2. But the more general mode of dividing the conquered land, in accordance with the Divine instructions, was by casting lots before the Tabernacle at Shiloh[162], in the presence of Joshua, the High-priest, and the elders of the nation. As the distribution of the tribes of REUBEN, GAD, and the half-tribe of MANASSEH on the east of the Jordan has been already described, we may confine ourselves to those on the western side, under the threefold division of (a) _The South_, (b) _the Centre_, (c) _the North_. (a) _The South._ i. The most southerly frontier was assigned first to Judah but afterwards to SIMEON (Josh. xix. 9), and is often called in Scripture _the South_ (Josh. x. 40; Judg. i. 9). Like Reuben on the east of Jordan, Simeon was destined to have little influence on the subsequent history, to be _divided in Jacob and scattered in Israel_ (Gen. xlix. 5–7), and to be constantly exposed to the attacks of the Amalekites and other nomadic tribes on its frontier (comp. 1 Chron. iv. 39–43). ii. Next to Simeon on the North was the territory of the lion tribe of JUDAH, comprising the undulating pasture country of the South, the fertile lowland of the West, the hill fortresses of the centre, and the wild desert bordering on the Dead Sea. Part of his inheritance was fertile, and covered with corn fields and vineyards (Gen. xlix. 11), part was a wild country, “the lair of savage beasts,” where amidst caverns, ravines and mountains, Judah, true to the description in the blessing of Jacob, could _stoop down and couch as a lion_, guarding the southern frontier of the Promised Land. iii. North-east of Judah was the warlike little tribe (Ps. lxviii. 27; 1 Sam. ix. 21) of BENJAMIN, famous for its archers (2 Sam. i. 22), slingers (Judg. xx. 16), and left-handed warriors (Judg. iii. 15; xx. 16). Its territory was small, being hardly larger than the county of Middlesex, but its position was of great importance. Containing numerous rounded hills[163], which presented favourable sites for strong fortresses, it commanded the chief passes leading down from the central hills to the Jordan on the one side, and the plains of Philistia on the other. In this broken and hilly country the tribe became warlike and indomitable, _ravening as a wolf_ (Gen. xlix. 27). iv. Compressed into the narrow space between the north-western hills of Judah and the Mediterranean was the tribe of DAN, containing within the 14 miles from Joppa to Ekron one of the most fertile tracts in the land, the corn-field and garden of southern Palestine. But for this rich prize it had to contend first with the Amorites (Judg. i. 34), and afterwards with the Philistines (Judg. xiv. &c.), and eventually, as we shall see, was obliged to seek a new home in the North (Judg. xviii. 27–29). (b) _The Centre._