Joshua 18
Names of God Bible
The Second Stage in Dividing the Land
18 The whole congregation of Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land was under their control.
2 There were still seven tribes in Israel who had not yet received any land as their inheritance. 3 So Joshua asked the Israelites, “How long are you going to waste time conquering the land which Yahweh Elohim of your ancestors has given you? 4 Choose three men from each tribe, and I will send them out. They will survey the land and write a description of it which shows the borders of their inheritance. Then they will come back to me. 5 They will divide the land into seven parts. Judah will stay within its territory in the south, and Joseph’s descendants will stay within their territory in the north. 6 You must describe the seven parts of the land and report to me here. I will draw lots for you here in the presence of Yahweh our Elohim. 7 Levi’s tribe has no separate region among you, because their inheritance is to serve the Lord as priests. The tribes of Gad and Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh have received the inheritance that Yahweh’s servant Moses gave them on the east side of the Jordan River.”
8 As the men got ready to go, Joshua ordered them to write a description of the land. He said, “Go survey the land. Write a description of it, and return to me. Then I will draw lots for you in the presence of Yahweh here in Shiloh.”
9 The men surveyed the land. They described it in a book. The land was divided into seven parts according to its cities. Then they returned to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. 10 So Joshua drew lots for them in the presence of Yahweh in Shiloh. There Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel.
Benjamin’s Land
11 The lot was drawn for the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Their territory lies between Judah’s and Joseph’s. 12 Their northern border starts at the Jordan, goes up the slope north of Jericho, west through the mountains, and ends at the desert of Beth Aven. 13 From there the border goes to the south slope of Luz (now called Bethel). Then the border goes down to Ataroth Addar over the mountains south of Lower Beth Horon. 14 The border turns and goes around on the west side, south of the mountain that faces Beth Horon, and ends at Kiriath Baal (now called Kiriath Jearim), a city of Judah. 15 The southern border begins just outside Kiriath Jearim and goes west, to the springs of Nephtoah. 16 Then the border descends to the foot of the mountain that overlooks the valley of Ben Hinnom, in the north end of the valley of Rephaim. It descends to the valley of Hinnom, to the south slope of the city of Jebus, and down to En Rogel. 17 Then it turns north and goes to En Shemesh and from there to the region opposite the Adummim Pass. It descends to the Rock of Bohan, son of Reuben. 18 Then it continues on to the north side of the slope facing the plains and down into the plains. 19 The border continues to the north slope of Beth Hoglah and ends at the northern bay of the Dead Sea at the south end of the Jordan River. This is its southern border. 20 The Jordan River is its eastern border. These are the borders surrounding the inheritance given to Benjamin for its families.
21 These are the 12 cities with their villages that belong to the tribe of Benjamin for its families: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba. 25 There were 14 other cities with their villages: Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Ir Peel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Eleph, Jebus (now called Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath. This is Benjamin’s inheritance for its families.
Joshua 18
New International Version
Division of the Rest of the Land
18 The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh(A) and set up the tent of meeting(B) there. The country was brought under their control, 2 but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.
3 So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? 4 Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it,(C) according to the inheritance of each.(D) Then they will return to me. 5 You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south(E) and the tribes of Joseph in their territory on the north.(F) 6 After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots(G) for you in the presence of the Lord our God. 7 The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance.(H) And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to them.(I)”
8 As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, “Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it.(J) Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh(K) in the presence of the Lord.” 9 So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. 10 Joshua then cast lots(L) for them in Shiloh in the presence(M) of the Lord, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions.(N)
Allotment for Benjamin
11 The first lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin according to its clans. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:
12 On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan, passed the northern slope of Jericho and headed west into the hill country, coming out at the wilderness(O) of Beth Aven.(P) 13 From there it crossed to the south slope of Luz(Q) (that is, Bethel(R)) and went down to Ataroth Addar(S) on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.
14 From the hill facing Beth Horon(T) on the south the boundary turned south along the western side and came out at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim),(U) a town of the people of Judah. This was the western side.
15 The southern side began at the outskirts of Kiriath Jearim on the west, and the boundary came out at the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.(V) 16 The boundary went down to the foot of the hill facing the Valley of Ben Hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim.(W) It continued down the Hinnom Valley(X) along the southern slope of the Jebusite city and so to En Rogel.(Y) 17 It then curved north, went to En Shemesh, continued to Geliloth,(Z) which faces the Pass of Adummim,(AA) and ran down to the Stone of Bohan(AB) son of Reuben. 18 It continued to the northern slope of Beth Arabah[a](AC) and on down into the Arabah.(AD) 19 It then went to the northern slope of Beth Hoglah(AE) and came out at the northern bay of the Dead Sea,(AF) at the mouth of the Jordan in the south. This was the southern boundary.
20 The Jordan formed the boundary on the eastern side.
These were the boundaries that marked out the inheritance of the clans of Benjamin on all sides.(AG)
21 The tribe of Benjamin, according to its clans, had the following towns:
Jericho, Beth Hoglah,(AH) Emek Keziz, 22 Beth Arabah,(AI) Zemaraim,(AJ) Bethel,(AK) 23 Avvim,(AL) Parah, Ophrah,(AM) 24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni and Geba(AN)—twelve towns and their villages.
25 Gibeon,(AO) Ramah,(AP) Beeroth,(AQ) 26 Mizpah,(AR) Kephirah,(AS) Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah,(AT) Haeleph, the Jebusite city(AU) (that is, Jerusalem(AV)), Gibeah(AW) and Kiriath—fourteen towns and their villages.(AX)
This was the inheritance of Benjamin for its clans.(AY)
Footnotes
- Joshua 18:18 Septuagint; Hebrew slope facing the Arabah
Joshua 18
The Message
The Shiloh Survey
18 1-2 Then the entire congregation of the People of Israel got together at Shiloh. They put up the Tent of Meeting.
The land was under their control but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had yet to receive their inheritance.
3-5 Joshua addressed the People of Israel: “How long are you going to sit around on your hands, putting off taking possession of the land that God, the God of your ancestors, has given you? Pick three men from each tribe so I can commission them. They will survey and map the land, showing the inheritance due each tribe, and report back to me. They will divide it into seven parts. Judah will stay in its territory in the south and the people of Joseph will keep to their place in the north.
6 “You are responsible for preparing a survey map showing seven portions. Then bring it to me so that I can cast lots for you here in the presence of our God.
7 “Only the Levites get no portion among you because the priesthood of God is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh already have their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, given to them by Moses the servant of God.”
8 So the men set out. As they went out to survey the land, Joshua charged them: “Go. Survey the land and map it. Then come back to me and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of God.”
9 So off the men went. They covered the ground and mapped the country by towns in a scroll. Then they reported back to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh.
10 Joshua cast the lots for them at Shiloh in the presence of God. That’s where Joshua divided up the land to the People of Israel, according to their tribal divisions.
Benjamin
11 The first lot turned up for the tribe of Benjamin with its clans. The border of the allotment went between the peoples of Judah and Joseph.
12-13 The northern border began at the Jordan, then went up to the ridge north of Jericho, ascending west into the hill country into the wilderness of Beth Aven. From there the border went around to Luz, to its southern ridge (that is, Bethel), and then down from Ataroth Addar to the mountain to the south of Lower Beth Horon.
14 There the border took a turn on the west side and swung south from the mountain to the south of Beth Horon and ended at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a town of the people of Judah. This was the west side.
15-19 The southern border began at the edge of Kiriath Jearim on the west, then ran west until it reached the spring, the Waters of Nephtoah. It then descended to the foot of the mountain opposite the Valley of Ben Hinnom (which flanks the Valley of Rephaim to the north), descended to the Hinnom Valley, just south of the Jebusite ridge, and went on to En Rogel. From there it curved north to En Shemesh and Geliloth, opposite the Red Pass (Adummim), down to the Stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, continued toward the north flank of Beth Arabah, then plunged to the Arabah. It then followed the slope of Beth Hoglah north and came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea—the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.
20 The east border was formed by the Jordan.
This was the inheritance of the people of Benjamin for their clans, marked by these borders on all sides.
21-28 The cities of the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, were:
Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,
Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,
Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—
twelve towns with their villages.
Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,
Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,
Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,
Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath Jearim—
fourteen cities with their villages.
This was the inheritance for Benjamin, according to its clans.
Joshua 18
Wycliffe Bible
18 And all the sons of Israel were gathered in Shiloh, and there they setted fast the tabernacle of witnessing; and the land was subject to them. (And all the Israelites were gathered in Shiloh, and they set up the Tabernacle of the Witnessing there; and the land was made subject to them.)
2 And (yet) seven lineages of the sons of Israel dwelt there, that had not yet taken their possessions.
3 To the which Joshua said, How long fade ye, or wallow through sloth, and enter not to wield the land, which the Lord God of your fathers hath given to you?
4 Choose ye (out) of each lineage three men, (so) that I send them, and they go, and compass the land; and that they describe the land by the number of each multitude (and they set the borders of the land, suitable for the number of each multitude), and (then) bring to me that, that ye have described.
5 Part ye the land to you into seven parts (Divide ye up the land among you into seven parts); Judah be in his terms at the south coast, and the house of Joseph at the north;
6 describe ye the middle land betwixt them into seven parts; and then ye shall come to me, that I send lot to you here before your Lord God; (describe ye in writing, or survey, the borders for seven divisions of the land in the middle between them; and then come ye back to me, and I shall cast, or throw, lots for you here before the Lord your God;)
7 for the part of Levites is not among you, but the priesthood of the Lord, this is the heritage of them. For Gad, and Reuben, and the half lineage of Manasseh, have taken now their possession(s) beyond (the) Jordan, at the east coast, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave to them. (and the Levites shall have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad, and Reuben, and half of the tribe of Manasseh have now taken their possessions on the eastern side of the Jordan River, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave them.)
8 And when the men had risen up to go, to describe the land, Joshua commanded to them, and said, Compass ye the land, and describe it, and turn again to me, that I send lot to you here in Shiloh, before your Lord God. (And when the men had risen up to go, to describe in writing, or to survey, the borders of the land, Joshua commanded to them, and said, Go ye around the land, and describe it in writing, and then return to me, and I shall throw lots for you, before the Lord your God, here in Shiloh.)
9 And so they went forth, and compassed that land, and parted it into seven parts, writing it (all) in a book; and they turned again to Joshua, into the tents in Shiloh (and then they returned to Joshua, to the camp at Shiloh).
10 And Joshua sent lots before the Lord God in Shiloh, and he parted the land to the sons of Israel, into seven parts. (And Joshua threw lots before the Lord God in Shiloh, and he divided up the land into seven portions, for the Israelites.)
11 And the first lot of the sons of Benjamin, by their families, went up, that they should wield the land betwixt the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph. (And the first lot went out to the sons of Benjamin, by their families, that they should possess the land between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.)
12 And the term of them was against the north from (the) Jordan, and it passed by the side of Jericho at the north coast; and it ascended from thence against the west to the hilly places, and it came to the wilderness of Bethaven; (And their border at the north went out from the Jordan River, and it passed by the northern side of Jericho; and it went up from there to the west to the hill country, and it came to the wilderness of Bethaven;)
13 and it passed beside Luz to the south; that is Bethel; and (then) it goeth down into Atarothaddar, into the hill (country) which is at the south of Lower Bethhoron;
14 and it is bowed, and it compasseth against the sea, at the south of the hill that beholdeth Bethhoron against the north; and the outgoings thereof be into Kiriathbaal, which is called also Kiriathjearim, the city of the sons of Judah; this is the great coast against the sea, at the west. (and then it is turned, and it goeth to the west, southward from the hill country that beholdeth Bethhoron; and its end, or its limit, is Kiriathbaal, which is also called Kiriathjearim, the city of the sons of Judah; this is the western border.)
15 And from the south, by the part of Kiriathjearim, the term goeth out against the sea, and cometh till to the well of (the) waters of Nephtoah; (And in the south, from the edge of Kiriathjearim, the border goeth out toward the west, and cometh unto the well of the waters of Nephtoah;)
16 and it goeth down into the part of the hill that beholdeth the valley of the sons of Hinnom, and it is against the north coast, in the last part of the valley of Rephaim; and Ge Hinnom, that is, the valley of Hinnom, goeth down by the side of Jebusites, at the south, and cometh to the well of Rogel, (and it goeth down to the edge of the hill that beholdeth the Hinnom Valley, north of the Rephaim Valley, and then goeth down the Hinnom Valley, to the south side of the Jebusites, and cometh to Enrogel,)
17 and it passeth to the north, and it goeth out to Enshemesh, that is, the well of the sun, and it passeth unto the little hills that be against the going up of Adummim (and it passeth by Geliloth, that faceth the ascent of Adummim); and it goeth down to Even Bohan, that is, the stone of Bohan, (that was named for) the son of Reuben,
18 and passed by the side of the north to the field places; and it goeth down into the plain, (and passed by the north side of the Arabah; and then it goeth down into the Arabah,)
19 and it passeth forth against the north to Bethhoglah; and the outgoings thereof be against the arm of the saltiest sea, from the north, and the end of (the) Jordan is at the south coast, (and it passeth forth toward the north to Bethhoglah; and its end, or its limit, is at the northern arm of the Dead Sea, at the southern end of the Jordan River; this is the southern border;)
20 which is the term thereof from the east (the Jordan River is its eastern border). This is the possession of the sons of Benjamin, by their terms in compass, and by their families;
21 and the cities thereof were Jericho and Bethhoglah, and the valley of Keziz (and Emekkeziz),
22 Betharabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel,
23 and Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah,
24 the town of Chepharhaammonai, and Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities, and the towns of those;
25 Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth,
26 and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
27 and Rekem, Irpeel, and Taralah,
28 and Zela, Eleph, and Jebus, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kiriath(jearim); fourteen cities, and the towns of those; this is the possession of the sons of Benjamin, by their families.
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