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The Territory of Benjamin

11 The lot of the tribe of Benjamin according to its families came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Joseph. 12 On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan; then the boundary goes up to the slope of Jericho on the north, then up through the hill country westward; and it ends at the wilderness of Beth-aven. 13 From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the slope of Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon.(A) 14 Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a town belonging to the tribe of Judah. This forms the western side.(B) 15 The southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim on the west,[a] and the boundary comes out at the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah;(C) 16 then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the valley of Rephaim; and it then goes down the valley of Hinnom, south of the slope of the Jebusites, and downward to En-rogel;(D) 17 then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim; then it goes down to the Stone of Bohan, Reuben’s son; 18 and passing on to the north of the slope of Beth-arabah[b] it goes down to the Arabah; 19 then the boundary passes on to the north of the slope of Beth-hoglah; and the boundary ends at the northern bay of the Dead Sea,[c] at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. 20 The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin, according to its families, boundary by boundary all around.(E)

21 Now the towns of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve towns with their villages; 25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Haeleph, Jebus[d] (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah,[e] and Kiriath-jearim[f]—fourteen towns with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to its families.(F)

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Footnotes

  1. 18.15 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  2. 18.18 Gk: Heb to the slope over against the Arabah
  3. 18.19 Heb Salt Sea
  4. 18.28 Gk Syr Vg: Heb the Jebusite
  5. 18.28 Heb Gibeath
  6. 18.28 Gk: Heb Kiriath

Benjamin’s Allocation

11 The allotment of the tribe of the descendants of Benjamin came up according to their families, and their territorial allotment fell between the descendants of Judah and the descendants of Joseph. 12 Their border started on the north side at the Jordan River, proceeded to the slope of Jericho on the north, then westward through the hill country, and terminated at the wilderness of Beth-aven. 13 From there the boundary proceeded south in the direction of Luz to the slope of Luz (also known as Bethel), then proceeded to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon. 14 From there the boundary changed direction, turning southward on the western side opposite Beth-horon, terminating at Kiriath-baal (also known as Kiriath-jearim), which belongs to Judah. This formed the western boundary.

15 The southern boundary began at the edge of Kiriath-jearim, proceeding from there to Ephron and then to the spring at the Nephtoah Waters. 16 From there the boundary proceeded to the border of the mountain that overlooks the Ben-hinnom Valley at the northern end of the Rephaim Valley, where it proceeded down the Hinnom Valley south of the slope of the Jebusites toward En-rogel. 17 Then it turned north toward En-shemesh and proceeded from there to Geliloth opposite the ascent of Adummim, where it turned toward the Stone of Bohan, Reuben’s son, 18 and proceeded north of the slope of Beth-arabah down to the Arabah. 19 From there the boundary proceeded to north of the slope of Beth-hoglah and terminated at the northern bay of the Salt[a] Sea where the Jordan River ends in the south. This was the southern border. 20 The Jordan River formed its boundary on the east. This is the inheritance for the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, boundary by boundary around the entire territory.[b]

21 The towns belonging to the tribe of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba, for a total of twelve towns and villages. 25 Also included were[c] Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (also known as Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim, for a total of fourteen towns and villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 18:19 Lit. Dead
  2. Joshua 18:20 Lit. boundary all around
  3. Joshua 18:25 The Heb. lacks Also included were