The Inheritance East of the Jordan

With the other half of the tribe of Manasseh[a] the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, (A)which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the Lord gave them: (B)from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and (C)all the tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon; 10 (D)and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the boundary of the Ammonites; 11 and Gilead, and the (E)region of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and (F)all Bashan to Salecah; 12 (G)all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of (H)the remnant of the Rephaim); (I)these Moses had struck and driven out. 13 (J)Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day.

14 (K)To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him.

15 And Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the people of Reuben according to their clans. 16 So their territory was from Aroer, (L)which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland by (M)Medeba; 17 with Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the tableland; (N)Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon, 18 (O)and Jahaz, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, 19 and (P)Kiriathaim, and (Q)Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, 20 and (R)Beth-peor, and (S)the slopes of Pisgah, and (T)Beth-jeshimoth, 21 that is, (U)all the cities of the tableland, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, (V)whom Moses defeated with (W)the leaders of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land. 22 (X)Balaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain. 23 And the border of the people of Reuben was the Jordan as a boundary. This was the inheritance of the people of Reuben, according to their clans with their cities and villages.

24 Moses gave an inheritance also to the tribe of Gad, to the people of Gad, according to their clans. 25 (Y)Their territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites, to Aroer, which is east of (Z)Rabbah, 26 and from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from (AA)Mahanaim to the territory of Debir,[b] 27 and in the valley Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, (AB)Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, having the Jordan as a boundary, to the lower end of the Sea of (AC)Chinnereth, eastward beyond the Jordan. 28 This is the inheritance of the people of Gad according to their clans, with their cities and villages.

29 And Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh. It was allotted to the half-tribe of the people of Manasseh according to their clans. 30 Their region extended from (AD)Mahanaim, through all Bashan, the whole kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all (AE)the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities, 31 and half Gilead, and (AF)Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. These were allotted to the people of (AG)Machir the son of Manasseh for the half of the people of Machir according to their clans.

32 These are the inheritances that Moses distributed (AH)in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho. 33 (AI)But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, (AJ)just as he said to them.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 13:8 Hebrew With it
  2. Joshua 13:26 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew Lidebir

Summary of Allocations to Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh

The descendants of Reuben and descendants of Gad, along with the other half-tribe of Manasseh, received their inherited portion that Moses the servant of the Lord had given them to the east beyond the Jordan River. Specifically included was from Aroer on the banks of the Wadi[a] Arnon, and the town that lies in the middle of the valley, including all the plains from Medeba to Dibon, 10 all the cities pertaining to King Sihon of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the boundary of the Ammonite territory,[b] 11 Gilead and the region belonging to the descendants of Geshur and Maacath, including all of Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah. 12 Also included was[c] the entire kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was the sole survivor left of the Rephaim.)[d] Although Moses had defeated these people and driven them out, 13 the Israelis did not drive out the descendants of Geshur or the descendants of Maacath—Geshur and Maacath live within the territory of Israel to this day.

Allocations to Levi

14 Moses allotted no inheritance solely to the tribe of Levi. As he had mentioned to them, the offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance.

Allocations to Reuben

15 Moses allocated territory[e] to the tribe of the descendants of Reuben according to their tribes. 16 Their allocation was from the border of Aroer on the edge of the Arnon valley (including the city that is located in the valley, as well as the entire plain next to Medeba), 17 Heshbon and all of its cities that are on the plain, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley, 20 Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth, 21 all of the cities of the plain, the entire kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites, who used to reign in Heshbon and whom Moses attacked, along with the chiefs of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, nobles of Sihon who lived in the land. 22 The Israelis also killed Beor’s son Balaam, the occult practitioner, executing him with a sword as one of those killed. 23 The border of the descendants of Reuben was the Jordan River and its banks. This was the inheritance belonging to the descendants of Reuben, divided according to their families, cities, and villages.

Allocations to Gad

24 Moses also allocated territory[f] to the tribe of Gad, that is, to the descendants of Gad, according to their families. 25 Their territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer which is located near Rabbah, 26 from Heshbon as far as Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, from Mahanaim as far as the border of Debir, 27 the valley containing Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon, with the Jordan River as its border as far as the southern[g] end of the Sea of Galilee[h] beyond the Jordan River to the east. 28 This was the inheritance belonging to the descendants of Gad according to their tribes, cities, and villages.

Allocations to Manasseh

29 Moses also allocated territory[i] to the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, for the half-tribe of the descendants of Manasseh according to their tribes. 30 Their territory extended from Mahanaim to include[j] all of Bashan, all of the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, all of the 60 towns of Jair there in Bashan, 31 half of Gilead, including Ashtaroth and Edrei. The cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan went to half of the descendants of Manasseh’s son Machir, according to their tribes. 32 These were the allotments[k] that Moses apportioned for an inheritance in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan River east of Jericho.

Allocations to Levi

33 Moses allotted no inheritance to the tribe of Levi. The Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, as he promised them.

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Footnotes

  1. Joshua 13:9 I.e. a seasonal stream or river that channels water during rain seasons but is dry at other times
  2. Joshua 13:10 The Heb. lacks territory
  3. Joshua 13:12 The Heb. lacks Also included was
  4. Joshua 13:12 I.e. a race of giants that formerly populated Canaan; cf. Num 13:22, 33
  5. Joshua 13:15 The Heb. lacks territory
  6. Joshua 13:24 The Heb. lacks territory
  7. Joshua 13:27 The Heb. lacks southern
  8. Joshua 13:27 Lit. Chinnereth
  9. Joshua 13:29 The Heb. lacks territory
  10. Joshua 13:30 The Heb. lacks to include
  11. Joshua 13:32 The Heb. lacks the allotments