The Territory of Judah

15 The lot for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their families reached southward to the boundary of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south. ² And their south boundary ran from the end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that faces southward; ³ it goes out southward of the ascent of Akrab′bim, passes along to Zin, and goes up south of Ka′desh-bar′nea, along by Hezron, up to Addar, turns about to Karka, ⁴ passes along to Azmon, goes out by the Brook of Egypt, and comes to its end at the sea. This shall be your south boundary. ⁵ And the east boundary is the Salt Sea, to the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan; ⁶ and the boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah, and passes along north of Beth-arabah; and the boundary goes up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben; ⁷ and the boundary goes up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adum′mim, which is on the south side of the valley; and the boundary passes along to the waters of En-she′mesh, and ends at En-ro′gel; ⁸ then the boundary goes up by the valley of the son of Hinnom at the southern shoulder of the Jeb′usite (that is, Jerusalem); and the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the valley of Reph′aim; ⁹ then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain to the spring of the Waters of Nephto′ah, and from there to the cities of Mount Ephron; then the boundary bends round to Ba′alah (that is, Kir′iath-je′arim); ¹⁰ and the boundary circles west of Ba′alah to Mount Se′ir, passes along to the northern shoulder of Mount Je′arim (that is, Ches′alon), and goes down to Beth-she′mesh, and passes along by Timnah; ¹¹ the boundary goes out to the shoulder of the hill north of Ekron, then the boundary bends round to Shik′keron, and passes along to Mount Ba′alah, and goes out to Jabneel; then the boundary comes to an end at the sea. ¹² And the west boundary was the Great Sea with its coast-line. This is the boundary round about the people of Judah according to their families.

Caleb Occupies His Portion

¹³ According to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, he gave to Caleb the son of Jephun′neh a portion among the people of Judah, Kir′iath-ar′ba, that is, Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). ¹⁴ And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, She′shai and Ahi′man and Talmai, the descendants of Anak. ¹⁵ And he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir formerly was Kir′iath-se′pher. ¹⁶ And Caleb said, “Whoever smites Kir′iath-se′pher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.” ¹⁷ And Oth′ni-el the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. ¹⁸ When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field; and she alighted from her ass, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” ¹⁹ She said to him, “Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water.” And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

The Towns of Judah

²⁰ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah according to their families. ²¹ The cities belonging to the tribe of the people of Judah in the extreme South, toward the boundary of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimo′nah, Ada′dah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Be-a′loth, ²⁵ Ha′zor-hadat′tah, Ker′i-oth-hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Mola′dah, ²⁷ Ha′zar-gad′dah, Heshmon, Beth-pel′et, ²⁸ Hazar-shu′al, Beer-sheba, Biziothi′ah, ²⁹ Ba′alah, I′im, Ezem, ³⁰ Elto′lad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madman′nah, Sansan′nah, ³² Leba′oth, Shilhim, A′in, and Rimmon: in all, twenty-nine cities, with their villages.

³³ And in the lowland, Eshta′ol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zano′ah, En-gan′nim, Tap′pu-ah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adul′lam, Socoh, Aze′kah, ³⁶ Sha-ara′im, Aditha′im, Gede′rah, Gederotha′im: fourteen cities with their villages.

³⁷ Zenan, Hadash′ah, Mig′dal-gad, ³⁸ Di′lean, Mizpeh, Jok′theel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, ⁴¹ Gede′roth, Beth-da′gon, Na′amah, and Makke′dah: sixteen cities with their villages.

⁴² Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Ke-i′lah, Achzib, and Mare′shah: nine cities with their villages.

⁴⁵ Ekron, with its towns and its villages; ⁴⁶ from Ekron to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages.

⁴⁷ Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; to the Brook of Egypt, and the Great Sea with its coast-line.

⁴⁸ And in the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kir′iath-san′nah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Esh′temoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages.

⁵² Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janim, Beth-Tap′puah, Aphe′kah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kir′iath-ar′ba (that is, Hebron), and Zi′or: nine cities with their villages.

⁵⁵ Ma′on, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jok′de-am, Zano′ah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gib′e-ah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages.

⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Ma′arath, Beth-anoth, and El′tekon: six cities with their villages.

⁶⁰ Kir′iath-ba′al (that is, Kir′iath-je′arim), and Rabbah: two cities with their villages.

⁶¹ In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, Seca′cah, ⁶² Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-ged′i: six cities with their villages.

⁶³ But the Jeb′usites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people of Judah could not drive out; so the Jeb′usites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

The Territory of Ephraim

16 The allotment of the descendants of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel; ² then going from Bethel to Luz, it passes along to At′aroth, the territory of the Archites; ³ then it goes down westward to the territory of the Japh′letites, as far as the territory of Lower Beth-hor′on, then to Gezer, and it ends at the sea.

⁴ The people of Joseph, Manas′seh and E′phraim, received their inheritance.

⁵ The territory of the E′phraimites by their families was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was At′aroth-ad′dar as far as Upper Beth-hor′on, ⁶ and the boundary goes thence to the sea; on the north is Michme′thath; then on the east the boundary turns round toward Ta′anath-shi′loh, and passes along beyond it on the east to Jano′ah, ⁷ then it goes down from Jano′ah to At′aroth and to Na′arah, and touches Jericho, ending at the Jordan. ⁸ From Tap′pu-ah the boundary goes westward to the brook Kanah, and ends at the sea. Such is the inheritance of the tribe of the E′phraimites by their families, ⁹ together with the towns which were set apart for the E′phraimites within the inheritance of the Manas′sites, all those towns with their villages. ¹⁰ However they did not drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: so the Canaanites have dwelt in the midst of E′phraim to this day but have become slaves to do forced labor.

The Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh (West)

17 Then allotment was made to the tribe of Manas′seh, for he was the first-born of Joseph. To Machir the first-born of Manas′seh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ² And allotments were made to the rest of the tribe of Manas′seh, by their families, Abi-e′zer, Helek, As′ri-el, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemi′da; these were the male descendants of Manas′seh the son of Joseph, by their families.

³ Now Zeloph′ehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manas′seh, had no sons, but only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They came before Elea′zar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders, and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brethren.” So according to the commandment of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father. ⁵ Thus there fell to Manas′seh ten portions, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of the Jordan; ⁶ because the daughters of Manas′seh received an inheritance along with his sons. The land of Gilead was allotted to the rest of the Manas′sites.

⁷ The territory of Manas′seh reached from Asher to Michme′thath, which is east of Shechem; then the boundary goes along southward to the inhabitants of En-Tap′pu-ah. ⁸ The land of Tap′pu-ah belonged to Manas′seh, but the town of Tap′pu-ah on the boundary of Manas′seh belonged to the sons of E′phraim. ⁹ Then the boundary went down to the brook Kanah. The cities here, to the south of the brook, among the cities of Manas′seh, belong to E′phraim. Then the boundary of Manas′seh goes on the north side of the brook and ends at the sea; ¹⁰ the land to the south being E′phraim’s and that to the north being Manas′seh’s, with the sea forming its boundary; on the north Asher is reached, and on the east Is′sachar. ¹¹ Also in Is′sachar and in Asher Manas′seh had Beth-she′an and its villages, and Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of Ta′anach and its villages, and the inhabitants of Megid′do and its villages; the third is Naphath.^{[a] 12} Yet the sons of Manas′seh could not take possession of those cities; but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. ¹³ But when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out.

The Tribe of Joseph Protests

¹⁴ And the tribe of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since hitherto the Lord has blessed me?” ¹⁵ And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Per′izzites and the Reph′aim, since the hill country of E′phraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶ The tribe of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us; yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Beth-she′an and its villages and those in the Valley of Jezre′el.” ¹⁷ Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to E′phraim and Manas′seh, “You are a numerous people, and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, ¹⁸ but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”

The Territories of the Remaining Tribes

18 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; the land lay subdued before them.

² There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. ³ So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you be slack to go in and take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴ Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land, writing a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. ⁵ They shall divide it into seven portions, Judah continuing in his territory on the south, and the house of Joseph in their territory on the north. ⁶ And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. ⁷ The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage; and Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manas′seh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

⁸ So the men started on their way; and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down and write a description of the land, and come again to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men went and passed up and down in the land and set down in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions; then they came to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh, ¹⁰ and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord; and there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, to each his portion.

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 shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward; and it ends at the wilderness of Beth-a′ven. ¹³ From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of Luz (the same is Bethel), then the boundary goes down to At′aroth-ad′dar, upon the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-hor′on. ¹⁴ Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-hor′on, and it ends at Kir′iath-ba′al (that is, Kir′iath-je′arim), a city belonging to the tribe of Judah. This forms the western side. ¹⁵ And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kir′iath-je′arim; and the boundary goes from there to Ephron,^[b] to the spring of the Waters of Nephto′ah; 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 Reph′aim; and it then goes down the valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jeb′usites, and downward to En-ro′gel; ¹⁷ then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-she′mesh, and thence goes to Geli′loth, which is opposite the ascent of Adum′mim; then it goes down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben; ¹⁸ and passing on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-arabah^[c] it goes down to the Arabah; ¹⁹ then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-hoglah; and the boundary ends at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, 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 round about.

²¹ Now the cities of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-ke′ziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemara′im, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Che′phar-am′moni, Ophni, Geba—twelve cities with their villages: ²⁵ Gibeon, Ramah, Be-er′oth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephi′rah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Tar′alah, ²⁸ Zela, Ha-eleph, Jebus^[d] (that is, Jerusalem), Gib′e-ah^[e] and Kir′iath-je′arim^[f]—fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to its families.

Waiting for Divine Redemption

A Song of Ascents.