Joshua 13
New English Translation
The Lord Speaks to Joshua
13 When Joshua was very old,[a] the Lord told him, “You are very old, and a great deal of land remains to be conquered. 2 This is the land that remains: all the territory of the Philistines and all the Geshurites, 3 from the Shihor River[b] east of[c] Egypt northward to the territory of Ekron (it is regarded as Canaanite territory),[d] including the area belonging to the five Philistine lords who ruled in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as Avvite land[e] 4 to the south;[f] all the Canaanite territory,[g] from Arah[h] in the region of Sidon[i] to Aphek, as far as Amorite territory; 5 the territory of Byblos[j] and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath.[k] 6 I will drive out before the Israelites all who live in the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim,[l] all the Sidonians; you be sure to parcel it out to Israel as I instructed you.[m] 7 Now, divide up this land[n] among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
Tribal Lands East of the Jordan
8 The other half of Manasseh,[o] Reuben, and Gad received their allotted tribal lands on east side of the Jordan,[p] just as Moses, the Lord’s servant, had assigned them. 9 Their territory started[q] from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley), included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba as far as Dibon, 10 and all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon, and ended at the Ammonite border. 11 Their territory also included[r] Gilead, Geshurite and Maacathite territory, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah— 12 the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was one of the few remaining Rephaites.)[s] Moses defeated them and took their lands.[t] 13 But the Israelites did not conquer[u] the Geshurites and Maacathites; Geshur and Maacah live among Israel to this very day. 14 However, Moses[v] did not assign land as an inheritance[w] to the Levites; their inheritance[x] is the sacrificial offerings[y] made to the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed[z] them.
15 Moses assigned land to the tribe of Reuben[aa] by its clans. 16 Their territory started at Aroer[ab] (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba, 17 Heshbon and all its surrounding cities on the plain, including Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley, 20 Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth. 21 It encompassed[ac] all the cities of the plain and the whole realm of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon. Moses defeated him and the Midianite leaders Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba (they were subjects of Sihon and lived in his territory).[ad] 22 The Israelites killed Balaam son of Beor, the omen reader,[ae] along with the others.[af] 23 The border of the tribe of Reuben was the Jordan. The land allotted to the tribe of Reuben by its clans included these cities and their towns.[ag]
24 Moses assigned land to the tribe of Gad[ah] by its clans. 25 Their territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the Ammonite territory[ai] as far as Aroer near[aj] Rabbah. 26 Their territory ran[ak] from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir. 27 It included the valley of Beth Haram,[al] Beth Nimrah, Sukkoth, and Zaphon, and the rest of the realm of King Sihon of Heshbon, the area east of the Jordan to the end of the Sea of Kinnereth.[am] 28 The land allotted to the tribe of Gad by its clans included these cities and their towns.[an]
29 Moses assigned land to the half-tribe of Manasseh[ao] by its clans. 30 Their territory started at[ap] Mahanaim and encompassed all Bashan, the whole realm of King Og of Bashan, including all sixty cities in Havvoth Jair[aq] in Bashan. 31 Half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities in the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were assigned to the descendants of Makir son of Manasseh, to half the descendants of Makir by their clans.
32 These are the land assignments made by Moses[ar] in the rift valley plains of Moab[as] east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho.[at] 33 However, Moses did not assign land as an inheritance[au] to the Levites; their inheritance[av] is the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed[aw] them.
Footnotes
- Joshua 13:1 tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following clause.
- Joshua 13:3 tn Heb “the Shihor”; the word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning.
- Joshua 13:3 tn Heb “in front of.”
- Joshua 13:3 tn Heb “it is reckoned to the Canaanites.”
- Joshua 13:3 tn Heb “the five lords of the Philistines, the Gazaite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gathite, and the Ekronite, and the Avvites.”
- Joshua 13:4 tn Or “from Teman.” The phrase is especially problematic if taken with what follows, as the traditional verse division suggests. For further discussion see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 146.
- Joshua 13:4 tn Heb “all the land of the Canaanites.”
- Joshua 13:4 tc The reading “Arah” assumes a slight emendation of the Hebrew vowel pointing. The MT reads, “and a cave,” or “and Mearah” (if one understands the word as a proper noun).
- Joshua 13:4 tn Heb “which belongs to the Sidonians.”
- Joshua 13:5 tn Heb “and the land of the Gebalites.”
- Joshua 13:5 tn Or “the entrance to Hamath.” Most modern translations take the phrase “Lebo Hamath” to be a proper name, but often provide a note with the alternative, where “Hamath” is the proper name and לְבוֹא (levoʾ) is taken to mean “entrance to.”
- Joshua 13:6 tn The meaning of the Hebrew name “Misrephoth Maim” is perhaps “lime-kilns by the water” (see HALOT 641 s.v. מִשְׂרָפוֹת).
- Joshua 13:6 tn Heb “only you, assign it by lots to Israel as an inheritance as I commanded you.”
- Joshua 13:7 tn Heb “now apportion this land as an inheritance.”
- Joshua 13:8 tn The MT reads “with him,” which is problematic, since the reference would be to the other half of the tribe of Manasseh (not the half mentioned in v. 7).
- Joshua 13:8 tn Heb “received their inheritance, which Moses had assigned to them beyond the Jordan to the east.”
- Joshua 13:9 tn The words “their territory started” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Joshua 13:11 tn The words “their territory also included” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Joshua 13:12 tn Heb “from the remnant of the Rephaites.”sn The Rephaites were apparently an extremely tall ethnic group. See Deut 2:10-11, 20; 3:11.
- Joshua 13:12 tn Or “dispossessed them.”
- Joshua 13:13 tn Or “dispossess.”
- Joshua 13:14 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
- Joshua 13:14 tn Heb “did not assign an inheritance.”
- Joshua 13:14 tn That is, “their source of food and life.”
- Joshua 13:14 tn Or “offerings made by fire.”
- Joshua 13:14 tn Or “promised” (Heb “spoke”).sn For the background of this observation, see Deut 18:1-2.
- Joshua 13:15 tn Heb “assigned to the sons of Reuben.”
- Joshua 13:16 tn Heb “their territory was from.”
- Joshua 13:21 tn The words “it encompassed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Joshua 13:21 tn Heb “princes of Sihon, inhabitants of the land.”
- Joshua 13:22 tn Or “diviner.”
- Joshua 13:22 tn Heb “Balaam son of Beor, the omen-reader, the Israelites killed with the sword, along with their slain ones.”
- Joshua 13:23 tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the sons of Reuben by their clans, the cities and their towns.”
- Joshua 13:24 tn Heb “assigned to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad.”
- Joshua 13:25 tn Heb “and half of the land of the sons of Ammon.”
- Joshua 13:25 tn Heb “which [is] in front of.”
- Joshua 13:26 tn The words “Their territory ran” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied for clarification.
- Joshua 13:27 tn Or “it included in the valley, Beth Haram.”
- Joshua 13:27 sn The Sea of Kinnereth is another name for the Sea of Galilee. See the note on the word “Kinnereth” in 11:2.
- Joshua 13:28 tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the sons of Gad by their clans, the cities and their towns.”
- Joshua 13:29 tn Heb “assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh, and it belonged to the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
- Joshua 13:30 tn The words “their territory started at” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied for clarification.
- Joshua 13:30 sn The Hebrew name Havvoth Jair means “the tent villages of Jair.”
- Joshua 13:32 tn Heb “These are [the lands] which Moses gave as an inheritance.”
- Joshua 13:32 sn This is the area of rift valley basin to the north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan. Some translate as the “plains of Moab” (NASB, NIV, ESV) but this can give the wrong impression of the larger part of Moab above the rift valley. See the note at Num 22:1.
- Joshua 13:32 tn Heb “beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning.
- Joshua 13:33 tn Heb “Moses did not assign an inheritance.” The word “land” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what the inheritance consisted of.
- Joshua 13:33 tn That is, “their source of food and life.”
- Joshua 13:33 tn Or “as he promised”; Heb “as he spoke to.”sn For the background of this observation, see Deut 18:1-2.
Joshua 13
Christian Standard Bible
Unconquered Lands
13 Joshua was now old, advanced in age,(A) and the Lord said to him, “You have become old, advanced in age, but a great deal of the land remains to be possessed.(B) 2 This is the land that remains:
All the districts of the Philistines and the Geshurites: 3 from the Shihor east of Egypt to the border of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as the Avvites 4 in the south; all the land of the Canaanites, from Arah of the Sidonians to Aphek and as far as the border of the Amorites; 5 the land of the Gebalites;(C) and all Lebanon east from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath[a](D)— 6 all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim,(E) all the Sidonians.
I will drive them out before the Israelites, only distribute the land as an inheritance for Israel, as I have commanded you. 7 Therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”
The Inheritance East of the Jordan
8 With the other half of the tribe of Manasseh, the Reubenites and Gadites had received the inheritance Moses gave them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the Lord’s servant had given them:(F)
9 From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley,(G) all the Medeba plateau as far as Dibon, 10 and all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, to the border of the Ammonites; 11 also Gilead(H) and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah— 12 the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei; he was one of the remaining Rephaim.
Moses struck them down and drove them out,(I) 13 but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites and Maacathites.(J) So Geshur and Maacath still live in Israel today.(K)
14 He did not, however, give any inheritance to the tribe of Levi. This was their inheritance, just as he had promised: the food offerings made to the Lord, the God of Israel.(L)
Reuben’s Inheritance
15 To the tribe of Reuben’s descendants by their clans, Moses gave 16 this as their territory:
From Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau as far as[b] Medeba, 17 with Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau—Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,(M) 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley,(N) 20 Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth— 21 all the cities of the plateau, and all the kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon. Moses had killed him and the chiefs of Midian—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—the princes of Sihon who lived in the land.(O) 22 Along with those the Israelites put to death, they also killed the diviner, Balaam son of Beor, with the sword.
23 The border of the Reubenites was the Jordan and its plain. This was the inheritance of the Reubenites by their clans, with the cities and their settlements.
Gad’s Inheritance
24 To the tribe of the Gadites by their clans, Moses gave 25 this as their territory:
Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites to Aroer, near Rabbah; 26 from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir;[c] 27 in the valley: Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon—the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon. Their land also included the Jordan and its territory as far as the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth[d] on the east side of the Jordan.
28 This was the inheritance of the Gadites by their clans, with the cities and their settlements.
East Manasseh’s Inheritance
29 And to half the tribe of Manasseh (that is, to half the tribe of Manasseh’s descendants by their clans) Moses gave 30 this as their territory:
From Mahanaim through all Bashan—all the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, including all of Jair’s Villages[e](P) that are in Bashan—sixty cities. 31 But half of Gilead, and Og’s royal cities in Bashan—Ashtaroth and Edrei—are for the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh (that is, half the descendants of Machir by their clans).
32 These were the portions Moses gave them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan east of Jericho. 33 But Moses did not give a portion to the tribe of Levi. The Lord, the God of Israel, was their inheritance, just as he had promised them.(Q)
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