Bell & Howell Information & Learning: Foreign text omitted. Most studies readily acknowledge that book of Joshua falls into three main parts, chs. 1-12, conquest; chs. 13-22, division of land; and an appendix in chs. 23-24.1 Even though term ..., inheritance,12 appears a This article is an expanded version of a paper given at SBL annual meeting in Orlando, 1998. I wish to thank Professor Raymond Westbrook for reviewing this manuscript and offering many helpful suggestions. I am also particularly grateful to Rev. Edward J. Richard, M.S., for illuminating me on nuances of law. Any errors that remain are, of course, my responsibility. I majority of commentators maintain this overall threefold division of book (J. A. Soggin, Le livre de josue [CAT 5a; Paris: Delachaux et Niestle6, 1970], 10; E. P. Blair, Book of Deuteronomy, Book of Joshua [The Layman's Bible Commentary 5; Richmond: John Knox Press, 1964], 88). Any variations center on extent and title of each section. For instance, T. C. Butler proposes Possessing Promise (Joshua 1-12), Lots for Land (Joshua 13:1-19:51), and Life in Land (Joshua 20-24) (Joshua [WBC 7; Waco: Word, 1983], v-vi). R. G. Boling and G. E. Wright are unique in their seven major divisions of book: Mobilization and Invasion 1:1-5:12, The Warfare 5:13-11:23, The Inheritance 12:1-19:51, Provisions for Keeping Peace 21:1-21:45, How to Avoid Civil War (22:1-24), Theology by Joshua (23:1-16), and The Shechem Covenant, and Postscripts (241-3y) (Joshua: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary [AB 6; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1982] vii-x). In spite of these distinctions, all agree that 1-11/12 (more or less a chapter) and 12/13-19 form two distinct units of material, 2 Recently N. C. Habel has contested this definition. Drawing on work of J. Dybdahl, Habel argues that notion of inheritance may be attached to ... only when it specifically refers to transfer of property from parent to offspring. This has implications for interpretation of term in book of Joshua. Since Yahweh, owner of land, does not die, property may not be passed on to someone as patrimony. Therefore, ... cannot be translated legitimately as inheritance. As a result Habel suggests that primary meaning of ... is the entitlement or rightful property of a party that is legitimated by a recognized social custom, legal process, or divine charter (The Land Is Mine: Six Biblical Land Ideologies [OBT; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1995], 35). See also G. Gerleman, Nutzrecht and Wohnrecht: Zur Bedeutung von ... and ... ZAW 89 (1977): 313-25; J. Dybdahl, Israelite Village Land Tenure: Settlement to Exile (Ph.D. diss., Fuller Theological Seminary, 1981), 54-62. As we will see, death is not necessarily a prerequisite for conferral of certain inheritable rights. See n. 39 below. Boling and Wright preferred to translate ... as fief (Joshua, 123, 316) based on use of total of forty-nine times throughout work-twenty-one times in chs. 18 and 19 alone-little emphasis has been placed on its relevance for interpretation of book.3 Interrelated with this is curious feature of lot casting. Joshua 18:6 and 18:9-10 in particular present it as a procedure associated with transfer of tribal land rights. Further exploration of nature and purpose of lot casting may provide additional insight into a significant theme of book of Joshua. Studies of book of Joshua offer a wide range of explanations for casting of lots.4 R. G. Boling and G. E. Wright associated procedure with Levitical use of Urim and Thummim as described in Deut 33:8. allotment of land was determined according to sacred dice, which revealed divine will.5 W Dommershausen suggests that lot casting was a sacred act, which, in book of Joshua, demonstrated that Yahweh distributed land himself. …