Beginning

Kings Defeated by Israel

12 The Israelites took control of the land east of the Jordan River. They now had all the land from the Arnon Ravine to Mount Hermon. And they had all the land along the eastern side of the Jordan Valley. Here are all the kings the Israelites defeated to take this land:

² Sihon was the king of the Amorites. He lived in the city of Heshbon. He ruled the land from Aroer at the Arnon Ravine to the Jabbok River. His land started in the middle of the ravine. This was their border with the Ammonites. Sihon ruled over half the land of Gilead. ³ He also ruled over the eastern side of the Jordan Valley from Lake Galilee to the Dead Sea. And he ruled from Beth Jeshimoth south to the hills of Pisgah.

⁴ Og king of Bashan was one of the last of the Rephaites. He ruled the land in Ashtaroth and Edrei. ⁵ He ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah and all the area of Bashan. His land ended where the people of Geshur and Maacah lived. Og also ruled half the land of Gilead. It stopped at the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

⁶ The Lord’s servant Moses and the Israelites defeated all these kings. And Moses gave that land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. This land was to be their own.

⁷ The Israelites also defeated kings in the land that was west of the Jordan River. Joshua led the people in this land. He gave the people this land and divided it among the 12 tribes. This was the land that was promised to them. It was between Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon and Mount Halak near Edom. ⁸ This included the mountains, the western mountain slopes and the Jordan Valley. It also included the eastern mountain slopes, the desert and southern Canaan. This was the land where the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites had lived. The people of Israel defeated the king of each of the following cities: ⁹ Jericho, Ai (near Bethel), ¹⁰ Jerusalem, Hebron, ¹¹ Jarmuth, Lachish, ¹² Eglon, Gezer, ¹³ Debir, Geder, ¹⁴ Hormah, Arad, ¹⁵ Libnah, Adullam, ¹⁶ Makkedah, Bethel, ¹⁷ Tappuah, Hepher, ¹⁸ Aphek, Lasharon, ¹⁹ Madon, Hazor, ²⁰ Shimron Meron, Acshaph, ²¹ Taanach, Megiddo, ²² Kedesh, Jokneam in Carmel, ²³ Dor (in Naphoth Dor), Goyim in Gilgal, and ²⁴ Tirzah.

The total number of kings was 31.

Land Still to Be Taken

13 When Joshua was very old, the Lord spoke to him. He said, “Joshua, you have grown old. But there is still much land for you to take. ² You have not yet taken the land of Geshur and the land of the Philistines. ³ You have not yet taken the area from the Shihor River at the border of Egypt to Ekron in the north. That belongs to the Canaanites. You must still defeat the five Philistine leaders. They are at Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. You must also defeat the Avvites. ⁴ They live south of the Canaanite land. ⁵ You have not yet defeated the Gebalites. And there is also the area of Lebanon east of Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath.

⁶ “The Sidonians are living in the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim. But I will force out all of them ahead of the Israelites. Be sure to remember this land when you divide the land among the Israelites. Do this as I told you.

⁷ “Now divide the land among the nine tribes and the western half-tribe of Manasseh.”

Dividing the Land

⁸ The eastern half-tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had received their land. The Lord’s servant Moses gave them the land east of the Jordan River. ⁹ Their land started at Aroer at the Arnon Ravine. It continued to the town in the middle of the ravine. And it included the whole plain from Medeba to Dibon. ¹⁰ All the towns that Sihon king of the Amorites ruled were in that land. He ruled in the city of Heshbon. The land continued to the area where the Ammonites lived. ¹¹ Gilead was also there. And the area where the people of Geshur and Maacah lived was in that land. All of Mount Hermon and all of Bashan as far as Salecah was included. ¹² All the kingdom of Og king of Bashan was in the land. In the past he ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. Og was one of the last of the Rephaites. In the past Moses had defeated them and had taken their land. ¹³ The Israelites did not force out the people of Geshur and Maacah. They still live among the Israelites today.

¹⁴ The tribe of Levi was the only one that did not get any land. Instead, they were to be given all the burned sacrifices made to the Lord, the God of Israel. That is what the Lord had promised them.

¹⁵ Moses had given each family group from the tribe of Reuben some land. This is the land they were given: ¹⁶ It was the land from Aroer near the Arnon Ravine to the town of Medeba. This included the whole plain and the town in the middle of the ravine. ¹⁷ The land continued to Heshbon. It included all the towns on the plain. These towns were Dibon, Bamoth Baal and Beth Baal Meon. ¹⁸ They included Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ¹⁹ Kiriathaim, Sibmah and Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley. ²⁰ They also included Beth Peor, the hills of Pisgah and Beth Jeshimoth. ²¹ So that land included all the towns on the plain and all the area that Sihon the king of the Amorites had ruled. He ruled from the town of Heshbon. But Moses had defeated him and the leaders of the Midianites. Those leaders included Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. All these leaders fought together with Sihon. And they lived in that country. ²² The Israelites killed many people during the fighting. They also killed Balaam of Beor. He tried to use magic to tell the future. ²³ The land given to Reuben stopped at the shore of the Jordan River. So the land given to the family groups of Reuben included all these towns and their fields that were listed.

²⁴ This is the land Moses gave to the tribe of Gad. He gave it to all the family groups: ²⁵ He gave them the land of Jazar and all the towns of Gilead. He also gave them half the land of the Ammonites. It went as far as Aroer near Rabbah. ²⁶ It included the area from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim. It included the area from Mahanaim to the land of Debir. ²⁷ The land included the valley, Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth and Zaphon. All the other land Sihon king of Heshbon had ruled was also included in it. This is the land on the east side of the Jordan River. It continued to the end of Lake Galilee. ²⁸ All this is the land Moses gave to the tribe of Gad. It included all the towns that were listed. Moses gave it to all the family groups.

²⁹ This is the land Moses had given to the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. Half of all the family groups in the tribe of Manasseh were given this land: ³⁰ The land started at Mahanaim. It included all of Bashan and the land ruled by Og king of Bashan. It also included all the Towns of Jair in Bashan. There were 60 cities in all. ³¹ It also included half of Gilead, Ashtaroth and Edrei. (These were the cities where Og king of Bashan had ruled.) All this land had been given to the family of Makir son of Manasseh. Half of all his sons had been given this land.

³² Moses had given this land to these tribes on the plains of Moab. It was across the Jordan River east of Jericho. ³³ But Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi. The Lord, the God of Israel, promised that he himself would be the gift for the Levites.

14 Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the leaders of all the tribes of Israel decided what land to give to the people. ² The Lord had commanded Moses long ago how he wanted the people to choose their land. The people of the nine-and-a-half tribes threw lots to decide which land they would receive. ³ Moses had already given the two-and-a-half tribes their land east of the Jordan River. But the tribe of Levi was not given any land like the others. ⁴ The sons of Joseph had divided into two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. The tribe of Levi was not given any land. It was given only some towns in which to live. It was also given pastures for its animals. ⁵ The Lord had told Moses how to give the land to the tribes of Israel. The Israelites divided the land as the Lord had commanded.

Caleb’s Land

⁶ One day some men from the tribe of Judah went to Joshua at Gilgal. One of those men was Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. He said to Joshua, “You remember what the Lord said at Kadesh Barnea. He was speaking to the prophet Moses about you and me. ⁷ Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me to look at the land where we were going. I was 40 years old then. When I came back, I told Moses what I thought about the land. ⁸ The other men who went with me told the people things that made them afraid. But I fully believed the Lord would allow us to take the land. ⁹ So that day Moses promised me, ‘The land where you went will become your land. Your children will own it forever. I will give you that land because you fully believed in the Lord, my God.’

¹⁰ “Now then, the Lord has kept his promise. He has kept me alive for 45 years from the time he said this to Moses. During that time we all wandered in the desert. Now here I am, 85 years old. ¹¹ I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. I am just as ready to fight now as I was then. ¹² So give me the mountain country the Lord promised me that day long ago. Back then you heard that the Anakite people lived there. And the cities were large and well protected. But now with the Lord helping me, I will force them out, just as the Lord said.”

¹³ Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh. He gave him the city of Hebron as his own. ¹⁴ And Hebron still belongs to the family of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. It still belongs to his people because he had faith. He obeyed the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ (In the past it was called Kiriath Arba. It was named for the greatest man among the Anakites. He was named Arba.)

After this there was peace in the land.

Land for Judah

15 The land that was given to the tribe of Judah was divided among all the family groups. It went all the way to the Desert of Zin in the far south, at the border of Edom.

² The southern border of Judah’s land started at the south end of the Dead Sea. ³ It went south of Scorpion Pass to Zin. From there it passed to the south of Kadesh Barnea. It continued past Hezron to Addar. From Addar it turned and went to Karka. ⁴ It continued to Azmon, the brook of Egypt and then to the Mediterranean Sea. This was the southern border.

⁵ The eastern border was the shore of the Dead Sea. It went as far as the area where the Jordan River flowed into the sea.

The northern border started at the area where the Jordan River flowed into the Dead Sea. ⁶ Then it went to Beth Hoglah and continued north of Beth Arabah. It continued to the stone of Bohan. Bohan was the son of Reuben. ⁷ Then the northern border went through the Valley of Achor to Debir. There it turned toward the north and went to Gilgal. Gilgal is across from the road that goes through the mountain of Adummim. It is on the south side of the ravine. The border continued along the waters of En Shemesh. It stopped at En Rogel. ⁸ Then it went through the Valley of Ben Hinnom. This is next to the southern side of the Jebusite city. (That city was called Jerusalem.) There the border went to the top of the hill on the west side of Hinnom Valley. This was at the northern end of the Valley of Giants. ⁹ From there it went to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah. Then it went to the cities near Mount Ephron. There it turned and went toward Baalah. (Baalah is also called Kiriath Jearim.) ¹⁰ At Baalah the border turned west and went toward Mount Edom. It continued along the north side of Mount Jearim (also called Kesalon) and came to Beth Shemesh. From there it went past Timnah. ¹¹ Then it went to the hill north of Ekron. From there it turned toward Shikkeron and went past Mount Baalah. It continued on to Jabneel and ended at the sea.

¹² The Mediterranean Sea was the western border. Inside these borders lived the family groups of Judah.

¹³ The Lord had commanded Joshua to give Caleb son of Jephunneh part of the land in Judah. So he gave Caleb the land God had commanded. He gave him the town of Kiriath Arba, also called Hebron. (Arba was the father of Anak.) ¹⁴ Caleb forced out the three Anakite families living in Hebron. Those families were Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. They were descendants of Anak. ¹⁵ Then he fought against the people living in Debir. (In the past Debir had been called Kiriath Sepher.) ¹⁶ Caleb said, “I want a man to attack and capture Kiriath Sepher. I will give him Acsah, my daughter, as a wife.” ¹⁷ Othniel son of Kenaz defeated the city. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel to be his wife. ¹⁸ Acsah wanted Othniel to ask her father Caleb for more land.

So Acsah went to her father. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you want?”

¹⁹ Acsah answered, “I would like a special favor. The land you gave me is very dry. So also give me land with springs of water on it.”

So Caleb gave her land with springs of water on the upper and lower part of it.

²⁰ The tribe of Judah got the land God had promised them. Each family group got part of the land.

²¹ The tribe of Judah got all the towns in the southern part of Canaan. These towns were near the border of Edom. Here is a list of the towns: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor and Ithnan; ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor Hadattah and Kerioth Hezron (also called Hazor); ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon and Beth Pelet; ²⁸ Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Kesil and Hormah; ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon. There were 29 towns and all their fields.

³³ The tribe of Judah got these towns in the western mountain slopes: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah and Enam; ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah (also called Gederothaim). There were 14 towns and all their fields.

³⁷ Judah was also given these towns in the western mountain slopes: Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath and Eglon; ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah and Makkedah. There were 16 towns and all their fields.

⁴² Judah was also given these towns in the western mountain slopes: Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Aczib and Mareshah. There were nine towns and all their fields.

⁴⁵ The tribe of Judah also got the town of Ekron and all the small towns and fields near it. ⁴⁶ They also got the area west of Ekron and all the fields and towns near Ashdod. ⁴⁷ Ashdod and all the small towns around it were part of the land of Judah. They also got the fields and towns around Gaza. Their land continued to the brook of Egypt. And it went on along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

⁴⁸ The tribe of Judah was also given these towns in the mountains: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah and Kiriath Sannah (also called Debir); ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon and Giloh. There were 11 towns and all their fields.

⁵² They were also given these towns in the mountains: Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janim, Beth Tappuah and Aphekah; ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) and Zior. There were 9 towns and all their fields.

⁵⁵ Judah was also given these towns in the mountains: Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah and Timnah. There were 10 towns and all their fields.

⁵⁸ They were also given these towns in the mountains: Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth Anoth and Eltekon. There were 6 towns and all their fields.

⁶⁰ The people of Judah were also given the 2 towns of Rabbah and Kiriath Baal (also called Kiriath Jearim).

⁶¹ Judah was given towns in the desert. Here are those towns: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, the City of Salt and En Gedi. There were 6 towns and all their fields.

⁶³ The army of Judah was not able to force out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So the Jebusites still live among the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.