time Joshua was engaged in making war with all those kings. "There was not a city that made peace with the Israelites, save the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favour; as the Lord commanded Moses."

The Anakims who dwelt in Hebron, Debir and Anab, who had filled the Israelites with so great dismay formerly, were now attacked by Joshua, and cut off from the mountains of Judah. The only remnants of the children of Anak, inhabited Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod.

"So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel, according to their divisions, by their tribes. And the land rested from war."

The following is a succinct view of the country conquered, and taken possession of by the children of Israel. On the other side Jordan, towards the rising sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east; and from Aroer, which is on the bank of Arnon, unto the river Jabbok, which is on the border of Ammon. And from the plain to the sea of Cinneroth on the east, even to the sea of the plain, which is the salt-sea on the east. This country which had belonged to Og king of Bashan, who was of the family of the giants; and to Sihon king of Heshbon, did Moses, the servant of the Lord, give to the Reubenites and Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh.

And the country which Joshua subdued, on this side Jordan, extended from Baal-gad, in the valley of Lebanon, to mount Halak. The towns conquered were thirty and one, viz: Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, Eglon, Gezer, Debir, Geder, Hormah, Arad, Libnah, Adullam, Makkedah, Tappuah, Hepher, Aphek, Lasharon, Madon, Hazor, Shimron-meron, Achshaph, Taanach, Megiddo, Kedesh, Jokneam of Carmel, Dor, Gilgal, and Tirzah.

The conquests which Joshua made were very important, as the cities which he subdued were situated in the centre of the country, and contained the densest population. But many districts and towns remained still in the possession of the original inhabitants, whom God directed Joshua to exterminate. He was now, however, far advanced in years, and less fit than formerly for the incessant labours and watchings which appertained to a military commander. "And the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed." The unconquered country extended from Sihor on the confines of Egypt, to the bor

ders of Ekron, northward. This territory lay along the Mediterranean Sea, and included the five lords of the Philistines, who are so conspicuous in the wars waged by the Israelites. The Canaanites, who inhabited the south; the region round about Sidon, together with the country on the east of Lebanon, and extending to mount Hermon, unto the entrance of Hamath, were still unconquered. All these nations the Lord had promised to drive out from before the children of Israel.

SECTION X.

JOSHUA DIVIDES THE LAND AMONG THE NINE AND A HALF TRIBES-CALEB'S SPEECH AND PORTION-OTHNIEL CONQUERS KIRJATH-ZEPHER, AND RECEIVES CALEB'S DAUGHTER ACHSAH AS HIS REWARD-LOT OF JUDAH-OF EPHRAIMHALF TRIBE OF MANASSEH-THE CASE OF ZELOPHEHAD-CHILDREN OF JOSEPH COMPLAIN OF THE NARROWNESS OF THEIR LIMITS.

ORDERS were now given to Joshua to proceed to the division of the land by lot, between the nine and a half tribes, who as yet had not received their inheritance; for, as has been related, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half tribe of Manasseh, had received their inheritance on the east side of Jordan, agreeably to their own request; still, however, the land allotted to them was not entirely subdued; for some of the former inhabitants continued to dwell in the land among the Israelites. This was particularly the case in regard to the Geshurites and the Maachathites. The country of the Amorites, on the east of Jordan, which was distributed by lot among these two tribes and a half, was very rich in cities, and abundant in pastures; on which account, it was chosen by the Reubenites and Gadites, because they abounded in cattle. It will be remembered, in all the accounts of dividing the land among the twelve tribes, Levi is never reckoned, for with the two sons of Joseph, whom Jacob adopted as his own sons, there were twelve without counting the tribe of Levi; that is, Joseph himself is not reckoned, but each of his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, was counted as a distinct tribe. The reason of the exclusion of the tribe of Levi from a share in the division of the country, is very remarkable, and is often and emphatically repeated-"Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire, are their inheritance;" or, as it is elsewhere expressed, "the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance." Besides Joshua, there was but one man remaining in Israel, who was grown to maturity, when the people came out of Egypt. This was Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, the Kenezite. He was of the spies whom Moses sent to survey the land, and with Joshua, not only gave a true report of the goodness of the land, but having

faith in God, these men encouraged the people to go up immediately and take possession of the country. While by a solemn oath Jehovah declared that none of the rest of the people who came out of Egypt at adult age, should enter Canaan, it was promised that this honour and reward should be conferred on Joshua and Caleb. In this respect, they had the preference to Moses himself and Aaron the saint of the Lord, both of whom were excluded from this privilege, on account of improper conduct at Meribah. When Joshua and Eleazar, and the heads of the fathers, had come together to make a division of the land, the venerable patriarch Caleb presented himself before them, and delivered the following speech: "Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses, the man of God, concerning thee and me, in Kadesh-barnea. Forty years old was I when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to to spy out the land, and I brought him word again, as it was in my heart. Nevertheless, my brethren that went up with me, made the heart of the people melt; but I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses sware, on that day, saying, surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever; because thou hast wholly followed the Lord thy God. And now, behold the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old: and yet I am strong this day, as I was in the day that Moses sent me; as my strength was then, even so now is my strength for war, both to go out and to come in. Now, therefore, give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day, (for thou heardest in that day, how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced,) if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.” "And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, Hebron, for an inheritance." This city was therefore established to his family, and was possessed by them for a long period; "because that he wholly fol lowed the Lord God of Israel." The original name of Hebron, was Kirjath-arba, which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. Caleb, however, had to dispossess the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, who had their residence in Hebron. And as Debir, the former name of which was Kirjath-sepher, belonged to his inheritance, Caleb promised his daughter Achsah, to whomsoever would smite this city and take. it out of the hands of the inhabitants. And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, enterprised the conquest of this place, and accomplished it, and received the prize which had been offered. Achsah was probably the only daughter of this

venerable patriarch; and she seems to have possessed a great influence over her father; for although he had given her a possession, called the "South land," yet she requested another, which contained springs of water. "And he gave her the upper springs and the nether springs." The inheritance of Caleb fell within the limits of the tribe of Judah. The land which was allotted to this numerous and important tribe, was bounded on the west by the great, or Mediterranean sea, on the south by the river of Egypt, which was the southern boundary of the Holy Land; on the east by the salt, or Dead sea, and by a line running north from this sea to Jerusalem, which passed through the valley of the son of Hinnom, and terminated in the midst of Jebus or Jerusalem, where it met the possession of Benjamin; and the northern boundary passed off to the great sea, in a line somewhat circuitous. This was an exceedingly fertile and populous region, and was crowded with strongholds and walled towns. The sacred historian mentions nearly a hundred cities which fell within the inheritance of Judah. Many of these were large and populous; but we should remember, that every town which was enclosed by a wall, and entered by gates, is, in the language of Scripture, called a city.

The next tribe which received its inheritance was that of Ephraim, which included a large territory, extending from Jordan to the Mediteranean; and contained within its limits the inheritance of some of the lesser tribes; as did also that of Judah.

Manasseh had received on the east of Jordan, the one-half part of their inheritance; the remaining part was allotted to them along-side of the territory of Ephraim.

In regard to one family in this tribe, there occurred a case which was brought for decision "before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes." The case was, that Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. These laid claim to the inheritance of their father; and indeed, Moses had determined by Divine direction, that when there were no sons, the daughters should inherit; so that the land might be kept within its proper tribe. These heiresses were, however, required to contract marriages only with men of their own tribe.

Several of the cities allotted to Manasseh, were situated within the limits of Ephraim; for the sacred historian says, "Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh, belonged to the children of Ephraim. And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river; these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manas

seh." This must mean that some of the cities which were allotted to Manasseh lay within the borders of Ephraim. And the river Kanah was the dividing line on one part between these tribes; for it is said, "southward it was Ephraim's and northward it was Manasseh's; and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east. And Manasseh had also several towns within the borders of Issachar and Asher.

On account of this mixture of the tribes, in their possessions, it is rendered impossible, to delineate distinctly, the geography of the habitations of the several tribes. Most maps are in this respect very inaccurate, and the possessions of the tribes laid down by mere conjecture. That territory which included Bethshean, Ibleam, Dor, Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, with the towns and villages which lay in these districts, was the principal part of the inheritance of the tribe of Manasseh. But although this fine country was allotted to them, they possessed really only a small portion of it; for they "could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites. would dwell in that land;" yet when the Israelites waxed strong, they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out.

The children of Joseph, although they obtained the best of the land, yet were not well satisfied with their portion, therefore, they spake to Joshua, saying, "Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the Lord hath blessed me hitherto? And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there, in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee. And the children of Joseph said, the hill is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites that dwell in the valley have chariots of iron. And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people and hast great power, thou shalt not have one lot only, but the mountain shall be thine, and thou shalt cut it down; and the outgoings of it shall be thine; for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong."