Chronological

12 These are the kings of the land whom the people of Isra’el defeated and of whose land they took possession, across the Yarden toward the east, from the Arnon Valley to Mount Hermon and all the ‘Aravah eastward:

² Sichon king of the Emori, who lived in Heshbon and ruled the territory that includes ‘Aro‘er, at the edge of the Arnon Valley; the middle of the valley; half of Gil‘ad, to the Yabok River, which forms the border with the people of ‘Amon; ³ the ‘Aravah to Lake Kinneret eastward and to the sea of the ‘Aravah, the Dead Sea, eastward by way of Beit-Yeshimot and on the south under the slopes of Pisgah.

⁴ There was also the territory of ‘Og king of Bashan, who belonged to the remnant of the Refa’im. He lived at ‘Ashtarot and at Edre‘i; ⁵ and he ruled Mount Hermon; Salkhah; all Bashan, to the border with the G’shuri and the Ma‘akhati; and half of Gil‘ad, to its border with Sichon king of Heshbon.

⁶ Moshe the servant of Adonai, with the people of Isra’el, defeated them; and Moshe the servant of Adonai gave it to the Re’uveni, the Gadi and the half-tribe of M’nasheh as their possession.

^7-8 Following are the kings of the land whom Y’hoshua, with the people of Isra’el, defeated in the area west of the Yarden, between Ba‘al-Gad in the L’vanon Valley and the bare mountain that goes up to Se‘ir. Y’hoshua gave this land, inhabited by the Hitti, Emori, Kena‘ani, P’rizi, Hivi and Y’vusi, to the tribes of Isra’el to possess, according to their divisions, in the hills, the Sh’felah, the ‘Aravah, the mountain slopes, the desert and the Negev:

making a total of thirty-one kings.

13 Now Y’hoshua was old; the years had taken their toll. Adonai said to him, “You are old, and the years have taken their toll; but there is yet a great deal of land to be possessed.

² “This is the land that still remains: all the regions of the P’lishtim and all the G’shuri, ³ from the Shichor which fronts Egypt, to the border of ‘Ekron (northward from there the land is considered as belonging to the Kena‘ani) — that is, the territory of the rulers of the P’lishtim in ‘Azah, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gat and ‘Ekron; also the ‘Avim ⁴ to the south; all the land of the Kena‘ani; Me‘arah, which belongs to the Tzidonim, as far as Afek and on to the border with the Emori; ⁵ the land of the Givli; all the L’vanon eastward, from Ba‘al-Gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamat.

⁶ “As for the inhabitants of the hills between the L’vanon and Misrefot-Mayim, that is, all the Tzidonim, I myself will expel them ahead of the people of Isra’el; all you have to do is assign it to Isra’el as an inheritance, as I have ordered you. ⁷ So now, divide this land as an inheritance for the nine tribes and the half-tribe of M’nasheh.”

⁸ With the half-tribe of M’nasheh, the Re’uveni and the Gadi received their inheritance, which Moshe had given them, beyond the Yarden eastward, just as Moshe the servant of Adonai had given them — ⁹ from ‘Aro‘er on the edge of the Arnon Valley, the city in the middle of the valley, all the plateau between Meidva and Divon, ¹⁰ and all the cities of Sichon king of the Emori who ruled in Heshbon to the border with the people of ‘Amon; ¹¹ and Gil‘ad, the territory of the G’shuri and Ma‘akhati, all Mount Hermon, all Bashan as far as Salkhah — ¹² that is, all the kingdom of ‘Og in Bashan, who ruled in ‘Ashtarot and Edre‘i. ‘Og was one of those remaining from the Refa’im, whom Moshe defeated and expelled. ¹³ However, the people of Isra’el expelled neither the G’shuri nor the Ma‘akhati, with the consequence that G’shur and Ma‘akhat have lived among Isra’el to this day.

¹⁴ Only to the tribe of Levi did Moshe give no inheritance; because the offerings made by fire for Adonai the God of Isra’el are its inheritance; as [Adonai] had said to Moshe.

¹⁵ Moshe gave land to the tribe of the descendants of Re’uven by clans. ¹⁶ Their territory included ‘Aro‘er on the edge of the Arnon Valley, the city in the middle of the valley, all the plateau near Meidva, ¹⁷ Heshbon and its villages on the plateau, Divon, Bamot-Ba‘al, Beit-Ba‘al-M‘on, ¹⁸ Yahatz, K’demot, Mefa‘at, ¹⁹ Kiryatayim, Sivmah, Tzeret-Shachar at the top of the valley, ²⁰ Beit-P‘or, the slopes of Pisgah, Beit-Yeshimot, ²¹ all the cities of the plateau — all the kingdom of Sichon king of the Emori, who ruled in Heshbon. Moshe defeated him with the chiefs of Midyan, along with Evi, Rekem, Tzur, Hur and Reva the princes of Sichon who lived in the land. ²² Along with the others the people of Isra’el killed with the sword, they also struck down Bil‘am the son of B‘or, who practiced divination. ²³ The Yarden formed the border for the descendants of Re’uven. This was the inheritance of the descendants of Re’uven by clans, with its cities and villages.

²⁴ Moshe gave land to the tribe of the Gad, to the descendants of Gad by clans. ²⁵ Their territory included Ya‘zer; all the cities of Gil‘ad; half the land of the people of ‘Amon, as far as ‘Aro‘er fronting Rabbah — ²⁶ that is, from Heshbon to Ramot-Mitzpeh and B’tonim; and from Machanayim to the border of Lidvir; ²⁷ while in the valley it included Beit-Haram, Beit-Nimrah, Sukkot and Tzafon — in other words, the rest of the kingdom of Sichon king of Heshbon; with the Yarden to the far end of Lake Kinneret as its border, their territory extended eastward. ²⁸ This is the inheritance of the descendants of Gad by clans, with its cities and villages.

²⁹ Moshe gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of the M’nasheh; it was for the half-tribe of the descendants of M’nasheh by clans. ³⁰ Their territory included Machanayim and all of Bashan — that is, all the kingdom of ‘Og king of Bashan; all the villages of Ya’ir in Bashan, sixty cities; ³¹ half of Gil‘ad; and ‘Ashtarot and Edre‘i, the cities of the kingdom of ‘Og in Bashan. All this was for the descendants of Makhir the son of M’nasheh, or, rather, for half of the descendants of Makhir, by clans.

³² These are the inheritances which Moshe distributed in the plains of Mo’av, beyond the Yarden and Yericho, eastward. ³³ But to the tribe of Levi Moshe gave no inheritance; Adonai the God of Isra’el is their inheritance — as he told them.

14 These are the inheritances which the people of Isra’el took in the land of Kena‘an, which El‘azar the cohen, Y’hoshua the son of Nun and the heads of the ancestral clans of the tribes of the people of Isra’el distributed to them ² by lot for them to inherit, as Adonai ordered through Moshe, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. ³ Moshe had already given the inheritances to the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Yarden; to the L’vi’im he gave no inheritance among them. ⁴ The descendants of Yosef constituted two tribes, M’nasheh and Efrayim; and they gave no portion of the land to the L’vi’im except cities to live in, with the open land surrounding them for their livestock and crops. ⁵ As Adonai had ordered Moshe, so the people of Isra’el did — they divided the land.

⁶ The descendants of Y’hudah approached Y’hoshua in Gilgal, and Kalev the son of Y’funeh the K’nizi said to him, “You know what Adonai told Moshe the man of God about me and you in Kadesh-Barnea. ⁷ I was forty years old when Moshe the servant of Adonai sent me from Kadesh-Barnea to reconnoiter the land, and I brought back to him an honest report. ⁸ My brothers who went up with me discouraged the people, but I followed Adonai my God completely. ⁹ On that day Moshe swore, ‘Surely the land where your foot has been will be the inheritance for you and your descendants forever, because you have followed Adonai my God completely.’ ¹⁰ Now, look: Adonai has kept me alive these forty-five years, as he said he would, from the time Adonai said this to Moshe, when Isra’el was going through the desert. Today I am eighty-five years old, ¹¹ but I am as strong today as on the day Moshe sent me — I’m as strong now as I was then, whether for war or simply for going here and there. ¹² Therefore, give me this hill, the one Adonai spoke about on that day; for on that day you heard how the ‘Anakim were there with great, fortified cities; perhaps Adonai will be with me, and I will drive them away, as Adonai said.”

¹³ Y’hoshua blessed him and gave Hevron to Kalev the son of Y’funeh as his inheritance. ¹⁴ So Hevron became the inheritance of Kalev the son of Y’funeh the K’nizi, as it is to this day; because he followed Adonai the God of Isra’el completely. ¹⁵ (Hevron was formerly called Kiryat-Arba; this Arba was the greatest man among the ‘Anakim.) Then the land had rest from war.

15 The territory chosen by lot for the tribe of the descendants of Y’hudah according to their families extended to the border of Edom in the Tzin Desert, toward the Negev in the far south.

² Their southern border began at the far shore of the Dead Sea, from the bay facing southward, ³ and went out south of the Scorpion Ascent, passed toward Tzin, went up south of Kadesh-Barnea, passed Hetzron, went up toward Adar, turned toward Karka, ⁴ passed toward ‘Atzmon, and went out at the Vadi of Egypt, with the border ending at the sea; this will be your southern border.

⁵ The eastern border was the Dead Sea to where the Yarden entered it.

The northern border began at the bay of the sea at the end of the Yarden; ⁶ then the border went up to Beit-Hoglah and passed north of Beit-‘Aravah; next the border went up to the Stone of Bohan the son of Re’uven; ⁷ then the border went up to D’vir from the Akhor Valley, then northward facing Gilgal (that is, across from Ma‘alei-Adumim, which is on the south side of the vadi); next the border passed to the ‘Ein-Shemesh Spring and went out at ‘Ein-Rogel. ⁸ Then the border went up the Ben-Hinnom Valley to the south side of the Y’vusi (that is, Yerushalayim), and the border continued up to the top of the hill in front of the Hinnom Valley on the west (which is also at the northernmost end of the Refa’im Valley) ⁹ From this hilltop the border was drawn to the source of the Neftoach Spring and continued out to the cities of Mount ‘Efron; next the border was drawn to Ba‘alah (that is, Kiryat-Ye‘arim). ¹⁰ Then the border turned from Ba‘al westward to Mount Se‘ir, passed the spur of Mount Ye‘arim (also called K’salon) on the north, went down to Beit-Shemesh and passed Timnah. ¹¹ Next the border went out toward the side of ‘Ekron northward; and finally, the border was drawn to Shikron, passed Mount Ba‘alah, and went out at Yavne’el, with the border ending at the sea.

¹² As for the west border, the Great Sea was its border. These were the borders of the territory of the descendants of Y’hudah, by clans.

¹³ To Kalev the son of Y’funeh he gave a portion with the descendants of Y’hudah, as Adonai had ordered Y’hoshua, namely, Kiryat-Arba (Arba was the father of the ‘Anak), also called Hevron. ¹⁴ Kalev expelled from there three descendants of ‘Anak — Sheshai, Achiman and Talmai, children of ‘Anak. ¹⁵ From there he went up to fight the inhabitants of D’vir (D’vir was formerly called Kiryat-Sefer). ¹⁶ Kalev said, “To whoever overpowers Kiryat-Sefer and captures it I will give my daughter Akhsah as his wife.” ¹⁷ ‘Otni’el the son of K’naz, Kalev’s brother, captured it; so he gave him ‘Akhsah his daughter as his wife. ¹⁸ After becoming his wife, she persuaded him to ask her father to give them a field; when she got off her donkey, Kalev asked her, “What do you want?” ¹⁹ She said to him: “Give me a blessing: since you gave me land in the Negev, also give me sources of water.” So Kalev gave her the Upper Springs and the Lower Springs.

²⁰ This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Y’hudah, by clans.

²¹ The cities at the outer part of the tribe of Y’hudah toward the border with Edom in the south were: Kavtze’el, ‘Eder, Yagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, ‘Ad‘adah, ²³ Kedesh, Hatzor, Yitnan, ²⁴ Zif, Telem, Be‘alot, ²⁵ Hatzor, Hadatah, K’riot, Hetzron (which is Hatzor), ²⁶ Amam, Sh’ma, Moladah, ²⁷ Hatzar-Gadah, Heshmon, Beit-Pelet, ²⁸ Hatzar-Shu‘al, Be’er-Sheva, Bizyot-Yah, ²⁹ Ba‘alah, ‘Iyim, ‘Etzem, ³⁰ El-Tolad, K’sil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmanah, Sansanah, ³² L’va’ot, Shilchim, ‘Ayin and Rimmon — twenty-nine cities in all, together with their villages.

³³ In the Sh’felah: Eshta’ol, Tzor‘ah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoach, ‘Ein-Ganim, Tapuach, ‘Enam, ³⁵ Yarmut, ‘Adulam, Sokhoh, ‘Azekah, ³⁶ Sh’arim, ‘Aditayim, G’derah and G’derotayim — fourteen cities, together with their villages. ³⁷ Tz’nan, Hadashah, Migdal-Gad, ³⁸ Dil‘an, Mitzpeh, Yokte’el, ³⁹ Lakhish, Bozkat, ‘Eglon, ⁴⁰ Kabon, Lachmas, Kitlish, ⁴¹ G’derot, Beit-Dagon, Na‘amah and Makkedah — sixteen cities, together with their villages. ⁴² Livnah, ‘Eter, ‘Ashan, ⁴³ Yiftach, Ashnah, N’tziv, ⁴⁴ Ke‘ilah, Akhziv and Mareshah — nine cities, together with their villages. ⁴⁵ ‘Ekron, with its towns and villages — ⁴⁶ from ‘Ekron to the sea; all those near Ashdod, with their villages; ⁴⁷ Ashdod, with its towns and villages; ‘Azah, with its towns and villages, to the Vadi of Egypt, with the Great Sea as its border.

⁴⁸ In the hills: Shamir, Yatir, Sokhoh, ⁴⁹ Danah, Kiryat-Sanna (that is, D’vir), ⁵⁰ ‘Anav, Esht’moh, ‘Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon and Giloh — eleven cities, together with their villages. ⁵² Arav, Dumah, Esh’an, ⁵³ Yanum, Beit-Tapuach, Afekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiryat-Arba (that is, Hevron) and Tzi‘or — nine cities, together with their villages. ⁵⁵ Ma‘on, Karmel, Zif, Yutah, ⁵⁶ Yizre‘el, Yokde‘am, Zanoach, ⁵⁷ Kayin, Giv‘ah and Timnah — ten cities, together with their villages. ⁵⁸ Halchul, Beit-Tzur, G’dor, ⁵⁹ Ma‘arat, Beit-‘Anot, Elt’kon — six cities, together with their villages. ⁶⁰ Kiryat-Ba‘al (that is, Kiryat-Ye‘arim) and Rabbah — two cities, together with their villages.

⁶¹ In the desert: Beit-‘Aravah, Middin, S’khakhah, ⁶² Nivshan, ‘Ir-Hamelach and ‘Ein-Gedi — six cities, together with their villages.

⁶³ As for the Y’vusi, who lived in Yerushalayim, the descendants of Y’hudah could not drive them out; so the Y’vusi live with the descendants of Y’hudah in Yerushalayim to this day.