^13:1When Joshua was very old,¹ the Lord told him, “You are very old, and a great deal of land remains to be conquered. ^13:2This is the land that remains: all the territory of the Philistines and all the Geshurites, ^13:3from the Shihor River² east of³ Egypt northward to the territory of Ekron (it is regarded as Canaanite territory),⁴ including the area belonging to the five Philistine lords who ruled in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as Avvite land⁵^13:4to the south;⁶ all the Canaanite territory,⁷ from Arah⁸ in the region of Sidon⁹ to Aphek, as far as Amorite territory; ^13:5the territory of Byblos¹⁰ and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath.¹¹^13:6I will drive out before the Israelites all who live in the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim,¹² all the Sidonians; you be sure to parcel it out to Israel as I instructed you.”¹³^13:7Now, divide up this land¹⁴ among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

Tribal Lands East of the Jordan

^13:8The other half of Manasseh,¹⁵ Reuben, and Gad received their allotted tribal lands beyond the Jordan,¹⁶ just as Moses, the Lord’s servant, had assigned them. ^13:9Their territory started¹⁷ from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley), included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba as far as Dibon, ^13:10and all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon, and ended at the Ammonite border. ^13:11Their territory also included¹⁸ Gilead, Geshurite and Maacathite territory, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah—^13:12the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was one of the few remaining Rephaites.)¹⁹ Moses defeated them and took their lands.²⁰^13:13But the Israelites did not conquer²¹ the Geshurites and Maacathites; Geshur and Maacah live among Israel to this very day. ^13:14However, Moses²² did not assign land as an inheritance²³ to the Levites; their inheritance²⁴ is the sacrificial offerings²⁵ made to the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed²⁶ them.

^13:15Moses assigned land to the tribe of Reuben²⁷ by its clans. ^13:16Their territory started at Aroer²⁸ (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba, ^13:17Heshbon and all its surrounding cities on the plain, including Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, ^13:18Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ^13:19Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley, ^13:20Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth. ^13:21It encompassed²⁹ all the cities of the plain and the whole realm of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon. Moses defeated him and the Midianite leaders Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba (they were subjects of Sihon and lived in his territory).³⁰^13:22The Israelites killed Balaam son of Beor, the omen reader,³¹ along with the others.³²^13:23The border of the tribe of Reuben was the Jordan. The land allotted to the tribe of Reuben by its clans included these cities and their towns.³³

^13:24Moses assigned land to the tribe of Gad³⁴ by its clans. ^13:25Their territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half of Ammonite territory³⁵ as far as Aroer near³⁶ Rabbah. ^13:26Their territory ran³⁷ from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir. ^13:27It included the valley of Beth Haram,³⁸ Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, and the rest of the realm of King Sihon of Heshbon, the area east of the Jordan to the end of the Sea of Kinnereth.³⁹^13:28The land allotted to the tribe of Gad by its clans included these cities and their towns.⁴⁰

^13:29Moses assigned land to the half-tribe of Manasseh⁴¹ by its clans. ^13:30Their territory started at⁴² Mahanaim and encompassed all Bashan, the whole realm of King Og of Bashan, including all sixty cities in Havvoth Jair⁴³ in Bashan. ^13:31Half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities in the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were assigned to the descendants of Makir son of Manasseh, to half the descendants of Makir by their clans.

^13:32These are the land assignments made by Moses⁴⁴ on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho.⁴⁵^13:33However, Moses did not assign land as an inheritance⁴⁶ to the Levites; their inheritance⁴⁷ is the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed⁴⁸ them.

Judah’s Tribal Lands

^14:1The following is a record of the territory assigned to the Israelites in the land of Canaan by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite tribal leaders.¹^14:2The land assignments to the nine-and-a-half tribes were made by drawing lots, as the Lord had instructed Moses.²^14:3Now Moses had assigned land³ to the two-and-a-half tribes east of the Jordan, but he assigned no land⁴ to the Levites.⁵^14:4The descendants of Joseph were considered as two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites were allotted no territory, though they were assigned cities in which to live, along with the grazing areas for their cattle and possessions.⁶^14:5The Israelites followed the Lord’s instructions to Moses and divided up the land.⁷

^14:6The men of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said about you and me to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea.⁸^14:7I was forty years old when Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy on the land and I brought back to him an honest report.⁹^14:8My countrymen¹⁰ who accompanied¹¹ me frightened the people,¹² but I remained loyal to the Lord my God.¹³^14:9That day Moses made this solemn promise:¹⁴ ‘Surely the land on which you walked¹⁵ will belong to you and your descendants permanently,¹⁶ for you remained loyal to the Lord your God.’ ^14:10So now, look, the Lord has preserved my life, just as he promised, these past forty-five years since the Lord spoke these words to Moses, during which Israel traveled through the wilderness. Now look, I am today eighty-five years old. ^14:11Today I am still as strong as when Moses sent me out. I can fight and go about my daily activities with the same energy I had then.¹⁷^14:12Now, assign me this hill country which the Lord promised me at that time! No doubt you heard at that time that the Anakites live there in large, fortified cities.¹⁸ But, assuming the Lord is with me, I will conquer¹⁹ them, as the Lord promised.” ^14:13Joshua asked God to empower Caleb son of Jephunneh and assigned him Hebron.²⁰^14:14So Hebron remains the assigned land of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this very day²¹ because he remained loyal to the Lord God of Israel. ^14:15(Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba. Arba was a famous Anakite.²²) Then the land was free of war.

^15:1The land allotted to the tribe of Judah by its clans reached to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin in the Negev far to the south.¹^15:2Their southern border started at the southern tip of the Salt Sea,²^15:3extended³ south of the Scorpion Ascent,⁴ crossed to Zin, went up from the south to Kadesh Barnea, crossed to Hezron, went up to Addar, and turned toward Karka. ^15:4It then crossed to Azmon, extended to the Stream of Egypt,⁵ and ended at the sea. This was their⁶ southern border.

^15:5The eastern border was the Salt Sea to the mouth⁷ of the Jordan River.⁸

The northern border started north of the Salt Sea at the mouth of the Jordan,⁹^15:6went up to Beth Hoglah, crossed north of Beth Arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. ^15:7It then went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, turning northward to Gilgal (which is opposite the Pass¹⁰ of Adummim south of the valley), crossed to the waters of En Shemesh and extended to En Rogel. ^15:8It then went up the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites on the south (that is, Jerusalem),¹¹ going up to the top of the hill opposite the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of the Rephaites to the north. ^15:9It then went from the top of the hill to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, extended to the cities of Mount Ephron, and went to Baalah (that is, Kiriath Jearim). ^15:10It then turned from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, crossed to the slope of Mount Jearim on the north (that is Kesalon), descended to Beth Shemesh, and crossed to Timnah. ^15:11It then extended to the slope of Ekron to the north, went toward Shikkeron, crossed to Mount Baalah, extended to Jabneel, and ended at the sea.

^15:12The western border was the Mediterranean Sea.¹² These were the borders of the tribe of Judah and its clans.¹³

^15:13Caleb son of Jephunneh was assigned Kiriath Arba (that is Hebron) within the tribe of Judah, according to the Lord’s instructions to Joshua. (Arba was the father of Anak.)¹⁴^15:14Caleb drove out¹⁵ from there three Anakites—Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, descendants of Anak. ^15:15From there he attacked the people of Debir.¹⁶ (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) ^15:16Caleb said, “To the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher I will give my daughter Acsah as a wife.” ^15:17When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother,¹⁷ captured it, Caleb¹⁸ gave Acsah his daughter to him as a wife.

^15:18One time Acsah¹⁹ came and charmed her father²⁰ so that she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?” ^15:19She answered, “Please give me a special present.²¹ Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water. So he gave her both upper and lower springs.

^15:20This is the land assigned to the tribe of Judah by its clans:²²^15:21These cities were located at the southern extremity of Judah’s tribal land near the border of Edom:²³ Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ^15:22Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ^15:23Kedesh, Hazor,²⁴ Ithnan, ^15:24Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ^15:25Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), ^15:26Amam, Shema, Moladah, ^15:27Hazar Gaddah, Heshbon, Beth Pelet, ^15:28Hazar Shual, Beer Sheba, Biziothiah, ^15:29…

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Footnotes

1 Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following clause.
2 Heb “the Shihor”; the word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning.
3 Heb “in front of.”
4 Heb “it is reckoned to the Canaanites.”
5 Heb “the five lords of the Philistines, the Gazaite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gathite, and the Ekronite, and the Avvites.”
6 Or “from Teman.” The phrase is especially problematic if taken with what follows, as the traditional verse division suggests. For further discussion see T. C. Butler, Joshua (), .
7 Heb “all the land of the Canaanites.”
8 The reading “Arah” assumes a slight emendation of the Hebrew vowel pointing. The reads, “and a cave,” or “and Mearah” (if one understands the word as a proper noun).
9 Heb “which belongs to the Sidonians.” For location see ; ; .
10 Heb “and the land of the Gebalites.”
11 Or “the entrance to Hamath.” Most modern translations take the phrase “Lebo Hamath” to be a proper name, but often provide a note with the alternative, where “Hamath” is the proper name and לְבוֹא (lévo’) is taken to mean “entrance to.”
12 The meaning of the Hebrew name “Misrephoth Maim” is perhaps “lime-kilns by the water” (see 2:).
13 Heb “only you, assign it by lots to Israel as an inheritance as I commanded you.”
14 Heb “now apportion this land as an inheritance.”
15 The reads “with him,” which is problematic, since the reference would be to the other half of the tribe of Manasseh (not the half mentioned in v. 7).
16 Heb “received their inheritance, which Moses had assigned to them beyond the Jordan.”
17 The words “their territory started” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
18 The words “their territory also included” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
19 Heb “from the remnant of the Rephaites.” The Rephaites were apparently an extremely tall ethnic group. See Deut 2:10–11, 20; 3:11.
20 Or “dispossessed them.”
21 Or “dispossess.”
22 Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 Heb “did not assign an inheritance.”
24 That is, “their source of food and life.”
25 Or “offerings made by fire.”
26 Or “promised” (Heb “spoke”). For the background of this observation, see Deut 18:1–2.
27 Heb “assigned to the sons of Reuben.”
28 Heb “their territory was from.”
29 The words “it encompassed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
30 Heb “princes of Sihon, inhabitants of the land.”
31 Or “diviner.”
32 Heb “Balaam son of Beor, the omen-reader, the Israelites killed with the sword, along with their slain ones.”
33 Heb “This is the inheritance of the sons of Reuben by their clans, the cities and their towns.”
34 Heb “assigned to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad.”
35 Heb “and half of the land of the sons of Ammon.”
36 Heb “in front of.”
37 The words “Their territory ran” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied for clarification.
38 Or “it included in the valley, Beth Haram.”
39 The Sea of Kinnereth is another name for the Sea of Galilee. See the note on the word “Kinnereth” in .
40 Heb “This is the inheritance of the sons of Gad by their clans, the cities and their towns.”
41 Heb “assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh, and it belonged to the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
42 The words “their territory started at” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied for clarification.
43 The Hebrew name Havvoth Jair means “the tent villages of Jair.”
44 Heb “These are [the lands] which Moses gave as an inheritance.”
45 Heb “beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning. For the location of Jericho see ; ; ; ; ; .
46 Heb “Moses did not assign an inheritance.” The word “land” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what the inheritance consisted of.
47 That is, “their source of food and life.”
48 Or “as he promised”; Heb “as he spoke to.” For the background of this observation, see Deut 18:1–2.
1 Heb “These are [the lands] which the sons of Israel received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes assigned as an inheritance to the sons of Israel.”
2 Heb “By lot was their inheritance, as the Lord had commanded by Moses, to the nine tribes and the half-tribe.”
3 Or “assigned an inheritance.”
4 Or “no inheritance.”
5 The Hebrew text adds, “in their midst.”
6 Heb “and they did not assign a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities [in which] to live and their pastures for their cattle and property.”
7 Heb “Just as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the sons of Israel did, and they divided up the land.”
8 Heb “You know the word which the Lord spoke to Moses, the man of God, because of me and because of you in Kadesh Barnea.” On this incident at Kadesh Barnea see Num 14:30.
9 Heb “and I brought back to him a word just as [was] in my heart.”
10 Heb “brothers.”
11 Heb “went up with.”
12 Heb “made the heart[s] of the people melt.”
13 Heb “I filled up after the Lord my God,” an idiomatic statement meaning that Caleb remained loyal to the Lord.
14 Heb “swore an oath.”
15 Heb “on which your foot has walked.”
16 Heb “will belong to you for an inheritance, and to your sons forever.”
17 Heb “like my strength then, like my strength now, for battle and for going out and coming in.”
18 Heb “are there and large, fortified cities.”
19 Or “will dispossess.”
20 Heb “Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.”
21 Heb “Therefore Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh for an inheritance to this day.”
22 Heb “And he was the great man among the Anakites.”
1 Heb “The lot was to the tribe of the sons of Judah by their clans to the border of Edom, the wilderness of Zin toward the south, southward.”
2 Heb “Their southern border was from the end of the Salt Sea, from the tongue that faces to the south.” The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea (also in v. 5).
3 Heb “went out.”
4 Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [’aqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).
5 Traditionally “the Brook of Egypt,” although a number of recent translations have “the Wadi of Egypt” (cf. , , ).
6 The translation follows the at this point. The reads, “This will be your southern border.”
7 Heb “end.”
8 The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.
9 Heb “the border on the northern side was from the tongue of the sea, from the end of the Jordan.”
10 Or “ascent.”
11 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
12 Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
13 Heb “this was the border of the sons of Judah round about, by their clans.”
14 Heb “To Caleb son of Jephunneh he gave a portion in the midst of the sons of Judah according to the mouth [i.e., command] of the Lord to Joshua, Kiriath Arba (the father of Anak), it is Hebron.”
15 Or “dispossessed.”
16 Heb “he went up against the inhabitants of Debir.”
17 “Caleb’s brother” may refer either to Othniel or to Kenaz. If Kenaz was the brother of Caleb, Othniel is Caleb’s nephew.
18 Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
19 Heb “she”; the referent (Acsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
20 Heb “him.” The referent of the pronoun could be Othniel, in which case the translation would be, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Acsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 19. The has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18//Judges 1:14,” 46 (1984): 18–22. This incident is also recorded in Judg 1:14.
21 Elsewhere this Hebrew word (בְּרָכָה, bérakhah) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Gen 33:11; 1 Sam 25:27; 30:26; and 2 Kgs 5:15).
22 Heb “This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Judah by their clans.”
23 Heb “and the cities were at the end of the tribe of the sons of Judah, at the border of Edom, to the south.”
24 For location see ; ; ; .