Chapter 15

The Tribe of Judah. ¹ The allotment for the tribe of the Judahites, divided according to its clans, extended to the boundary with Edom, down to the Desert of Zin in the extreme southern regions. ² Their southern boundary lie on the bay at the southern end of the Salt Sea. ³ It continued south of Akrabbim on to Zin, going up to the south of Kadesh-barnea past Hebron, up to Addar and it curved around to Karka. ⁴ It then passed along to Azmon out to the Wadi of Egypt, the border being on the sea. This shall be your southern boundary. ⁵ The eastern boundary was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan.

The boundary of the northern quarter began at the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. ⁶ The boundary ran up to Beth-hoglah and passed to the north of Beth-arabah, and then it ran up to the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben. ⁷ The boundary then went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and then northward, in the direction of Gilgal that faces the Pass of Adummim on the south side of the river. The boundary then passed along the waters of En-shemesh until they flow out at En-rogel. ⁸ The boundary then runs along the Valley of Ben-hinnom to the south of the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem). From there the boundary climbs up to the top of the mountain that lies to the west of the Hinnom Valley at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. ⁹ The boundary then runs from the top of the hill down to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, going along to the cities of Mount Ephron, continuing down to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). ¹⁰ The boundary then curves westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, running along the northern slopes of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), down to Beth-shemesh and over to Timnah. ¹¹ The boundary runs along the northern slopes of Ekron, passing on to Shikkeron, running along Mount Baalah and reaching up to Jabneel. This boundary ends at the sea. ¹² The western boundary lies along the shore of the Great Sea.^[a] This is the boundary that runs around the Judahites according to their clans.

¹³ Conquest by Caleb. Joshua gave Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, an inheritance among the Judahites, as the Lord had commanded: Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of the Anak.) ¹⁴ Caleb drove the three Anakim out from it, that is Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. They were descendants of Anak. ¹⁵ From there he marched out against the people living in Debir. (Debir was previously called Kiriath-sepher.) ^16 [b]Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath-sepher.” ¹⁷ Othniel, the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it, so he gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. ¹⁸ One day she went up to him and she urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What can I do for you?” ¹⁹ She answered, “Please do me a favor. Since you have already given me land in the Negeb, give me some springs as well.” He gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

²⁰ The Cities of Judah. This is the inheritance of the Judahites, divided according to its clans. ²¹ The cities at the edge of the land of the Judahites in the direction of the boundary with Edom in the south were: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, ²⁸ Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon. All together there were twenty-nine cities along with the towns dependent upon them.

³³ On the western slopes there were: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (that is, Gederothaim). There were fourteen of these cities along with their dependent towns. ³⁷ There were also Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah. There were sixteen of these cities along with their dependent towns. ⁴² There were also Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah. There were nine of these cities along with their dependent towns. ⁴⁵ There was also Ekron with its dependent towns, ⁴⁶ and the territory between Ekron and the sea, near Ashdod, with all of their dependent towns. ⁴⁷ There was Ashdod along with its dependent towns and villages, as well as Gaza along with its dependent towns and villages, all the way to the Wadi of Egypt and the coast of the Great Sea.

⁴⁸ In the mountains there were Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh. There were eleven of these cities along with their dependent towns. ⁵² There were also Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior. There were nine of these cities along with their dependent towns. ⁵⁵ There were also Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibbeah, and Timnah. There were ten of these cities along with their dependent towns. ⁵⁸ There were also Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon. There were six of these cities, along with their dependent towns. ⁶⁰ There were also Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah. There were two of these cities along with their dependent towns.

⁶¹ In the wilderness there were Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi. There were six of these cities, along with their dependent towns. ⁶³ The Judahites could not drive out the Jebusites, the people who were living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites live in Jerusalem among the Judahites up to the present.