Chapter 19
Detailed descriptions of the land given to Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, Dan, and for Joshua.
This verse:
9 The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance. [Jos 19:9 ESV]
Recall that all these "parcels" are being selected by lot - so God is selecting them. However, it is unlikely that God said Judah had too much land. I suspect this was a human decision, or that Eleazar or Joshua were told by God that Judah's was too large. Otherwise, why would they have decided to break it up more by putting Simeon in there? Someone had to decide to create another "territory" within the previously established boundaries of Judah.
Looking at the map, Zebulon and Issachar seem to be sort of "scrunched" into the small area between Asher/Naphtali/Dan and the huge area West of Jordan allotted to Manasseh. There is a city called Bethlehem within the boundaries of Zebulon, far to the north of Jerusalem and from where we put it on maps of Jesus' birthplace.
The primary cities contained within each tribes allotment are named here. These few chapters would be a good reference later when cities are named for various reasons, and we could follow the history of each tribe and the things that went on within the territory allotted to each tribe. Or maybe not...there was apparently more than one Bethlehem. There also seems to be more than one Ramah, because I don't see how it could be the same place that Jos 18:25, 19:8, 19.29, and 19:36 all reference. Could be it was right on an intersection of several tribes and so a convenient landmark, but 18:25 names it as a city within the land given to Benjamin, which is right next to Judah. I found a map that also places it here, in Benjamin, but on the northern border of Benjamin, almost in Ephraim. Which I think the prophecies of Christ say is where it is...But in 19:8 it is sort of the extremity of the land given to Simeon. But...Judah is between Simeon and Benjamin. In 19:29 there is a Ramah associated with the boundary of Asher, far in the north. Tyre is within the boundary of Asher also. This must be a different Ramah. In 19:36 Ramah is a city within the boundary of Naphtali, which also lies far to the north and has a common border with Asher. So maybe the Asher/Naphtali Ramah is one, Benjamin has one, and Simeon has one. It's a stretch, but this Ben/Sim could somehow be the same one. It would not surprise me to learn that the actual boundaries were "gerrymandered" a bit.
This verse:
9 The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance. ... 47 When the territory of the people of Dan was lost to them, the people of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and after capturing it and striking it with the sword they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. [Jos 19:9, 47 ESV]
Leshem is north of the Sea of Galilee, so it is still in the extreme northern part of Israel. The cities named as in Dan's territory in vs 40-46 are all further south, and west of the territory of Dan. Apparently Dan was driven out of this area - possibly by the Philistines since Gath was west of there. Joppa is mentioned as a boundary, and it shows up on the expanded map around Eshtaol and Ekron. So I had this all wrong. I thought Dan was originally in the north and was driven south. In fact, it was the other way around. This is another event to watch for in the unfolding history of Israel.
This finishes the dividing of the land.