Bible Strands
Joshua 18:9
So the men departed and went throughout the land, mapping it city by city into seven portions. Then they returned with the document to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records the surveying men completing Joshua’s command and returning to him at the camp in Shiloh with their written record. This follows immediately after Joshua’s directive in Joshua 18:8 to map the territory before casting lots.
The words — The Hebrew וַ/יִּכְתְּב֧וּ/הָ (va/i.yikh.te.Vu./ha) literally means “and they wrote it,” denoting the physical documentation of the survey. The phrase לְ/שִׁבְעָ֥ה חֲלָקִ֖ים (le./shiv.'Ah cha.la.Kim) translates to “into seven portions,” specifying the exact numerical division of the mapped land.
The thread — The systematic division of territory into allotted portions continues throughout the land distribution accounts in Joshua 13–19. The theme of God allocating conquered land to His people resurfaces in Acts 13:19.
Why it lands — The text establishes that territorial inheritance requires documented measurement and precise division before distribution. It asks the reader to recognize that divine allocation operates through verifiable procedure rather than unrecorded promise.
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
And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.
Cross-references
- Acts 13:19 And having vanquished seven nations in Canaan, He gave their land to His people as an inheritance.