March 16, 2022 Bible Study — It Doesn’t Hurt To Ask

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Joshua 15-17.

For the most part this passage lays out the borders of the territories allotted to the tribes of Judah, Ephraim, and Manasseh.  However, there are three stories within it which deviate from that.  First, it describes how Caleb motivated those helping him capture his allotment by offering his daughter in marriage.  Then, as part of that, it relates how she requested that she, and her husband, be given some springs to go along with the rest of the land Caleb gave them.  The next such story, tells us how the daughters of Zelophehad asked Joshua to give them their father’s portion.  A request which they had previously made of Moses, who had granted it after consulting God.  Joshua followed through on Moses’ commitment to them.   Finally, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh together requested more territory than their original allotment because they felt the Canaanites in the low country of their allotment were too strong for them.  Joshua granted them more land, although less than they requested, and assured them that they would be able to drive out the Canaanites.  In all three cases, rather than complain about how they had been shorted, those involved asked for what they wanted.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.