Joshua 15:1-12

The Voice

15 The territory allotted to the tribe of the Judahites, clan by clan, reached south to the border of Edom, and even further south into the wilderness of Zin. ² Their southern border ran from the bay at the south end of the Dead Sea (the Salt Sea), ³ and continued to the south of the ascent of Akrabbim,^[a] crossed the wilderness of Zin, and went up south of Kadesh-barnea, past Hezron, on up to Addar, and then turning toward Karka, ⁴ on to Azmon, then out by the wadi of Egypt, and ending at the Mediterranean Sea. “This,” they were told, “will be your southern boundary.”

⁵ On the east the territory of Judah was bounded by the Dead Sea up to where the Jordan runs into it. Their boundary on the north began at the bay at the mouth of the Jordan, ⁶ went up to Beth-hoglah, passed north of Beth-arabah, and continued up to the stone of Bohan, Reuben’s descendant. ⁷ From there the boundary went to Debir from the valley of Achor, and then northward, turning toward Gilgal across from the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the river valley. From there the boundary passed along to the waters of En-shemesh, and on to En-rogel. ⁸ Then the boundary went up the valley of Ben-hinnom, just at the southern slope of the Jebusite city, Jerusalem, and then up to the top of the mountain west of the Hinnom Valley at the northern end of the valley of Rephaim. ⁹ From the mountaintop, the boundary extended to the spring of Nephtoah, and from there to the towns of Mount Ephron. Then the boundary curved around to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim); ¹⁰ and from there circled west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, passed through Timnah ¹¹ to the northern flank of Ekron, then turned toward Shikkeron, past Mount Baalah, and out to Jabneel. The boundary ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

¹² The western boundary, then, was the Mediterranean coast, and this recounts all the boundary of the land allotted to the people of Judah and its clans.