For Moses had given the inheritance east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes. But he granted no inheritance among them to the Levites.
Moses had already given land east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes, but the Levites received no tribal inheritance among them.
This verse explains the distribution pattern that shapes the remaining allotments.
1Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel. 2Their inheritance was assigned by lot for the nine and a half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses. 3For Moses had given the inheritance east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes. But he granted no inheritance among them to the Levites. 4The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion of the land was given to the Levites, except for cities in which to live, along with pasturelands for their flocks and herds. 5So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.