The New Boundaries of the Land

¹³ Thus says the Lord God: These are the boundaries by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions.^(A)

⁴ Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion.^{(A) 5} Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion.^{(B) 6} Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion.^(C)

¹⁸ In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your ancestors for a heritage.^(A)

² “Command the Israelites, and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan, defined by its boundaries),^{(A) 3} your south sector shall extend from the wilderness of Zin along the side of Edom. Your southern boundary shall begin from the end of the Dead Sea^[a] on the east;^{(B) 4} your boundary shall turn south of the ascent of Akrabbim and cross to Zin, and its outer limit shall be south of Kadesh-barnea; then it shall go on to Hazar-addar and cross to Azmon; ⁵ the boundary shall turn from Azmon to the Wadi of Egypt, and its termination shall be at the Sea.^(C)

⁶ “For the western boundary, you shall have the Great Sea and its^[b] coast; this shall be your western boundary.

⁷ “This shall be your northern boundary: from the Great Sea you shall mark out your line to Mount Hor;^{(D) 8} from Mount Hor you shall mark it out to Lebo-hamath, and the outer limit of the boundary shall be at Zedad;^{(E) 9} then the boundary shall extend to Ziphron, and its end shall be at Hazar-enan; this shall be your northern boundary.

¹⁰ “You shall mark out your eastern boundary from Hazar-enan to Shepham, ¹¹ and the boundary shall continue down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain, and the boundary shall go down and reach the eastern slope of the sea of Chinnereth,^{(F) 12} and the boundary shall go down to the Jordan, and its end shall be at the Dead Sea.^[c] This shall be your land with its boundaries all around.”

⁵ Therefore your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are now mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are.^(A)

The Joyful Return of the Exiles

31 At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.^(A)

Descendants of Reuben

5 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. (He was the firstborn, but because he defiled his father’s bed his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, so that he is not enrolled in the genealogy according to the birthright;^(A)