Joshua 18–19

The Division of the Rest of the Land

18After they had conquered the land, the entire community of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of the Lord’s presence. ²There were still seven tribes of the people of Israel who had not yet been assigned their share of the land. ³So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long are you going to wait before you go in and take the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? ⁴Let me have three men from each tribe. I will send them out over the whole country to map out the territory that they would like to have as their possession. Then they are to come back to me. ⁵The land will be divided among them in seven parts; Judah will stay in its territory in the south, and Joseph in its territory in the north. ⁶Write down a description of these seven divisions and bring it to me. Then I will draw lots^k to consult the Lord our God for you. ⁷The Levites, however, will not receive a share of the land with the rest of you, because their share is to serve as the Lord’s priests. And of course, the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and East Manasseh have already received their land east of the Jordan, which Moses, the Lord’s servant, gave to them.”

⁸The men went on their way to map out the land after Joshua had given them these instructions: “Go all over the land and map it out, and come back to me. And then here in Shiloh I will consult the Lord for you by drawing lots.” ⁹So the men went all over the land and set down in writing how they divided it into seven parts, making a list of the towns. Then they went back to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰Joshua drew lots to consult the Lord for them, and assigned each of the remaining tribes of Israel a certain part of the land.

The Territory Assigned to Benjamin

¹¹The territory belonging to the families of the tribe of Benjamin was the first to be assigned. Their land lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph. ¹²On the north their border began at the Jordan and then went up the slope north of Jericho and westwards through the hill country as far as the desert of Bethaven. ¹³The border then went to the slope on the south side of Luz (also called Bethel), then down to Ataroth Addar, on the mountain south of Lower Beth Horon. ¹⁴The border then went in another direction, turning south from the western side of this mountain and going to Kiriath Baal (or Kiriath Jearim), which belongs to the tribe of Judah. This was the western border. ¹⁵The southern border started on the edge of Kiriath Jearim and went^l to the Springs of Nephtoah. ¹⁶It then went down to the foot of the mountain that overlooks the Valley of Hinnom, at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim. It then went south through the Valley of Hinnom, south of the Jebusite ridge, towards Enrogel. ¹⁷It then turned north to Enshemesh and then on to Geliloth, opposite Adummim Pass. The border then went down to the Stone of Bohan (Bohan was a son of Reuben) ¹⁸and passed north of the ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley. It then went down into the valley, ¹⁹passing north of the ridge of Beth Hoglah, and ended at the northern inlet on the Dead Sea, where the River Jordan empties into it. This was the southern border. ²⁰The Jordan was the eastern border. These were the borders of the land which the families of the tribe of Benjamin received as their possession.

²¹The cities belonging to the families of the tribe of Benjamin were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, ²²Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴Chepharammoni, Ophni, and Geba: twelve cities, along with the towns round them. ²⁵There were also Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶Mizpah, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (or Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath Jearim: fourteen cities, along with the towns round them. This is the land which the families of the tribe of Benjamin received as their possession.

The Territory Assigned to Simeon

19The second assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Simeon. Its territory extended into the land assigned to the tribe of Judah. ^2*It included Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, ^3*Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, ^4*Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ^5*Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, ^6*Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen: thirteen cities, along with the towns round them.

^7*There were also Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan: four cities, along with the towns round them. ^8*This included all the towns round these cities as far as Baalath Beer (or Ramah), in the south. This was the land which the families of the tribe of Simeon received as their possession. ⁹Since Judah’s assignment was larger than was needed, part of its territory was given to the tribe of Simeon.

The Territory Assigned to Zebulun

¹⁰The third assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Zebulun. The land which they received reached as far as Sarid. ¹¹From there the border went west to Mareal, touching Dabbesheth and the stream east of Jokneam. ¹²On the other side of Sarid it went east to the border of Chisloth Tabor, then to Daberath and up to Japhia. ¹³It continued east from there to Gath Hepher and Ethkazin, turning in the direction of Neah on the way to Rimmon. ¹⁴On the north the border turned towards Hannathon, ending at the Valley of Iphtahel. ¹⁵It included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities, along with the towns round them. ¹⁶These cities and their towns were in the land which the families of the tribe of Zebulun received as their possession.

The Territory Assigned to Issachar

¹⁷The fourth assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Issachar. ¹⁸Its area included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹Remeth, Engannim, Enhaddah, and Bethpazzez. ²²The border also touched Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh, ending at the Jordan. It included sixteen cities along with the towns round them. ²³These cities and their towns were in the land which the families of the tribe of Issachar received as their possession.

The Territory Assigned to Asher

²⁴The fifth assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Asher. ²⁵Its area included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ²⁶Allam Melech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west it touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath. ²⁷As it turned east, the border went to Bethdagon, touching Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel on the way north to Bethemek and Neiel. It continued north to Cabul, ²⁸Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Sidon. ²⁹The border then turned to Ramah, reaching the fortified city of Tyre; then it turned to Hosah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. It included Mahalab, Achzib, ³⁰Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob: 22 cities, along with the towns round them. ³¹These cities and their towns were in the land which the families of the tribe of Asher received as their possession.

The Territory Assigned to Naphtali

³²The sixth assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Naphtali. ³³Its border went from Heleph to the oak in Zaanannim, on to Adaminekeb and to Jamnia, as far as Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan. ³⁴There the border turned west to Aznoth Tabor, from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and the Jordan^m on the east. ³⁵The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, ³⁶Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷Kedesh, Edrei, Enhazor, ³⁸Yiron, Migdalel, Horem, Bethanath, and Beth Shemesh: nineteen cities, along with the towns round them. ³⁹These cities and their towns were in the land which the families of the tribe of Naphtali received as their possession.

The Territory Assigned to Dan

⁴⁰The seventh assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Dan. ⁴¹Its area included Zorah, Eshtaol, Irshemesh, ⁴²Shaalbim, Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵Jehud, Beneberak, Gathrimmon, ⁴⁶Mejarkon, and Rakkon, as well as the territory round Joppa. ^47*When the people of Dan lost their land, they went to Laish and attacked it. They captured it, killed its people, and claimed it for themselves. They settled there and changed the name of the city from Laish to Dan, naming it after their ancestor Dan. ⁴⁸These cities and their towns were in the land which the families of the tribe of Dan received as their possession.

The Final Assignment of the Land

⁴⁹When the people of Israel finished dividing up the land, they gave Joshua son of Nun a part of the land as his own. ⁵⁰As the Lord had commanded, they gave him the city he asked for: Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and settled there. ⁵¹Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the families of the tribes of Israel assigned these parts of the land by drawing lotsⁿ to consult the Lord at Shiloh, at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord’s presence. In this way they finished dividing the land.