Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and (A)the [a]people whom they had acquired (B)in Haran, and they (C)departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. Abram (D)passed through the land to the place of Shechem, (E)as far as [b]the terebinth tree of Moreh. (F)And the Canaanites were then in the land.

(G)Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, (H)“To your [c]descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an (I)altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Genesis 12:5 Lit. souls
  2. Genesis 12:6 Heb. Alon Moreh
  3. Genesis 12:7 Lit. seed

18 On the same day the Lord (A)made a covenant with Abram, saying:

(B)“To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites, the Kadmonites, 20 the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, 21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”

Read full chapter

11 Also God said to him: (A)“I am God Almighty. (B)Be fruitful and multiply; (C)a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 12 The (D)land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.”

Read full chapter

God’s Commission to Joshua

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ (A)assistant, saying: (B)“Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. (C)Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. (D)From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. (E)No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life; (F)as I was with Moses, so (G)I will be with you. (H)I will not leave you nor forsake you. (I)Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall [a]divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law (J)which Moses My servant commanded you; (K)do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may [b]prosper wherever you go. (L)This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but (M)you[c] shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (N)Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; (O)do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

The Order to Cross the Jordan

10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 “Pass through the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for (P)within three days you will cross over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’ ”

12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying, 13 “Remember (Q)the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall [d]pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, 15 until the Lord has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. (R)Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

16 So they answered Joshua, saying, “All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only the Lord your God (S)be with you, as He was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 1:6 give as a possession
  2. Joshua 1:7 have success or act wisely
  3. Joshua 1:8 you shall be constantly in
  4. Joshua 1:14 cross over ahead of

The Land Divided East of the Jordan

With the other half-tribe the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, (A)which Moses had given them, (B)beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the Lord had given them: from Aroer which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and the town that is in the midst of the ravine, (C)and all the plain of Medeba as far as Dibon; 10 (D)all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the children of Ammon; 11 (E)Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salcah; 12 all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei, who remained of (F)the remnant of the giants; (G)for Moses had [a]defeated and [b]cast out these.

13 Nevertheless the children of Israel (H)did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maachathites, but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.

14 (I)Only to the tribe of Levi he had given [c]no inheritance; the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, (J)as He said to them.

The Land of Reuben

15 (K)And Moses had given to the tribe of the children of Reuben an inheritance according to their families. 16 Their territory was (L)from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, (M)and the city that is in the midst of the ravine, (N)and all the plain by Medeba; 17 (O)Heshbon and all its cities that are in the plain: Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, 18 (P)Jahaza, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 (Q)Kirjathaim, (R)Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the mountain of the valley, 20 Beth Peor, (S)the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth— 21 (T)all the cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, (U)whom Moses had struck (V)with the princes of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were princes of Sihon dwelling in the country. 22 The children of Israel also killed with the sword (W)Balaam the son of Beor, the [d]soothsayer, among those who were killed by them. 23 And the border of the children of Reuben was the bank of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages.

The Land of Gad

24 (X)Moses also had given an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad according to their families. 25 (Y)Their territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, (Z)and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, which is before (AA)Rabbah, 26 and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir, 27 and in the valley (AB)Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, (AC)Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan as its border, as far as the edge (AD)of the [e]Sea of Chinnereth, on the other side of the Jordan eastward. 28 This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and their villages.

Half the Tribe of Manasseh (East)

29 (AE)Moses also had given an inheritance to half the tribe of Manasseh; it was for half the tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families: 30 Their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and (AF)all the towns of Jair which are in Bashan, sixty cities; 31 half of Gilead, and (AG)Ashtaroth and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the (AH)children of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the children of Machir according to their families.

32 These are the areas which Moses had [f]distributed as an inheritance in the plains of Moab on the other side of the Jordan, by Jericho eastward. 33 (AI)But to the tribe of Levi Moses had given no inheritance; the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance, (AJ)as He had said to them.

The Land Divided West of the Jordan

14 These are the areas which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, (AK)which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed as an inheritance to them. Their inheritance was (AL)by lot, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. (AM)For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe on the other side of the Jordan; but to the Levites he had given no inheritance among them. For (AN)the children of Joseph were two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim. And they gave no part to the Levites in the land, except (AO)cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for their livestock and their property. (AP)As the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did; and they divided the land.

Caleb Inherits Hebron

Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the (AQ)Kenizzite said to him: “You know (AR)the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning (AS)you and me in Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord (AT)sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. Nevertheless (AU)my brethren who went up with me made the [g]heart of the people melt, but I wholly (AV)followed the Lord my God. So Moses swore on that day, saying, (AW)‘Surely the land (AX)where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me (AY)alive, (AZ)as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel [h]wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 (BA)As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both (BB)for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how (BC)the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. (BD)It may be that the Lord will be with me, and (BE)I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”

13 And Joshua (BF)blessed him, (BG)and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 (BH)Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he (BI)wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. 15 And (BJ)the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim).

(BK)Then the land had rest from war.

The Land of Judah

15 So this was the [i]lot of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families:

(BL)The border of Edom at the (BM)Wilderness of Zin southward was the extreme southern boundary. And their (BN)southern border began at the shore of the Salt Sea, from the bay that faces southward. Then it went out to the southern side of (BO)the Ascent of Akrabbim, passed along to Zin, ascended on the south side of Kadesh Barnea, passed along to Hezron, went up to Adar, and went around to Karkaa. From there it passed (BP)toward Azmon and went out to the Brook of Egypt; and the border ended at the sea. This shall be your southern border.

The east border was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan.

And the (BQ)border on the northern quarter began at the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. The border went up to (BR)Beth Hoglah and passed north of Beth Arabah; and the border went up (BS)to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. Then the border went up toward (BT)Debir from (BU)the Valley of Achor, and it turned northward toward Gilgal, which is before the Ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley. The border continued toward the waters of En Shemesh and ended at (BV)En Rogel. And the border went up (BW)by the Valley of the Son of Hinnom to the southern slope of the (BX)Jebusite city (which is Jerusalem). The border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the Valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the Valley (BY)of [j]Rephaim northward. Then the border went around from the top of the hill to (BZ)the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and extended to the cities of Mount Ephron. And the border went around (CA)to Baalah (which is (CB)Kirjath Jearim). 10 Then the border [k]turned westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the side of Mount Jearim on the north (which is Chesalon), went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed on to (CC)Timnah. 11 And the border went out to the side of (CD)Ekron northward. Then the border went around to Shicron, passed along to Mount Baalah, and extended to Jabneel; and the border ended at the sea.

12 The west border was (CE)the coastline of the Great Sea. This is the boundary of the children of Judah all around according to their families.

Caleb Occupies Hebron and Debir(CF)

13 (CG)Now to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a share among the children of (CH)Judah, according to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, namely, (CI)Kirjath Arba, which is Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). 14 Caleb drove out (CJ)the three sons of Anak from there: (CK)Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. 15 Then (CL)he went up from there to the inhabitants of Debir (formerly the name of Debir was Kirjath Sepher).

16 (CM)And Caleb said, “He who [l]attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife.” 17 So (CN)Othniel the (CO)son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it; and he gave him (CP)Achsah his daughter as wife. 18 (CQ)Now it was so, when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. So (CR)she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” 19 She answered, “Give me a (CS)blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

The Cities of Judah

20 This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families:

21 The cities at the limits of the tribe of the children of Judah, toward the border of Edom in the South, were Kabzeel, (CT)Eder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 (CU)Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 25 Hazor, Hadattah, Kerioth, Hezron (which is Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, 28 Hazar Shual, (CV)Beersheba, Bizjothjah, 29 Baalah, Ijim, Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Chesil, (CW)Hormah, 31 (CX)Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and (CY)Rimmon: all the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages.

33 In the lowland: (CZ)Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 Jarmuth, (DA)Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 36 Sharaim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim: fourteen cities with their villages; 37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpah, (DB)Joktheel, 39 (DC)Lachish, Bozkath, (DD)Eglon, 40 Cabbon, [m]Lahmas, Kithlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah: sixteen cities with their villages; 42 (DE)Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Jiphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities with their villages; 45 Ekron, with its towns and villages; 46 from Ekron to the sea, all that lay near (DF)Ashdod, with their villages; 47 Ashdod with its towns and villages, Gaza with its towns and villages—as far as (DG)the Brook of Egypt and (DH)the Great Sea with its coastline.

48 And in the mountain country: Shamir, Jattir, Sochoh, 49 Dannah, Kirjath Sannah (which is Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 (DI)Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages; 52 Arab, Dumah, Eshean, 53 Janum, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, (DJ)Kirjath Arba (which is Hebron), and Zior: nine cities with their villages; 55 (DK)Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages; 58 Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon: six cities with their villages; 60 (DL)Kirjath Baal (which is Kirjath Jearim) and Rabbah: two cities with their villages.

61 In the wilderness: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and (DM)En Gedi: six cities with their villages.

63 As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, (DN)the children of Judah could not drive them out; (DO)but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

Ephraim and West Manasseh

16 The lot [n]fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan, by Jericho, to the waters of Jericho on the east, to the (DP)wilderness that goes up from Jericho through the mountains to [o]Bethel, then went out [p]from (DQ)Bethel to Luz, passed along to the border of the Archites at Ataroth, and went down westward to the boundary of the Japhletites, (DR)as far as the boundary of Lower Beth Horon to (DS)Gezer; and [q]it ended at the sea.

(DT)So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their [r]inheritance.

The Land of Ephraim

(DU)The border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus: The border of their inheritance on the east side was (DV)Ataroth Addar (DW)as far as Upper Beth Horon.

And the border went out toward the sea on the north side of (DX)Michmethath; then the border went around eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed by it on the east of Janohah. Then it went down from Janohah to Ataroth and [s]Naarah, reached to Jericho, and came out at the Jordan.

The border went out from (DY)Tappuah westward to the (DZ)Brook Kanah, and [t]it ended at the sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families. (EA)The separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

10 (EB)And they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become forced laborers.

The Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh (West)

17 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the (EC)firstborn of Joseph: namely for (ED)Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war; therefore he was given (EE)Gilead and Bashan. And there was a lot for (EF)the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: (EG)for the children of [u]Abiezer, the children of Helek, (EH)the children of Asriel, the children of Shechem, (EI)the children of Hepher, and the children of Shemida; these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.

But (EJ)Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters. And these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they came near before (EK)Eleazar the priest, before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the rulers, saying, (EL)“The Lord commanded Moses to give us an [v]inheritance among our brothers.” Therefore, according to the commandment of the Lord, he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. Ten shares fell to (EM)Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side of the Jordan, because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons; and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.

And the territory of Manasseh was from Asher to (EN)Michmethath, that lies east of Shechem; and the border went along south to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but (EO)Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. And the [w]border descended to the [x]Brook Kanah, southward to the brook. (EP)These cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook; and it ended at the sea.

10 Southward it was Ephraim’s, northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea was its border. Manasseh’s territory was adjoining Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. 11 And in Issachar and in Asher, (EQ)Manasseh had (ER)Beth Shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, the inhabitants of Dor 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—three hilly regions. 12 Yet (ES)the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 13 And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to (ET)forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

More Land for Ephraim and Manasseh

14 (EU)Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only (EV)one [y]lot and one share to inherit, since we are (EW)a great people, inasmuch as the Lord has blessed us until now?”

15 So Joshua answered them, “If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you.”

16 But the children of Joseph said, “The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have (EX)chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are (EY)of the Valley of Jezreel.”

17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, “You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one [z]lot, 18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its [aa]farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, (EZ)though they have iron chariots and are strong.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 13:12 Lit. struck
  2. Joshua 13:12 dispossessed
  3. Joshua 13:14 no land as a possession
  4. Joshua 13:22 diviner
  5. Joshua 13:27 Sea of Galilee
  6. Joshua 13:32 apportioned
  7. Joshua 14:8 courage of the people fail
  8. Joshua 14:10 Lit. walked
  9. Joshua 15:1 allotment
  10. Joshua 15:8 Lit. Giants
  11. Joshua 15:10 turned around
  12. Joshua 15:16 Lit. strikes
  13. Joshua 15:40 Or Lahmam
  14. Joshua 16:1 Lit. went out
  15. Joshua 16:1 LXX Bethel Luz
  16. Joshua 16:2 LXX to Bethel,
  17. Joshua 16:3 Lit. the goings out of it were at the sea
  18. Joshua 16:4 possession
  19. Joshua 16:7 Naaran, 1 Chr. 7:28
  20. Joshua 16:8 Lit. the goings out of it were at the sea
  21. Joshua 17:2 Jeezer, Num. 26:30
  22. Joshua 17:4 possession
  23. Joshua 17:9 boundary
  24. Joshua 17:9 Wadi
  25. Joshua 17:14 allotment
  26. Joshua 17:17 allotment
  27. Joshua 17:18 Lit. goings out

Bible Gateway Recommends