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The Tribes Meet at Shiloh

18 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting.[a] Though they had subdued the land,[b] seven Israelite tribes had not been assigned their allotted land.[c] So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long do you intend to put off occupying[d] the land the Lord God of your ancestors[e] has given you? Pick three men from each tribe. I will send them out to walk through the land and make a map of it for me.[f] Divide it into seven regions.[g] Judah will stay[h] in its territory in the south, and the family[i] of Joseph in its territory in the north. But as for you, map out the land into seven regions and bring it to me. I will draw lots for you here before the Lord our God. But the Levites will not have an allotted portion among you, for their inheritance is to serve the Lord.[j] Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their allotted land[k] east of the Jordan, which Moses the Lord’s servant assigned them.”

When the men started out, Joshua told those going to map out the land, “Go, walk through the land, map it out, and return to me. Then I will draw lots for you before the Lord here in Shiloh.” The men journeyed[l] through the land and mapped it and its cities out into seven regions on a scroll. Then they came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. 10 Joshua drew lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord and divided the land among the Israelites according to their allotted portions.

Benjamin’s Tribal Lands

11 The first lot belonged to the tribe of Benjamin[m] by its clans. Their allotted territory was between Judah and Joseph.[n] 12 Their northern border started at the Jordan, went up to the slope of Jericho on the north, ascended westward to the hill country, and extended to the wilderness of Beth Aven. 13 It then crossed from there to Luz, to the slope of Luz to the south (that is, Bethel), and descended to Ataroth Addar located on the hill that is south of lower Beth Horon. 14 It then turned on the west side southward from the hill near Beth Horon on the south and extended to Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a city belonging to the tribe[o] of Judah. This is the western border.[p] 15 The southern side started on the edge of Kiriath Jearim and extended westward to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 16 The border then descended to the edge of the hill country near the Valley of Ben Hinnom located in the Valley of the Rephaites to the north. It descended through the Valley of Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites to the south and then down to En Rogel. 17 It went northward, extending to En Shemesh and Geliloth opposite the Pass[q] of Adummim, and descended to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. 18 It crossed to the slope in front of the rift valley to the north and descended into the rift valley.[r] 19 It then crossed to the slope of Beth Hoglah to the north and ended at the northern tip of the Salt Sea[s] at the mouth of the Jordan River.[t] This was the southern border. 20 The Jordan River bordered it on the east. These were the borders of the land assigned to the tribe of Benjamin by its clans.[u]

21 These cities belonged to the tribe[v] of Benjamin by its clans: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—a total of twelve cities and their towns.

25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city[w] (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath—a total of fourteen cities and their towns.[x] This was the land assigned to the tribe of Benjamin[y] by its clans.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 18:1 tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”sn On the tent of meeting see Exod 33:7-11.
  2. Joshua 18:1 tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”
  3. Joshua 18:2 tn Heb “there were left among the sons of Israel who had not divided up their inheritance seven tribes.”
  4. Joshua 18:3 tn Heb “How long are you putting off entering and possessing.”
  5. Joshua 18:3 tn Or “fathers.”
  6. Joshua 18:4 tn Heb “I will send them so they may arise and walk about in the land and describe it in writing according to their inheritance and come to me.”
  7. Joshua 18:5 tn Heb “portions.”
  8. Joshua 18:5 tn Heb “stand.”
  9. Joshua 18:5 tn Heb “the house.”
  10. Joshua 18:7 tn Or “the priesthood of the Lord.”
  11. Joshua 18:7 tn Or “inheritance.”
  12. Joshua 18:9 tn Heb “went and passed through.”
  13. Joshua 18:11 tn Heb “and the lot came up for the tribe of the sons of Benjamin.”
  14. Joshua 18:11 tn Heb “and the territory of their allotment went out between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.”
  15. Joshua 18:14 tn Heb “sons,” here referring to the tribe.
  16. Joshua 18:14 tn Or “side.”
  17. Joshua 18:17 tn Or “ascent.”
  18. Joshua 18:18 sn This section of the rift valley is to the north and west of the Dead Sea.
  19. Joshua 18:19 sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea.
  20. Joshua 18:19 tn Heb “to the tongue of the Salt Sea to the north, to the end of the Jordan to the south.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (also in the following verse).
  21. Joshua 18:20 tn Heb “This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin by its borders round about, by their clans.”
  22. Joshua 18:21 tn Heb “the sons,” here referring to the tribe.
  23. Joshua 18:28 tn The word “city” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
  24. Joshua 18:28 tn The structure of this list presents problems. In v. 28 no conjunction appears before “Haeleph” or “Kiriath” in the Hebrew text. This suggests they should be compounded with the preceding names, yielding “Zelah Haeleph” and “Gibeah Kiriath” respectively. This results in a list of only twelve cities, however, while the summary statement (v. 28) gives the number fourteen. One should note, however, that the city lists in chap. 15 do not consistently use the conjunction before the name of each city. See also Josh 19:7, where no conjunction appears before “Rimmon,” but the summary assumes that Ain and Rimmon are distinct.
  25. Joshua 18:28 tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin.”

Remainder of the land

18 The whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh and set up the meeting tent there. The conquered land lay before them. Among the Israelites, seven tribes were left that had not yet received their legacy. Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you avoid going to take over the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? Pick out three men for each tribe. I will send them out, and they will go up and travel throughout the land. They will write a description of it as the basis for determining their legacy. Then they will come back to me. They will divide up the land among themselves into seven portions. Judah will stay on its territory to the south. The house of Joseph will stay on their territory to the north. But you will write a report in seven parts and bring the report back here to me. Then I will cast the lot for you here, before the Lord our God. However, there won’t be a portion among you for the Levites because their legacy is the priesthood of the Lord. Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received their legacy on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the Lord’s servant gave it to them.”

When the men had prepared to go, Joshua gave orders to those going to write a description of the land. “Go and travel around the land, write about it, and return to me. I will cast the lot for you before the Lord here in Shiloh.” So the men went and passed through the land and wrote about it in a document, city by city, in seven sections. They came back to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. 10 Then Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. There Joshua divided up the shares of the land for the Israelites.

Border of Benjamin

11 The lot for the clans of the Benjaminite tribe appeared first. The border of their allotment went out between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. 12 Their border on the north side ran from the Jordan. The border went up to the slope of Jericho on the north. It went up westward in the highlands and ended at the wasteland of Beth-aven. 13 The border passed on from there to Luz, to the slope of Luz on the south (that is, Bethel). The border went down to Ataroth-adar on the mountain that is south of Lower Beth-horon. 14 The border turned and came around southward on the west side, running from the mountain that is opposite Beth-horon on the south. It ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the people of Judah. This was its west side.

15 The south side ran from the limits of Kiriath-jearim. The border went out westward. It then proceeded to the waters of Nephtoah Spring. 16 The border went down to the foot of the mountain that is opposite the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the north part of the Rephaim Valley. It went down through the Hinnom Valley to the slope of the Jebusite city on the south. It then went down to En-rogel. 17 It turned northward. Then it went to En-shemesh and then to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. It went down to the Stone of Bohan (Reuben’s son). 18 It passed on to the slope of Beth-arabah[a] on the north and went down into the desert plain. 19 The border passed on to the slope of Beth-hoglah on the north. The border ended at the north bay of the Dead Sea, at the southern mouth of the Jordan. This was the southern border. 20 The Jordan bordered it on the east side. This is the legacy of the Benjaminite clans according to its borders.

Cities of Benjamin

21 The cities of the clans of the Benjaminite tribe are Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba. In total: twelve cities and their surrounding areas.

25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath. In total: fourteen cities and their surrounding areas. This is the legacy of the Benjaminite clans.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 18:18 LXX and Josh 15:6; MT slope opposite the desert plain