Simeon’s Inheritance

19 The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of his descendants by their clans, but their inheritance was within the inheritance given to Judah’s descendants. Their inheritance included

Beer-sheba (or Sheba(A)), Moladah, Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen cities, with their settlements; Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities, with their settlements; and all the settlements surrounding these cities as far as Baalath-beer (Ramah in the south[a]).

This was the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon’s descendants by their clans. The inheritance of Simeon’s descendants was within the territory of Judah’s descendants, because the share for Judah’s descendants was too large. So Simeon’s descendants received an inheritance within Judah’s portion.

Zebulun’s Inheritance

10 The third lot came up for Zebulun’s descendants by their clans.

The territory of their inheritance stretched as far as Sarid; 11 their border went up westward to Maralah, reached Dabbesheth, and met the brook east of Jokneam. 12 From Sarid, it turned due east along the border of Chisloth-tabor, went to Daberath, and went up to Japhia. 13 From there, it went due east to Gath-hepher and to Eth-kazin; it extended to Rimmon, curving around to Neah. 14 The border then circled around Neah on the north to Hannathon and ended at Iphtah-el Valley, 15 along with Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve cities, with their settlements.

16 This was the inheritance of Zebulun’s descendants by their clans, these cities, with their settlements.

Issachar’s Inheritance

17 The fourth lot came out for the tribe of Issachar’s descendants by their clans.

18 Their territory went to Jezreel, and included Chesulloth, Shunem,(B) 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. 22 The border reached Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and ended at the Jordan—sixteen cities, with their settlements.

23 This was the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar’s descendants by their clans, the cities, with their settlements.

Asher’s Inheritance

24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher’s descendants by their clans.

25 Their boundary included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal and reached westward to Carmel and Shihor-libnath. 27 It turned eastward to Beth-dagon, reached Zebulun and Iphtah-el Valley, north toward Beth-emek and Neiel, and went north to Cabul,(C) 28 Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as greater Sidon. 29 The boundary then turned to Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre; it turned back to Hosah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea, including Mahalab, Achzib,[b] 30 Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob—twenty-two cities, with their settlements.

31 This was the inheritance of the tribe of Asher’s descendants by their clans, these cities with their settlements.

Naphtali’s Inheritance

32 The sixth lot came out for Naphtali’s descendants by their clans.

33 Their boundary went from Heleph and from the oak in Zaanannim, including Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan. 34 To the west, the boundary turned to Aznoth-tabor and went from there to Hukkok, reaching Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and Judah[c] at the Jordan on the east. 35 The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, 38 Iron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—nineteen cities, with their settlements.

39 This was the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali’s descendants by their clans, the cities with their settlements.

Dan’s Inheritance

40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan’s descendants by their clans.

41 The territory of their inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon,(D) Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46 Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the territory facing Joppa.(E)

47 When the territory of the descendants of Dan slipped out of their control, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and struck it down with the sword. So they took possession of it, lived there, and renamed Leshem after their ancestor Dan.(F) 48 This was the inheritance of the tribe of Dan’s descendants by their clans, these cities with their settlements.

Joshua’s Inheritance

49 When they had finished distributing the land into its territories, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them. 50 By the Lord’s command, they gave him the city Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim,(G) which he requested. He rebuilt the city and lived in it.

51 These were the portions that the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads distributed to the Israelite tribes by lot at Shiloh in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the tent of meeting.(H) So they finished dividing up the land.

Footnotes

  1. 19:8 Or the Negev
  2. 19:29 Or Sea, in the region of Achzib
  3. 19:34 LXX omits Judah

The Land Given to Simeon

19 The second allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Simeon. Their homeland was surrounded by Judah’s territory.

Simeon’s homeland included Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen towns with their surrounding villages. It also included Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four towns with their villages, including all the surrounding villages as far south as Baalath-beer (also known as Ramah of the Negev).

This was the homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Simeon. Their allocation of land came from part of what had been given to Judah because Judah’s territory was too large for them. So the tribe of Simeon received an allocation within the territory of Judah.

The Land Given to Zebulun

10 The third allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Zebulun.

The boundary of Zebulun’s homeland started at Sarid. 11 From there it went west, going past Maralah, touching Dabbesheth, and proceeding to the brook east of Jokneam. 12 In the other direction, the boundary went east from Sarid to the border of Kisloth-tabor, and from there to Daberath and up to Japhia. 13 Then it continued east to Gath-hepher, Eth-kazin, and Rimmon and turned toward Neah. 14 The northern boundary of Zebulun passed Hannathon and ended at the valley of Iphtah-el. 15 The towns in these areas included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve towns with their surrounding villages.

16 The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Zebulun included these towns and their surrounding villages.

The Land Given to Issachar

17 The fourth allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Issachar.

18 Its boundaries included the following towns: Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. 22 The boundary also touched Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, ending at the Jordan River—sixteen towns with their surrounding villages.

23 The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Issachar included these towns and their surrounding villages.

The Land Given to Asher

24 The fifth allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Asher.

25 Its boundaries included these towns: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. The boundary on the west touched Carmel and Shihor-libnath, 27 then it turned east toward Beth-dagon, and ran as far as Zebulun in the valley of Iphtah-el, going north to Beth-emek and Neiel. It then continued north to Cabul, 28 Abdon,[a] Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, and as far as Greater Sidon. 29 Then the boundary turned toward Ramah and the fortress of Tyre, where it turned toward Hosah and came to the Mediterranean Sea.[b] The territory also included Mehebel, Aczib, 30 Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob—twenty-two towns with their surrounding villages.

31 The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Asher included these towns and their surrounding villages.

The Land Given to Naphtali

32 The sixth allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Naphtali.

33 Its boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak at Zaanannim, and extended across to Adami-nekeb, Jabneel, and as far as Lakkum, ending at the Jordan River. 34 The western boundary ran past Aznoth-tabor, then to Hukkok, and touched the border of Zebulun in the south, the border of Asher on the west, and the Jordan River[c] on the east. 35 The fortified towns included in this territory were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, 38 Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—nineteen towns with their surrounding villages.

39 The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Naphtali included these towns and their surrounding villages.

The Land Given to Dan

40 The seventh allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Dan.

41 The land allocated as their homeland included the following towns: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46 Me-jarkon, Rakkon, and the territory across from Joppa.

47 But the tribe of Dan had trouble taking possession of their land,[d] so they attacked the town of Laish.[e] They captured it, slaughtered its people, and settled there. They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor.

48 The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Dan included these towns and their surrounding villages.

The Land Given to Joshua

49 After all the land was divided among the tribes, the Israelites gave a piece of land to Joshua as his allocation. 50 For the Lord had said he could have any town he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and lived there.

51 These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the tribal leaders allocated as grants of land to the tribes of Israel by casting sacred lots in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle[f] at Shiloh. So the division of the land was completed.

Footnotes

  1. 19:28 As in some Hebrew manuscripts (see also 21:30); most Hebrew manuscripts read Ebron.
  2. 19:29 Hebrew the sea.
  3. 19:34 Hebrew and Judah at the Jordan River.
  4. 19:47a Or had trouble holding on to their land.
  5. 19:47b Hebrew Leshem, a variant spelling of Laish.
  6. 19:51 Hebrew Tent of Meeting.