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
Joshua 14
Evangelical Heritage Version
The Division of the Land of Canaan
14 The following are the allotted inheritances for the descendants of Israel in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leading fathers[a] of the tribes allotted as an inheritance to the people of Israel. 2 The inheritances for nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh were determined by lot, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
3 Moses had already assigned inheritances to two tribes and to one half tribe in the region east of the Jordan, but to the Levites he did not give an inheritance among the other tribes. 4 Because the sons of Joseph had been divided into two tribes, namely, Manasseh and Ephraim, the Levites did not receive a tribal territory in the land. They did, however, receive cities to live in along with the cities’ pasturelands for their cattle and property.[b] 5 Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, that is what the people of Israel did when they apportioned the land.
Judah Caleb’s Request
6 When the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal, Caleb son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, said this to him:
You know what the Lord spoke to Moses, the man of God, concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to scout the land, and I brought back to him my heartfelt advice. 8 When my brother Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt, I nevertheless fully followed the Lord my God. 9 So Moses swore an oath to me on that day. He said, “Most certainly the land on which your foot has walked shall be an inheritance for you and for your children forever, because you fully followed the Lord my God.”
10 So now as you see, the Lord has kept me alive, just as he said, for these forty-five years since the Lord spoke this promise to Moses when Israel was traveling in the wilderness. So now, here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as on the day that Moses sent me out. My strength for going out and for coming back from battle is the same now as it was then.
12 So now, give me this place in the hill country that the Lord promised that day. Even though you heard on that day that the Anakites are there, as well as large fortified cities, perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out, just as the Lord said.
13 So Joshua blessed him, and he gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 Therefore Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, as an inheritance to this day, because he fully followed after the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 The name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath Arba. Arba was the greatest man among the Anakites.
So the land rested from war.
Footnotes
- Joshua 14:1 Fathers is a common title for the ruling elders among the Israelites.
- Joshua 14:4 That is, there were already a total of twelve tribal allotments without granting a tribal allotment for Levi. Levi’s inheritance, therefore, was within the territory of other tribes.
Joshua 14
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
The Distribution of Territory West of the Jordan
14 And these are the inheritances which the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which Elea′zar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed to them. 2 Their inheritance was by lot, as the Lord had commanded Moses for the nine and one-half tribes. 3 For Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan; but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. 4 For the people of Joseph were two tribes, Manas′seh and E′phraim; and no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasture lands for their cattle and their substance. 5 The people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses; they allotted the land.
Hebron Allotted to Caleb
6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal; and Caleb the son of Jephun′neh the Ken′izzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Ka′desh-bar′nea concerning you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Ka′desh-bar′nea to spy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. 8 But my brethren 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, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children for ever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness; and now, lo, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong to this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war, and 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 Anakim were there, with great fortified cities: it may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out as the Lord said.”
13 Then Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephun′neh for an inheritance. 14 So Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephun′neh the Ken′izzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kir′iath-ar′ba;[a] this Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. And the land had rest from war.
Footnotes
- Joshua 14:15 That is The city of Arba
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
