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:

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:

This was the inheritance of Benjamin for its clans.^(AY)

Allotment for Simeon^(AZ)

19 The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon according to its clans. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah.^{(BA) 2} It included:

This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites, according to its clans. ⁹ The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah,^(BL) because Judah’s portion was more than they needed. So the Simeonites received their inheritance within the territory of Judah.^(BM)

Allotment for Zebulun

¹⁰ The third lot came up for Zebulun^(BN) according to its clans:

¹⁶ These towns and their villages were the inheritance of Zebulun,^(BY) according to its clans.^(BZ)

Allotment for Issachar

¹⁷ The fourth lot came out for Issachar^(CA) according to its clans. ¹⁸ Their territory included:

²³ These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar,^(CH) according to its clans.^(CI)

Allotment for Asher

²⁴ The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher^(CJ) according to its clans. ²⁵ Their territory included:

³¹ These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Asher,^(DC) according to its clans.

Allotment for Naphtali

³² The sixth lot came out for Naphtali according to its clans:

³⁹ These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali, according to its clans.^(DP)

Allotment for Dan

⁴⁰ The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan according to its clans. ⁴¹ The territory of their inheritance included:

⁴⁷ (When the territory of the Danites was lost to them,^(DY) they went up and attacked Leshem^(DZ), took it, put it to the sword and occupied it. They settled in Leshem and named^(EA) it Dan after their ancestor.)^(EB)

⁴⁸ These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Dan,^(EC) according to its clans.

Allotment for Joshua

⁴⁹ When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, ⁵⁰ as the Lord had commanded. They gave him the town he asked for—Timnath Serah^[e](ED) in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there.

⁵¹ These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel assigned by lot at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And so they finished dividing^(EE) the land.^(EF)

41 In the seventh month Ishmael^(A) son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, who was of royal blood and had been one of the king’s officers, came with ten men to Gedaliah son of Ahikam at Mizpah. While they were eating together there, ² Ishmael^(B) son of Nethaniah and the ten men who were with him got up and struck down Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, with the sword,^(C) killing the one whom the king of Babylon had appointed^(D) as governor over the land.^{(E) 3} Ishmael also killed all the men of Judah who were with Gedaliah at Mizpah, as well as the Babylonian^[a] soldiers who were there.

⁴ The day after Gedaliah’s assassination, before anyone knew about it, ⁵ eighty men who had shaved off their beards,^(F) torn their clothes^(G) and cut^(H) themselves came from Shechem,^(I) Shiloh^(J) and Samaria,^(K) bringing grain offerings and incense^(L) with them to the house of the Lord.^{(M) 6} Ishmael son of Nethaniah went out from Mizpah to meet them, weeping^(N) as he went. When he met them, he said, “Come to Gedaliah son of Ahikam.”^{(O) 7} When they went into the city, Ishmael son of Nethaniah and the men who were with him slaughtered them and threw them into a cistern.^{(P) 8} But ten of them said to Ishmael, “Don’t kill us! We have wheat and barley, olive oil and honey, hidden in a field.”^(Q) So he let them alone and did not kill them with the others. ⁹ Now the cistern where he threw all the bodies of the men he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one King Asa^(R) had made as part of his defense^(S) against Baasha^(T) king of Israel. Ishmael son of Nethaniah filled it with the dead.

¹⁰ Ishmael made captives of all the rest of the people^(U) who were in Mizpah—the king’s daughters^(V) along with all the others who were left there, over whom Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam. Ishmael son of Nethaniah took them captive and set out to cross over to the Ammonites.^(W)

¹¹ When Johanan^(X) son of Kareah and all the army officers who were with him heard about all the crimes Ishmael son of Nethaniah had committed, ¹² they took all their men and went to fight^(Y) Ishmael son of Nethaniah. They caught up with him near the great pool^(Z) in Gibeon. ¹³ When all the people^(AA) Ishmael had with him saw Johanan son of Kareah and the army officers who were with him, they were glad. ¹⁴ All the people Ishmael had taken captive at Mizpah^(AB) turned and went over to Johanan son of Kareah. ¹⁵ But Ishmael son of Nethaniah and eight of his men escaped^(AC) from Johanan and fled to the Ammonites.

Flight to Egypt

¹⁶ Then Johanan son of Kareah and all the army officers^(AD) who were with him led away all the people of Mizpah who had survived,^(AE) whom Johanan had recovered from Ishmael son of Nethaniah after Ishmael had assassinated Gedaliah son of Ahikam—the soldiers, women, children and court officials he had recovered from Gibeon. ¹⁷ And they went on, stopping at Geruth Kimham^(AF) near Bethlehem^(AG) on their way to Egypt^{(AH) 18} to escape the Babylonians.^[b] They were afraid^(AI) of them because Ishmael son of Nethaniah had killed Gedaliah^(AJ) son of Ahikam, whom the king of Babylon had appointed as governor over the land.