, but so many believers suffer in it. When they decide to follow God and take Joshua's other advice, the pain caused by the unbeliever is very conflicting. It is possible to survive such a union, but God wants to spare us of unnecessary pain any way He can, especially by avoiding this kind of unbalanced marriage in the first place. |
| Q. What else did Joshua advise them? |
A. Joshua 23:14 = 1). To acknowledge God's working through them to victory 2). That only disaster follows in disobedience. |
| Q. Did Abraham's father worship other gods? | A. Joshua 24:2 = Yes. |
| Q. What is a drastic difference between the histories of Isaac's sons, Jacob and Esau? | A. Joshua 24:4 = Esau's people separated from Jacob's and lived in the hill country of Seir. Jacob/Israel's people went to Egypt, was selected by God to be His people and got their trials and tribulations written in the bible. |
| Q. What other good advice did Joshua offer the people in his old age? |
A. Joshua 24:1-13 = 1). A summary of God's goodness to them from Abraham to present day 2). (v.14) And because of all of their experiences, told them to serve God wholeheartedly. 3). To put away the idols of their ancestors forever and serve the Lord alone. 4). He asked them to choose openly to serve God 5). Or choose wrong in serving their generational idols or the ones they acquired in the promised land from their enemies, the Amonites. The choice was made clear and laid bare before them. 6). Joshua openly declared that his family would choose to serve the Lord. |
| Q. What did the Israelites choose? | A. Joshua 24:16-18 = God Almighty! |
| Q. Did Joshua believe they were sincere? | A. Joshua 24:19 = No. He said they were not able to serve only God, but they declared that they would. |
| Q. Does God hold us accountable for our decision to serve Him? | A. Joshua 24:22 = Yes. If we declare that He is our God, we are accountable for that decision. |
| Q. What proof did Joshua demand from the people of their loyalty to God |
A. Joshua 24:23 = Destroy their idols now. Note: It is amazing to me that these Israelites still had idols at this point! It is no easy thing to forsake generational sins, requiring deliverance and hardy pursuit of God. We must have something to put in that newly delivered part of our lives that is of God, which is going to alter our ungodly lifestyles and thereby glorify God. Idol pursuit is a substitute for the real things in life. I'll take real over fake any day! |
| Q. With the new agreement between Joshua and Israel, what reminder did he place beneath the oak tree beside the Tabernacle of the Lord? | A. Joshua 24:26 = He rolled a large boulder there, saying that it would be a witness, having heard their declaration of service to God in everything. It would testify against them if they walked away from God. |
| Q. How old was Joshua when he died? | A. 110 years old. |
| Q. Where was he buried? | A. Joshua 24:30 = In his land, at Timnath-serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. |
| Q. Was Joshua a descendant of Joseph? | A. Joshua 24:30 = Yes. Ephraim, remember, was Joseph's son. Joshua was part Egyptian! |
| Q. Did any Israelite living that experienced all God's wonders during this time fall away? | A. Joshua 24:31 = No. |
| Q. Joshua's final speech was said at Shechem. What other significant thing occured there? | A. Joshua 24:32 = Joseph's bones were finally laid to rest there. |
| Q. Why? | A. Joshua 24:32 = Jacob had bought fromthe sons of Hamor, a parcel there for a burial site. Joseph's bones were laid to rest at this site of his father, as he wished. Shechem was within the territories of Joseph's sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. |
| Q. Who died shortly after Joshua? | A. Joshua 24:33 = Eleazar the priest. |
| Q. Where was he buried? | A. Joshua 24:33 = In Ephraim, in Gibeah, which belonged to his son, Phinehas. |
| Q. So the priestly line descended from Joseph too? | A. Joshua 24:33 = Yes. |