Josue was old, and far advanced in years, and the Lord said to him: Thou art grown old, and advanced in age, and there is a very large country left, which is not yet divided by lot:
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2 To wit, all Galilee, Philistia, and all Gessuri.
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3 From the troubled river, that watereth Egypt, unto the borders of Accaron northward: the land of Chanaan, which is divided among the lords of the Philistines, the Gazites, the Azotians, the Ascalonites, the Gethites, and the Accronites.
4 And on the south side are the Hevites, all the land of Chanaan, and Maara of the Sidonians as far as Apheca, and the borders of the Amorrhite,
5 And his confines. The country also of Libanus towards the east from Baalgad under mount Hermon to the entering into Emath.
6 Of all that dwell in the mountains from Libanus, to the waters of Maserephoth, and all the Sidonians. I am he that will cut them off from before the face of the children of Israel. So let their land come in as a part of the inheritance of Israel, as I have commanded thee.
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7 And now divide the land in possession to the nine tribes, and to the half tribe of Manasses,
8 With whom Ruben and Gad have possessed the land, which Moses the servant of the Lord delivered to them beyond the river Jordan, on the east side.
9 From Aroer, which is upon the bank of the torrent Amen, and in the midst of the valley and all the plains of Medaba, as far as Dibon:
10 And all the cities of Sehon, king of the Amorrhites, who reigned in Hesebon, unto the borders of the children of Ammon.
11 And Galaad, and the borders of Gessuri and Machati, and all mount Hermon, and all Basan as far as Salecha,
12 All the kingdom of Og in Basan, who reigned in Astaroth and Edrai, he was of the remains of the Raphaims: and Moses overthrew and destroyed them.
13 And the children of Israel would not destroy Gessuri and Machati: and they have dwelt in the midst of Israel, until this present day.
14 But to the tribe of Levi he gave no possession: but the sacrifices and victims of the Lord God of Israel, are his inheritance, as he spoke to him.
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15 And Moses gave a possession to the children of Ruben according to their kindreds.
16 And their border was from Aroer, which is on the bank of the torrent Arnon, and in the midst of the valley of the same torrent: all the plain, that leadeth to Medaba,
17 And Hesebon, and all their villages, which are in the plains. Dibon also, and Bamothbaal, and the town of Baalmaon,
18 And Jassa, and Cidimoth, and Mephaath,
19 And Cariathaim, and Sabama, and Sarathasar in the mountain of the valley.
20 Bethphogor and Asedoth, Phasga and Bethiesimoth,
21 And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdoms of Sehon king of the Amorrhites, that reigned in Hesebon, whom Moses slew with the princes of Madian: Hevi, and Recem, and Sur and Hur, and Rebe, dukes of Sehon inhabitants of the land.
22 Balaam also the son of Beer the soothsayer, the children of Israel slew with the sword among the rest that were slain.
23 And the river Jordan was the herder of the children of Ruben. This is the possession of the Rubenites, by their kindreds, of cities and villages.
24 And Moses gave to the tribe of Gad and to his children by their kindreds a possession, of which this is the division.
25 The border of Jaser, and all the cities of Galaad, and half the land of the children of Ammon: as far as Aroer which is over against Rabba:
26 And from Hesebon unto Ramoth, Masphe and Betonim: and from Manaim unto the borders of Dabir.
27 And in the valley Betharan and Bethnemra, and Socoth, and Saphon the other part of the kingdom of Sehon king of Hesebon: the limit of this also is the Jordan, as far as the uttermost part of the sea of Cenereth beyond the Jordan on the east side.
28 This is the possession of the children of Gad by their families, their cities, and villages.
29 He gave also to the half tribe of Manasses and his children possession according to their kindreds,
30 The beginning whereof is this: from Manaim all Basan, and all the kingdoms of Og king of Basan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in Basan, threescore towns.
31 And half Galaad, and Astaroth, and Edrai, cities of the kingdom of Og in Basan: to the children of Machir, the son of Manasses, to one? half of the children of Machir according to their kindreds.
32 This possession Moses divided in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan, over against Jericho on the east side.
33 But to the tribe of Levi he gave no possession: because the Lord the God of Israel himself is their possession, as he spoke to them.
Origen
“Certain attentive persons even before us have observed in the Scriptures that presbyters or elders are not so called because they have lived to a great age, but they are honored by this title for their maturity of thought and venerable dignity of life, especially when there is added to presbyter this phrase that follows: "full of days." For if any "presbyter" or "elder" seemed so named because of his great age, who would have been even more fitting to designate by this name than Adam, or surely Methuselah or Noah, who clearly are declared to have lived far more years in this world than the rest? Yet, we see that indeed not one of these is called "presbyter" or "elder" by Scripture. But Abraham, who lived a much shorter life, is the first to be called "presbyter" or "elder" in holy Scriptures. Also it is said by the Lord to Moses, "Choose presbyters for yourself from all the people, those whom you yourself know to be presbyters." But see, O hearer, whether anywhere in all Scripture you are able to find the title "an elder, full of days" attributed to any sinner.”
Origen
“But follow me, O hearer, through delicate threads of expression, and I shall disclose to you how for a second time he takes possession of this earth, very much of which is now said to Jesus to be left behind. Listen to what Paul says concerning this: "For he must reign until he makes all his enemies his footstool." This, therefore, is the "land," much of which is now said to be left behind, until all are placed entirely under his feet and until he takes possession of all persons for his inheritance. "This," it says, "is the land that was left behind: all the regions of the Philistines," and, indeed, very many other lands that follow. Much still "remains," as far as this pertains to our times, which we see has not yet been "placed beneath the feet of Jesus," who is certainly to possess all.…From this it is evident that in the second coming Jesus will obtain this extensive land that still remains. But blessed are those who were taken over at his first coming; for those will be truly dear who receive the inheritance of the land of promise in spite of the resistance of many adversaries and the attacks of many enemies by war and by weapons.”
Origen
“After these things, when he had enumerated very many nations, of the Sidonites alone he said, "And I shall exterminate all the Sidonites from the face of the sons of Israel." The Canaanites were also named, and those who were opposite Egypt were mentioned, and those who were from the region of Ekron and from the left portions of the river, and very many other nations; but concerning the Sidonites alone, the Lord says that he will destroy them. Just as we have said previously, however, the Sidonites are called "hunters." Who, therefore, do we understand as those evil hunters that the Lord exterminates if not those opposing powers of whom the prophet says, "They have prepared snares for my feet," [snares] by which they pursue and ensnare souls for sin? So then, the Lord exterminates them. For when such hunters as these have perished, when at last there will be no one who "stretches out snares" and nets in order to entrap souls in sin, then "each person will rest under his own vine and under his own fig tree."”
Origen
“Neither Moses nor Jesus [Joshua], however, gave an inheritance to the Levites, because "the Lord God himself is their inheritance." What else can we understand by this, except that in the church of the Lord there are certain persons who precede all the rest by the strength of their spirit and on account of their merits? The Lord himself is said to be their inheritance. And if it is proper to venture into such things and unveil a profound secret, let us see what the figure of priests or Levites secretly discloses, in case there is something. For among every people—I speak of those who are saved—the great majority are no doubt those who please the Lord through good works, honest ways and acceptable deeds because they simply believe in and fear God. But there are a few persons, exceedingly rare, who give attention to wisdom and to knowledge, keep their mind clean and pure, and cultivate noble virtues for their souls. Through the influence of teaching, they can then illuminate the way for the other more simple ones to walk to and arrive at salvation. These persons are probably designated here under the name of Levites and priests, whose heritage is said to be the Lord himself, who is wisdom, which they dearly loved above all other things.”