Joshua 14
New Living Translation
The Land Divided West of the Jordan
14 The remaining tribes of Israel received land in Canaan as allotted by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the tribal leaders. 2 These nine and a half tribes received their grants of land by means of sacred lots, in accordance with the Lord’s command through Moses. 3 Moses had already given a grant of land to the two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan River, but he had given the Levites no such allotment. 4 The descendants of Joseph had become two separate tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. And the Levites were given no land at all, only towns to live in with surrounding pasturelands for their livestock and all their possessions. 5 So the land was distributed in strict accordance with the Lord’s commands to Moses.
Caleb Requests His Land
6 A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb said to Joshua, “Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report, 8 but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God. 9 So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’
10 “Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. 11 I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. 12 So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”
13 So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave Hebron to him as his portion of land. 14 Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 (Previously Hebron had been called Kiriath-arba. It had been named after Arba, a great hero of the descendants of Anak.)
And the land had rest from war.
Joshua 14
New English Translation
Judah’s Tribal Lands
14 The following is a record of the territory assigned to the Israelites in the land of Canaan by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite tribal leaders.[a] 2 The land assignments to the nine-and-a-half tribes were made by drawing lots, as the Lord had instructed Moses.[b] 3 Now Moses had assigned land[c] to the two-and-a-half tribes east of the Jordan, but he assigned no land[d] to the Levites.[e] 4 The descendants of Joseph were considered as two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites were allotted no territory, though they were assigned cities in which to live, along with the grazing areas for their cattle and possessions.[f] 5 The Israelites followed the Lord’s instructions to Moses and divided up the land.[g]
6 The men of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said about you and me to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea.[h] 7 I was forty years old when Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy on the land and I brought back to him an honest report.[i] 8 My countrymen[j] who accompanied[k] me frightened the people,[l] but I remained loyal to the Lord my God.[m] 9 That day Moses made this solemn promise:[n] ‘Surely the land on which you walked[o] will belong to you and your descendants permanently,[p] for you remained loyal to the Lord your God.’ 10 So now, look, the Lord has preserved my life, just as he promised, these past forty-five years since the Lord spoke these words to Moses, while Israel traveled through the wilderness. See here, I am today eighty-five years old! 11 Today I am still as strong as when Moses sent me out. I can fight and go about my daily activities with the same energy I had then.[q] 12 Now, assign me this hill country that the Lord promised me at that time! No doubt you heard then that the Anakites live there in large, fortified cities.[r] But assuming the Lord is with me, I will conquer[s] them, as the Lord promised.” 13 Joshua asked God to empower Caleb son of Jephunneh and assigned him Hebron.[t] 14 So Hebron remains the assigned land of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this very day[u] because he remained loyal to the Lord God of Israel. 15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba. Arba was a famous Anakite.[v]) Then the land was free of war.
Footnotes
- Joshua 14:1 tn Heb “These are [the lands] which the sons of Israel received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes assigned as an inheritance to the sons of Israel.”
- Joshua 14:2 tn Heb “By lot was their inheritance, as the Lord had commanded by Moses, to the nine tribes and the half-tribe.”
- Joshua 14:3 tn Or “assigned an inheritance.”
- Joshua 14:3 tn Or “no inheritance.”
- Joshua 14:3 tn The Hebrew text adds, “in their midst.”
- Joshua 14:4 tn Heb “and they did not assign a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities [in which] to live and their pastures for their cattle and property.”
- Joshua 14:5 tn Heb “Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did, and they divided up the land.”
- Joshua 14:6 tn Heb “You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses, the man of God, because of me and because of you in Kadesh Barnea.”sn On this incident at Kadesh Barnea see Num 14:30.
- Joshua 14:7 tn Heb “and I brought back to him a word just as [was] in my heart.”
- Joshua 14:8 tn Heb “brothers.”
- Joshua 14:8 tn Heb “went up with.”
- Joshua 14:8 tn Heb “made the heart[s] of the people melt.”
- Joshua 14:8 tn Heb “I filled up after the Lord my God,” an idiomatic statement meaning that Caleb remained loyal to the Lord.
- Joshua 14:9 tn Heb “swore an oath.”
- Joshua 14:9 tn Heb “on which your foot has walked.”
- Joshua 14:9 tn Heb “will belong to you for an inheritance, and to your sons forever.”
- Joshua 14:11 tn Heb “like my strength then, like my strength now, for battle and for going out and coming in.”
- Joshua 14:12 tn Heb “are there and large, fortified cities.”
- Joshua 14:12 tn Or “will dispossess.”
- Joshua 14:13 tn Heb “Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.”
- Joshua 14:14 tn Heb “Therefore Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh for an inheritance to this day.”
- Joshua 14:15 tn Heb “And he was the great man among the Anakites.”
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