Joshua 14–19

The Land Allotted West of the Jordan

14These are the territories that the Israelites^a inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of the Israelites^b gave as an inheritance to them. ²Their inheritance was by lot, just as Yahweh commanded through the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. ³For Moses had given an inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Jordan, but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. ⁴For the descendants^c of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and they did not give a plot of ground to the Levites in the land, only cities to live in, with their pastureland for their flocks and for their goods. ⁵Just as Yahweh commanded Moses, so the Israelites^d did; and they allotted the land.

Caleb Receives Hebron

⁶Then the descendants^e of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal; and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know the word that Yahweh said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea concerning you and me. ⁷I was forty years old^f when Moses Yahweh’s servant sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I returned with an honest report.^{g 8}My companions who went up with me made the hearts^h of the people melt, but I remained true to Yahweh my God. ⁹And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land that your foot has trodden on will be an inheritance to you and your sons forever, because you remained true to Yahweh my God.’ ¹⁰So then, look, Yahweh has kept me alive just as he promised these forty-five years,ⁱ from the time that Yahweh spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered^j in the wilderness. Now look, today I am eighty-five years old.^{k 11}Today I am still strong, just as on the day that Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so now also is my strength for war and for daily activities.^{l 12}So now give me this hill country that Yahweh spoke of on that day, for you heard on that day that the Anakites were there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps Yahweh is with me, and I will drive them out just as Yahweh promised.”^m

¹³And Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. ¹⁴Thus Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he remained true to Yahweh the God of Israel. ¹⁵And the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath Arba;ⁿ Arba was the greatest person among the Anakites. And the land rested from war.

The Allotment of Judah

15The allotment for the tribe of the descendants^a of Judah according to their families reached to the border of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin, to the far south.^{b 2}Their southern border was from the end of the Salt Sea,^c from the bay facing southward; ³it continues^d to the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, passes along to Zin, it goes up south of Kadesh Barnea, passes along Hezron, goes up to Addar, and makes a turn to Karka; ⁴it passes on^e to Azmon, continues^f by the wadi of Egypt, and it ends^g at the sea. This will be your southern border. ⁵The eastern border is the Salt Sea^h up to the mouthⁱ of the Jordan. The border on the northern side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth^j of the Jordan; ⁶the border goes up to Beth-hoglah and passes along north of Beth Arabah; and the border goes up the stone of Bohan son of Reuben; ⁷and the border goes up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and to the north, turning to Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, which is south of the wadi;^k and the border passes on to the waters of En Shemesh, and it ends at En Rogel. ⁸Then the border goes up by the Valley of Ben Hinnom^l to the slope of the Jebusites^m from the south (that is, Jerusalem); and the border goes up to the top of the mountain that lies opposite the valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the valley of Rephaim to the north; ⁹then the border turns from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and continuesⁿ from there to the cities of Mount Ephron; the border then turns to Baalah (that is, Kiriath Jearim); ¹⁰and the border goes around from Baalah to the west, to Mount Seir, and passes on to the slope of Mount Jearim from the north (that is, Kesalon), and goes down to Beth Shemesh, and passes along by Timnah. ¹¹The border continues^o to the slope of Ekron to the north, then bends around to Shikkeron, it passes on to Mount Baalah and continues to Jabneel; and the border ends^p at the sea. ¹²And the western border is to the Great Sea^q and its coast. This is the border surrounding the descendants^r of Judah according to their families.

¹³According to the commandment of Yahweh to Joshua,^s he gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh a plot of ground among the descendants^t of Judah, Kiriath Arba,^u which is Hebron (Arba was Anak’s father). ¹⁴Caleb drove out from there three of Anak’s sons, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the descendants^v of Anak. ¹⁵And from there he went up against the inhabitants of Debir (the former name of Debir was Kiriath Sepher). ¹⁶And Caleb said, “Whoever attacks Kiriath Sepher and captures it, I will give to him my daughter Acsah as a wife.” ¹⁷Othniel son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, captured it, and he gave to him Acsah his daughter as a wife. ¹⁸When she came to him she urged him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you want?”^{w 19}And she said to him, “Give to me a gift;^x you have given me the land of the Negev,^y and you must give to me a spring of water.” And he gave to her the upper and lower spring.^z

The Cities of Judah

²⁰This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants^a of Judah according to their families: ²¹the cities belonging to the tribe of the descendants^b of Judah to the far south, to the border of Edom to the south, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²²Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, ²⁸Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, ³¹Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³²Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon; in all, twenty-nine cities and their villages.

³³In the Shephelah:^c Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities and their villages.

³⁷Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, ³⁸Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, ³⁹Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰Cabbon, Lahma, Kitlish, ⁴¹Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities and their villages.

⁴²Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³Jephthah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴Keilah, Aczib, and Mareshah; nine cities and their villages.

⁴⁵Ekron, its towns and villages; ⁴⁶from Ekron to the sea, and all that were near^d Ashdod and their villages.

⁴⁷Ashdod, its towns and villages; Gaza, its towns and villages, up to the wadi^e of Egypt and the Great Sea^f and its coast.^g

⁴⁸And in the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹Dannah, Kiriath Sanna (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities and their villages.

⁵²Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴Humtah, Kiriath Arba^h (that is, Hebron), and Zior; nine cities and their villages.

⁵⁵Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities and their villages.

⁵⁸Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon; six cities and their villages.

⁶⁰Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah; two cities and their villages.

⁶¹In the wilderness: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶²Nibshan, the city of Salt, and En Gedi; six cities and their villages.

⁶³But the descendantsⁱ of Judah were unable to drive out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live with the descendants^j of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.

The Allotment of Ephraim and Manasseh

16The allotment of the descendants^a of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, at the waters of Jericho to the east, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel; ²it continues from Bethel to Luz, and it passes along to the territory of the Arkites^b at Ataroth. ³Then it goes down, to the west, to the territory of the Japhletites,^c up to the territory of Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, and it ends^d at the sea.

⁴And the descendants^e of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. ⁵This was the border of the descendants^f of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance to the east was Ataroth Addar, up to Upper Beth-horon. ⁶The border continues to the sea; from Micmethath to the north, the border turns to the east to Taanath Shiloh, and it passes along it from the east to Janoah. ⁷Then it goes down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah; it touches Jericho and ends at the Jordan; ⁸from Tappuah the border goes to the west, to the wadi^g of Kanah, and it ends^h at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendantsⁱ of Ephraim according to their families, ⁹with the cities that were set apart for the descendants^j of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the descendants^k of Manasseh, all the cities and their villages. ¹⁰But they did not drive out the Canananites^l who were dwelling in Gezer, and so the Canaanites^m live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, but they became forced laborers.

The Allotment of the Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh

17Then the allotment was made for the tribe of Manasseh, because he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Makir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted^a Gilead and Bashan, because he was a warrior.^{b 2}An allotment was made for the remaining descendants^c of Manasseh, according to their families: For the children of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida—these were the male descendants^d of Manasseh son of Joseph according to their…