Joshua 15–17

The Territory Assigned to Judah

15The families of the tribe of Judah received a part of the land described as follows: The land reached south to the southernmost point of the wilderness of Zin, at the border of Edom. ²This southern border ran from the south end of the Dead Sea, ³went southwards from the Akrabbim Pass and on to Zin. It ran south of Kadesh Barnea, past Hezron and up to Addar, turned towards Karka, ⁴went on to Azmon, and followed the stream on the border of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, where the border ended. That was the southern border of Judah.

⁵The eastern border was the Dead Sea, all the way up to the inlet where the Jordan empties into it.

The northern border began there, ⁶extended up to Beth Hoglah, and went north of the ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley. Then it went up to the Stone of Bohan (Bohan was a son of Reuben), ⁷from Trouble Valley up to Debir, and then turned north towards Gilgal, which faces Adummim Pass on the south side of the valley. It then went on to the springs of Enshemesh, out to Enrogel, ⁸and up through the Valley of Hinnom on the south side of the hill where the Jebusite city of Jerusalem was located. The border then proceeded up to the top of the hill on the west side of the Valley of Hinnom, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. ⁹From there it went to the Springs of Nephtoah and out to the cities near Mount Ephron. There it turned towards Baalah (or Kiriath Jearim), ¹⁰where it circled west of Baalah towards the hill country of Edom, went on the north side of Mount Jearim (or Chesalon), down to Beth Shemesh, and on past Timnah. ¹¹The border then went out to the hill north of Ekron, turned towards Shikkeron, past Mount Baalah, and on to Jamnia. It ended at the Mediterranean Sea, ¹²which formed the western border. Within these borders lived the people of the families of Judah.

Caleb Conquers Hebron and Debir

^13*As the Lord commanded Joshua, part of the territory of Judah was given to Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah. He received Hebron, the city belonging to Arba, father of Anak. ^14*Caleb drove the descendants of Anak out of the city—the clans of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. ¹⁵From there he went to attack the people living in Debir. (This city used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) ¹⁶Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage to the man who succeeds in capturing Kiriath Sepher.” ¹⁷Othniel, the son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz, captured the city, so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. ¹⁸On the wedding day Othniel urged herⁱ to ask her father for a field. She got down from her donkey, and Caleb asked her what she wanted. ¹⁹She answered, “I want some pools of water. The land you have given me is in the dry country.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

The Cities of Judah

²⁰This is the land that the families of the tribe of Judah received as their possession. ²¹The cities farthest south that belonged to them, those that were near the border of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²²Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (or Hazor), ²⁶Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Bethpelet, ²⁸Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³²Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon: 29 cities in all, along with the towns round them.

³³The cities in the foothills were Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴Zanoah, Engannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim: fourteen cities, along with the towns round them.

³⁷There were also Zenan, Hadashah, Migdalgad, ³⁸Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, ³⁹Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, ⁴¹Gederoth, Bethdagon, Naamah, and Makkedah: sixteen cities, along with the towns round them.

⁴²There were also Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities, along with the towns round them.

⁴⁵There was Ekron with its towns and villages, ⁴⁶and all the cities and towns near Ashdod, from Ekron to the Mediterranean Sea. ⁴⁷There were Ashdod and Gaza, with their towns and villages, reaching to the stream on the border of Egypt and the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

⁴⁸In the hill country there were Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹Dannah, Kiriath Sepher (or Debir), ⁵⁰Anab, Eshtemoa, Anim, ⁵¹Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities, along with the towns round them.

⁵²There were Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴Humtah, Hebron, and Zior: nine cities, along with the towns round them.

⁵⁵There were Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities, along with the towns round them.

⁵⁸There were Halhul, Bethzur, Gedor, ⁵⁹Maarath, Bethanoth, and Eltekon: six cities, along with the towns round them. ⁶⁰There were Kiriath Baal (or Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah: two cities, along with the towns round them.

⁶¹In the desert there were Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶²Nibshan, the city of Salt, and Engedi: six cities, along with the towns round them.

^63*But the people of Judah were not able to drive out the Jebusites, who lived in Jerusalem. The Jebusites still live there with the people of Judah.

The Territory Assigned to Ephraim and West Manasseh

16The southern boundary of the land assigned to the descendants of Joseph started from the Jordan near Jericho, at a point east of the springs of Jericho, and went into the desert. It went from Jericho up into the hill country as far as Bethel. ²From Bethel it went to Luz, passing on to Ataroth Addar, where the Archites lived. ³It then went west to the area of the Japhletites, as far as the area of Lower Beth Horon. It went on from there to Gezer and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

⁴The descendants of Joseph, the tribes of Ephraim and West Manasseh, received this land as their possession.

Ephraim

⁵This was the territory of the Ephraimite families: their border ran from Ataroth Addar eastwards to Upper Beth Horon, ⁶and from there to the Mediterranean Sea. Michmethath was on their north. East of there the border bent towards Taanath Shiloh and went past it on the east to Janoah.

⁷Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and Naarah, reaching Jericho and ending at the Jordan. ⁸The border went west from Tappuah to the stream of Kanah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This was the land given to the families of the tribe of Ephraim as their possession, ⁹along with some towns and villages that were within the borders of Manasseh, but given to the Ephraimites. ^10*But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived among the Ephraimites to this day, but they have been forced to work as slaves.

West Manasseh

17A part of the land west of the Jordan was assigned to some of the families descended from Joseph’s elder son Manasseh. Machir, the father of Gilead, was Manasseh’s eldest son and a military hero, so Gilead and Bashan, east of the Jordan, were assigned to him. ²Land west of the Jordan was assigned to the rest of the families of Manasseh: Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and they were heads of families. ³Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, did not have any sons, but only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ^4*They went to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua son of Nun and to the leaders, and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us, as well as our male relatives, a part of the land to possess.” So, as the Lord had commanded, they were given land along with their male relatives. ⁵That is why Manasseh received ten shares in addition to Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan, ⁶since his female descendants as well as his male descendants were assigned land. The land of Gilead was assigned to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh. ⁷The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to Michmethath, east of Shechem. The border then went south to include the people of Entappuah. ⁸The land round Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah, on the border, belonged to the descendants of Ephraim. ⁹The border then went down to the stream of Kanah. The cities south of the stream belonged to Ephraim, even though they were in the territory of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh proceeded along the north side of the stream and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. ¹⁰Ephraim was to the south, and Manasseh was to the north, with the Mediterranean Sea as their western border. Asher was to the north-west, and Issachar to the north-east. ¹¹Within the territories of Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed Beth Shan and Ibleam, along with their surrounding towns, as well as Dor (the one on the coast),^j Endor, Taanach, Megiddo, and their surrounding towns. ^12*The people of Manasseh, however, were not able to drive out the people living in those cities, so the Canaanites continued to live there. ^13*Even when the Israelites became stronger, they did not drive out all the Canaanites, but they did force them to work for them.

Ephraim and West Manasseh Request More Land

¹⁴The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one part of the land to possess as our own? There are very many of us because the Lord has blessed us.”

¹⁵Joshua answered, “If there are so many of you and the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, then go into the forests and clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.”

¹⁶They replied, “The hill country is not big enough for us, but the Canaanites in the plains have iron chariots, both those who live in Beth Shan and its surrounding towns and those who live in the Valley of Jezreel.”

¹⁷Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and West Manasseh, “There are indeed many of you, and you are very powerful. You shall have more than one share. ¹⁸The hill country…