This is what the children of Israel possessed in the land of Chanaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the princes of the families by the tribes of Israel gave to them.
וְאֵ֛לֶּה אֲשֶׁר־נָחֲל֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּאֶ֣רֶץ כְּנָ֑עַן אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִֽחֲל֜וּ אוֹתָ֗ם אֶלְעָזָ֤ר הַכֹּהֵן֙ וִיהוֹשֻׁ֣עַ בִּן־נ֔וּן וְרָאשֵׁ֛י אֲב֥וֹת הַמַּטּ֖וֹת לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
2 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The allocation of inheritances often brings significant effort and anxiety; those who manage the distribution, albeit a minor one, among siblings or other beneficiaries in the wake of someone's passing are well aware of this. To Stagirius the ascetic regarding despair.
The comprehensive depiction of Judah’s territories and the tribes serves as a foreshadowing of the future Church in the heavenly realm. By examining the Book of Joshua or the concluding chapters of the Book of Ezekiel, we can observe parallels between the historical allocation of land and the spiritual realms in heaven. What might the significance be of the seven and eight steps mentioned in Ezekiel's temple description (Ezekiel 40:20-37)? Furthermore, what does it mean that, following the mystical alphabet presented in Psalm 118, after fifteen steps we arrive at the point where we can proclaim, "Bless the Lord now, all you servants of the Lord, standing in the house of the Lord, in the courts of our God by night" (Psalm 133:1)?
Why did two and a half tribes choose to settle beyond the Jordan in fertile pastures, while the other nine and a half tribes either displaced the existing inhabitants from their lands or coexisted with them? Why did the tribe of Levi not receive a land inheritance, but instead became the Lord’s portion (Num. 18:20)? Moreover, why is it that among the priests and Levites, only the high priest may enter the holy of holies, where the cherubim and the mercy seat dwell (Lev. 16:2; Heb. 9:1-7)? Why are the other priests instructed to wear linen garments (Ex. 28ff.), but not garments of gold, amethyst, scarlet, purple, or decorated linen? The priests and Levites of lower status are tasked with tending to the oxen and carts, whereas the higher-ranking priests carry the ark of the covenant on their shoulders. If one disregards the entire structure of the tabernacle, temple, and church, and, to borrow military terminology, aligns everything under a single banner, then what purpose do bishops, priests, and deacons serve? Why endure for women? Why must widows face hardship? Why should wives practice self-denial? If this order holds no significance, then let us all sin freely, repent later, and become like the apostles.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS