1. Joshua 14:1–15 (ESV)
  2. Structure and outline

Structure and overview of Joshua 14

Joshua 14:1–15 (ESV)

1 These are the inheritances that the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel gave them to inherit.

Joshua 14:1–15 can be divided into two parts:

  1. A summary statement about the division of the land west of the Jordan and the manner in which it took place (Joshua 14:1–5). This summary serves as an introduction to the entire distribution of Joshua 14:1 – 19:51,1 a single unit framed by the same reference to Joshua, Eleazar, and the tribal leaders who oversee the distribution at Gilgal and then Shiloh (Joshua 14:1; Joshua 19:51).2

  2. The allotment of Hebron to Caleb (Joshua 14:6–15).

This chapter begins the formal division of the land west of the Jordan River. Caleb features prominently in order to serve as an example of what all Israel should be doing, thereby inspiring and encouraging obedience amongst God’s people.