Joshua 13-16

New American Standard Bible 1995

Canaan Divided among the Tribes

13 Now ^(A)Joshua was old and advanced in years when the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed. ² This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the ^(B)Geshurites; ³ from the Shihor which is ^[a]east of Egypt, even as far as the border of Ekron to the north (it is counted as Canaanite); the ^(C)five lords of the Philistines: the Gazite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, the Ekronite; and the Avvite ^4 [b]to the south, all the land of the Canaanite, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, as far as ^(D)Aphek, to the border of the ^(E)Amorite; ⁵ and the land of the ^(F)Gebalite, and all of Lebanon, toward the ^[c]east, ^(G)from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon as far as ^[d]Lebo-hamath. ⁶ All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon as far as ^(H)Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, I will ^[e]drive them out from before the sons of Israel; ^(I)only allot it to Israel for an inheritance as I have commanded you. ⁷ Now therefore, apportion this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

⁸ With ^[f]the other half-tribe, the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance which Moses gave them ^(J)beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the Lord gave to them; ⁹ from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain of Medeba, as far as Dibon; ¹⁰ and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the sons of Ammon; ¹¹ and ^(K)Gilead, and the ^[g]territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah; ¹² all the kingdom of ^(L)Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for Moses ^(M)struck them and dispossessed them. ¹³ But the sons of Israel did not dispossess the Geshurites or the Maacathites; for Geshur and Maacath live among Israel until this day. ^14 (N)Only to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel, are ^[h]their inheritance, as He spoke to him.

¹⁵ So Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their families. ¹⁶ Their ^[i]territory was ^(O)from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley and all the plain by Medeba; ¹⁷ Heshbon, and all its cities which are on the plain: Dibon and Bamoth-baal and Beth-baal-meon, ¹⁸ and ^(P)Jahaz and Kedemoth and Mephaath, ¹⁹ and ^(Q)Kiriathaim and Sibmah and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, ²⁰ and Beth-peor and the slopes of Pisgah and Beth-jeshimoth, ²¹ even all the cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck with the chiefs of Midian, ^(R)Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land. ²² The sons of Israel also killed ^(S)Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword among the rest of their slain. ²³ The border of the sons of Reuben was the ^[j]Jordan. This was the inheritance of the sons of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages.

²⁴ Moses also gave an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad, according to their families. ²⁵ Their territory was ^(T)Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the sons of Ammon, as far as Aroer which is before Rabbah; ²⁶ and from Heshbon as far as Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim as far as the border of ^[k]Debir; ²⁷ and in the valley, Beth-haram and Beth-nimrah and Succoth and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan ^[l]as a border, as far as the lower end of the Sea of ^[m](U)Chinnereth beyond the Jordan to the east. ²⁸ This is the inheritance of the sons of Gad according to their families, the cities and their villages.

²⁹ Moses also gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh; and it was for the half-tribe of the sons of Manasseh according to their families. ³⁰ Their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all ^(V)the ^[n]towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities; ³¹ also half of Gilead, with ^(W)Ashtaroth and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the sons of Machir according to their families.

³² These are the territories which Moses apportioned for an inheritance in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho to the east. ³³ But ^(X)to the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He had ^[o]promised to them.

Caleb’s Request

14 Now these are the territories which the sons of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which ^(Y)Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the ^[p]households of the tribes of the sons of Israel apportioned to them for an inheritance, ² by the ^(Z)lot of their inheritance, as the Lord commanded ^[q]through Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. ³ For ^(AA)Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan; but ^(AB)he did not give an inheritance to the Levites among them. ⁴ For the sons of Joseph were two tribes, ^(AC)Manasseh and Ephraim, and they did not give a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities to live in, with their pasture lands for their livestock and for their property. ⁵ Thus the sons of Israel did just ^(AD)as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.

⁶ Then the sons of Judah drew near to Joshua in Gilgal, and ^(AE)Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses the man of God concerning ^[r]you and me in Kadesh-barnea. ⁷ I was forty years old when ^(AF)Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought word back to him as it was in my heart. ⁸ Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people ^[s]melt with fear; but ^(AG)I followed the Lord my God fully. ⁹ So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely ^(AH)the land on which your foot has trodden will be an inheritance to you and to your children forever, because you have followed the Lord my God fully.’ ¹⁰ Now behold, the Lord has let me live, just as He spoke, these forty-five years, from the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, when Israel walked in the wilderness; and now behold, I am eighty-five years old today. ^11 (AI)I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for ^(AJ)going out and coming in. ¹² Now then, give me this hill country about which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that ^(AK)Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will ^[t]drive them out as the Lord has spoken.”

¹³ So Joshua ^(AL)blessed him and ^(AM)gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. ¹⁴ Therefore, Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite until this day, because he followed the Lord God of Israel fully. ¹⁵ Now the name of Hebron was formerly ^[u]Kiriath-arba; for Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. ^(AN)Then the land had rest from war.

Territory of Judah

15 Now ^(AO)the lot for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families ^[v]reached the ^(AP)border of Edom, southward to the ^(AQ)wilderness of Zin at the extreme south. ² Their south border was from the lower end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that turns to the south. ³ Then it proceeded southward to the ascent of Akrabbim and continued to Zin, then went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea and continued to Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned about to Karka. ⁴ It ^(AR)continued to Azmon and proceeded to the ^[w](AS)brook of Egypt, and the ^[x]border ended at the sea. This shall be your south border. ⁵ The ^(AT)east border was the Salt Sea, as far as the ^[y]mouth of the Jordan. And the ^(AU)border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the ^[z]mouth of the Jordan. ⁶ Then the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and continued on the north of Beth-arabah, and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ⁷ The border went up to Debir from ^(AV)the valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south of the valley; and the border continued to the waters of En-shemesh and ^[aa]it ended at En-rogel. ⁸ Then the border went up the valley of Ben-hinnom to the slope of the ^(AW)Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain which is before the valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the valley of Rephaim toward the north. ⁹ From the top of the mountain the border curved to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, then the border curved to ^(AX)Baalah (that is, ^(AY)Kiriath-jearim). ¹⁰ The border turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and continued to the slope of Mount Jearim on the north (that is, Chesalon), and went down to Beth-shemesh and continued through ^(AZ)Timnah. ¹¹ The border proceeded to the side of Ekron northward. Then the border curved to Shikkeron and continued to Mount Baalah and proceeded to Jabneel, and the ^[ab]border ended at the sea. ¹² The west border was ^(BA)at the Great Sea, even its ^[ac]coastline. This is the border around the sons of Judah according to their families.

¹³ Now ^(BB)he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion ^(BC)among the sons of Judah, according to the ^[ad]command of the Lord to Joshua, namely, ^[ae]Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). ^14 (BD)Caleb ^[af]drove out from there the three ^(BE)sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the children of Anak. ¹⁵ Then ^(BF)he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher. ¹⁶ And Caleb said, “The one who ^[ag]attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, ^[ah]I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.” ^17 (BG)Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife. ^18 (BH)It came about that when she came to him, she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. So she alighted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?” ¹⁹ Then she said, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me the land of the ^[ai]Negev, give me also springs of water.” 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.

²¹ Now the cities at the extremity of the tribe of the sons of Judah toward the border of Edom in the south were Kabzeel and ^(BI)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 ^(BJ)Beersheba and Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah and Iim and Ezem, ³⁰ and Eltolad and Chesil and Hormah, ³¹ and ^(BK)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: ^(BL)Eshtaol and Zorah and Ashnah, ³⁴ and Zanoah and En-gannim, Tappuah and Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth and ^(BM)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 (BN)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 towns and its villages; ⁴⁶ from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the ^[aj]side of Ashdod, with their villages.

⁴⁷ Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; as far as ^(BO)the ^[ak]brook of Egypt and the Great Sea, even its ^[al]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: Beth-arabah, Middin and Secacah, ⁶² and Nibshan and the City of Salt and Engedi; six cities with their villages.

⁶³ Now as for the ^(BP)Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the sons of Judah could not ^[am]drive them out; so the Jebusites live with the sons of Judah at Jerusalem until this day.

Territory of Ephraim

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

⁴ The ^(BU)sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. ⁵ Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was ^(BV)Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. ⁶ Then the border went westward at ^(BW)Michmethath on the north, and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. ⁷ It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to ^(BX)Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. ⁸ From ^(BY)Tappuah the border continued westward to the ^[ao]brook of Kanah, and ^[ap]it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, ⁹ together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. ^10 (BZ)But they did not ^[aq]drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so ^(CA)the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.