Joshua 13:6-18:28

International Standard Version

⁶ and all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, including all the Sidonians. I myself will drive them out in the presence of the Israelis. ⁷ You only have to allocate the land as an inheritance, just as I commanded you.”

Summary of Allocations to Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh

⁸ The descendants of Reuben and descendants of Gad, along with the other half-tribe of Manasseh, received their inherited portion that Moses the servant of the Lord had given them to the east beyond the Jordan River. ⁹ Specifically included was from Aroer on the banks of the Wadi^[a] Arnon, and the town that lies in the middle of the valley, including all the plains from Medeba to Dibon, ¹⁰ all the cities pertaining to King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the boundary of the Ammonite territory,^{[b] 11} Gilead and the region belonging to the descendants of Geshur and Maacath, including all of Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah. ¹² Also included was^[c] the entire kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was the sole survivor left of the Rephaim.)^[d] Although Moses had defeated these people and driven them out, ¹³ the Israelis did not drive out the descendants of Geshur or the descendants of Maacath—Geshur and Maacath live within the territory of Israel to this day.

Allocations to Levi

¹⁴ Moses allotted no inheritance solely to the tribe of Levi. As he had mentioned to them, the offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance.

Allocations to Reuben

¹⁵ Moses allocated territory^[e] to the tribe of the descendants of Reuben according to their tribes. ¹⁶ Their allocation was from the border of Aroer on the edge of the Arnon valley (including the city that is located in the valley, as well as the entire plain next to Medeba), ¹⁷ Heshbon and all of its cities that are on the plain, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, ¹⁸ Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ¹⁹ Kiriathaim, Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley, ²⁰ Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth, ²¹ all of the cities of the plain, the entire kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites, who used to reign in Heshbon and whom Moses attacked, along with the chiefs of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, nobles of Sihon who lived in the land. ²² The Israelis also killed Beor’s son Balaam, the occult practitioner, executing him with a sword as one of those killed. ²³ The border of the descendants of Reuben was the Jordan River and its banks. This was the inheritance belonging to the descendants of Reuben, divided according to their families, cities, and villages.

Allocations to Gad

²⁴ Moses also allocated territory^[f] to the tribe of Gad, that is, to the descendants of Gad, according to their families. ²⁵ Their territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer which is located near Rabbah, ²⁶ from Heshbon as far as Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, from Mahanaim as far as the border of Debir, ²⁷ the valley containing Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon, with the Jordan River as its border as far as the southern^[g] end of the Sea of Galilee^[h] beyond the Jordan River to the east. ²⁸ This was the inheritance belonging to the descendants of Gad according to their tribes, cities, and villages.

Allocations to Manasseh

²⁹ Moses also allocated territory^[i] to the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, for the half-tribe of the descendants of Manasseh according to their tribes. ³⁰ Their territory extended from Mahanaim to include^[j] all of Bashan, all of the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, all of the 60 towns of Jair there in Bashan, ³¹ half of Gilead, including Ashtaroth and Edrei. The cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan went to half of the descendants of Manasseh’s son Machir, according to their tribes. ³² These were the allotments^[k] that Moses apportioned for an inheritance in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan River east of Jericho.

Allocations to Levi

³³ Moses allotted no inheritance to the tribe of Levi. The Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, as he promised them.

Summary of Allocations

14 This is what the Israelis inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Nun’s son Joshua, and the heads of the families of the Israelis allotted to them as an inheritance ² by lot, just as the Lord commanded through Moses for the nine tribes and the half-tribe, ³ since Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe across the Jordan River. However, he did not give an inheritance to the descendants of Levi who lived among them, ⁴ since the descendants of Joseph constituted two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. They did not allot a portion to the descendants of Levi in the land, since they were given^[l] cities to live in, along with pastures for their livestock and property. ⁵ So the Israelis did just as the Lord had commanded Moses—they divided the land.

Caleb’s Request^(A)

⁶ After this, the descendants of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal. Jephunneh the Kenizzite’s son Caleb told him, “You know the promise that the Lord gave Moses the man of God concerning the two of us in Kadesh-barnea. ⁷ I was 40 years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land. I brought back an honest report^[m] to him. ⁸ As it happened, my fellow Israelis who went up with me terrified the people, but I fully followed the Lord my God. ⁹ Moses made a promise to me on that day when he said, ‘The land that you covered on foot will certainly be your inheritance. It will belong to your descendants forever, because you have fully followed the Lord my God.’

¹⁰ “Look how^[n] the Lord has let me survive, as you can see, these 45 years since the time when the Lord said this through Moses, while Israel was wandering through the wilderness. And look! I’m here today—my eighty-fifth birthday! ¹¹ I’m still as strong today as I was the day Moses commissioned me. I’m as strong today as I was then, and I can go out to battle and come back successful. ¹² Now then, give me that hill country about which the Lord spoke back on that day, because you yourself heard back then that the Anakim^[o] were there, with great reinforced cities. Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will expel them, just as the Lord said.”

¹³ So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Jephunneh’s son Caleb for his inheritance. ¹⁴ Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Jephunneh the Kenizzite’s son Caleb, and it remains so today, because he fully followed the Lord God of Israel. ¹⁵ Hebron used to be known as Kiriath-arba, after the greatest man among the Anakim.^[p] After all of this, the land enjoyed rest from war.

Allotments to Judah

15 Joshua said,^[q] “Now the allotment for the tribe of the descendants of Judah, allocated^[r] according to their families, will extend to the border of Edom, southward to the wilderness of Zin until land’s end, ² then from the southern end of the Dead Sea, that is, from the bay that orients toward the Negev,^{[s] 3} proceeding south to the ascent of Akrabbim, then continuing to Zin, and from there up along the south of Kadesh-barnea to Hezron, and from there up to Addar and then to Karka, ⁴ passing along to Azmon toward the Wadi^[t] of Egypt and ending at the sea. This will be your southern border.”

⁵ The eastern border was the Dead Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan River. The border of the north side extended from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan River ⁶ toward Beth-hoglah, and continuing on the north of Beth-arabah. The border ascended up to the boundary marker set up by Reuben’s son Bohan.

⁷ The boundary then went up to Debir from the Achor valley and turned north toward Gilgal opposite the ascent of Adummim in the southern part of the valley. Then the border continued to the waters of En-shemesh and terminated at En-rogel. ⁸ Then the border proceeded up the valley of Ben-hinnom to the southern ascent of the Jebusites (that is, to Jerusalem), and from there to the top of the mountain that faces the valley of Hinnom to the west at the end of the valley of Rephaim^[u] toward the north.

⁹ The border proceeded from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, then to the cities of Mount Ephron, and then the border curved toward Baalah (also known as Kiriath-jearim). ¹⁰ The border turned west from Baalah to Mount Seir,^[v] continuing to the top of Mount Jearim on the north (also known as Chesalon), and then proceeded to Beth-shemesh, continuing through Timnah.

¹¹ The border proceeded north to the edge of Ekron, then curved to Shikkeron and on to Mount Baalah, proceeding then to Jabneel, where the boundary ended at the sea. ¹² The western border was at the Mediterranean Sea coastline. This is the border that surrounded the territory of^[w] the descendants of Judah, according to their families.

Caleb’s Conquests^(B)

¹³ Now Joshua^[x] gave an allotment among the descendants of Judah to Jephunneh’s son Caleb, just as God told Joshua, Kiriath-arba, which was named after the^[y] ancestor of Anak (that is, Hebron). ¹⁴ From there Caleb drove the three descendants of Anak, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai—the Anakim.^{[z] 15} Then he went up from there to attack the inhabitants of Debir. (Debir was formerly known as Kiriath-sepher.)

¹⁶ Then Caleb announced, “I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage to the one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it.” ¹⁷ Othniel, the son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz, captured it, so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah as his wife. ¹⁸ Sometime later, she came to Othniel^[aa] and persuaded him to ask her father for a field.

As she dismounted from her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”

¹⁹ She replied, “Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negev,^[ab] give me also some springs of water.” So he gave her the upper and lower springs.

City Allotments for Judah

²⁰ Here’s a list of cities allotted for the tribe of the descendants of Judah according to their families: ²¹ The cities to the far south of the tribe of the descendants of Judah (toward the border of Edom in the south) included Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (also known as Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, ²⁸ Hazar-shual, Beer-sheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon, for a total of 29 cities and villages.

³³ The lowland cities included Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuach, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim, for a total of fourteen cities and villages.

³⁷ Also included were^[ac] Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, ³⁸ Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah, for a total of sixteen cities and villages.

⁴² Also included were Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah, for a total of nine cities and villages.

⁴⁵ Also included were Ekron, with its towns and villages, ⁴⁶ from Ekron to the Mediterranean^[ad] Sea, including everything by the edge of Ashdod, along with their villages, ⁴⁷ Ashdod and its towns and villages, Gaza and its towns and villages as far as the River of Egypt, and the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

⁴⁸ The hill country included Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (also known as Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, Giloh, for a total of eleven cities and villages. ⁵² Also included were Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janum, Beth-tappuach, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (also known as Hebron), and Zior, for a total of nine cities and villages. ⁵⁵ Also included were Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah, for a total of ten cities and villages. ⁵⁸ Also included were Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon, for a total of six cities and villages. ⁶⁰ Also included were Kiriath-baal (also known as Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah, for a total of two cities and villages.

⁶¹ The wilderness included Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, Salt City, and En-gedi, for a total of six cities and villages.

⁶³ Now as for the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, the descendants of Judah could not expel them, so Jebusites live with the descendants of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

Ephraim’s Allocation

16 The territorial allotment for the descendants of Joseph proceeded from the Jordan River by Jericho eastward of the Jericho waters into the wilderness, proceeding from Jericho through the hill country of Bethel ² and from Bethel to Luz, continuing to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. ³ It proceeded westward to the territory of the Japhletites as far as the territory of lower Beth-horon, then toward Gezer, ending at the Mediterranean^[ae] Sea.

⁴ Manasseh and Ephraim, the descendants of Joseph, received their inheritance. ⁵ This was the territory allocated to the descendants of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance on the east was Ataroth-addar as far as upper Beth-horon. ⁶ Then the border proceeded west from Michmethath on the north, then turned east toward Taanath-shiloh, continuing to the east of Janoah. ⁷ It proceeded from Janoah to Ataroth, then to Naarah, then proceeded to Jericho and ended at the Jordan River. ⁸ From Tappuach, the border proceeded west to the Kanah brook, ending at the Mediterranean Sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim according to their families, ⁹ along with the cities that had been set aside for the descendants of Ephraim within the allotment of the descendants of Manasseh, including all of the cities and villages. ¹⁰ However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites live within the territory of^[af] Ephraim to this day, but they serve as forced laborers.

Manasseh’s Allocation

17 The territorial allotment for the tribe of Manasseh, the firstborn of Joseph, was allocated first^[ag] to Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of Gilead. Since he had been a man of war, Gilead and Bashan were allocated to him.^[ah]

² Now allotments were made^[ai] with respect to the remaining descendants of Manasseh according to their families: for the descendants of Abiezer, the descendants of Helek, the descendants of Asriel, the descendants of Shechem, the descendants of Hepher, and the descendants of Shemida—the male descendants of Joseph’s son Manasseh, according to their families.

³ Hepher’s son Zelophehad, grandson of Gilead and great-grandson of Manasseh’s son Machir had no sons, only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They appeared before Eleazar the priest and Nun’s son Joshua and declared, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our relatives.” So in keeping what the Lord had commanded, he gave them an inheritance among their ancestor’s relatives. ⁵ That is why ten allotments fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond the Jordan River, ⁶ since the granddaughters of Manasseh received an inheritance along with his sons. (The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.)

⁷ The border of Manasseh proceeded from Asher to Michmethath east of Shechem, then turned south to include the inhabitants of En-tappuach. ⁸ (The territory of Tappuach belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuach itself,^[aj] on the border of Manasseh, was allocated^[ak] to the descendants of Ephraim.) ⁹ The border proceeded to the Kanah brook and proceeded south. These cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh, with the border of Manasseh on the north of the brook, terminating at the Mediterranean^[al] Sea.

¹⁰ The southern area was allocated to Ephraim and the northern area to Manasseh. The Mediterranean^[am] Sea was the border, extending to Asher on the North and to Issachar on the east. ¹¹ In Issachar and Asher, Manasseh held Beth-shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, and the three coastal districts.^{[an] 12} The descendants of Manasseh did not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites predominated in that territory. ¹³ Later on, when the Israelis had become strong, they forced the Canaanites to work for them, but they never did expel them completely.

Protests by the Tribe of Joseph

¹⁴ At that time, the descendants of Joseph asked Joshua, “Why did you give us^[ao] only one allotment and portion for an inheritance, since we’re numerous and the Lord has blessed us all along?”

¹⁵ So Joshua replied to them, “Since you’re so numerous, go up to the forest and clear ground there for yourselves in the territory where the Perizzites and Rephaim^[ap] are, because the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.”

¹⁶ The descendants of Joseph replied, “The hill country isn’t sufficient for us, but all the Canaanites who live on the plain have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shean and its villages as well as the inhabitants of the Jezreel Valley.”

¹⁷ So Joshua told the tribes of Joseph, which were Ephraim and Manasseh, “You’re truly a numerous group, and you have great power. You are not to have only one allotment, ¹⁸ but the hill country will also belong to you. Even though it’s a forest, you will clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. You’ll drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and even though they’re strong.”

Other Tribal Allotments

18 After this, the entire assembly of the Israelis gathered together at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there, where the land lay conquered before them. ² Seven tribes remained among the Israelis for whom their inheritances had not yet been allocated.

³ So Joshua told the Israelis, “How long will you delay invading and taking possession of the land that the Lord God of your ancestors has given you? ⁴ Appoint three men from each tribe and I’ll send them. They’ll begin to go through the land and record a description of it, categorized according to their inheritance, and then they’ll report^[aq] back to me. ⁵ They’ll divide it seven ways. Judah will stay in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph will remain in its territory on the north. ⁶ Lay out the land in seven divisions, then bring your report^[ar] here to me. I will then cast lots in the presence of the Lord our God. ⁷ The descendants of Levi have no allotment among you, since the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh received their inheritance to the east, beyond the Jordan River given to them by Moses the servant of the Lord.”

⁸ So the men started out, following Joshua’s command to those who went to scout the land, “Go through the land and record a description of it, and then return to me. I will then cast lots in the presence of the Lord your God in Shiloh.” ⁹ Then the men left camp and went throughout the land, describing its cities in a book with seven divisions. Then they returned to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ Joshua threw lots in Shiloh in the Lord’s presence and divided the land accordingly among the Israelis according to their divisions.

Benjamin’s Allocation

¹¹ The allotment of the tribe of the descendants of Benjamin came up according to their families, and their territorial allotment fell between the descendants of Judah and the descendants of Joseph. ¹² Their border started on the north side at the Jordan River, proceeded to the slope of Jericho on the north, then westward through the hill country, and terminated at the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³ From there the boundary proceeded south in the direction of Luz to the slope of Luz (also known as Bethel), then proceeded to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon. ¹⁴ From there the boundary changed direction, turning southward on the western side opposite Beth-horon, terminating at Kiriath-baal (also known as Kiriath-jearim), which belongs to Judah. This formed the western boundary.

¹⁵ The southern boundary began at the edge of Kiriath-jearim, proceeding from there to Ephron and then to the spring at the Nephtoah Waters. ¹⁶ From there the boundary proceeded to the border of the mountain that overlooks the Ben-hinnom Valley at the northern end of the Rephaim Valley, where it proceeded down the Hinnom Valley south of the slope of the Jebusites toward En-rogel. ¹⁷ Then it turned north toward En-shemesh and proceeded from there to Geliloth opposite the ascent of Adummim, where it turned toward the Stone of Bohan, Reuben’s son, ¹⁸ and proceeded north of the slope of Beth-arabah down to the Arabah. ¹⁹ From there the boundary proceeded to north of the slope of Beth-hoglah and terminated at the northern bay of the Salt^[as] Sea where the Jordan River ends in the south. This was the southern border. ²⁰ The Jordan River formed its boundary on the east. This is the inheritance for the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, boundary by boundary around the entire territory.^[at]

²¹ The towns belonging to the tribe of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba, for a total of twelve towns and villages. ²⁵ Also included were^[au] Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (also known as Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim, for a total of fourteen towns and villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families.