Joshua 19–21

Land for Simeon

19The second part of the land was given to the tribe of Simeon. Each family group received some of the land inside the area of Judah. ²They received Beersheba (also called Sheba), Moladah, ³Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, ⁶Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen. There were thirteen towns and their villages.

⁷They received the towns of Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan, four towns and their villages. ⁸They also received all the very small areas with people living in them as far as Baalath Beer (this is the same as Ramah in southern Canaan). So these were the lands given to the family groups in the tribe of Simeon. ⁹The land of the Simeonites was taken from part of the land of Judah. Since Judah had much more land than they needed, the Simeonites received part of their land.

Land for Zebulun

¹⁰The third part of the land was given to the tribe of Zebulun. Each family group of Zebulun received some of the land. The border of Zebulun went as far as Sarid. ¹¹Then it went west to Maralah and came near Dabbesheth and then near Jokneam. ¹²Then it turned to the east. It went from Sarid to the area of Kisloth Tabor and on to Daberath and to Japhia. ¹³It continued eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin, ending at Rimmon. There the border turned and went toward Neah. ¹⁴At Neah it turned again and went to the north to Hannathon and continued to the Valley of Iphtah El. ¹⁵Inside this border were the cities of Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. There were twelve towns and their villages.

¹⁶So these are the towns and the villages that were given to the family groups of Zebulun.

Land for Issachar

¹⁷The fourth part of the land was given to the tribe of Issachar. Each family group of Issachar received some of the land. ¹⁸Their land included Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez.

²²The border of their land touched the area called Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh and stopped at the Jordan River. There were sixteen towns and their villages.

²³These cities and towns were part of the land that was given to the family groups of Issachar.

Land for Asher

²⁴The fifth part of the land was given to the tribe of Asher. Each family group of Asher received some of the land. ²⁵Their land included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, ²⁶Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal.

The western border touched Mount Carmel and Shihor Libnath. ²⁷Then it turned east and went to Beth Dagon, touching Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El. Then it went north of Beth Emek and Neiel and passed north to Cabul. ²⁸From there it went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah and continued to Greater Sidon. ²⁹Then the border went back south toward Ramah and continued to the strong, walled city of Tyre. There it turned and went toward Hosah, ending at the sea. This was in the area of Aczib, ³⁰Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob. There were twenty-two towns and their villages.

³¹These cities and their villages were part of the land that was given to the family groups of Asher.

Land for Naphtali

³²The sixth part of the land was given to the tribe of Naphtali. Each family group of Naphtali received some of the land. ³³The border of their land started at the large tree in Zaanannim, which is near Heleph. Then it went through Adami Nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan River. ³⁴Then it went to the west through Aznoth Tabor and stopped at Hukkok. It went to the area of Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and Judah, at the Jordan River, on the east. ³⁵The strong, walled cities inside these borders were called Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, ³⁶Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, ³⁸Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh. There were nineteen towns and all their villages.

³⁹The towns and the villages around them were in the land that was given to the family groups of Naphtali.

Land for Dan

⁴⁰The seventh part of the land was given to the tribe of Dan. Each family group of Dan received some of the land. ⁴¹Their land included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, ⁴²Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, ⁴⁶Me Jarkon, Rakkon, and the area near Joppa.

⁴⁷(But the Danites had trouble taking their land. They went and fought against Leshem, defeated it, and killed the people who lived there. So the Danites moved into the town of Leshem and changed its name to Dan, because he was the father of their tribe.) ⁴⁸All of these towns and villages were given to the family groups of Dan.

Land for Joshua

⁴⁹After the leaders finished dividing the land and giving it to the different tribes, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun his land also. ⁵⁰They gave Joshua the town he asked for, Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim, just as the Lord commanded. He built up the town and lived there.

⁵¹So these lands were given to the different tribes of Israel. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of each tribe divided up the land by lots at Shiloh. They met in the presence of the Lord at the entrance to the Meeting Tent. Now they were finished dividing the land.

Cities of Safety

20Then the Lord said to Joshua: ²“Tell the Israelites to choose the special cities of safety, as I had Moses command you to do. ³If a person kills someone accidentally and without meaning to kill him, that person may go to a city of safety to hide. There the killer will be safe from the relative who has the duty of punishing a murderer.

⁴“When the killer runs to one of those cities, he must stop at the entrance gate, stand there, and tell the leaders of the people what happened. Then that person will be allowed to enter the city and will be given a place to live among them. ⁵But if the one who is chasing him follows him to that city, the leaders of the city must not hand over the killer. It was an accident. He did not hate him beforehand or kill him on purpose. ⁶The killer must stay in the city until a court comes to a decision and until the high priest dies. Then he may go back home to the town from which he ran away.”

⁷So the Israelites chose these cities to be cities of safety: Kedesh in Galilee in the mountains of Naphtali; Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim; Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the mountains of Judah; ⁸Bezer on the east side of the Jordan River near Jericho in the desert in the land of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead in the land of Gad; and Golan in Bashan in the land of Manasseh. ⁹Any Israelite or anyone living among them who killed someone accidentally was to be allowed to run to one of these cities of safety. There he would not be killed, before he was judged, by the relative who had the duty of punishing a murderer.

Towns for the Levites

21The heads of the Levite families went to talk to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of all the tribes of Israel. ²At Shiloh in the land of Canaan, the heads of the Levite families said to them, “The Lord commanded Moses that you give us towns where we may live and pastures for our animals.” ³So the Israelites obeyed this command of the Lord and gave the Levite people these towns and pastures for their own land: ⁴The Kohath family groups were part of the tribe of Levi. Some of the Levites in the Kohath family groups were from the family of Aaron the priest. To these Levites were given thirteen towns in the areas of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. ⁵The other family groups of Kohath were given ten towns in the areas of Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh.

⁶The people from the Gershon family groups were given thirteen towns in the land of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the East Manasseh in Bashan.

⁷The family groups of Merari were given twelve towns in the areas of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

⁸So the Israelites gave the Levites these towns and the pastures around them, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

⁹These are the names of the towns that came from the lands of Judah and Simeon. ¹⁰The first choice of towns was given to the Kohath family groups of the Levites. ¹¹They gave them Kiriath Arba, also called Hebron, and all its pastures in the mountains of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.) ¹²But the fields and the villages around Kiriath Arba had been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh.

¹³So they gave the city of Hebron to the descendants of Aaron (Hebron was a city of safety). They also gave them the towns of Libnah, ¹⁴Jattir, Eshtemoa, ¹⁵Holon, Debir, ¹⁶Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, and all the pastures around them. Nine towns were given from these two tribes.

¹⁷They also gave the people of Aaron these cities that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon, Geba, ¹⁸Anathoth, and Almon. They gave them these four towns and the pastures around them.

¹⁹So these thirteen towns with their pastures were given to the priests, who were from the family of Aaron.

²⁰The other Kohathite family groups of the Levites were given these towns from the tribe of Ephraim: ²¹Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim (which was a city of safety), Gezer, ²²Kibzaim, and Beth Horon. There were four towns and their pastures.

²³The tribe of Dan gave them Eltekeh, Gibbethon, ²⁴Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon. There were four towns and their pastures.

²⁵West Manasseh gave them Taanach and Gath Rimmon and the pastures around these two towns.

²⁶So these ten towns and the pastures around them were given to the rest of the Kohathite family groups.

²⁷The Gershonite family groups of the Levite tribe were given these towns: East Manasseh gave them Golan in Bashan, which was a city of safety, and Be Eshtarah, and the pastures around these two towns.

²⁸The tribe of Issachar gave them Kishion, Daberath, ²⁹Jarmuth, and En Gannim, and the pastures around these four towns.

³⁰The tribe of Asher gave them Mishal, Abdon, ³¹Helkath, and Rehob, and the pastures around these four…