Joshua 14
Expanded Bible
14 Eleazar the priest [the son of Aaron; Ex. 28:1; Num. 34:17], Joshua son of Nun, and the ·leaders [L heads of the fathers] of all the tribes of Israel decided what land to give to the people in the land of Canaan. 2 The Lord had commanded Moses long ago how he wanted the people to choose their land. The people of the nine-and-a-half tribes threw lots [C casting lots left the decision to God; the Urim and Thummim may have been used; Ex. 28:30; Num. 27:21] to decide which land they would receive. 3 Moses had already given the two-and-a-half tribes their land east of the Jordan River. But the tribe of Levi was not given any ·land [inheritance] like the others. 4 The sons of Joseph had ·divided into [L become] two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. The tribe of Levi was not given any ·land [inheritance]. It was given only some towns in which to live and pastures for its ·animals [L cattle and property]. 5 The Lord had told Moses how to give the land to the tribes of Israel, and the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] divided the land.
Caleb’s Land
6 One day ·some men from the tribe of Judah [L the sons/descendants of Judah] went to Joshua at Gilgal [4:19]. Among them was Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. He said to Joshua, “You remember what the Lord said at Kadesh Barnea when he was speaking to ·the prophet Moses [L Moses, the man of God] about you and me [Num. 14:6–9, 24, 30]. 7 Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me to ·look at [spy out] the land where we were going. I was forty years old then. When I came back, I ·told Moses what I thought about the land [brought back an honest report; L brought him word as it was in my heart; Num. 13:30]. 8 The other men who went with me ·frightened the people [L made the heart of the people melt; Num. 13:27–29; 14:1–4], but I ·fully believed the Lord would allow us to take the land [or remained loyal to the Lord; L followed the Lord]. 9 So that day Moses ·promised [swore to; made an oath to] me, ‘The land where ·you went [L your foot has trodden] will become your ·land [inheritance], and your children will own it forever. I will give you that land because you ·fully believed in [or remained loyal to; L followed] the Lord, my God.’
10 “Now then, [L look; T behold] the Lord has kept his promise. He has kept me alive for forty-five years from the time he said this to Moses during the time ·we all [L Israel] wandered in the ·desert [wilderness]. Now ·here [L look; T behold] I am, eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out, ·and I am just as ready to fight now as I was then [L my strength then is like my strength now, for battle and for going out and coming in]. 12 So give me the mountain country the Lord promised me that day long ago. Back then you heard that the ·Anakite people [Anakim] lived there and the cities were large and well protected. But now with the Lord helping me, I will ·force [drive] them out, just as the Lord said.”
13 Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him the city of Hebron [C southwest of Jerusalem in the Judean hills] as his ·own [L inheritance]. 14 Hebron still ·belongs to [remains the inheritance of] the family of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite because he ·had faith and obeyed [remained loyal to; L wholly followed] the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 (In the past Hebron was called Kiriath Arba, named for Arba, the greatest man among the Anakites.)
After this ·there was peace in the land [L the land had rest from war].
Joshua 14
Amplified Bible
Caleb’s Request
14 Now these are the territories which the tribes of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the households of the tribes of Israel apportioned to them as an inheritance, 2 by the lot of their inheritance, as the Lord had commanded [a]through Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. 3 For Moses had given an inheritance to the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but he did not give [any territory as] an inheritance to the Levites among them. 4 For the sons of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and no portion was given in the land to the Levites except cities in which to live, with their pasture lands for their livestock and for their property. 5 The Israelites did just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.
6 Then the [tribe of the] sons of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning me and you in Kadesh-barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land [of Canaan], and I brought a report back to him as it was in my heart. 8 My brothers (fellow spies) who went up with me made the heart of the people melt with fear; but I followed the Lord my God completely. 9 So Moses swore [an oath to me] on that day, saying, ‘Be assured that the land on which your foot has walked will be an inheritance to you and to your children always, because you have followed the Lord my God completely.’(A) 10 And now, look, the Lord has let me live, just as He said, these forty-five years since the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, [b]look at me, I am eighty-five years old today. 11 I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so is my strength now, for war and for going out and coming in. 12 So now, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke that day, for you heard on that day that the [giant-like] Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”
13 So Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, completely. 15 The name of Hebron was formerly Kiriath-arba [city of Arba]; for Arba was the greatest man among the [giant-like] Anakim. Then the land had rest from war.
Footnotes
- Joshua 14:2 Lit by the hand of.
- Joshua 14:10 Lit behold.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
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