Joshua 15-18

New American Standard Bible

Territory of Judah

15 Now ^(A)the lot for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families ^[a]reached the ^(B)border of Edom, southward to the ^(C)wilderness of Zin at the extreme south. ² Their southern 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 to Karka. ⁴ It ^(D)continued to Azmon and proceeded to the ^[b](E)brook of Egypt, and the ^[c]border ended at the sea. This shall be your southern border. ⁵ The ^(F)eastern border was the Salt Sea, as far as the ^[d]mouth of the Jordan. And the ^(G)border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the ^[e]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 And the border went up to Debir from ^(H)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 ^[f]it ended at En-rogel. ⁸ Then the border went up the Valley of Ben-hinnom to the slope of the ^(I)Jebusite on the south (that is, Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain which is opposite the Valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of Rephaim toward the north. ⁹ And from the top of the mountain the border turned to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, then the border turned to ^(J)Baalah (that is, ^(K)Kiriath-jearim). ¹⁰ The border turned 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 ^(L)Timnah. ¹¹ Then the border proceeded to the side of Ekron northward. And the border turned to Shikkeron and continued to Mount Baalah and proceeded to Jabneel, and the ^[g]border ended at the sea. ¹² The western border was ^(M)at the Great Sea, even its ^[h]coastline. This is the border around the sons of Judah according to their families.

¹³ Now ^(N)he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion ^(O)among the sons of Judah, in accordance with the ^[i]command of the Lord to Joshua, namely, ^[j]Kiriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron). ¹⁴ And ^(P)Caleb ^[k]drove out from there the three ^(Q)sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. ¹⁵ Then ^(R)he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir previously was Kiriath-sepher. ¹⁶ And Caleb said, “The one who ^[l]attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, ^[m]I will give him Achsah my daughter as a wife.” ^17 (S)Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it; so he gave him Achsah his daughter as a wife. ^18 (T)And it happened that when she came to him, she incited him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted 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 ^[n]Negev, give me springs of water also.” 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, ^(U)Eder, and Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, and Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, and Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, and Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, and Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, and Beth-pelet, ²⁸ Hazar-shual, ^(V)Beersheba, and Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, and Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Chesil, and Hormah, ^31 (W)Ziklag, Madmannah, and Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon; in all, twenty-nine cities with their villages.

³³ In the lowland: ^(X)Eshtaol, Zorah, and Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, and Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, ^(Y)Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah, ³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages.

³⁷ Zenan, Hadashah, and Migdal-gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpeh, and Joktheel, ^39 (Z)Lachish, Bozkath, and Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, and Chitlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.

⁴² Libnah, Ether, and Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, and Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, 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 ^[o]side of Ashdod, with their villages.

⁴⁷ Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages, as far as ^(AA)the ^[p]brook of Egypt and the Great Sea, even its ^[q]coastline.

⁴⁸ In the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, and Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.

⁵² Arab, Dumah, and Eshan, ⁵³ Janum, Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.

⁵⁵ Maon, Carmel, Ziph, and Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, and Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.

⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth-zur, and Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, 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 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and Engedi; six cities with their villages.

⁶³ Now as for the ^(AB)Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the sons of Judah could not ^[r]drive them out; so the Jebusites live with the sons of Judah in Jerusalem to 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 ^(AC)the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. ² It went from Bethel to Luz, and ^(AD)continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. ³ Then it went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of lower ^(AE)Beth-horon even to ^(AF)Gezer, and ^[s]it ended at the sea.

⁴ The ^(AG)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 ^(AH)Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. ⁶ Then the border went westward at ^(AI)Michmethath on the north, and the border turned eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. ⁷ Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to ^(AJ)Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. ⁸ From ^(AK)Tappuah the border continued westward to the ^[t]brook of Kanah, and ^[u]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 (AL)But they did not ^[v]drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so ^(AM)the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.

Territory of Manasseh

17 Now this was the lot for the tribe of ^(AN)Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, ^[w]were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ² So the lot was made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families: for the sons of Abiezer, the sons of Helek, the sons of Asriel, the sons of Shechem, the sons of Hepher, and the sons of Shemida; these were the male ^[x]descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.

³ However, ^(AO)Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So ^(AP)in accordance with the ^[y]command of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. ⁵ So ten portions fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, ⁶ because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the ^(AQ)land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

⁷ The border of Manasseh ^[z]ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went ^[aa]southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸ The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but ^(AR)Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. ⁹ And the ^(AS)border went down to the ^[ab]brook of Kanah, southward of the ^[ac]brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the ^[ad]brook, and ^[ae]it ended at the sea. ¹⁰ The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was ^[af]their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. ¹¹ In Issachar and in Asher, ^(AT)Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; the third is ^(AU)Napheth. ^12 (AV)But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in this land. ¹³ And it came about when the sons of Israel became strong, ^(AW)they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not ^[ag]drive them out completely.

¹⁴ Then the ^(AX)sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me only one lot and one portion as an inheritance, though I am a numerous people whom the Lord has blessed up to this point?” ¹⁵ And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go ^[ah]up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶ The sons of Joseph then said, “The hill country is not enough for us, but all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have ^(AY)iron chariots, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷ But Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, ¹⁸ but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its ^[ai]farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall ^[aj]drive out the Canaanites, even though they have ^(AZ)iron chariots and though they are strong.”

Rest of the Land Divided

18 Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled at ^(BA)Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.

² But there remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance. ³ So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “^(BB)How long will you ^[ak]put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴ Provide for yourselves three men from ^[al]each tribe so that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall ^[am]return to me. ⁵ And they shall divide it into seven portions; ^(BC)Judah shall stay in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their territory on the north. ⁶ And you shall write a description of the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. ^(BD)Then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. ⁷ For ^(BE)the Levites have no portion among you, because the priesthood of the Lord is ^[an]their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh also have received their inheritance eastward beyond the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

⁸ Then the men arose and went, and Joshua commanded those who went to write a description of the land, saying, “Go and walk through the land and write a description of it, and return to me; then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in ^(BF)Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men went and passed through the land, and wrote a description of it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. ^10 (BG)Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land for the sons of Israel according to their divisions.

The Territory of Benjamin

¹¹ Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot ^[ao]lay between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph. ^12 (BH)Their border on the north side was from the Jordan, then the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward, and ^[ap]it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³ Then from there the border continued to ^(BI)Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel) southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, near the hill which lies on the south of ^(BJ)lower Beth-horon. ¹⁴ And the border changed direction from there and turned around on the west side southward, from the hill which lies opposite Beth-horon southward; and ^[aq]it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the west side. ¹⁵ Then the ^(BK)south side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went westward and went to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then the border went down to the edge of the hill which is ^[ar]in the ^(BL)Valley of Ben-hinnom, which is in the Valley of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the Valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel. ¹⁷ Then it turned northward and went to En-shemesh, and went to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the ^(BM)stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ¹⁸ And it continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah. ¹⁹ Then the border continued to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the ^[as]border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border. ²⁰ Moreover, the Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin according to their families, and according to its borders all around.

²¹ Now the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, and Emek-keziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, and Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, and Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and ^(BN)Geba; twelve cities with their villages. ²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, and Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, and Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, and Taralah, ^28 (BO)Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the ^(BP)sons of Benjamin according to their families.