Bible Strands
Joshua 14:3
For Moses had given the inheritance east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes. But he granted no inheritance among them to the Levites.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua addresses the Israelite assembly as he allocates the remaining land west of the Jordan, explaining the prior territorial divisions made during Moses’ lifetime.
The words — נָתַן (na.Tan) means "he had given," and נַחֲלַת (na.cha.Lat) denotes "inheritance," establishing that Moses formally assigned land rights east of the Jordan.
The thread — This allocation pattern aligns with Joshua 13:14 and Numbers 32:29, which record Moses granting territory to the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan while explicitly withholding land inheritance from the Levites.
Why it lands — The text explicitly states that Moses granted inheritance to the eastern tribes but gave none to the Levites, requiring readers to recognize that tribal boundaries were fixed historical allocations rather than flexible arrangements.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them.
Cross-references
- Joshua 13:14 To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The food offerings to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as He had promised them.
- Numbers 32:29 And Moses said to them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, with every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession.
- Deuteronomy 3:12 So at that time we took possession of this land. To the Reubenites and Gadites I gave the land beyond Aroer along the Arnon Valley, and half the hill country of Gilead, along with its cities.
- Joshua 13:8 The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them:
- Joshua 13:32 These were the portions Moses had given them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.