1. These are the countries. The words “are the countries” are supplied. I would be as correct to read, these “are the inheritances,” or these “are those who inherited.” The has for the opening sentence of this verse, “these are they of the children of Israel that received their inheritance.” This chapter is a preface to the division of the land among the nine and a half tribes. The time had come for the Israelites to disperse themselves and to take over their new conquests. Canaan would have been subdued in vain, if it was not now inhabited. Centuries had passed since the call of Abram out of Ur of the Chaldees, and since the promise that his seed should inherit the land. God’s promises are sometimes long delayed because of the unfaithfulness of those to whom they are made. It is our privilege to hasten the fulfillment of His promises.
Eleazar. Literally, “God has helped.” Eleazar was Aaron’s third son and successor in the high priesthood (Ex. 6:23, 25; Num. 3:2, 4; 20:25-28; Deut. 10:6). The order in which the names appear is not Joshua and Eleazar, but the reverse. The naming of Eleazar first is in accordance with the law of Moses, and the form of government that he was ordered to establish in Israel. God was to be supreme through His priest. Joshua was to stand before Eleazar (Num. 27:21), and the priest was to ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the Lord. At Eleazar’s word both Joshua and the congregation were to go out and come in (see Deut. 17:9). Under the system of government established in Israel by Moses, the priest, under the direction of God, had the legislative authority, and the executive power rested with the judge. Such a system is known as a theocracy. As long as the priest depended wholly on God, the arrangement was ideal. On the other hand, a corrupt priesthood could take control and endanger the whole realm. The theocratic form of government ceased when Israel as a nation was rejected. The system has never been revived.
Heads of the fathers. The names of these are found in Num. 34:19-28. No prince was taken from the tribes of Reuben and Gad, because these had already received their inheritance on the other side of Jordan.