This guide offers Bible study questions for Joshua 18, the chapter where Israel gathers at Shiloh, sets up the Tent of Meeting, and begins dividing the remaining land by lot. It is written for a small group, a Sunday class, or personal study, and each question comes with a leader’s note so you can move through the chapter without preparing a separate summary.
Joshua 18 at a Glance
The chapter opens with the whole congregation of Israel gathering at Shiloh, where the Tent of Meeting is set up. Joshua rebukes the seven tribes that have not yet claimed their inheritance and sends out three men from each tribe to survey the land. Their report is divided into seven portions, and Joshua casts lots before the LORD to assign them.
The rest of the chapter gives the boundaries and cities of Benjamin’s inheritance, which falls between Judah and Joseph. The land is described in detail, with its borders, twelve cities with villages, and fourteen more cities with villages, showing that God’s gift is specific and real.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before anyone offers an opinion. Ask the group to point to the words on the page and stay close to what the text says. Let quiet moments sit, and read the verses aloud once more if discussion stalls.
Joshua 18:3
Joshua said to the children of Israel, “How long will you neglect to go in to possess the land, which the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?
(WEB)
Read this verse to open the session, because it names the hesitation that the whole chapter addresses. Ask the group to listen for the question Joshua asks and to consider where the same question might apply to their own lives today.
Joshua 18:6
You shall survey the land into seven parts, and bring the description here to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the LORD our God.
(WEB)
This verse shows God’s people taking active responsibility in the division of the land. Reading it aloud helps the group see that faith includes careful, honest work alongside trust in God’s decisions.
Joshua 18:7
However, the Levites have no portion among you; for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance east of the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.”
(WEB)
Reading this verse reminds the group that the Levites’ inheritance is the LORD himself. It is a helpful moment to reflect on what it means to find security and identity in God rather than in what we own.
Joshua 18:10
Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD. There Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.
(WEB)
This verse records the lot being cast before the LORD and the land being divided. Read it to highlight the theme of placing decisions in God’s hands and to invite conversation about what that trust looks like in practice.
Joshua 18:28
Zelah, Eleph, the Jebusite (also called Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.
(WEB)
Ending with this verse closes the chapter with the reality that God’s inheritance includes real cities and communities. It gives the group a chance to thank God for the particular places and people he has placed in their own lives.
Memory Verse for Joshua 18
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you that you gave Israel a real inheritance and that you do not leave your people waiting without direction. Thank you for the example of Shiloh, where your presence was at the center of every decision. Help us, as we leave this study, to stop hesitating over what you have already placed before us. Teach us to trust you with outcomes we cannot control, and to find our deepest security in you. Show each of us one faithful step to take this week, and give us courage to take it. Amen.
