At the time of the Exodus, all Western Palestine was held by these Canaanitish and Philistine tribes ; and the country east of the Jordan was divided into three kingdoms. On the north lay the kingdom of the giant Og, the last of the Rephaim, which extended over Bashan and the section of Gilead north of the Jabbok. Between the Jabbok and the Arnon was the kingdom of Sidon ; while the region south of the Arnon was possessed by the Moabites.
In addition to the tribes now enumerated, Moses mentions the Kenites, Kenizzites, and Kadmonites ; but these, though included in the land promised to Abraham, had their territories in Arabia, beyond the boundaries of Palestine (Gen. xv. 18-21 ;' KE NITES, etc.) The Perizzites are also mentioned as a tribe distinct from the Canaanites, residing in some part of Western Palestine. Little is known either of their origin or their possessions, and that little is given elsewhere [PERIZZITES].
2. The Period from yoshua to Solomon.—At the commencement of this period, an entire change was wrought in the political geography of Palestine The country was divided among the twelve tribes of Israel. The eastern section was first apportioned. Moab's territory south of the Arnon was left un touched. A very clear and full account of the allotment of all the rest is given in .Num. xxxii. The tableland (Mishor) extending from the Arnon to Heshbon was given to the tribe of Reuben (cf. Josh. xiii. 15, seq.) Gad received the region be tween Heshbon and the river Jabbok, together with an additional strip along the east bank of the Jordan, extending up to the Sea of Chinnereth (vers. 24-28). The rest of Gilead and all Bashan were allotted to Manasseh, and this was at once the largest and the richest allotment made to any of the tribes (29.31).
Western Palestine was divided by Joshua among the remaining tribes. Judah received the country lying between the parallel of Jerusalem and the southern border ; but subsequently a section on the south-east was given to Simeon ; and another sec tion was taken off its western side and allotted to Dan. These two tribes were thus, as regards their possessions, amalgamated with Judah ( Josh. xv.; xix. I, 40-47). North of Judah lay Benjamin, confined to a narrow strip stretching across the country from the Jordan to Beth-Horon, between the parallels of Jerusalem and Bethel (xviii. 11 25). Next to Benjamin came the children of Joseph, grouped close together—Ephraim on the south, and Manasseh on the north. Their united
portion reached from the Jordan to the sea, and from Bethel to the border of Esdraelon (xvi., xvii.) In addition to this large mountain territory, the cities of Beth-shean, Taanach, Megiddo, and a few others situated in Esdraelon, were allotted to them. To Issachar was given the noble plain of Esdraelon—a territory, however, whose fertility was more than overbalanced by its exposed situa tion (xix. 17-23). Zebulun received his lot amid the picturesque hills and plains of Lower Galilee, having Tabor on the east, and the Great Sea, at the base of Carmel, on the west (10-16). Asher got the fertile plain of Acre, and the coast of Phoenicia up to Sidon (24-31). In the mountains, on the northern border, Naphtali found a beautiful highland home (32-39). The lot of Dan was too small, and the Philistines hemmed the tribe in so that they were unable to cultivate the rich soil of the Shephelah. They consequently made an ex pedition to the far north, and established an im portant colony on the plain of the upper Jordan (47 ; cf. Judg. xviii.) But though the whole land was thus allotted, it was not conquered. The Philistines still held their plain ; and the mercantile Canaanites, whom the Greeks called Phoenicians, remained in their great seaports. Many cities, also, in different parts of the country, were retained by their Canaanitish founders (Judg. i. 21, seg.) 3. From the Death of Salomon to the Captivity. —On the death of Solomon, the tyranny and folly of his son rent the nation of Israel. Long before that time there had been rivalry between the power ful families of Judah and Ephraim ; Rehoboam's folly was the occasion of its breaking out into open hostility. The boundaries of the tribes were not disturbed by the rupture in the nation. Benjamin clung to Judah, and its northern border became the line of demarcation between the two kingdoms. Dan and Simeon occupied portions of the allotted territory of Judah, and were therefore reckoned parts of that tribe (I Kings xii. 17) ; hence the southern kingdom is usually said to have consisted of only the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, while in reality it included four (t Kings xix. 3 ; 2 Chron. xi. to ; with Josh. xix. 41, 42). The remaining tribes east and west of the Jordan chose Jeroboam as their king ; but Bethel (2 Chron. xiii. 19) and some other cities farther north were after wards added to Judah (xv. 8).