Joshua 19–21

Land Is Given to Simeon

19The second lot that was drawn out was for the tribe of Simeon, family group by family group. The share of land they were given was in the territory of Judah. ²Here is what Simeon’s share included.

Beersheba, Moladah, ³Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, ⁶Beth Lebaoth and Sharuhen. The total number of towns was 13. Some of them had villages near them.

⁷Here’s another list of towns that were given to Simeon.

Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan. The total number of towns was four. Some of them had villages near them. ⁸The towns and all of the villages that were around them reached all the way to Ramah in the Negev Desert.

That was the share of land the tribe of Simeon received, family group by family group. ⁹Simeon’s share of land was taken from Judah’s share. That’s because Judah had more land than they needed. So the people of Simeon received their share of land inside the territory of Judah.

Land Is Given to Zebulun

¹⁰The third lot that was drawn out was for the tribe of Zebulun, family group by family group. Here are the borders of Zebulun’s territory.

The border of their share of land went as far as Sarid. ¹¹It ran west to Maralah and touched Dabbesheth. It reached to the valley near Jokneam. ¹²It turned east from Sarid toward the sunrise. It went to the territory of Kisloth Tabor. It went on to Daberath and up to Japhia. ¹³Then it continued east to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin. It came to an end at Rimmon and turned toward Neah. ¹⁴There the border went around on the north to Hannathon. It came to an end at the Valley of Iphtah El. ¹⁵Zebulun’s territory included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem. The total number of towns was 12. Some of them had villages near them.

¹⁶Those towns and their villages were Zebulun’s share, family group by family group.

Land Is Given to Issachar

¹⁷The fourth lot that was drawn out was for the tribe of Issachar, family group by family group. ¹⁸Here is what Issachar’s share included.

Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez. ²²The border touched Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh. It came to an end at the Jordan River. The total number of towns was 16. Some of them had villages near them.

²³Those towns and their villages were the share the tribe of Issachar received, family group by family group.

Land Is Given to Asher

²⁴The fifth lot that was drawn out was for the tribe of Asher, family group by family group. ²⁵Here is what Asher’s share included.

Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, ²⁶Allammelech, Amad and Mishal. On the west the border touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath. ²⁷Then it turned east toward Beth Dagon. It touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El. It went north to Beth Emek and Neiel. It went past Cabul on the left. ²⁸It went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah. It reached all the way to Greater Sidon. ²⁹The border then turned back toward Ramah. It went to Tyre, a city that had high walls around it. It turned toward Hosah. It came to an end at the Mediterranean Sea in the area of Aczib, ³⁰Ummah, Aphek and Rehob. The total number of towns was 22. Some of them had villages near them.

³¹Those towns and their villages were the share the tribe of Asher received, family group by family group.

Land Is Given to Naphtali

³²The sixth lot that was drawn out was for Naphtali, family group by family group.

³³Their border started at Heleph and the large tree in Zaanannim. It went past Adami Nekeb and Jabneel. It went to Lakkum and came to an end at the Jordan River. ³⁴The border ran west through Aznoth Tabor. It came to an end at Hukkok. It touched Zebulun on the south. It touched Asher on the west. It touched the Jordan on the east.

³⁵The cities that had high walls around them were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, ³⁶Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, ³⁸Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath and Beth Shemesh. The total number of towns was 19. Some of them had villages near them.

³⁹Those towns and their villages were the share the tribe of Naphtali received, family group by family group.

Land Is Given to Dan

⁴⁰The seventh lot that was drawn out was for the tribe of Dan, family group by family group. ⁴¹Here is what Dan’s share of land included.

Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, ⁴²Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, ⁴⁶Me Jarkon and Rakkon. Dan’s share included the area that faces Joppa.

⁴⁷The people of Dan had trouble taking over their territory. So they went up and attacked Leshem. They took it. They killed its people with their swords. Then they moved into Leshem and settled down there. They named it Dan. That’s because they traced their family line back to him.

⁴⁸All of those towns and their villages were the share the tribe of Dan received, family group by family group.

Land Is Given to Joshua

⁴⁹The people of Israel finished dividing up the shares of land the tribes received. Then they gave a share to Joshua, the son of Nun. ⁵⁰They did what the Lord had commanded them to do. They gave Joshua the town he asked for. It was Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He built up the town and settled down there.

⁵¹All of those territories were given out by using lots at Shiloh. The lots were drawn out by the priest Eleazar and by Joshua, the son of Nun. The leaders of the tribes of Israel helped them. The lots were drawn out in front of the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So the work of dividing up the land was finished.

Cities to Go to for Safety

20Then the Lord spoke to Joshua. He said, ²“Tell the people of Israel to choose the cities to go to for safety, just as I directed you through Moses. ³Anyone who kills a person by accident can run there for safety. So can anyone who kills a person without meaning to. The one who is charged with murder will be kept safe from the nearest male relative of the person who was killed.

⁴“Suppose the one who is charged runs for safety to one of those cities. Then he must stand in the entrance of the city gate. He must state his case in front of the elders of that city. They must let him come into their city. They must give him a place to live there.

⁵“Suppose the nearest male relative of the person who was killed comes after him. Then the elders must not hand him over to that relative. That’s because he didn’t mean to kill his neighbor. He didn’t make evil plans to do it.

⁶“He must stay in that city until his case has been brought to the community court. He must stay there until the high priest who is serving at that time dies. Then he can go back to his own home. He can return to the town he ran away from.”

⁷So the people of Israel set apart Kedesh in Galilee. It’s in the hill country of Naphtali. They set apart Shechem. It’s in the hill country of Ephraim. They set apart Kiriath Arba. It’s in the hill country of Judah. Kiriath Arba is also called Hebron.

⁸On the east side of the Jordan River near Jericho they chose Bezer. It’s in the desert on the high flatlands. It’s in the territory of the tribe of Reuben. They chose Ramoth in Gilead. It’s in the territory of the tribe of Gad. They chose Golan in the land of Bashan. It’s in the territory of the tribe of Manasseh.

⁹Suppose you kill someone by accident. Or another Israelite does it. Or an outsider who lives among you does it. Then any of you can run for safety to one of those cities that have been chosen. There you won’t be killed by the nearest male relative of the person who was killed. First your case must be brought to the community court.

Towns Are Given to the Levites

21The leaders of the Levite family groups approached the priest Eleazar and Joshua, the son of Nun. They also approached the leaders of the family groups of Israel’s other tribes. ²They went to all of them at Shiloh in Canaan. They said to them, “Give us towns to live in. Also give us grasslands for our livestock. That’s what the Lord commanded through Moses.”

³So the people of Israel gave the Levites towns and grasslands out of their own shares of land. They did what the Lord had commanded. Here are the towns the Levites were given.

⁴The first lot that was drawn out was for the people of Kohath, family group by family group. Some of the Levites came from the family line of the priest Aaron. They were given 13 towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. ⁵The rest of Kohath’s family groups were given ten towns from the family groups of the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and half of the tribe of Manasseh.

⁶The family groups of Gershon were given 13 towns from the family groups of the tribes of Issachar, Asher and Naphtali and half of the tribe of Manasseh. That part of Manasseh was in the land of Bashan.

⁷The family groups of Merari received 12 towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun. Each family group received its share.

⁸So the people of Israel gave those towns and their grasslands to the Levites. They did what the Lord had commanded through Moses.

⁹They gave some towns from the territories of the tribes of Judah and Simeon ¹⁰to the members of the family line of Aaron. The towns were given to the family groups of Kohath. They were Levites. The first lot that was drawn out was for them. Here are the towns the family groups of Kohath were given.

¹¹The people of Israel gave them Kiriath Arba and the grasslands that were around it. Kiriath Arba is also called Hebron. It’s in the hill country of Judah. Anak came from the family line of Arba. ¹²But Israel had already given away the fields and villages around the city. They had given them to Caleb as his share. Caleb was the son of Jephunneh.

¹³So they gave Hebron to the members of the family line of the priest Aaron. Hebron was a city where anyone who was charged with murder could go for safety. They also gave them Libnah, ¹⁴Jattir, Eshtemoa, ¹⁵Holon, Debir, ¹⁶Ain, Juttah and Beth Shemesh. They gave those…