The Tribal Portions

48 “These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern border, from the sea by way^[a] of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, as far as Hazar-e′non (which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath), and^[b] extending from the east side to the west,^[c] Dan, one portion. ² Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion. ³ Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naph′tali, one portion. ⁴ Adjoining the territory of Naph′tali, from the east side to the west, Manas′seh, one portion. ⁵ Adjoining the territory of Manas′seh, from the east side to the west, E′phraim, one portion. ⁶ Adjoining the territory of E′phraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. ⁷ Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.

⁸ “Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion which you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the midst of it. ⁹ The portion which you shall set apart for the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length, and twenty^[d] thousand in breadth. ¹⁰ These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring twenty-five thousand cubits on the northern side, ten thousand cubits in breadth on the western side, ten thousand in breadth on the eastern side, and twenty-five thousand in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the midst of it. ¹¹ This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons^[e] of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. ¹² And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. ¹³ And alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in breadth. The whole length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits and the breadth twenty^[f] thousand. ¹⁴ They shall not sell or exchange any of it; they shall not alienate this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.

¹⁵ “The remainder, five thousand cubits in breadth and twenty-five thousand in length, shall be for ordinary use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the midst of it shall be the city; ¹⁶ and these shall be its dimensions: the north side four thousand five hundred cubits, the south side four thousand five hundred, the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred. ¹⁷ And the city shall have open land: on the north two hundred and fifty cubits, on the south two hundred and fifty, on the east two hundred and fifty, and on the west two hundred and fifty. ¹⁸ The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be ten thousand cubits to the east, and ten thousand to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. ¹⁹ And the workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. ²⁰ The whole portion which you shall set apart shall be twenty-five thousand cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.

²¹ “What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the twenty-five thousand cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the twenty-five thousand cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple in its midst, ²² and the property of the Levites and the property of the city,^[g] shall be in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.

²³ “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. ²⁴ Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. ²⁵ Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Is′sachar, one portion. ²⁶ Adjoining the territory of Is′sachar, from the east side to the west, Zeb′ulun, one portion. ²⁷ Adjoining the territory of Zeb′ulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. ²⁸ And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-ka′desh, thence along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. ²⁹ This is the land which you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their several portions, says the Lord God.

³⁰ “These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits by measure, ³¹ three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. ³² On the east side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. ³³ On the south side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Is′sachar, and the gate of Zeb′ulun. ³⁴ On the west side, which is to be four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates,^[h] the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naph′tali. ³⁵ The circumference of the city shall be eighteen thousand cubits. And the name of the city henceforth shall be, The Lord is there.”