Joshua 14
New King James Version
The Land Divided West of the Jordan
14 These are the areas which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, (A)which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed as an inheritance to them. 2 Their inheritance was (B)by lot, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. 3 (C)For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe on the other side of the Jordan; but to the Levites he had given no inheritance among them. 4 For (D)the children of Joseph were two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim. And they gave no part to the Levites in the land, except (E)cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for their livestock and their property. 5 (F)As the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did; and they divided the land.
Caleb Inherits Hebron
6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the (G)Kenizzite said to him: “You know (H)the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning (I)you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord (J)sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 8 Nevertheless (K)my brethren who went up with me made the [a]heart of the people melt, but I wholly (L)followed the Lord my God. 9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, (M)‘Surely the land (N)where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me (O)alive, (P)as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel [b]wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 (Q)As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both (R)for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how (S)the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. (T)It may be that the Lord will be with me, and (U)I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”
13 And Joshua (V)blessed him, (W)and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 (X)Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he (Y)wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. 15 And (Z)the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim).
(AA)Then the land had rest from war.
Footnotes
- Joshua 14:8 courage of the people fail
- Joshua 14:10 Lit. walked
Joshua 14
Living Bible
14 1-2 The conquered lands of Canaan were allotted to the remaining nine and a half tribes of Israel. The decision as to which tribe would receive which area was decided by throwing dice[a] before the Lord, and he caused them to turn up in the ways he wanted. Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the tribal leaders supervised the lottery.
3-4 (Moses had already given land to the two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan River. The tribe of Joseph had become two separate tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and the Levites were given no land at all, except cities in which to live and the surrounding pasturelands for their cattle. 5 So the distribution of the land was in strict accordance with the Lord’s directions to Moses.)
6 The Land Given to Caleb: A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb, came to Joshua in Gilgal.
“Remember what the Lord said to Moses about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea?” Caleb asked Joshua. 7 “I was forty years old at the time, and Moses had sent us from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land of Canaan. I reported what I felt was the truth, 8 but our brothers who went with us frightened the people and discouraged them from entering the Promised Land. But since I had followed the Lord my God, 9 Moses told me, ‘The section of Canaan you were just in shall belong to you and your descendants forever.’
10 “Now, as you see, from that time until now the Lord has kept me alive and well for all these forty-five years since crisscrossing the wilderness, and today I am eighty-five years old. 11 I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent us on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then! 12 So I’m asking that you give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as spies we found the Anakim living there in great, walled cities, but if the Lord is with me, I shall drive them out of the land.”
13-14 So Joshua blessed him and gave him Hebron as a permanent inheritance because he had followed the Lord God of Israel. 15 (Before that time Hebron had been called Kiriath-arba, after a great hero of the Anakim.)
And there was no resistance from the local populations as the Israelis resettled the land.
Footnotes
- Joshua 14:1 by throwing dice, literally, “by lot.”
Joshua 14
King James Version
14 And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them.
2 By lot was their inheritance, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe.
3 For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them.
4 For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.
5 As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land.
6 Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.
7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.
8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God.
9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.
10 And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.
13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.
14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.
15 And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.
Joshua 14
English Standard Version
The Inheritance West of the Jordan
14 These are the inheritances that the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which (A)Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel gave them to inherit. 2 Their inheritance was (B)by lot, just as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine and one-half tribes. 3 (C)For Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan, (D)but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. 4 For (E)the people of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their substance. 5 The people of Israel did (F)as the Lord commanded Moses; they allotted the land.
Caleb's Request and Inheritance
6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the (G)Kenizzite said to him, “You know (H)what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord (I)sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. 8 But (J)my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. 9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, (K)‘Surely the land (L)on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, (M)just as he said, these (N)forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day (O)eighty-five years old. 11 (P)I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and (Q)for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the (R)Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.”
13 Then Joshua (S)blessed him, and he gave (T)Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. 14 Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, (U)because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 (V)Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba.[a] (Arba[b] was the greatest man among the Anakim.) (W)And the land had rest from war.
Footnotes
- Joshua 14:15 Kiriath-arba means the city of Arba
- Joshua 14:15 Hebrew He
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
