Joshua 19–21

The Allotment of Simeon

19The second allotment fell^a for Simeon, for the tribe of the descendants^b of Simeon, according to their families. And their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the descendants^c of Judah. ²And they had as their inheritance Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, ³Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, ⁶Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages. ⁷Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages, ⁸and all the villages that were around these towns up to Baalat-Beor, Ramath of the Negev.^d This was the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants^e of Simeon according to their families. ⁹Part of the portion allotted to the descendants^f of Judah became the inheritance of the descendants^g of Simeon because the portion for the descendants^h of Judah was too large for them,ⁱ so the descendants^j of Simeon inherited from their inheritance.

The Allotment of Zebulun

¹⁰The third allotment came up for the descendants^k of Zebulun according to their families. The border of their inheritance went up to Sarid. ¹¹Their border goes up to the west, to Maralah; it touches^l Dabbesheth, then the wadi^m that is opposite Jokneam. ¹²It turns from Sarid to the east to the sunrise, to the border of Kislot-Tabor; it continues to Daberath and goes up to Japhia. ¹³From there it passes along to the east toward the sunrise, to Gath Hepher and to Eth Kazin, and continuing to Rimmon, it turns to Neah; ¹⁴it changes direction from the north of Hannathon, and it endsⁿ at the valley of Yiptah-El; ¹⁵Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem; twelve cities and their villages. ¹⁶This is the inheritance of the descendants^o of Zebulun according to their families, these cities and their villages.

The Allotment of Issachar

¹⁷The fourth allotment fell^p for Issachar, for the descendants^q of Issachar, according to their families. ¹⁸Their border went to Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez; ²²and the border touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh. Its border ends^r at the Jordan; sixteen cities and their villages. ²³This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants^s of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages.

The Allotment of Asher

²⁴The fifth allotment fell^t for the tribe of the descendants^u of Asher according to their families. ²⁵Their border was Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, ²⁶Allamelech, Amad, and Mishal; it touches Carmel to the west, and Shihor-Libnat. ²⁷Then it turns eastward^v to Beth-dagon and touches Zebulun and the valley of Yiptah-El to the north^w to Beth Emeck and Neiel; it continues to Cabul from the north, ²⁸and Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah up to Great Sidon; ²⁹then the border turns to Ramah, and up to the fortified city of Tyre, where the border turns to Hosah; it ends^x at the sea, from Hebel to Aczib. ³⁰Included were Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob; twenty-two cities and their villages. ³¹This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants^y of Asher according to their families, these cities and their villages.

The Allotment of Naphtali

³²The sixth allotment fell^z for the children of Naphtali, for the children of Naphtali according to their families. ³³Their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, Adami Nekeb, Jabneel, up to Lakkum; it ends^a at the Jordan; ³⁴then the border turns to the west, to Aznoth Tabor, and continues from there to Hukok, and it touches^b Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and Judah on the east^c at the Jordan. ³⁵The fortified cities^d are Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, ³⁶Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, ³⁸Yiron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth-anath, Beth Shemesh; nineteen cities and their villages. ³⁹This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages.

The Allotment of Dan

⁴⁰The seventh lot fell^e for the tribe of the descendants^f of Dan according to their families. ⁴¹The border of their inheritance was Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, ⁴²Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, ⁴⁶Me Jarkon, Rakkon, with the border opposite Joppa. ⁴⁷The border of the descendants^g of Dan continued beyond them,^h because the descendantsⁱ of Dan went up and fought with Lesham, and they captured and struck it with the edge of the sword,^j and they took possession of it and settled in it; and they called Leshem Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor.^{k 48}This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants^l of Dan according to their families, these cities and their villages.

The Allotment Is Completed

⁴⁹They finished assigning the land according to its borders, and the Israelites^m gave an inheritance from among them to Joshua son of Nun. ⁵⁰According to the commandment of Yahweh,ⁿ they gave him the city that he requested, Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim, and he rebuilt the city and settled^o in it. ⁵¹These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes, distributed by allotment to the Israelites,^p at Shiloh before Yahweh^q at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And they finished dividing the land.

Cities of Refuge Are Established

20And Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying, ²“Speak to the Israelites,^a saying, ‘Appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you through the hand of Moses. ³Anyone who kills a person by accident or unintentionally^b may flee there; they will be for yourselves a refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴The killer will flee to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and state his case to the elders of that city;^c and they will take him^d into the city and give him a place, and he will dwell among them. ⁵And if the avenger of blood pursues after him, they will not hand over the killer into his hand, because he killed his neighbor unintentionally, and he did not hate him previously.^{e 6}The killer will stay in that city until he stands before the congregation for the trial, until the death of the one who is the high priest in those days. Then the killer will return^f to his city and to his house, to the city from which he fled.’ ”

⁷So they set apart^g Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba^h (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they appointed Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau, from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in the Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹These were the cities designated for all the Israelites,ⁱ and for the foreigners^j dwelling among them, for anyone that kills a person unintentionally to flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until there is a trial^k before the congregation.

The Allotment of the Levites

21Then the heads of the families of the Levites came to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of the tribes of the Israelites.^{a 2}And they spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, “Yahweh commanded through the hand of Moses to give us cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock.” ³So, by command of Yahweh,^b the Israelites^c gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands from their inheritance.

⁴The allotment fell^d for the families of the Kohathites.^e The descendants^f of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, received^g by lot thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

⁵The remaining descendants^h of Kohath received by lot ten cities from the families of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁶The descendantsⁱ of Gershon received by lot thirteen cities from the families of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali and from the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷The descendants^j of the Merarites^k according to their families received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

⁸The Israelites^l gave to the Levites these cities and their pastureland by lot, just as Yahweh commanded through the hand of Moses.

⁹They gave these cities, which are here mentioned by name, from the tribe of the families of Judah and from the tribe of the families of Simeon; ¹⁰and they were for the descendants^m of Aaron, from the families of the Kohathites,ⁿ from the descendants^o of Levi, because the first lot was theirs. ¹¹And they gave to them Kiriath Arba,^p Arba being the father of Anak (that is, Hebron), in the hill country of Judah and the pasturelands surrounding it. ¹²But the field of the city and its villages they gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his property.

¹³To the descendants^q of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for the killer, and its pasturelands, Libnah and its pasturelands, ¹⁴Jattir and its pasturelands, Eshtemoa and its pasturelands, ¹⁵Holon and its pasturelands, Debir and its pasturelands, ¹⁶Ain and its pasturelands, Juttah and its pasturelands, and Beth Shemesh and its pasturelands; nine cities from these two tribes. ¹⁷From the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon and its pasturelands, Geba and its pasturelands, ¹⁸Anathoth and its pasturelands, Almon and its pasturelands; four cities. ¹⁹All the cities of the descendants^r of Aaron the priests, thirteen cities and their pasturelands.

²⁰For the families of the descendants^s of Kohath, the remaining Levites of the descendants^t of Kohath, they received the cities of their lot from the tribe of Ephraim. ²¹They gave them Shechem, the city of refuge for the killer, and its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer and its pasturelands, ²²Kibzaim and its pasturelands, and Beth-horon and its pasturelands; four cities. ²³From the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh and its…