Joshua 18-19

New Catholic Bible

Chapter 18

^1 [a]The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered together at Shiloh and they set up the tent of meeting there. The land had been brought under their control, ² but there were still seven tribes among the Israelites who had not yet received their inheritance.

Inheritance for the Remaining Seven Tribes. ³ Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you wait before you go in to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴ Choose three men from each of your tribes. I will send them to arise and go through the land, describing it according to each of their inheritances. They will then return to me. ⁵ They will divide it into seven portions. Judah will continue to live in its territory to the south, and the descendants of Joseph will continue to live in their territory to the north. ⁶ You will write down a description of the seven portions of the land and bring it to me. I will cast lots for you here before the Lord, our God. ⁷ The Levites will have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and one of the halves of the tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the other side of the Jordan, to the east, from Moses, the servant of the Lord.”

⁸ So the men arose and went on their way. Joshua commanded them to write a description of the land saying, “Go and travel through the land, writing a description of it. Return to me here so that I can cast lots for you before the Lord in Shiloh.”

⁹ The men traveled through the land, writing a description of its cities, divided into seven portions, in a book. They then came back to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. Joshua divided the land among the Israelites there, dividing it according to their allotments.

¹¹ The Tribe of Benjamin. The lot for the tribe of Benjamin, divided according to its clans, was selected. The territory for their allotment lay between the Judahites and the descendants of Joseph. ^12 [b]On the north their boundary started at the Jordan, going up the northern slope of Jericho and out west into the hill country until it exited in the Desert of Beth-aven. ¹³ From there the boundary traveled on toward Luz, passing on the southern side of Luz (that is, Bethel). The boundary then ran down to Ataroth-addar, near the hill that lay to the south of Lower Beth-horon. ¹⁴ From the hill that lay facing Beth-horon on the south, the boundary extended around the west side to the south. It ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of Judahites. This was the western side.

¹⁵ The southern side of the boundary began at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim and extended to the west, reaching the spring of the water of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ The boundary extended to the foot of the hill that lay over the Valley of Ben-hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim. It continued through the Valley of Hinnom on the southern slope of the city of the Jebusites until it reached En-rogel. ¹⁷ It then passed on north to En-shemesh, continued on to Geliloth which faced the Pass of Adummim, and ran up to the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben. ¹⁸ It continued along the northern slope of the Arabah, continuing down into the Arabah itself. ¹⁹ The boundary then passed along the northern side of Beth-hoglah, ending at the northern bay of the Salt Sea which is at the southern part of the Jordan. This was their southern boundary. ²⁰ The Jordan was their boundary on the east. This was the inheritance of the Benjaminites with the boundaries that surround it, divided according to its clans.

²¹ The cities of the tribe of the Benjaminites, divided according to its clans, were: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba. There were twelve cities, along with their dependent towns. ²⁵ There were also Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpah, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath. There were fourteen cities with their dependent towns. This was the inheritance of the Benjaminites, divided according to its clans.

Chapter 19

The Tribe of Simeon.^{[c] 1} The second lot chosen was for Simeon, the tribe of the Simeonites, divided according to its clans. Their inheritance lay within the inheritance of the Judahites. ² Their inheritance included: Beer-sheba (that is, Sheba), Moladah, ³ Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, ⁶ Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen. There were thirteen of these cities along with the towns dependent upon them. ⁷ There were also Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan. There were four of these cities, along with the towns dependent upon them. ⁸ There were also all of the villages around these cities up to Baalath-beer (that is, Ramoth-negeb). This was the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon, divided according to its clans. ⁹ The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the portion allotted to the Judahites, for Judah’s portion was too large for what they needed. Therefore, the Simeonites received their portion inside of their inheritance.

¹⁰ The Tribe of Zebulun. The third lot chosen was for the Zebulunites, divided according to its clans. The boundary of their inheritance extended to Sarid. ¹¹ It ran westward to Mareal up to Dabbesheth, extending up to the river in front of Jokneam. ¹² Going eastward from Sarid, in the direction of the sunrise, it ran to the territory of Chisloth-tabor and then went on to Daberath, arriving in Japhia. ¹³ From there it continued eastward to Gath-hepher and Eth-kazim. It went out to Rimmon and turned toward Neah. ¹⁴ There the boundary went around the north side of Hannathon, ending in the Valley of Iphtahel. ¹⁵ It included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. There were twelve cities along with the towns dependent upon them. ¹⁶ These cities and villages were the inheritance of the Zebulunites, divided according to its clans.

¹⁷ The Tribe of Issachar. The fourth lot chosen was for the Issacharites, divided according to its clans. ¹⁸ Within their boundaries were: Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. ²² The boundary passed Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, ending at the Jordan. There were sixteen cities along with the towns dependent upon them. ²³ These cities and these villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar, divided according to its clans.

²⁴ The Tribe of Asher. The fifth lot chosen was for the Asherites. ²⁵ Within their boundaries were: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On its western side the boundary passed Carmel and Shihor-libnath. ²⁷ It turned toward the sunrise, passing Beth-dagon, arriving at Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel. From there it went north to Beth-emek and Neiel, passing by Cabul on the left. ²⁸ It ran on to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, extending to Greater Sidon. ²⁹ The boundary then turned toward Ramah, and ran to the fortified city of Tyre. It turned toward Hosah, ending at the sea in the area around Achzib. ³⁰ It included Ummah, Acco, Aphek, and Rehob. There were twenty-two cities along with the towns dependent upon them. ³¹ These cities and villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Asher, divided according to its clans.

³² The Tribe of Naphtali. The sixth lot chosen was for the Naphtalites, divided according to its clans. ³³ Their boundary went from Heleph and the large tree at Zaanannim to Adami-nekeb, Jabneel, Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan. ³⁴ To the west it went through Aznoth-tabor, arriving at Hukkok. It passed Zebulun on its southern side, Asher on its western side, and the Jordan in the direction of the sunrise. ³⁵ Its fortified cities included: Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, ³⁸ Yiron, Migdalel, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh. There were nineteen cities along with the towns dependent upon them. ³⁹ These cities and villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali, divided according to its clans.

⁴⁰ The Tribe of Dan. The seventh lot chosen was for the Danites, divided according to its clans. ⁴¹ Within the boundaries of their inheritance were: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, ⁴² Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³ Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴ Eltekoh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵ Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶ Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, along with the area in front of Joppa. ⁴⁷ (But the territory of the Danites was outside of this area. The Danites went up to fight against Leshem. They conquered it and put it to the sword. They took possession of it and dwelt there. They renamed Leshem Dan after the name of Dan, their forefather.) ⁴⁸ These were the cities and the villages of the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, divided according to its clans.

^49 [d]When they finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave an inheritance among themselves to Joshua, the son of Nun ⁵⁰ as the Lord had commanded. They gave him the city he had requested: Timnah-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He built a city and settled there.

⁵¹ These are the inheritances that were divided up by lot at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting by Eleazar, the priest, by Joshua, the son of Nun, and by the leaders of the ancestral tribes of the Israelites. This concluded the process of dividing up the land.