1. Now that the land was under Israelite control, the entire community of Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tabernacle.
2. But there remained seven tribes who had not yet been allotted their grants of land.
3. Then Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before taking possession of the remaining land the lord, the God of your ancestors, has given to you?
4. Select three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to explore the land and map it out. They will then return to me with a written report of their proposed divisions of their new homeland.
5. Let them divide the land into seven sections, excluding Judah’s territory in the south and Joseph’s territory in the north.
6. And when you record the seven divisions of the land and bring them to me, I will cast sacred lots in the presence of the lord our God to assign land to each tribe.
7. “The Levites, however, will not receive any allotment of land. Their role as priests of the lord is their allotment. And the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh won’t receive any more land, for they have already received their grant of land, which Moses, the servant of the lord, gave them on the east side of the Jordan River.”
8. As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua commanded them, “Go and explore the land and write a description of it. Then return to me, and I will assign the land to the tribes by casting sacred lots here in the presence of the lord at Shiloh.”