Page 39 - Biblical Backgrounds

After the city walls fell, how did the Israelites surmount the four to five-meter (12–15-foot) high
retaining wall at the base of the tell? Excavations have shown that the bricks from the collapsed walls
formed a ramp against the retaining wall so that the Israelites could merely climb up over the top. The
Bible is very precise in its description of how the Israelites entered the city: “the people went up into the
city, every man straight before him [i.e., straight up and over]” (Joshua 6:20). The Israelites had to go up,
and that is what archaeology revealed. They had to go from ground level at the base of the tell to the
78
top of the rampart to enter the city.
According to Joshua 14, it took about six years for the tribes of Israel to conquer the Land of Canaan and
overcome the military might of the ancient Canaanites. At this time, Joshua divided the land among the
tribes and allotted portions according to the Word of the Lord, the size of the tribe, and by casting lots.
Joshua told each tribe that they were responsible for subjugating their portion of the land and removing
the defeated people. Many of the tribes failed in this responsibility. The map to the left shows how
Israel was divided among the tribes.

Unfortunately, the tribes only took a small portion of the land that God had promised to Abraham, as
God’s promise of land extended to the Euphrates River.

The second map below shows the campaigns west of the Jordan River.

79 Once the major parts of the promised land had been conquered,
Joshua divided up the land among the tribes. The Tribe of Levi, the
priests, did not receive land as God was to be their inheritance. The
other tribes were each given large tracts of land throughout the
Promised Land. On the east side of the Jordan River, the tribes of
Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 13:7-8). On
the west side, the other tribes were given land. These tribes
included Asher, Zebulun, Naphtali, Issachar, Manasseh, Ephraim,
80
Dan, Benjamin, Judah, and Simeon. (see map below) Voss explains
that though the land was divided, they did not actually conquer it al
then “We discover from the books of Joshua and Judges that the
Hebrews initially did not conquer the land assigned to these tribes.
In fact, they did not get control of it all until the reign of David.”
81

If you take time to read the book of Joshua, you will find that there
are areas that are not conquered and manage to avoid them for an
extended period after the initial division of the land. Two major
areas that are not conquered and are a threat to Israel include
Philistia and Phoenicia. As you read the book of Joshua and Judges,
the Philistines are a source of turmoil to the Israelites. Saul and

78 https://answersingenesis.org/archaeology/the-walls-of-jericho/
79 Voss, illustrative map: “Land allocated to the Tribes of Israel” in Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Manners and
Customs, 109.
80 Ibid., 10.
81 Ibid.

37