Joshua 14
EasyEnglish Bible
14 Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the Israelite clans gave different parts of the land to each tribe of Israel. This tells about the land that each tribe received. 2 The leaders used lots to decide which parts of the land God had chosen for each of the 9½ tribes. This is what the Lord had told Moses to do. 3 Moses had already given land east of the Jordan River to the other 2½ tribes. But he had not given any land to the Levites. 4 The descendants of Joseph had now become two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim.[a] The leaders gave the Levites towns to live in, with enough land near them to feed their animals. 5 The leaders of the Israelites gave a part of the land to each tribe, as the Lord had told Moses to do.
Joshua gives Hebron to Caleb
6 Some of the men of Judah's tribe came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb spoke to Joshua. He was the son of Jephunneh, a Kenizzite man. Caleb said, ‘You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me, at Kadesh-Barnea. 7 I was 40 years old when Moses sent me from there to explore the land of Canaan. I brought back to him a true report. I was sure that we could take the land. 8 The other men who went with me made the people afraid. But I continued to trust the Lord my God. 9 So Moses made a promise to me on that day. He said, “The land that your feet have walked on will always belong to you and to your children. That is because you have trusted the Lord your God.”[b]
10 The Lord has kept me alive for 45 years since Moses said this. During that time, the Israelites were travelling in the desert. Now I am 85 years old. 11 I am still as strong as I was on the day that Moses sent me out. I can fight as well now as I could then. 12 So please give to me this hill country that the Lord promised to me. You heard that the Anakites were living there then, in large, strong cities. But the Lord will help me to chase them out, as he has promised to do.’
13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb, Jephunneh's son. Joshua gave Hebron to him as his part of the land. 14 So since that day, Hebron has belonged to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite. He continued to trust the Lord, Israel's God. So Joshua gave him the land that he wanted. 15 (Before that, Hebron had been called ‘Kiriath Arba’. Arba was a famous Anakite.)
After that, there were no more battles in Canaan.
Footnotes
- 14:4 Manasseh and Ephraim were Joseph's sons.
- 14:9 See Numbers 13:26-33 and Deuteronomy 1:34-36.
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
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