“He cast out the heathen also before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.”
My Notes
What Does Psalms 78:55 Mean?
Psalm 78:55 recounts a specific moment in Israel's history: the conquest of Canaan under Joshua. God "cast out the heathen" (the nations inhabiting the land), "divided them an inheritance by line" (allocated the land by measured portions to each tribe), and "made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents" (settled them in the homes and places left by the displaced nations).
The phrase "divided them an inheritance by line" refers to the use of a measuring line (chevel) to apportion land — the same method described in Joshua 13-21, where each tribe received its specific territory. The word "inheritance" (nachalah) is deeply significant in Hebrew thought. Land wasn't just property; it was God's gift, tied to identity, belonging, and covenant promise. To receive an inheritance was to receive your place in God's story.
Psalm 78 is a historical psalm — a retelling of Israel's story designed to teach the next generation. The context of verse 55 is important: it comes in a section emphasizing God's faithfulness despite Israel's repeated unfaithfulness. God gave them land, homes, and settled lives not because they earned it but because He had promised it. The verse is a snapshot of grace in action — undeserved provision following centuries of complaint, rebellion, and doubt.
Reflection Questions
- 1.God gave each tribe a specific, measured inheritance. Do you believe God has a specific 'portion' for you — a place, a calling, a life that's yours? What does that look like right now?
- 2.Israel received homes they didn't build and land they didn't clear. Where in your life are you benefiting from provision you didn't earn? How does that shape your gratitude?
- 3.This verse comes after a long recounting of Israel's failures. God gave the inheritance anyway. How does that challenge the idea that you need to 'deserve' what God gives you?
- 4.Are you in a settled season or an unsettled one? What would it look like to trust that God's intention for you includes rest and belonging, not just survival?
Devotional
There's something quietly powerful about the image in this verse: God settling His people into homes. After generations of slavery, forty years of wandering, and brutal battles for the land, the tribes of Israel finally sit down. They unpack. They stay. God doesn't just rescue them — He gives them a place to belong.
The word "inheritance" does a lot of heavy lifting here. This isn't just real estate. In the biblical imagination, your inheritance is your portion, your place, the thing that was set aside for you specifically. God measured it out "by line" — carefully, intentionally, tribe by tribe. Nobody got someone else's portion. Nobody was overlooked. There was a place for each of them, and God made sure they found it.
If you're in a season of feeling unsettled — physically, emotionally, spiritually — this verse is a reminder that settling is part of God's plan for His people. Not just the dramatic rescue, not just the miraculous provision in the desert, but the quiet gift of a place to call home. Sometimes God's faithfulness looks like a parted sea. And sometimes it looks like finally getting to stop moving and rest in the place He's prepared.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God,.... After the death of Joshua, and in the times of the judges, by…
He cast out the heathen also before them - literally, the nations. The idea of their being pagan, in the sense which is…
The matter and scope of this paragraph are the same with the former, showing what great mercies God had bestowed upon…
And he drove out the nations before them,
And allotted them for the portion of their inheritance:
i.e. distributed the…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture