Beginning

Kingdoms on the east side of the Jordan River

12 The Israelites killed these kings who ruled on the east side of the Jordan River. They destroyed them and they took their land. Their land went from the Arnon valley to Hermon mountain. It included all the land on the east side of the Jordan Valley.

² They killed Sihon, king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. He ruled half of the Gilead region. That is from Aroer that was on the edge of the Arnon valley, as far as the Jabbok river. The Ammonites had the land on the other side of the river. ³ King Sihon's land also went along the east side of the Jordan Valley from the sea of Galilee to the Salt Sea. His land went south to Beth Jeshimoth and as far as Pisgah mountain.

⁴ They killed Og, king of Bashan. He was one of the last Rephaites. He lived in Ashtaroth and in Edrei. ⁵ He ruled the land from Hermon mountain and Salecah in the north, and all of the Bashan region in the east. His land went as far as the borders of the kingdoms of Geshur and Maakah. He ruled half of the Gilead region, as far as the border of King Sihon of Heshbon.

⁶ The Lord's servant, Moses, and the Israelites won against these kings. Moses gave their land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh to live in.^[a]

Kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan River

⁷ Joshua and the Israelites killed these kings who ruled on the west side of the Jordan River. Joshua gave these kings' land to the Israelite tribes for them to live in. He gave a different piece of land to each tribe. Their land went from Baal Gad in the Lebanon valley to Halak mountain, which is near Seir. ⁸ This included the hill country, the low hills in the west, the Jordan Valley, the mountains, the wilderness and the Negev. That was the land that belonged to the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. ⁹ Joshua took the land of these kings:

Joshua and the Israelites took the land of these 31 kings.^[b]

The land that remained for Israel to take

13 Joshua had become a very old man.^[c] The Lord said to him, ‘You are now very old. There is still a lot of land that you have not yet taken. ² This is the land left for you to take: All the land of the Philistines and the Geshurites. ³ Their land goes from the Shihor river on the east side of Egypt, to the border of Ekron's land. That part belongs to the Canaanites. The land of the Philistine rulers in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron. There is also the land of the Avvites in the south.^{[d] 4} You must take all the land of the Canaanites, which goes from Arah in Sidon region, and continues to Aphek, as far as the border of the Amorites. ⁵ There is also the land of the Gebalites, and all of Lebanon in the east. That land goes from Baal Gad at the side of Hermon mountain, to Lebo-Hamath.

⁶ I myself will chase out all the people of Sidon in front of the Israelites. I will chase them out of the hill country, from Lebanon as far as Misrephoth Maim. You must give this land to the tribes of Israel, as I have already told you. ⁷ Each of the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh, must receive its own part of the land.’^[e]

How Moses had given land to some tribes

⁸ Moses had already given land to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the other half of Manasseh. Their land was on the east side of the Jordan River. Moses, the Lord's servant, had given a piece of land to each tribe.

⁹ Their land went from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon valley and the town in the middle of the valley. It included all the flat land of Medeba, as far as Dibon. ¹⁰ It included all the towns of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon. It went to the border of the Amorites' land. ¹¹ It included the land of Gilead, and the land of the Geshurites and Maakathites. It included all of Hermon mountain, and Bashan as far as Salecah. ¹² (That was the kingdom of King Og in Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He was one of the last of the Rephaites.) Moses had won a fight against them and he had taken their land. ¹³ But the Israelites did not chase out the Geshurites and the Maakathites, so they still live there among the Israelites.

¹⁴ Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi. This was because God had made the Levites a promise. He had made a rule that they would receive their food from the sacrifices and offerings that the other tribes gave to the Lord God of Israel. The Levites received that, instead of land for themselves.

Land for Reuben's tribe

¹⁵ This is the part of the land that Moses gave to the clans of Reuben's tribe.

¹⁶ He gave them the land from Aroer by the edge of the Arnon valley and the town in the middle of the valley. ¹⁷ And he gave them all the flat land past Medeba in Heshbon. It included Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, ¹⁸ Jahaz and Kedemoth. It also included Mephaath, ¹⁹ Kiriathaim, Sibmah and Zereth Shahar. Zereth was on a hill in the middle of the valley. ²⁰ Their land included Beth Peor, and the sides of Pisgah mountain, and Beth Jeshimoth town. ²¹ Moses gave them all the towns on the flat land. He gave them all the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites. Sihon had ruled from Hebron. But Moses had won the fight against him and the Midianite kings, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. These kings had ruled with Sihon and they lived in his land. ²² The Israelites had killed the prophet Balaam, son of Beor, when they killed soldiers in the battle.^[f] He had used magic to help Balak fight against Israel. ²³ The border of Reuben's land was the Jordan River.

Moses gave these towns and their villages to the tribe of Reuben, family by family.

Land for Gad's tribe

²⁴ This is the part of the land that Moses gave to the clans of Gad's tribe.

²⁵ He gave them the land of Jazer, the towns of Gilead and half the land of the Ammonites. Their land went as far as Aroer, a town which was near Rabbah. ²⁶ It went from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the land of Debir. ²⁷ Moses gave Gad these towns in the valley: Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth and Zaphon. He gave them the rest of the land of Sihon, king of Heshbon. This was on the east side of the Jordan River, up to the edge of the sea of Galilee.

²⁸ Moses gave these towns and their villages to the tribe of Gad, family by family.

Land for half of Manasseh's tribe

²⁹ This is the land that Moses gave to half the tribe of Manasseh, clan by clan.

³⁰ He gave them the land from Mahanaim, the land of Bashan, all the land ruled by Og, king of Bashan. It included all the 60 towns of Jair in Bashan. ³¹ It included half of Gilead, Ashtaroth and Edrei. (These were the cities that belonged to King Og in Bashan.) This land was for half the descendants of Makir, Manasseh's son, to live in, family by family.

³² Moses gave all that land to those tribes, while they were still on the east side of the Jordan River. They were in Moab, on the flat land near Jericho. ³³ Moses gave no part of the land to Levi's tribe. The Lord himself, Israel's God, would be their part, as he had promised them.

14 Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the Israelite clans gave different parts of the land to each tribe of Israel. This tells about the land that each tribe received. ² The leaders used lots to decide which parts of the land God had chosen for each of the 9½ tribes. This is what the Lord had told Moses to do. ³ Moses had already given land east of the Jordan River to the other 2½ tribes. But he had not given any land to the Levites. ⁴ The descendants of Joseph had now become two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim.^[g] The leaders gave the Levites towns to live in, with enough land near them to feed their animals. ⁵ The leaders of the Israelites gave a part of the land to each tribe, as the Lord had told Moses to do.

Joshua gives Hebron to Caleb

⁶ Some of the men of Judah's tribe came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb spoke to Joshua. He was the son of Jephunneh, a Kenizzite man. Caleb said, ‘You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me, at Kadesh-Barnea. ⁷ I was 40 years old when Moses sent me from there to explore the land of Canaan. I brought back to him a true report. I was sure that we could take the land. ⁸ The other men who went with me made the people afraid. But I continued to trust the Lord my God. ⁹ So Moses made a promise to me on that day. He said, “The land that your feet have walked on will always belong to you and to your children. That is because you have trusted the Lord your God.”^[h]

¹⁰ The Lord has kept me alive for 45 years since Moses said this. During that time, the Israelites were travelling in the desert. Now I am 85 years old. ¹¹ I am still as strong as I was on the day that Moses sent me out. I can fight as well now as I could then. ¹² So please give to me this hill country that the Lord promised to me. You heard that the Anakites were living there then, in large, strong cities. But the Lord will help me to chase them out, as he has promised to do.’

¹³ Then Joshua blessed Caleb, Jephunneh's son. Joshua gave Hebron to him as his part of the land. ¹⁴ So since that day, Hebron has belonged to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite. He continued to trust the Lord, Israel's God. So Joshua gave him the land that he wanted. ¹⁵ (Before that, Hebron had been called ‘Kiriath Arba’. Arba was a famous Anakite.)

After that, there were no more battles in Canaan.

Land for Judah's tribe

15 This is the land that Joshua gave to the tribe of Judah, clan by clan. Their land went south along the border of Edom, as far as the wilderness of Zin in the Negev.

² The south border of Judah's land was from the south end of the Salt Sea. ³ It went across the south side of the Scorpion Hill, to Zin. From the south it went up to Kadesh-Barnea, as far as Hebron. Their border continued past Addar, and it turned towards Karka. ⁴ Then it went to Azmon and it continued to the Stream of Egypt. It finished at the sea. That was the south border of Judah's land.

⁵ Judah's east border went from the Salt Sea as far as the end of the Jordan River.

Their north border started from the end of the Jordan at the Salt Sea. ⁶ From there it went to Beth Hoglah. Then it went north of Beth Arabah to the stone of Bohan. (Bohan was a son of Reuben.) ⁷ The border went from the valley of Achor to Debir.^[i] Then it went north to Gilgal. Gilgal is opposite the Adummim hill, on the south side of the valley. Then it reached the springs of En Shemesh to En Rogel. ⁸ From there it went through the valley of Hinnom to the south side of a hill beside the Jebusite city of Jerusalem. Judah's border then continued to the top of the hill on the west side of the Hinnom valley. This was at the north end of the valley of the Rephaites. ⁹ From there it went to the springs of Nephtoah and onto the cities near Mount Ephron. It went towards Baalah (also called Kiriath-Jearim). ¹⁰ It went round Baalah towards the hills of Edom. It went north of Jearim mountain (also called Kesalon) down to Beth Shemesh, and it continued on past Timnah. ¹¹ Then it went out to the hills north of Ekron, and on towards Shikkeron. It went past Baalah mountain, as far as Jabneel. Judah's north border ended at the sea.

¹² The west border of Judah's land was the Mediterranean Sea.

Those were the borders of the land which Judah's tribe and its clans received.

Caleb takes the cities of Hebron and Debir^[j]

¹³ The Lord had told Joshua to give Kiriath Arba to Caleb, Jephunneh's son. That was the part of Judah's land that Caleb received. Arba was the father of Anak. Kiriath Arba was now called Hebron. ¹⁴ Caleb chased out the three sons of Anak from Hebron. Their names were Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. ¹⁵ From there he went to attack the people of Debir. (Debir had been called Kiriath Sepher). ¹⁶ Caleb said, ‘If a brave man attacks and takes Kiriath Sepher, he can marry my daughter, Acsah.’ ¹⁷ Othniel attacked the city and he took it. He was the son of Caleb's brother, Kenaz. So Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to Othniel, to be his wife.

¹⁸ After this, Acsah told Othniel that they should ask her father to give them some land. She went to see her father, Caleb. As she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, ‘What would you like me to do for you?’

¹⁹ She said, ‘Please be kind and give me a special gift. You have given me some land in the Negev desert. Now please give me a place with springs so that I have water for the land.’ So Caleb gave her some land with springs, on high land and on low land.

Judah's towns

²⁰ This is the land that Joshua gave to the clans of Judah's tribe.

²¹ These towns were in the south of Judah's land, near the border of Edom:

Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, and Bealoth. ²⁵ Also Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet. ²⁸ Also Hazar-Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon.

That is 29 towns with their villages.

³³ These towns were in the low hills in the west:

Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh and Azekah. ³⁶ Also he gave them Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah, (or Gederothaim).

There were 14 towns and villages.

³⁷ He gave them Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, and Kitlish. ⁴¹ Also he gave them Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah and Makkedah.

There were 16 towns and their villages.

⁴² He also gave them Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Aczib and Mareshah.

There were nine towns with their villages.

⁴⁵ He also gave them Ekron with the houses and villages that belonged to it. ⁴⁶ And he gave them all those towns west of Ekron, near to Ashdod with their villages. ⁴⁷ And he gave them Ashdod and Gaza with their houses and villages. They had the land as far as the Stream of Egypt, and to the Mediterranean Sea.

⁴⁸ These towns were in the hill country:

Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ and Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon and Giloh.

There were 11 towns and their villages.

⁵² He also gave them Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) and Zior.

There were nine towns and their villages.

⁵⁵ Also Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah and Timnah.

There were ten towns and their villages.

⁵⁸ And he gave them Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth Anoth and Eltekon.

There were six towns and their villages.

⁶⁰ And Kiriath Baal, (that is, Kiriath-Jearim) and Rabbah.

There were two towns and their villages.

⁶¹ These towns were in the desert:

Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, Salt city, and En Gedi.

There were six towns and their villages.

⁶³ But the men of Judah's tribe could not chase the Jebusites out of Jerusalem. As a result, the Jebusites still live there, together with the people of Judah.