Midrash su Giosuè 18:78

“And of Benjamin he said, The Lord's beloved…” (Devarim 33:12) One verse says “As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out…” (Yehoshua 15:63) and another verse says “And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem…” (Shoftim 1:21) If it was Benyamin then why does it mention Yehudah, and if it was Yehudah then why does it mention Benyamin? Rather, inside Jerusalem were two cities – the upper and the lower. The upper one fell out within the allotment of Yehudah and the lower one within the allotment of Benyamin, as it says “And Zelah, Eleph, and the Jebusite, which is Jerusalem…” (Yehoshua 18:28) After the death of Yehoshua, the children of Yehudah went and took their portion, putting the city to fire and leaving it desolate. But the lower city of Jerusalem was in the portion of Benyamin, and they were not willing to drive out the inhabitants. Therefore it stood until the time of David, as it is written ‘And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites.’ This refers to the lower city, as it says in the book of Shoftim “But the man did not want to lodge, and he arose and departed, and came over against Jebus, which was Jerusalem… And his master said to him, "We will not turn aside into (this) city of heathens…” (Shoftim 19:10-12) Furthermore, this is the city which David fought against in the eight year of his reign, as it says “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem to the Jebusites…” (Shmuel II 5:6) When David captured it he began to build the upper city of Jerusalem and he built a wall which surrounded the upper and lower portions and made them into one city called Jerusalem, as it says “And he built the city from around…” (Divre HaYamim I 11:8) There he placed the tent for the Ark of the Covenant, and in that Jerusalem David built the altar on the threshing floor of Aravna the Jebusite by command of Gd in order to stop the plague, as it says “And the angel of the Lord said to Gad…” (Divre HaYamim I 21:18) In the lower Jerusalem, which was in the portion of Benyamin, the Holy Temple was built in the days of Shlomo in order to fulfill that which it says “And of Benjamin he said, The Lord's beloved…” (Devarim 33:12) Mount Moriah is Jerusalem, as it says “And Solomon commenced to build the House of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah…” (Divre HaYamim II 3:1) May it desirable before my Gd and the Gd of my fathers that the Holy Temple be rebuilt speedily in our days, and make our portion in your Torah. Amen, selah!

(Ib. b) Raba lectured: "What does the passage (I Sam. 19. 19) Behold, David is at Na'yoth near Ramah mean? Is then Na'yoth situated near Ramah? We must therefore say that they were at Ramah occupying themselves in the construction of Temple. They said: The passage reads (Deut. 17, 8) Then shalt thou arise, and get thee up unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose; from this it may be inferred the Holy Temple ought to be higher [in elevation] than any other part of the land of Israel, and that the land of Israel is higher than all other land. They (David and his associates were not able to discover the exact spot [where the land is highest and thus suitable for the building of the Temple]. They finally brought the book of Joshua [and they found that] concerning all other tribes it reads (Josh. 15) It went up, it passed along and it went down, but concerning the tribe of Benjamin, the passage says (Ib. 18) It went up, but It went down is not mentioned. They then said from this it is inferred that there (Benjamin's portion) is the proper sight. They then contemplated erecting it in En Eitam for this is the highest elevation; it was, howere, argued that it should rather be built at a moderate elevation, for it is written (Deut. 33, 12) And He dwelleth between his shoulders [i.e., the shoulders are lower than the head, hence the altar should be built at a moderate elevation]." According to others, the decision came because we have a tradition that the Sanhedrin were to sit in the part of Juda and the Shechina was to rest in the part of Benjamin, therefore if the Temple were built at the highest elevation, the Sanhedrin would have been separated too far from the Sanctuary where the Shechina rests. They therefore decided to have it built at a lower site in order to conform the passage And He dwelleth between his shoulders. And for this thing did Doeg the Edomite envy David, as it is written (Ps. 69, 10) Because zeal for Thy house hath eaten me up, and the reproaches of them that reproach Thee are fallen upon me. And another passage reads (Ib. 132, 1) A song of ascends, etc. How he swore unto the Lord, and vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob. Surely I will come, etc. Until I find out a place, etc. Lo, we heard it as being in Ephrath; we have found it at the field of the wood, i.e., Ephrath refers unto Joshua who is a descendant of Ephraim; at the field of the wood, refers unto Benjamin concerning whom it is written (Gen. 49, 27) A wolf that raveneth.

"But with a lot, etc." (Numbers 26:55). This is [the meaning of] that which is stated (Proverbs 18:18), "The lot puts an end to strife." Since a sign was written for each and every tribe from Yaakov - "Zevulun will dwell on the shore of the seas" (Genesis 49:13); "Yissachar is a boney donkey, etc." (Genesis 49:14); "From Asher, his bread is fat" (Genesis 49:20) - you are only permitted to divide [the land] by the lot. And there were miraculous acts in the lottery: Elazar the Priest wears the Urim and Tumim. And the slips of the lottery were in front of Yehoshua, as stated (Joshua 18:6) "And I will cast the lot for you here in front of the Lord, our God." But before the lot went up, Elazar said with the holy spirit, "The lot of tribe x is coming up, to take place y." And Yehoshua would extend his hand and [it] would come up [into his hand. It was] as it is stated (Joshua 19:51), "These are the inheritances that Elazar the Priest and Yehoshua ben Nun apportioned." And this was [even] more; that the lot would yell out at the time that it went up, "I am the lot of tribe x; I have gone up to it in place y." And from where [do we know] that the lot speaks? As it is stated (Numbers 26:56), "By the mouth of (according to) the lot."

... “And David went and he took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the men of Jabesh- gilead… And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son…” (Shmuel II 21:12-13) What did David do? He went and gathered all the elders and great ones of Israel, crossed the Jordan River, and came to Yavesh-gilead. He found the bones of Shaul and his son Yonatan, placed them in a casket and crossed back over the Jordan, as it says “And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father and they did all that the king commanded…” (Shmuel II 21:14) What does ‘in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father’ mean? It comes to teach us that they brought them to the border of Jerusalem and buried them there. Zela is next to Jerusalem, as it says “And Zelah, Eleph, and the Jebusite, which is Jerusalem…” (Yehoshua 18:28) ‘and they did all that the king commanded’ And what did the king command? He commanded that they carry Shaul’s casket from tribe to tribe. As Shaul’s casket entered each tribe’s territory all the men, women and children came out in order to perform an act of loving kindness to Shaul and his sons and thereby all of Israel would fulfill its obligation to loving kindness. This went on until they reached the land of his portion on the border of Jerusalem. Since the Holy One saw that they did loving kindness to Shaul and fulfilled the judgement of the Givonites He was immediately filled with mercy and sent rain upon the land, as it says “And God was entreated for the land after that.” (Shmuel II 21:14) From this we learn how close the Holy One brings those that are far away, even though they converted not for the sake of heaven. There is no need to even mention how he draws near righteous converts, “O Lord, all the kings of the earth will acknowledge You…” (Tehillim 138:4)

A census of Israel was taken on ten different occasions. The first occurred when they descended to Egypt, as is said: Thy fathers went down into Egypt with three score and ten persons (Deut. 10:29). Again, when they came out of Egypt, as it is said: And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men (Exod. 12:37). Once in the Book of Numbers (it was taken) with reference to the standards (Num. 2:21); once with regard to the spies (Num. 13);¹⁵There is no biblical evidence that a census was taken at the time of the spies.. in the days of Joshua when the land was divided (Josh. 18:10); twice in the time of Saul, as is said: And he numbered them with lambs in Telaim (I Sam. 14:4) and He numbered them with pebbles in Bezek (ibid. 11:8). What is indicated by the word Telaim? When they were prosperous, he counted them by means of their lambs (telayim), but when they were poor in deeds, he counted them with stones. What is bezek? It is a stone. He took a stone for each one of them and then totaled the stones. A census was taken in the days of David, as is said: Joab gave up the sum, the number of the people to the king (II Sam. 24:9); and again at the time of Ezra: The whole congregation together was forty and two thousand, three hundred and three score (Ezra. 2:14). In the time-to-come (a census will be taken), as is said: The flock shall again pass into the hands of Him that counteth them (Jer. 33:13), and in this instance: When thou takest the sum.

Bezalel the son of Uri (Exod. 31:2). He was one of the seven descendants of Adam called by various names. Jesse was called by four names, Bezalel by six, Joshua by eight, Elijah by four, Moses by seven, Mordecai by eight, and Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah by four. Elijah was known by four names. R. Eleazar the son of Pedat said: He was called a man of Jerusalem, of the tribe of Benjamin, one who dwelt in the chamber of hewn stones in the Temple (i.e., he was a member of the Sanhedrin), and he came from a great city in Judah. He had a share in the land of two tribes, and in five localities in Benjamin, as it is said: And Zela, Elaph, and the Jebusite—the same is Jerusalem, Gibeath; and Kiriath (Josh. 18:28), and three in Judah: Zenan, and Hadashah and Migdal-Gad (ibid. 15:37). He was called Zenan because he was a zinah (“buckler,” i.e., protector of Israel), Hadashah because God would restore (mehadesh) it in the time-to-come; Migdal-Gad because from there the Holy One, blessed be He, would destroy (magdid) their dwelling places and lay the foundations of the nations of the world.

9 This is [the meaning of] that which is stated (Proverbs 18:18), "The lot puts an end to strife." Since a sign was written for each and every tribe from Yaakov - "Zevulun will dwell on the shore of the seas" (Genesis 49:13); "Yissachar is a boney donkey, etc." (Genesis 49:14); "From Asher, his bread is fat" (Genesis 49:20) – you are only permitted to divide [the land] by the lot. And there were miraculous acts in the lottery: Elazar the Priest wears the Urim and Tumim. And the slips of the lottery were in front of Yehoshua, as stated (Joshua 18:6) "And I will cast the lot for you here in front of the Lord." But before the lot went up, Elazar said with the holy spirit, “The lot of tribe x is coming up, to take place y.” And Yehoshua would extend his hand and [it] would come up [into his hand. It was] as it is stated (Joshua 19:51), "These are the inheritances that Elazar the Priest and Yehoshua ben Nun apportioned." And this was [even] more; that the lot would yell out at the time that it went up, "I am the lot of tribe x; I have gone up to it in place y." And from where [do we know] that the lot speaks? As it is stated (Numbers 26:56), "By the mouth of (according to) the lot."

Another explanation. “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri …” (Shemot 31:2) This is one of the seven people called by multiple names. There are those that were called by four names, which is Eliyahu, Bezalel had six, Yehoshua six, Moshe seven, Mordecai two, Daniel five, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah had four. Eliyahu had four: R’ Elazar ben Padat said ‘Eliyahu was from Jerusalem and was among those who sat in the Court of Hewn Stones. He was from the city of Yehudah and his portion was in two tribal lands – five in Benyamin, as it says “And Zelah, Eleph, and the Jebusite, which is Jerusalem…” (Yehoshua 18:28) and three in Yehudah, as it says “Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdal-gad.”

... “For you have not yet come…” (Devarim 12:9) this was said in order to permit private altars between the ‘resting place’ and the ‘inheritance’, because the resting place refers to Shiloh and the inheritance is Jerusalem. Why did the verse mention them separately? To permit private altars between the two. Inheritance refers to Jerusalem, as its says “My inheritance was to Me like a lion in the forest…” (Yirmiyahu 12:8) and it says “Is My inheritance to Me a speckled bird of prey?” (Yirmiyahu 12:9) These are the words of R’ Yehudah. R’ Shimon says the resting place is Jerusalem and the inheritance is Shiloh, as it says “This is My resting place forever; here I shall dwell for I desired it,” (Tehillim132:14) and it says “For the Lord has chosen Zion; He desired it for His habitation.” (Tehillim 132:13) The opinion that the resting place is Shiloh makes sense, that is why the verse says ‘to the resting place and to the inheritance.’ But according to the opinion that says that the inheritance is Shiloh and the resting place Jerusalem, it should have said ‘to the inheritance and to the resting place’! That is a difficulty. The opinion that both refer to Shiloh makes sense, because ‘the resting place’ where they ceased from the conquest and ‘the inheritance’ is where they divided tribal portions, as it is written “And Yehoshua cast lots at Shiloh before the Lord; and there Yehoshua divided the land…” (Yehoshua 18:10) But according to the opinion that both refer to Jerusalem ‘the inheritance’ is the eternal inheritance, but ‘the resting place’…? What does the resting refer to? The resting of the ark, as it is written “And now, arise, O Lord God to Your resting place, You and the Ark of Your might…” (Divre HaYamim II 6:41) The opinion that both refer to Jerusalem makes sense, because while the Tabernacle was at Shiloh private altars were permitted, as it is written “And Manoah took the kid goat and the meal-offering, and offered it upon the rock to the Lord…” (Shoftim 13:19) But the according to the opinion that both refer to Shiloh, then private altars were forbidden while the Tabernacle was there and how do we understand Manoah’s act? It was a temporary injunction. The House of R’ Yishmael taught like the opinion of R’ Shimon bar Yochai that both refer to Jerusalem, and your sign is: one man pulled many to him…