Joshua 14
Living Bible
14 1-2 The conquered lands of Canaan were allotted to the remaining nine and a half tribes of Israel. The decision as to which tribe would receive which area was decided by throwing dice[a] before the Lord, and he caused them to turn up in the ways he wanted. Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the tribal leaders supervised the lottery.
3-4 (Moses had already given land to the two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan River. The tribe of Joseph had become two separate tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and the Levites were given no land at all, except cities in which to live and the surrounding pasturelands for their cattle. 5 So the distribution of the land was in strict accordance with the Lord’s directions to Moses.)
6 The Land Given to Caleb: A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb, came to Joshua in Gilgal.
“Remember what the Lord said to Moses about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea?” Caleb asked Joshua. 7 “I was forty years old at the time, and Moses had sent us from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land of Canaan. I reported what I felt was the truth, 8 but our brothers who went with us frightened the people and discouraged them from entering the Promised Land. But since I had followed the Lord my God, 9 Moses told me, ‘The section of Canaan you were just in shall belong to you and your descendants forever.’
10 “Now, as you see, from that time until now the Lord has kept me alive and well for all these forty-five years since crisscrossing the wilderness, and today I am eighty-five years old. 11 I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent us on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then! 12 So I’m asking that you give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as spies we found the Anakim living there in great, walled cities, but if the Lord is with me, I shall drive them out of the land.”
13-14 So Joshua blessed him and gave him Hebron as a permanent inheritance because he had followed the Lord God of Israel. 15 (Before that time Hebron had been called Kiriath-arba, after a great hero of the Anakim.)
And there was no resistance from the local populations as the Israelis resettled the land.
Footnotes
- Joshua 14:1 by throwing dice, literally, “by lot.”
Joshua 14
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
Israel’s Inheritance in Canaan
14 The Israelites received these portions that the priest Eleazar,(A) Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes gave them in the land of Canaan.(B) 2 Their inheritance was by lot(C) as the Lord commanded through Moses for the nine and a half tribes, 3 because Moses had given the inheritance to the two and a half tribes beyond the Jordan. But he gave no inheritance among them to the Levites. 4 The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. No portion of the land was given to the Levites except cities to live in, along with pasturelands for their cattle and livestock. 5 So the Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses,(D) and they divided the land.
Caleb’s Inheritance
6 The descendants of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, ‘You know what the Lord promised Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me.(E) 7 I was forty years old when Moses the Lord’s servant sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land, and I brought back an honest report.(F) 8 My brothers who went with me caused the people to lose heart, but I followed the Lord my God completely.(G) 9 On that day Moses swore to me, “The land where you have set foot will be an inheritance for you and your descendants for ever, because you have followed the Lord my God completely.”(H)
10 ‘As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these forty-five years as he promised,(I) since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks[a] is now as it was then.(J) 12 Now give me this hill country the Lord promised me on that day, because you heard then that the Anakim are there,(K) as well as large fortified cities.(L) Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will drive them out as the Lord promised.’
13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as an inheritance.(M) 14 Therefore, Hebron still belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance today(N) because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, completely. 15 Hebron’s name used to be Kiriath-arba; Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.(O) After this, the land had rest from war.(P)
Footnotes
- 14:11 Lit for going out and coming in
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