Section 18:1-10 Joshua divided land among the remaining seven clans
In this section Joshua instructed the remaining seven clans to make a plan for dividing up the rest of the land of Canaan.
Here are some other possible section headings:
Dividing the rest of the land
-or-
The rest of the land is distributed
Paragraph 18:1–10
18:1a
Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh: The phrase the whole congregation refers to all the Israelite people.
Shiloh: Shiloh is a town in the territory of the Ephraim clan. It was in the center of Israel, west of the Jordan River.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
Then all the community of Israel gathered at Shiloh
-or-
All the Israelite people met together at the town of Shiloh
18:1b
and set up the Tent of Meeting there: The tent of meeting was the tent that God told the Israelites to make. God gave detailed instructions to Moses on how to set up this tent and the things that were inside it. These instructions are found in Exodus 25–27. The fabric of the tent had outer layers made of goat hair. The inner layers were made of linen which were skillfully embroidered to make the inside beautiful.
The term Tent of Meeting emphasizes that this tent is where God met with his people.
A tent is a portable shelter made of cloth. The Israelites took the tent down and carried it when they moved through the wilderness. Some languages may not have a word for “tent.” In some languages, the closest equivalent may be “hut.”
Here are some other ways to translate this term:
holy tent
-or-
meeting tent
-or-
tent of the Lord ’s presence (Good News Translation)
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
and put up the meeting tent there
-or-
they set up the holy tent there
18:1c
And though the land was subdued before them: The clause the land was subdued before them indicates that the Israelites had conquered the people who lived in the land.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
The Israelites had conquered the land
-or-
They had defeated the people of the land
General Comment on verse 18:1
In some languages it may be more natural to reorder the parts of this verse so that they occur in chronological sequence. For example:
After the Israelites had defeated the people of the land they set up the tent of meeting at Shiloh
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