Yehoshua - Perek 13 – “From Conquest to Division”
Part 1: The Unfulfilled Tasks (13:1-14)
Summary
Points to Ponder
Did Yehoshua succeed in his overall mission or not?
The answer to this question differs greatly depending on whether one approaches this discussion through the prism of chapter 12 or chapter 13.
Rashi takes the approach that Yehoshua did his job well. The fact that some land remained unconquered was not a failure. For example, Avraham was promised a huge amount of land in parshas Lech Lecha, far more than just the land of Israel. It included the far Northeast territories of the Keini, Kenizi and Kadmoni (around today’s Syria and Iraq). Yehoshua clearly did not conquer these areas. It is understood that they are destined to be conquered in the future messianic era. This is an example of promised land which had yet to be conquered.
The Ralbag and others are more reticent. He takes a more literal reading, that although Yehoshua did not conquer it all, he grew old at this point in time. Based on Hashem's word, he chose not to fight until his final days, but rather to stop and divide the parts that he had successfully conquered. He decided that the parts which remained unconquered would have to be the responsibility of the nation of Israel in the future. That is the connection to the book of Shoftim, when Israel are expected to continue that mission.
The Malbim adds one last wrinkle into this, quoting a chilling statement of Chazal which says that Yehoshua "nitzatzel," Yehoshua was a little lazy, whatever that means. Perhaps Yehoshua was hesitant to finish the conquest for the very simple reason is that he knew that his life was dependent on finishing the conquest, so he took a while to complete the process. Apparently, he was not able to finish it within the timeframe that he imagined. This approach places a little bit of a shadow over this whole operation. This also explains why we read this seemingly tangential statement in our chapter about Yehoshua’s age. This was something which held up the operation.
Part 2: The Division of Land and Lack of Land for Levi (13:15-33)
Summary
Points to Ponder
Why did Levi not receive a portion in the Land?
We already know from the Torah, which tells us in Devarim 18:1 that the Kohanim and Leviim do not receive land in Israel. The reason given is because Hashm is their portion. There is a tax system which is set up, in which the Leviim are supplied ma'aser, a tithe of the produce. This is a way on ensuring their sustainability despite not having their own land. The Malbim points out that in Devarim, that although the Leviim did not get a tribal portion of land, after the division of the land, they did receive cities among the other tribes. Thus, they lived interdispersed among the rest of the tribes as teachers and role models.
There is another reason why the Leviim did not get a portion of land. In the blessings of Yaakov Avinu to his sons, he made clear reference to Shimon and Levi in relation to their conquest of the city of Shechem. He declared, Bereishis 49:7,"Achalkem b'Yaakov va'afitzem b'Yisrael," - I am going to spread out Levi and Shimon among Israel. As a result of this curse, Levi did not get his own tribal inheritance, although he did get a communal distribution. This gives us a little more of a historical background about what unfolds in our chapter.
Summary
- The chapter opens by introducing how by this point, Yehoshua had reached an advanced age.
- A large amount of the land has not yet been captured, many verses list uncaptured areas in the north, south, east and west, providing a sharp contrast with the successes described just before in the previous chapter
Points to Ponder
Did Yehoshua succeed in his overall mission or not?
The answer to this question differs greatly depending on whether one approaches this discussion through the prism of chapter 12 or chapter 13.
Rashi takes the approach that Yehoshua did his job well. The fact that some land remained unconquered was not a failure. For example, Avraham was promised a huge amount of land in parshas Lech Lecha, far more than just the land of Israel. It included the far Northeast territories of the Keini, Kenizi and Kadmoni (around today’s Syria and Iraq). Yehoshua clearly did not conquer these areas. It is understood that they are destined to be conquered in the future messianic era. This is an example of promised land which had yet to be conquered.
The Ralbag and others are more reticent. He takes a more literal reading, that although Yehoshua did not conquer it all, he grew old at this point in time. Based on Hashem's word, he chose not to fight until his final days, but rather to stop and divide the parts that he had successfully conquered. He decided that the parts which remained unconquered would have to be the responsibility of the nation of Israel in the future. That is the connection to the book of Shoftim, when Israel are expected to continue that mission.
The Malbim adds one last wrinkle into this, quoting a chilling statement of Chazal which says that Yehoshua "nitzatzel," Yehoshua was a little lazy, whatever that means. Perhaps Yehoshua was hesitant to finish the conquest for the very simple reason is that he knew that his life was dependent on finishing the conquest, so he took a while to complete the process. Apparently, he was not able to finish it within the timeframe that he imagined. This approach places a little bit of a shadow over this whole operation. This also explains why we read this seemingly tangential statement in our chapter about Yehoshua’s age. This was something which held up the operation.
Part 2: The Division of Land and Lack of Land for Levi (13:15-33)
Summary
- The last part of the chapter describes how the land of the Eastern side of the Yarden was divided between the tribes of Reuven, Gad and half of Menashe.
- The nation then transitions from conquest to division of land.
- Like the conquest of the land, the division also took seven years.
- The tribe of Levi do not receive a portion in the land, as emphasized in the Torah – Hashem is their portion.
Points to Ponder
Why did Levi not receive a portion in the Land?
We already know from the Torah, which tells us in Devarim 18:1 that the Kohanim and Leviim do not receive land in Israel. The reason given is because Hashm is their portion. There is a tax system which is set up, in which the Leviim are supplied ma'aser, a tithe of the produce. This is a way on ensuring their sustainability despite not having their own land. The Malbim points out that in Devarim, that although the Leviim did not get a tribal portion of land, after the division of the land, they did receive cities among the other tribes. Thus, they lived interdispersed among the rest of the tribes as teachers and role models.
There is another reason why the Leviim did not get a portion of land. In the blessings of Yaakov Avinu to his sons, he made clear reference to Shimon and Levi in relation to their conquest of the city of Shechem. He declared, Bereishis 49:7,"Achalkem b'Yaakov va'afitzem b'Yisrael," - I am going to spread out Levi and Shimon among Israel. As a result of this curse, Levi did not get his own tribal inheritance, although he did get a communal distribution. This gives us a little more of a historical background about what unfolds in our chapter.