Joshua 18:1-19:48

Amplified Bible

Rest of the Land Divided

18 Then the whole congregation of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh [in the tribal territory of Ephraim], and set up the Tent of Meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.

² There remained among the Israelites ^[a]seven tribes who had not yet divided their inheritance. ³ So Joshua asked them, “How long will you 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 each tribe so that I may send them, and that they may go through the land and write a description of it with regard to their [tribal] inheritance; then they shall return to me. ⁵ They shall divide it into seven parts; [the tribe of] Judah shall remain in its territory on the south, and the ^[b]house of Joseph shall remain in its territory on the north. ⁶ You shall describe the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me. I will cast lots for you here ^[c]before the Lord our God. ⁷ But the Levites have no portion among you, because the priesthood of the Lord is ^[d]their inheritance. Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh also have received their inheritance eastward beyond the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

⁸ So the men arose and went [on their way], and Joshua commanded those who went to describe the land, saying, “Go and walk throughout the land and describe it, and return to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men set out and passed through the land, and described it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came back to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land to the sons of Israel, [to each tribe] according to their portions.

The Territory of Benjamin

¹¹ Now the lot (allotment) of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot fell between [the tribes of] the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph. ¹² On the north side their border began at the Jordan, then it went up the slope of Jericho on the north, and up through the hill country westward, and it ended at the Beth-aven wilderness. ¹³ Then the border continued southward toward Luz, to the slope of Luz (that is, Bethel); then the border went down to Ataroth-addar, by the hill that lies south of lower Beth-horon. ¹⁴ The border changed course [from there] and turned around on the western side southward, from the hill that lies to the south opposite Beth-horon; it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of [the tribe of] the sons of Judah. This formed the western side [of Benjamin’s territory]. ¹⁵ The southern side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went on westward and went to the source of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then the border went down to the edge of the hill overlooking the Valley of Ben-hinnom (son of Hinnom), which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim; and it descended to the Valley of Hinnom, south to the slope of the Jebusite, and went on down to En-rogel. ¹⁷ Then it turned toward the north and went on to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ¹⁸ It continued to the north to the side opposite [Beth-] Arabah and went down to the Arabah. ¹⁹ The border continued along to the north of the slope of Beth-hoglah; and the border ended at the northern bay of the Salt (Dead) Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border. ²⁰ And the Jordan River 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 and Beth-hoglah and Emek-keziz, ²² and Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Bethel, ²³ and Avvim and Parah and Ophrah, ²⁴ and Chephar-ammoni and Ophni and Geba; twelve cities with their villages; ²⁵ Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth, ²⁶ and Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah, ²⁷ and Rekem and Irpeel and Taralah, ²⁸ and Zelah, Haeleph and the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of [the tribe of] the sons of Benjamin according to their families (clans).

Territory of Simeon

19 Then the second lot fell to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families (clans), and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the sons of Judah. ² So they had as their inheritance Beersheba or Sheba and Moladah, ³ and Hazar-shual and Balah and Ezem, ⁴ and Eltolad and Bethul and Hormah, ⁵ and Ziklag and Beth-marcaboth and Hazar-susah, ⁶ and Beth-lebaoth and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages; ⁷ Ain, Rimmon and Ether and Ashan; four cities with their villages; ⁸ and all the villages which were around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negev (South country). This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families. ⁹ The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, for the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance within Judah’s inheritance.

Territory of Zebulun

¹⁰ The third lot came up for [the tribe of] the sons of Zebulun according to their families. The territory of their inheritance extended to Sarid. ¹¹ Then its border went up westward and on to Maralah, and reached to Dabbesheth and reached to the brook east of Jokneam. ¹² Then it turned from Sarid east toward the sunrise as far as the border of Chisloth-tabor, and it proceeded to Daberath and on up to Japhia. ¹³ From there it continued east toward the sunrise to ^[e]Gath-hepher and to Eth-kazin, and proceeded to Rimmon which turns toward Neah. ¹⁴ The border circled it on the north to Hannathon, ending at the Valley of Iphtahel. ¹⁵ Included were Kattah and Nahalal and Shimron and Idalah and Bethlehem; twelve cities with their villages. ¹⁶ This was the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Territory of Issachar

¹⁷ The fourth lot fell to [the tribe of] Issachar, to the sons of Issachar according to their families. ¹⁸ Their territory included: Jezreel and Chesulloth and Shunem, ¹⁹ and Hapharaim and Shion and Anaharath, ²⁰ and Rabbith and Kishion and Ebez, ²¹ and Remeth and En-gannim and En-haddah and Beth-pazzez. ²² The border reached to Tabor and Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh, and their border ended at the Jordan; sixteen cities with their villages. ²³ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages.

Territory of Asher

²⁴ The fifth lot fell to the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families. ²⁵ Their territory was Helkath and Hali and Beten and Achshaph, ²⁶ and Allammelech and Amad and Mishal; and on the west it reached to Carmel and to Shihor-libnath. ²⁷ Then it turned eastward to Beth-dagon and reached Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel, and continued in the north to Cabul, ²⁸ and Ebron and Rehob and Hammon and Kanah, as far as Great Sidon. ²⁹ Then the border turned to Ramah, [reaching] to the fortified city of Tyre; and it turned to Hosah, and it ended at the [Mediterranean] sea at the region of Achzib. ³⁰ Included were Ummah, and Aphek and Rehob; twenty-two cities with their villages. ³¹ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Territory of Naphtali

³² The sixth lot fell to [the tribe of] the sons of Naphtali according to their families. ³³ Their border ran from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim and Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and it ended at the Jordan. ³⁴ Then the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and went from there to Hukkok; and it reached Zebulun on the south and reached Asher on the west, and to Judah toward the east at the Jordan. ³⁵ The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, and Hammath, Rakkath and Chinnereth, ³⁶ and Adamah and Ramah and Hazor, ³⁷ and Kedesh and Edrei and En-hazor, ³⁸ and Yiron and Migdal-el, Horem and Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. ³⁹ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages.

Territory of Dan

⁴⁰ The seventh lot fell to the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families. ⁴¹ The territory of their inheritance included Zorah and Eshtaol and Ir-shemesh, ⁴² and Shaalabbin and Aijalon and Ithlah, ⁴³ and Elon and Timnah and Ekron, ⁴⁴ and Eltekeh and Gibbethon and Baalath, ⁴⁵ and Jehud and Bene-berak and Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶ and Me-jarkon and Rakkon, with the territory opposite Joppa. ⁴⁷ The territory of the sons of Dan ^[f]went beyond these; so the sons of Dan went up to fight against Leshem (Laish) and captured it. Then they struck it with the edge of the sword and took possession of it and settled there [between the tribes of Naphtali and Manasseh]; they ^[g]renamed Leshem, Dan, after the name of their father (ancestor) Dan.^{(A) 48} This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families (clans), these cities with their villages.