Chapter 13 of Sefer Yehoshua is a transition chapter: from here on, we move from the accounts of the conquest to the division of the Land. The chapter opens with Hashem's words to Yehoshua, who had grown old while the land was still not fully conquered, continues with a detailed description of "the remaining land" in the south, the west, and the north, and then details the inheritances of the two and a half tribes who had already received their portions in the eastern Transjordan from Moshe Rabbeinu. The chapter concludes with two verses concerning the tribe of Levi, which had no territorial inheritance, and which we will explore at length following the Malbim.
וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ זָקֵן בָּא בַּיָּמִים וַיֹּאמֶר יְהֹוָה אֵלָיו אַתָּה זָקַנְתָּה בָּאתָ בַיָּמִים וְהָאָרֶץ נִשְׁאֲרָה הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד לְרִשְׁתָּהּ׃ - Now Yehoshua was old, advanced in years, and Hashem said to him: "You have grown old, advanced in years, and very much of the land still remains to be possessed."
The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Yehoshua: You are already old, but you have not completed the task. Very much of the land still remains to be possessed. Chazal have already taught us, as noted above, that Yehoshua delayed in the conquest of the Land because he reasoned that as long as he did not finish the conquest, he would not die; we have already explained his calculation and approach in this matter.
Here, the wording is remarkably precise. We have already seen in the Malbim that there is a difference between nish'ar and notar: notar refers to what is left over on its own, unintentionally, whereas nish'ar refers to what a person deliberately leaves behind. Therefore, the verse does not say, "and the land was left over" (notrah) - implying "I did everything I could, and whatever remains happened on its own" - but rather, "and the land nish'arah" (was left behind), as if intentionally left by Yehoshua with the goal of conquering it slowly. And as we have seen, this cost him years of his life: instead of living to one hundred and twenty, he passed away at one hundred and ten.
זֹאת הָאָרֶץ הַנִּשְׁאָרֶת כׇּל־גְּלִילוֹת הַפְּלִשְׁתִּים וְכׇל־הַגְּשׁוּרִי׃ מִן־הַשִּׁיחוֹר אֲשֶׁר עַל־פְּנֵי מִצְרַיִם וְעַד גְּבוּל עֶקְרוֹן צָפוֹנָה לַכְּנַעֲנִי תֵּחָשֵׁב חֲמֵשֶׁת סַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים הָעַזָּתִי וְהָאַשְׁדּוֹדִי הָאֶשְׁקְלוֹנִי הַגִּתִּי וְהָעֶקְרוֹנִי וְהָעַוִּים׃ - This is the land that remains: all the districts of the Philistines and all the Geshurites. From the Shihor which faces Egypt until the border of Ekron northward, it is counted as Canaanite: the five Philistine lords - the Gazite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, and the Ekronite - and the Avvim.
The text describes everything that remained, beginning in the southern region, moving from east to west, from the direction of the Dead Sea toward the Mediterranean. Notice that all these names are familiar to us to this day: Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gat, Ekron. Many of the place names established or restored in our time are based on the traditional names of those locations in antiquity.
And these remain problematic areas to this day, just as they were back then. Regarding the Philistines, we will see throughout later books of the Bible how they are struck down time and again, yet continually return. Concerning them it was said, "they shall be thorns in your eyes and thistles in your sides" - they will constantly harass you. Thus we brought this misfortune upon ourselves by not rushing to conquer them. Here, Scripture refers to the entire southern sector, which was left behind entirely.
מִתֵּימָן כׇּל־אֶרֶץ הַכְּנַעֲנִי וּמְעָרָה אֲשֶׁר לַצִּידֹנִים עַד־אֲפֵקָה עַד גְּבוּל הָאֱמֹרִי׃ - From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Me'arah which belongs to the Sidonians, until Aphekah, until the border of the Amorite.
"Miteiman" means from the south. As for "Me'arah which belongs to the Sidonians" - there appears to be no clear explanation found as to what this cave was. It is possible that it refers to a specific cave that was well-known in their time, and it does not seem to refer to the proper name of a town called "Me'arah." In this verse, the text describes the route from south to north along the western sector.
וְהָאָרֶץ הַגִּבְלִי וְכׇל־הַלְּבָנוֹן מִזְרַח הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ מִבַּעַל גָּד תַּחַת הַר־חֶרְמוֹן עַד לְבוֹא חֲמָת׃ - And the land of the Gebalite, and all Lebanon toward the sunrising, from Baal-gad under Mount Hermon unto the entrance of Hamath.
The text now turns to describe the northern boundary, moving from east to west. "And the land of the Gebalite, and all Lebanon" - we are now on the northern side, where Lebanon lies. Previously we were in the south, around Gaza, and here it describes that in the north as well, not everything was conquered. "Unto the entrance of Hamath", and Hamath is located in the northwest, closer to the sea.
כׇּל־יֹשְׁבֵי הָהָר מִן־הַלְּבָנוֹן עַד־מִשְׂרְפֹת מַיִם כׇּל־צִידֹנִים אָנֹכִי אוֹרִישֵׁם מִפְּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל רַק הַפִּלֶהָ לְיִשְׂרָאֵל בְּנַחֲלָה כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוִּיתִיךָ׃ - All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians; them will I drive out from before the children of Israel; only allot it unto Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you.
"Misrephoth-maim" - we have already explained that these were places where seawater was channeled into flats and left to evaporate, after which the remaining salt was scraped up. This was how sea salt was produced. These sites were called "Misrephoth-maim" (burnings of water) because the water appeared to be burned up and vanished. "All the Sidonians" refers to the territory of Sidon.
Hashem says to Yehoshua: I will drive them out before the Children of Israel, and you need only allot it to Israel as an inheritance (nachalah). The Malbim notes a precise difference in wording: earlier in chapter 12, the text states, "And Yehoshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession (yerushah)," whereas here it says nachalah. What is the difference? Yerushah denotes the transfer of ownership - property passing from one party's legal domain to another's. Nachalah, by contrast, refers to an enduring heritage that a person bequeaths to his descendants.
Therefore, earlier, when speaking of what had already been conquered, the text used the term yerushah, as there was no question of lineage or family descent - we are not the Canaanites' children; rather, Hashem dispossessed the Canaanites and transferred ownership to us, a direct shift from one domain to another. At that stage, it could not yet be described as allotted as a nachalah, because the lots had not yet been drawn, and without casting lots it was impossible to establish who would inherit which portion and pass it down to future generations.
Here, the opposite is true: since the land had not yet been conquered, it could not be called yerushah, for ownership had not yet been transferred to Israel. Regarding this, Hashem says, "I will drive them out" - I will carry out the transfer of possession, and that will take place in the future. What, then, is Yehoshua's task? "Only allot it for an inheritance (nachalah)" - so that each tribe will know its designated territory, the heritage it will pass down to its children. This is the meaning of "as I have commanded you," referring back to what was said earlier, "For you shall cause this people to inherit (tanchil)," which did not include a command that he must dispossess the Canaanites himself, but only that he apportion each tribe its share.
וְעַתָּה חַלֵּק אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת בְּנַחֲלָה לְתִשְׁעַת הַשְּׁבָטִים וַחֲצִי הַשֵּׁבֶט הַמְנַשֶּׁה׃ עִמּוֹ הָראוּבֵנִי וְהַגָּדִי לָקְחוּ נַחֲלָתָם אֲשֶׁר נָתַן לָהֶם מֹשֶׁה בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן מִזְרָחָה כַּאֲשֶׁר נָתַן לָהֶם מֹשֶׁה עֶבֶד יְהֹוָה׃ - Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. With him the Reubenites and the Gadites took their inheritance, which Moses gave them beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of Hashem gave them.
Now divide the land as an inheritance among the nine tribes - that is, determine what each one is designated to receive. The tribes of Reuven and Gad had already taken their inheritance given to them by Moshe on the eastern side of the Jordan, in the land of Sichon and Og, and that portion did not need to be redistributed. "With him" means together with the other half of the tribe of Menasheh, whose portion was also situated on the eastern side of the Jordan. They had already received their inheritance just as Moshe had assigned it to them, and it was not reallocated by Yehoshua; rather, that original distribution remained in place.
מֵעֲרוֹעֵר אֲשֶׁר עַל־שְׂפַת־נַחַל אַרְנוֹן וְהָעִיר אֲשֶׁר בְּתוֹךְ־הַנַּחַל וְכׇל־הַמִּישֹׁר מֵידְבָא עַד־דִּיבוֹן׃ - From Aroer, which is on the bank of the Arnon Brook, and the city that is in the midst of the brook, and all the plain from Medeba to Dibon.
Rashi explains that here the text enumerates the entire land of the eastern bank of the Jordan in general terms, and afterwards it will specify the borders of each individual tribe that Moshe assigned - to this tribe and to that tribe.
כׇּל־מַמְלְכוּת עוֹג בַּבָּשָׁן אֲשֶׁר־מָלַךְ בְּעַשְׁתָּרוֹת וּבְאֶדְרֶעִי הוּא נִשְׁאַר מִיֶּתֶר הָרְפָאִים וַיַּכֵּם מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּרִשֵׁם׃ - All the kingdom of Og in the Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei; he remained from the remnant of the Rephaim, and Moshe struck them down and drove them out.
"He remained from the remnant of the Rephaim" - from which Rephaim? Rashi explains: from those Rephaim whom Chedorlaomer and the kings with him struck down, as it is written, "And they struck the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim." Those who survived from among them were the ones whom Moshe Rabbeinu struck down and dispossessed.
וְלֹא הוֹרִישׁוּ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת־הַגְּשׁוּרִי וְאֶת־הַמַּעֲכָתִי וַיֵּשֶׁב גְּשׁוּר וּמַעֲכָת בְּקֶרֶב יִשְׂרָאֵל עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ רַק לְשֵׁבֶט הַלֵּוִי לֹא נָתַן נַחֲלָה אִשֵּׁי יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא נַחֲלָתוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר־לוֹ׃ - But the Children of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maachathites; and Geshur and Maachath dwelt in the midst of Israel until this day. Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the fire-offerings of Hashem, God of Israel, are his inheritance, as He spoke to him.
The only tribe that received no territorial inheritance was Shevet Levi, and "the fire-offerings of Hashem, God of Israel, are his inheritance" - this refers to the sacrificial portions of the altar; after whatever was designated to be offered on the altar was consumed, the remainder became their portion. And this was "as He spoke to him", just as Hashem told Moshe that this would be the portion of the Levi'im.
Of course, the Levi'im received cities to live in, but these were not considered a landed inheritance. A nachalah, an inheritance, means a tract of land where a person cultivates his field and bequeaths it to his children, whereas here these were strictly cities for their residence. Engaging in earthly, mundane pursuits was not their role; rather, "For the lips of the Kohen shall guard knowledge, and they shall seek Torah from his mouth, for he is an angel of Hashem of Hosts." Their mission was to engage in Torah study and teaching, as the Rambam writes regarding Shevet Levi, and the burden of their livelihood fell upon the public - through terumot, ma'asrot, and the priestly and Levite gifts. On this point, the Rambam concludes Hilchot Shemitah VeYovel by stating that not only Shevet Levi, but any person whose spirit moved him and whose intellect understood to cast off the yoke of worldly calculations, is sanctified as holy of holies and is considered like Shevet Levi, as is well known.
וַיִּתֵּן מֹשֶׁה לְמַטֵּה בְנֵי־רְאוּבֵן לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם׃ - And Moshe gave to the tribe of the children of Reuven according to their families.
The Metzudat David notes: Moshe Rabbeinu did not grant them the territory as a lump sum for them to distribute among themselves; rather, he personally divided each family's specific portion, and that is the meaning of "according to their families."
וְכֹל עָרֵי הַמִּישֹׁר וְכׇל־מַמְלְכוּת סִיחוֹן מֶלֶךְ הָאֱמֹרִי אֲשֶׁר מָלַךְ בְּחֶשְׁבּוֹן אֲשֶׁר הִכָּה מֹשֶׁה אֹתוֹ וְאֶת־נְשִׂיאֵי מִדְיָן אֶת־אֱוִי וְאֶת־רֶקֶם וְאֶת־צוּר וְאֶת־חוּר וְאֶת־רֶבַע נְסִיכֵי סִיחוֹן יֹשְׁבֵי הָאָרֶץ׃ - And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sichon, king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moshe struck down along with the chieftains of Midian - Evi, Rekem, Tzur, Hur, and Reba - the princes of Sichon who dwelt in the land.
These five kings, who are the five kings of Midian, are referred to here as the "princes of Sichon." The Radak explains that when Sichon and the Amorites dwelt in the land, before the Children of Israel subdued them, these rulers were princes of the land under Sichon's rule, as Midian was subject to his dominion. Therefore, do not wonder why the verse designates them both as the kings of Midian and as the princes of Sichon.
וְאֶת־בִּלְעָם בֶּן־בְּעוֹר הַקּוֹסֵם הָרְגוּ בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּחֶרֶב אֶל־חַלְלֵיהֶם׃ - And Bilaam son of Beor, the soothsayer, the Children of Israel slew with the sword among their slain.
Why does the verse emphasize "the soothsayer"? The Radak explains: to inform us that he was not an actual prophet, but merely a soothsayer, and his prophecy was only temporary. That is, he received a temporary prophecy from Hashem for the sake of the Jewish people, but one should not think that he was inherently a prophet. He was a practitioner of sorcery who performed all kinds of surprising feats that led people to believe in his powers, a sort of sorcerer. The Radak adds another possibility: an angel of Hashem came to speak those prophecies to him solely out of honor for Israel. These two explanations can certainly complement each other.
The Radak asks: How did they find Bilaam there? After all, it is written, "And he went and returned to his place." Chazal explain: he returned to collect his reward for the counsel he gave to Moab and Midian to bring out their beautiful daughters so that Israel would sin with them and arouse Hashem's wrath against them. He went to collect his payment, and when he arrived to receive it, they seized him and punished him. When he saw that his counsel had been fulfilled, he went to Moab and Midian to demand his wages from them.
An important point must be emphasized: anyone who examines the verses will discover that nowhere is it explicitly stated that Bilaam advised causing Israel to sin with the daughters of Midian. The verse says, "Come, and I will counsel you what this people shall do to your people in the end of days," and afterward it relates that the daughters of Midian went and led the people of Israel into sin, but it is not stated that he offered this specific counsel. It was Chazal who revealed to us that this was indeed his advice - the God of these people hates immorality. Once he saw that he could not subdue them through curses, he said: let us subdue them through sin.
And what is the meaning of "el chalaleihem" (among their slain)? The Radak explains: it means together with their slain, and there are many similar instances in Scripture. In the Torah, it is written "al chalaleihem," and the word "al" likewise sometimes means "with," as in "and the men came with (al) the women," meaning alongside the women, and other similar examples.
The Radak also cites a Midrash: the kings of Midian performed sorcery together with Bilaam and flew through the air to escape the sword of Israel. When Pinchas showed them the Tzitz (the High Priest's Headplate), upon which was inscribed "Holy to Hashem," all their powers of impurity and kelipah were nullified, and they plummeted down onto their slain - the slain were lying below, and they fell directly upon them. Furthermore, Chazal state regarding "upon their slain" that Bilaam was subjected to all four death penalties of the court: Pinchas killed him with the sword, and the moment he fell, it constituted stoning, and so forth. In short, all four judicial executions were carried out upon him, in addition to being slain.
וַיְהִי גְּבוּל בְּנֵי רְאוּבֵן הַיַּרְדֵּן וּגְבוּל זֹאת נַחֲלַת בְּנֵי־רְאוּבֵן לְמִשְׁפְּחוֹתָם הֶעָרִים וְחַצְרֵיהֶן׃ - And the border of the children of Reuven was the Jordan and its border; this was the inheritance of the children of Reuven according to their families, the cities and their villages.
The tribe of Reuven settled on the eastern side of the Jordan, and where does their territory end? At the Jordan River, beyond which begins the western bank of the Jordan, which was the portion of the other tribes. The Metzudat David notes on the phrase "and its border": the cities adjacent to the Jordan were also considered part of the border of Reuven.
וַיִּתֵּן מֹשֶׁה לְמַטֵּה־גָד לִבְנֵי־גָד לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם׃ - And Moshe gave to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad according to their families.
אֵלֶּה אֲשֶׁר־נִחַל מֹשֶׁה בְּעַרְבוֹת מוֹאָב מֵעֵבֶר לְיַרְדֵּן יְרִיחוֹ מִזְרָחָה׃ - These are the inheritances that Moshe distributed in the plains of Moav, beyond the Yarden across from Yericho, eastward.
The verse enumerates the borders of Gad - Ya'zer and the cities of Gilad, half the land of the children of Ammon, from Cheshbon to Ramat HaMitzpeh, and in the valley, Beit Haram, Beit Nimrah, Sukkot, and Tzafon, up to the edge of the Sea of Kinneret - and the borders of the half-tribe of Menashe: from Machanayim, all of the Bashan, all the kingdom of Og, and all of Chavot Ya'ir which are in the Bashan, sixty cities, and half of Gilad, and Ashtarot and Edre'i to the descendants of Machir son of Menashe. This is what we saw earlier: that Moshe Rabbeinu did not merely give the eastern side of the Yarden to the two and a half tribes, but actually divided it among them according to their families in a detailed apportionment. And this is the meaning of "These are the inheritances that Moshe distributed in the plains of Moav" - in all the detail we have seen.
וּלְשֵׁבֶט הַלֵּוִי לֹא־נָתַן מֹשֶׁה נַחֲלָה יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הוּא נַחֲלָתָם כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר לָהֶם׃ - But to the tribe of Levi Moshe gave no inheritance; Hashem, God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He spoke to them.
This was already mentioned earlier in verse 14: "Only to the tribe of Levi did he give no inheritance; the fire-offerings of Hashem, God of Israel, are his inheritance." Why does it return and mention this again here? The Malbim raises another difficulty as well: there it says "the fire-offerings of Hashem are his inheritance," whereas here it says "Hashem is their inheritance." What is the meaning of this change?
The Malbim explains that this can be understood in light of what is written in the Torah: "The Kohanim, the Levi'im... shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the fire-offerings of Hashem and His inheritance," and then, "And he shall have no inheritance among his brethren; Hashem is his inheritance." Notice that there too the statement is doubled: first "portion and inheritance" and eating the fire-offerings of Hashem, and then only "inheritance" and Hashem is his inheritance. Why? Because two distinct aspects are being addressed.
The first aspect is that they have no portion in the land. When Eretz Yisrael is divided by lot, the other tribes each receive an equal share, while the tribe of Levi does not receive a share like them. Regarding this it is said, "He has no portion or inheritance with his brethren," meaning they do not participate in the division of the land. The reason for this: in exchange for a share in the land, they are given the fire-offerings of Hashem, the priestly and Levite gifts. The other tribes have fields that they cultivate for their livelihood, whereas the tribe of Levi has no fields to work, so their sustenance comes from the priestly and Levite gifts.
The second aspect is that even though they were given cities to dwell in with their open spaces, and this served as an inheritance that they bequeathed to their children, nonetheless this inheritance was not "among his brethren." That is, cities were not set aside for them at the time of the division itself. It was not the case that the moment a tribe's lot fell in its place, the Levite cities were immediately designated from it. Rather, only after the division among all the tribes was completed did the people of Israel give to them from their own inheritance - a city from this tribe and a city from that tribe. Each tribe, in the subsequent stage, designated cities for the tribe of Levi.
The Levi'im had no concentrated territory, and one could not point to a single region and say that this was their dwelling place; rather, they were dispersed. This dispersal served several purposes. First, so that they could absorb accidental killers. All forty-two Levite cities served as cities of refuge for accidental killers; therefore, widespread dispersal was necessary so that someone who killed unintentionally could quickly reach a city of refuge from any direction before the blood redeemer could overtake him.
Another reason: the very presence of the Levi'im dwelling in the midst of all the tribes turned them into a kind of beacon. When one wants to strengthen a community, the first thing to do is establish a kollel there, a place of Torah. Once there is a nucleus, the community grows stronger from there, and later talmudei Torah, Torah classes, and so forth are founded. The Levi'im were planted and dispersed throughout all the cities of Israel.
And an additional point: the priestly and Levite gifts. Every region had a Levite city nearby to which they could bring the gifts. Had everything been concentrated in one place, who would travel to the edge of the country to give Terumot and Ma'asrot? But since the Kohanim and Levi'im were dispersed throughout the Levite cities, there was accessibility, and everyone could give to the Kohanim residing in the nearby city.
This concept was discussed previously in the shiurim on the Torah portions, but to put it briefly: the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted every single individual in Am Yisrael to have a merit and a share in the Torah. This portion is acquired through partnering in the support of the Levi, who serves Hashem and studies the Torah, so that the entire nation has a share in this merit.
This is what the Malbim explains: only after the land was distributed to all the tribes did each tribe give and grant from its own portion a dwelling place for the Levites. What is the reason? Because "Hashem is his inheritance." It is like an offering to Hashem (terumah), where each tribe lifts up and consecrates from its portion: the tribe receives such-and-such an inheritance, and from its portion it gives a share for the needs of the Levites, which is considered a designated offering set aside by the tribe. Therefore, one had to wait until after the division, for only after the distribution can a tribe set aside from its own portion and give.
For this reason, Moshe Rabbeinu also did not designate the Levite cities during his lifetime from the inheritance of the children of Gad and Reuven. Rather, Yehoshua designated them only after the completion of the distribution, since they first had to receive their portion, and only afterward set aside the offering from what was theirs.
With this, the two verses are reconciled. Above in verse 14, after generally mentioning Moshe's conquest and before the specific division to the children of Gad and Reuven, the text tells us that Moshe did not allocate land to the tribe of Levi as an independent tribe. For one might have thought: while Eretz Yisrael was not divided to the tribe of Levi, the eastern side of the Jordan is not strictly part of Eretz Yisrael proper, and perhaps there was no obstacle to giving them an inheritance there. To this the verse states, "the fire-offerings of Hashem are his inheritance" - they have no independent portion in the land at all, neither in the east nor in the west, and their sustenance comes from the fire-offerings of Hashem.
On the contrary, they must receive their portion from the people of Israel. The intention was that Israel would set aside from their own inheritance in order to merit and share in the virtue of the Levites, in the offering of the sacrifices, and in the study of Torah. Therefore, they needed to do this as an independent separation after receiving their portion, and only then set aside and give cities in their land and territory to the Kohanim and Levites. And here, in the final verse, after mentioning the individual distribution of each and every tribe, the text comes to say that even afterward Moshe did not give an inheritance to the tribe of Levi - that is, he did not designate the Levite cities during his lifetime - because "Hashem is their inheritance," and this had to be given as an offering to Hashem; and one does not separate an offering until after receiving one's own portion. Therefore, they waited until the end of the entire distribution, and only then designated the Levite cities.
Chapter 13 opens with a gentle rebuke to Yehoshua: the land was intentionally "left behind" (nish'arah) and did not merely "remain" on its own (notrah), and delaying the conquest came at the cost of shortening his days. The text enumerates the remaining land in the south among the Philistines, in the west, and in the north, teaching us the distinction between yerushah (dispossession of inhabitants, which remains in Hashem's hands) and nachalah (the lasting tribal apportionment for generations, which Yehoshua was commanded to perform). From there, the chapter transitions to detail the inheritances of Reuven, Gad, and half of Menashe, which they received from Moshe. Within this account, mention is made of the kings of Midian, the princes of Sichon, and Bil'am the soothsayer, who came to collect his reward for his counsel and met his retribution. The chapter concludes with two verses concerning the tribe of Levi: they have no territory in the land like the other tribes, because the fire-offerings of Hashem are their inheritance, and the Levite cities are given only after the distribution, as an offering to Hashem that each tribe sets aside from its portion - so that every individual in Israel may share in the merit of the Torah and the Temple service.