Old/New Testament

Land for Ephraim and Manasseh

16 This is the land the tribe of Joseph received. It started at the Jordan River near Jericho. It continued to the waters of Jericho, just east of the city. The border went up from Jericho to the mountains of Bethel. ² Then it continued from Bethel (also called Luz) to the Arkite border at Ataroth. ³ From there it went west to the border of the Japhletites. It continued to the area of the Lower Beth Horon. Then it went to Gezer and ended at the sea.

⁴ So Manasseh and Ephraim received their land. They were sons of Joseph.

⁵ This is the land that was given to the family groups of Ephraim: Their border started at Ataroth Addar in the east. It went to Upper Beth Horon ⁶ and then to the sea. From Micmethath it turned eastward toward Taanath Shiloh and continued eastward to Janoah. ⁷ Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah. It continued until it touched Jericho and stopped at the Jordan River. ⁸ The border went from Tappuah west to Kanah Ravine and went to the sea. This is all the land that was given to the Ephraimites. Each family group in the tribe got a part of this land. ⁹ Many of the border towns of Ephraim were actually within Manasseh’s borders. But the people of Ephraim got those towns and their fields. ¹⁰ The Ephraimites could not force the Canaanites to leave Gezer. So the Canaanites still live among the Ephraimites today. But they became slaves of the Ephraimites.

17 Then land was given to the tribe of Manasseh. He was Joseph’s first son. Manasseh’s first son was Makir, the father of Gilead. Makir was a great soldier. So the lands of Gilead and Bashan were given to his family. ² Land was also given to the other family groups of Manasseh. They were Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida. These were all the other sons of Manasseh son of Joseph.

³ Zelophehad was the son of Hepher. Hepher was the son of Gilead. Gilead was the son of Makir, and Makir was the son of Manasseh. But Zelophehad had no sons. He had five daughters. The daughters were named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. ⁴ The daughters went to Eleazar the priest. They also went to Joshua son of Nun and all the leaders. They said, “The Lord told Moses to give us land like the men received.” So Eleazar obeyed the Lord and gave the daughters some land. These daughters received land just as the brothers of their father did. ⁵ So the tribe of Manasseh had ten sections of land west of the Jordan River. They also had two more sections, Gilead and Bashan. These sections were on the other side of the Jordan River. ⁶ The daughters of Manasseh got land just as the sons did. Gilead was given to the rest of the families of Manasseh.

⁷ The lands of Manasseh were in the area between Asher and Micmethath. This is near Shechem. The border went south to the En Tappuah area. ⁸ The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh. But the town of Tappuah did not. It was along the border of Manasseh’s land and belonged to the sons of Ephraim. ⁹ The border of Manasseh continued south to Kanah Ravine. The cities in this area of Manasseh belonged to Ephraim. Manasseh’s border was on the north side of the ravine and went to the sea. ¹⁰ The land to the south belonged to Ephraim. And the land to the north belonged to Manasseh. The Mediterranean Sea was the western border. The border touched Asher’s land on the north. And it touched Issachar’s land on the east.

¹¹ In the areas of Issachar and Asher, the people of Manasseh owned Beth Shan and its small towns. They also owned Ibleam and its small towns. And they owned all the people who lived in Dor and its small towns. They owned the people in Naphoth Dor and its small towns. And they owned all the people who lived in Taanach and its small towns. Manasseh also owned the people in Megiddo and its small towns. ¹² Manasseh was not able to defeat those cities. So the Canaanites continued to live there. ¹³ But the Israelites grew strong. When this happened, they forced the Canaanites to work for them. But they did not force them to leave the land.

¹⁴ The people from the tribes of Joseph spoke to Joshua. They said, “You gave us only one area of land. But we are many people. Why did you give us only one part of all the land the Lord gave his people?”

¹⁵ And Joshua answered them, “You have many people. Go up to the forest. Make a place for yourselves to live there. This is in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaites. The mountain country of Ephraim is too small for you.”

¹⁶ The people of Joseph said, “It is true. The mountain country of Ephraim is not enough for us. But the land where the Canaanites live is dangerous. They are skilled fighters. They have powerful weapons in Beth Shan and all the small towns in that area. And they are also in the Valley of Jezreel.”

¹⁷ Then Joshua spoke to the people of Joseph—to Ephraim and to Manasseh. He said, “But there are many of you. And you have great power. You should be given more than one share of land. ¹⁸ You also will have the mountain country. It is a forest. But you can cut down the trees and make it a good place to live. And you will own all of it. You will force the Canaanites to leave the land. You can defeat them even though they have powerful weapons and are strong.”

The Rest of the Land Divided

18 All of the Israelites gathered together at Shiloh. There they set up the Meeting Tent. The Israelites controlled that country. They had defeated all the enemies there. ² But there were still seven tribes of Israel that had not yet received the land God had promised them.

³ So Joshua said to the Israelites: “Why do you wait so long to take your land? The Lord, the God of your fathers, has given this land to you. ⁴ So each tribe should choose three men. I will send them out to study the land. They will describe in writing the land their tribe wants as its share. Then they will come back to me. ⁵ They will divide the land into seven parts. The people of Judah will keep their land in the south. The people of Joseph will keep their land in the north. ⁶ But you should divide the land into seven parts. Describe the seven parts in writing. Then bring what you have written to me. We will let the Lord our God decide which tribe will get which land. ⁷ But the Levites do not get any part of these lands. They are priests, and their work is to serve the Lord. Gad, Reuben and the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh have received the land promised to them. They are on the east side of the Jordan River. Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave it to them.”

⁸ So the men who were chosen started into the land. Their plan was to describe it in writing and take it back to Joshua. Joshua told them, “Go and study the land. Describe it in writing. Then come back to me. Then I will ask the Lord to choose the land you should get. We will do this here in Shiloh.” ⁹ So the men left and went into the land. They studied it and described it in writing for Joshua. They studied each town. They saw that the land had seven parts. They described it in writing and then came back to Joshua. He was still at the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ Then Joshua asked the Lord to help. He threw lots to choose the lands that should be given to each tribe.

Land for Benjamin

¹¹ The first part of the land was given to the tribe of Benjamin. Each family group in the tribe of Benjamin received some land. They were given the land between the land of Judah and the land of Joseph. This is the land chosen for Benjamin:

¹² The northern border started at the Jordan River. It went along the northern edge of Jericho. Then it went west into the mountains. That boundary continued until it was just east of Beth Aven. ¹³ From there it went south to Luz (also called Bethel). Then it went down to Ataroth Addar. Ataroth Addar is on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.

¹⁴ There is a hill to the south of Beth Horon. At this hill the border turned and went south near the western side of the hill. It went to Kiriath Baal (also called Kiriath Jearim). This is a town where people of Judah lived. It was the western border.

¹⁵ The southern border started near Kiriath Jearim and went to the Waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then it went down to the bottom of the hill. This was near the Valley of Ben Hinnom. It was the north side of the Valley of Rephaim. The border continued down the Hinnom Valley just south of the Jebusite city to En Rogel. ¹⁷ There it turned north and went to En Shemesh. It continued to Geliloth near the Adummim Pass in the mountains. Then it went down to the great Stone of Bohan. Bohan was the son of Reuben. ¹⁸ The border continued to the northern part of Beth Arabah. Then it went down into the Jordan Valley. ¹⁹ From there it went to the northern part of Beth Hoglah. It ended at the north shore of the Dead Sea. This is where the Jordan River flows into the sea. This was the southern border.

²⁰ The Jordan River was the border on the eastern side. So this was the land given to the family groups of Benjamin. These were the borders on all sides.

²¹ Each family group of Benjamin received some of this land. And these are the cities they owned: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, ²² Beth Arabah, Zemaraim and Bethel; ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Kephar Ammoni, Ophni and Geba. There were 12 towns and all their villages.

²⁵ The tribe of Benjamin also owned Gibeon, Ramah and Beeroth. ²⁶ They owned Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel and Taralah. ²⁸ They also owned Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath. There were 14 towns and all their villages. All these areas are the lands the tribe of Benjamin was given.

The Birth of Jesus

2 At that time, Augustus Caesar sent an order to all people in the countries that were under Roman rule. The order said that they must list their names in a register. ² This was the first registration^[a] taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. ³ And everyone went to their own towns to be registered.

⁴ So Joseph left Nazareth, a town in Galilee. He went to the town of Bethlehem in Judea. This town was known as the town of David. Joseph went there because he was from the family of David. ⁵ Joseph registered with Mary because she was engaged to marry him. (Mary was now pregnant.) ⁶ While Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, the time came for her to have the baby. ⁷ She gave birth to her first son. There were no rooms left in the inn. So she wrapped the baby with cloths and laid him in a box where animals are fed.

Some Shepherds Hear About Jesus

⁸ That night, some shepherds were in the fields nearby watching their sheep. ⁹ An angel of the Lord stood before them. The glory of the Lord was shining around them, and suddenly they became very frightened. ¹⁰ The angel said to them, “Don’t be afraid, because I am bringing you some good news. It will be a joy to all the people. ¹¹ Today your Savior was born in David’s town. He is Christ, the Lord. ¹² This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a feeding box.”

¹³ Then a very large group of angels from heaven joined the first angel. All the angels were praising God, saying:

¹⁵ Then the angels left the shepherds and went back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened. We will see this thing the Lord told us about.”

¹⁶ So the shepherds went quickly and found Mary and Joseph. ¹⁷ And the shepherds saw the baby lying in a feeding box. Then they told what the angels had said about this child. ¹⁸ Everyone was amazed when they heard what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ Mary hid these things in her heart; she continued to think about them. ²⁰ Then the shepherds went back to their sheep, praising God and thanking him for everything that they had seen and heard. It was just as the angel had told them.

²¹ When the baby was eight days old, he was circumcised, and he was named Jesus. This name had been given by the angel before the baby began to grow inside Mary.

Jesus Is Presented in the Temple

²² The time came for Mary and Joseph to do what the law of Moses taught about being made pure.^[c] They took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. ²³ It is written in the law of the Lord: “Give every firstborn male to the Lord.”^{[d] 24} Mary and Joseph also went to offer a sacrifice, as the law of the Lord says: “You must sacrifice two doves or two young pigeons.”^[e]