Joshua 14-17

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.

Territory of Judah

15 Now the lot (allotment) for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families reached [southward to] the border of Edom, southward to the wilderness of Zin at its most southern part. ² Their southern border was from the lower end of the Salt (Dead) Sea, from the bay that turns southward. ³ Then it proceeded southward to the ascent of Akrabbim and continued along to Zin, and then went by the south of Kadesh-barnea and continued along to Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned about to Karka. ⁴ It continued along to Azmon and proceeded to the ^[c]Brook of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish), and the border ended at the [Mediterranean] sea. This was their southern border. ⁵ The eastern border was the Salt (Dead) Sea, as far as the mouth of the Jordan. The northern border was from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. ⁶ Then the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and continued along north of Beth-arabah, and the border went up to the [landmark of the] stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ⁷ The border went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley; and the border continued on to the waters of En-shemesh and ended at En-rogel. ⁸ Then the border went up by the Valley of Ben-hinnom (son of Hinnom) at the southern slope of the Jebusite [city] (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the Valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. ⁹ Then the border extended from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron; then the border curved to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). ¹⁰ The border went around west from Baalah to Mount Seir, and passed along to the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), and went down to Beth-shemesh and then continued on through Timnah. ¹¹ The border proceeded to the slope [of the hill] of Ekron northward, then curved to Shikkeron and continued to Mount Baalah and proceeded to Jabneel. Then the border ended at the [Mediterranean] sea. ¹² The western border was at the Great Sea, with its coastline. This is the border around the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families.

¹³ Now to Caleb the son of Jephunneh Joshua gave a portion among the sons of Judah, as the Lord commanded him, namely, Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). ¹⁴ So Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the children of Anak. ¹⁵ Then he went up from there against the people of Debir; Debir was formerly named Kiriath-sepher. ¹⁶ Caleb said, “I will give Achsah my daughter as wife to the man who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it.” ¹⁷ And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, captured it; so he gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife. ¹⁸ Now it came about that when Achsah came to Othniel, she persuaded him [to allow her] to ask her father for a field. Then she [rode up to Caleb and] dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” ¹⁹ Achsah answered, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me the [dry] land of the Negev (South country), give me springs of water, too.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

²⁰ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families (clans).

²¹ The cities of the tribe of the sons of Judah in the extreme south toward the border of Edom were Kabzeel and Eder and Jagur, ²² and Kinah and Dimonah and Adadah, ²³ and Kedesh and Hazor and Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph and Telem and Bealoth, ²⁵ and Hazor-hadattah and Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam and Shema and Moladah, ²⁷ and Hazar-gaddah and Heshmon and Beth-pelet, ²⁸ and Hazar-shual and Beersheba and Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah and Iim and Ezem, ³⁰ and Eltolad and Chesil and Hormah, ³¹ and Ziklag and Madmannah and Sansannah, ³² and Lebaoth and Shilhim and Ain and Rimmon; in all twenty-nine cities with their villages.

³³ In the lowland: Eshtaol and Zorah and Ashnah, ³⁴ and Zanoah and En-gannim, Tappuah and Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth and Adullam, Socoh and Azekah, ³⁶ and Shaaraim and Adithaim and Gederah and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages.

³⁷ Zenan and Hadashah and Migdal-gad, ³⁸ and Dilean and Mizpeh and Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish and Bozkath and Eglon, ⁴⁰ and Cabbon and Lahmas and Chitlish, ⁴¹ and Gederoth, Beth-dagon and Naamah and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.

⁴² Libnah and Ether and Ashan, ⁴³ and Iphtah and Ashnah and Nezib, ⁴⁴ and Keilah and Achzib and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.

⁴⁵ Ekron, with its ^[d]towns and villages; ⁴⁶ from Ekron even to the sea, all that were beside Ashdod, with their villages;

⁴⁷ Ashdod, with its towns and its villages; Gaza, with its towns and its villages; as far as the Brook of Egypt (Wadi el-Arish) and the Great [Mediterranean] Sea with its coastline.

⁴⁸ In the hill country: Shamir and Jattir and Socoh, ⁴⁹ and Dannah and Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ and Anab and Eshtemoh and Anim, ⁵¹ and Goshen and Holon and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.

⁵² Arab and Dumah and Eshan, ⁵³ and Janum and Beth-tappuah and Aphekah, ⁵⁴ and Humtah and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.

⁵⁵ Maon, Carmel and Ziph and Juttah, ⁵⁶ and Jezreel and Jokdeam and Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.

⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth-zur and Gedor, ⁵⁹ and Maarath and Beth-anoth and Eltekon; six cities with their villages.

⁶⁰ Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.

⁶¹ In the wilderness [that slopes downward toward the Dead Sea]: Beth-arabah, Middin and Secacah, ⁶² and Nibshan and the ^[e]City of Salt and Engedi; six cities with their villages.

⁶³ But as for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the [tribe of the] sons of Judah were not able to drive them out; so the Jebusites live with the sons of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

Territory of Ephraim

16 Then the lot (allotment) for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan Valley at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. ² Then it went from Bethel to Luz, and continued to Ataroth, the border of the Archites. ³ It went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the outskirts of lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, and it ended at the sea.

⁴ The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. ⁵ Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: on the east side the border of their inheritance was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. ⁶ Then the border went westward at Michmethath on the north, and turned eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. ⁷ It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, touched Jericho and ended at the Jordan. ⁸ The border continued from Tappuah westward to the Brook Kanah, and it ended at the [Mediterranean] sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families (clans), ⁹ with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim within the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. ¹⁰ But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites live among Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.

Territory of Manasseh

17 Now this was the lot (allotment) for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ² So the lot was also made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families—for the sons of Abiezer and for the sons of Helek and for the sons of Asriel and for the sons of Shechem and for the sons of Hepher and for the sons of Shemida; these were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families (clans).

³ But Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. ⁴ They came before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun and before the leaders and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So according to the command of the Lord Joshua gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. ⁵ So ten portions fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan [on the east side of the river], ⁶ because the daughters of [Zelophehad, a descendant of] Manasseh had received an inheritance among his [other] sons [whose inheritance went to their male descendants]. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.^(B)

⁷ The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸ The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but [the city of] Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. ⁹ Then the border went down to the brook of Kanah, south of the brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim, among the cities of Manasseh), and Manasseh’s border was on the north side of the brook and it ended at the sea. ¹⁰ The land on the south side belonged to Ephraim and that on the north side was Manasseh’s, and the sea was their border; they reached to [the territory of] Asher on the north and to [the territory of] Issachar on the east. ¹¹ Also, in Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; the third is Napheth. ¹² But the sons of Manasseh were not able to [drive out the inhabitants and] take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in that land. ¹³ When the Israelites became strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.

¹⁴ The sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only one lot and one portion as an inheritance, when we are a numerous people whom the Lord has so far blessed?” ¹⁵ Then Joshua replied, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear ground for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶ The sons of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the valley have iron chariots, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those in the Valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷ Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, ¹⁸ but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and though they are strong.”