The Book of Joshua, chapters 13 - 17
13 By this time Joshua had become very old, and the Lord said
to him, 'You are now a very old man, and much of the country remains
to be occupied. The country which remains is this: all the districts of the
Philistines and all the Geshurite country (this is reckoned as Canaanite
territory from Shihor to the east of Egypt as far north as Ekron; and it
belongs to the five lords of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon,
Gath, and Ekron); all the districts of the Avvim on the south; all the
Canaanite country from the low-lying land which belongs to the Sidonians
as far as Aphek, the Amorite frontier; the land of the Gebalites and all the
Lebanon to the east from Baal-gad under Mount Hermon as far as Lebo-
hamath. I will drive out in favour of the Israelites all the inhabitants of the
hill-country from the Lebanon as far as Misrepoth on the west, and all
the Sidonians. In the mean time you are to allot all this to the Israelites for
their patrimony, as I have commanded you. Distribute this land now to the
nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh for their patrimony.' For half
the tribe of Manasseh and with them the Reubenites and the Gadites
had each taken their patrimony which Moses gave them east of the Jordan,
as Moses the servant of the Lord had ordained. It started from Aroer
which is by the edge of the gorge of the Arnon, and the level land half-way
along the gorge, and included all the tableland from Medeba as far as
Dibon; all the cities of Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, as
far as the Ammonite frontier; and it also included Gilead and the Geshurite
and Maacathite territory, and all Mount Hermon and the whole of Bashan
as far as Salcah, all the kingdom of Og which he ruled from both Ashtaroth
and Edrei in Bashan. He was a survivor of the remnant of the Rephaim,
but Moses put them both to death and occupied their lands. But the
Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites and the Maacathites; the
Geshurites and the Maacathites live among the Israelites to this day.
The tribe of Levi, however, received no patrimony; the Lord the God of
Israel is their patrimony, as he promised them.
So Moses allotted territory to the tribe of the Reubenites family by
family. Their territory started from Aroer which is on the edge of the gorge
of the Arnon, and the level land half-way along the gorge, and included all
the tableland as far as Medeba; Heshbon and all its cities on the tableland,
Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,
Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the Vale, Beth-peor, the
watershed of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, all the cities of the tableland, all
the kingdom of Sihon the Amorite king who ruled in Heshbon, whom
Moses put to death together with the princes of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur,
Hur, and Reba, the vassals of Sihon who dwelt in the country. Balaam son
of Beor, who practised augury, was among those whom the Israelites put
to the sword. The boundary of the Reubenites was the Jordan and the
adjacent land: this is the patrimony of the Reubenites family by family,
both the cities and their hamlets.
Moses allotted territory to the Gadites family by family. Their territory
was Jazer, all the cities of Gilead and half the Ammonite country as far as
Aroer which is east of Rabbah. It reached from Heshbon as far as Ramoth-
mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim as far as the boundary of Lo-
debar; it included in the valley Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and
Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon. The boundary
was the Jordan and the adjacent land as far as the end of the sea of Kinnereth
east of the Jordan. This is the patrimony of the Gadites family by family,
both the cities and their hamlets.
Moses allotted territory to the half tribe of Manasseh: it was for half the
tribe of the Manassites family by family. Their territory ran from Mahan-
aim and included all Bashan — sixty cities. Half Gilead, and Ashtaroth and
Edrei the royal cites of Og and Bashan, belong to the sons of Machir son of
Manasseh on behalf of half the Machirites family by family.
These are the territories which Moses allotted to the tribes as their
patrimonies in the lowlands of Moab east of the Jordan. But to the tribe of
Levi he gave no patrimony: the Lord the God of Israel is their patrimony,
as he promised them.
14 Now follow the possessions which the Israelites acquired in the land of
Canaan, as Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the
families of the Israelite tribes allotted them. They were assigned by lot,
following the Lord's command given through Moses, to the nine and a
half tribes. To two and a half tribes Moses had given patrimonies beyond
the Jordan; but he gave none to the Levites as he did to the others. The
tribe of Joseph formed the two tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim. The
Levites were given no share in the land, only cities to dwell in, with their
common land for flocks and herds. So the Israelites, following the Lord's
command given to Moses, assigned the land.
Now the tribe of Judah had come to Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of
Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, 'You remember what the Lord said
to Moses the Man of God concerning you and me at Kadesh-barnea. I was
forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from there to
explore the land, and I brought back an honest report. The others who went
with me discouraged the people, but I loyally carried out the purpose of
the Lord my God. Moses swore an oath that day and said, "The land on
which you have set foot shall be your patrimony and your sons' after you
as a possession for ever; for you have loyally carried out the purpose of the
Lord my God." Well, the Lord has spared my life as he promised; it is
now forty-five years since he made his promise to Moses, at the time when
Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old.
I am still as strong as I was on the day when Moses sent me out; I am as fit
now for war as I was then and am ready to take the field again. Give me
today this hill-country which the Lord then promised me. You heard on
that day that the Anakim were there and their cities were large and well
fortified. Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I shall dispossess them as
he promised.' Joshua blessed Caleb and gave him Hebron for his patri-
mony, and that is why Hebron remains to this day in the patrimony of
Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. It is because he loyally carried out
the purpose of the Lord the God of Israel. Formerly the name of Hebron
was Kiriath-arba. This Arba was the chief man of the Anakim. And the
land was at peace.
15 This is the territory allotted to the tribe of the sons of Judah family by
family. It started from the Edomite frontier at the wilderness of Zin and
ran as far as the Negeb at its southern end, and it had the common border
with the Negeb at the end of the Dead Sea, where an inlet of water bends
towards the Negeb. It continued from the south by the ascent of Akrabbim,
passed by Zin, went up from the south of Kadesh-barnea, passed by Hezron,
went on to Addar and turned round to Karka. It then passed along to
Azmon, reached the Torrent of Egypt, and its limit was the sea. This was
their southern boundary.
The eastern boundary is the Dead Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan
and the adjacent land northwards from the inlet of the sea, at the mouth of
the Jordan. The boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah; it passes north of
Beth-arabah and thence to the stone of Bohan son of Reuben, thence to
Debir from the Vale of Achor, and then turns north to the districts in
front of the ascent of Adummim south of the gorge. The boundary then
passes the waters of En-shemesh and the limit there is En-rogel. It then
goes up by the Valley of Beth-hinnom to the southern slope of the Jebusites
(that is Jerusalem). Thence it goes up to the top of the hill which faces the
Valley of Hinnom on the west; this is at the northern end of the Vale of
Rephaim. The boundary then bends round from the top of the hill to the
spring of the waters of Nephtoah, runs round to the cities of Mount
Ephron and round to Baalah, that is Kiriath-jearim. It then continues
westwards from Baalah to Mount Seir, passes on to the north side of the
slope of Mount Jearim, that is Kesalon, down to Beth-shemesh and on to
Timnah. The boundary then goes north to the slope of Ekron, bends round
to Shikkeron, crosses to Mount Baalah and reaches Jabneel; its limit is the
sea. The western boundary is the Great Sea and the land adjacent. This is
the whole circuit of the boundary of the tribe of Judah family by family.
Caleb son of Jephunneh received his share of the land within the tribe
of Judah as the Lord had said to Joshua. It was Kiriath-arba, that is
Hebron. This Arba was the ancestor of the Anakim. Caleb drove out the
three Anakim: these were Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai, descendants of
Anak. From there he attacked the inhabitants of Debir; the name Debir
was formerly Kiriath-sepher. Caleb announced that whoever should
attack Kiriath-sepher and capture it would receive his daughter Achsah in
marriage. Othniel, son of Caleb's brother Kenaz, captured it, and Caleb
gave him his daughter Achsah. When she came to him, he incited her to
ask her father for a piece of land. As he sat on the ass, she broke wind, and
Caleb asked her, 'What did you mean by that?' She replied, 'I want a
favour from you. You have put me in this dry Negeb; you must give me
pools of water as well.' So Caleb gave her the upper pool and the lower pool.
This is the patrimony of the tribe of the sons of Judah family by family.
These are the cities belonging to the tribe of Judah, the full count. By the
Edomite frontier in the Negeb: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah,
Ararah, Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, Hazor-hadattah,
Kerioth-hezron, Amam, Shema, Moladah, Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon,
Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, Leboath,
Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon: in all, twenty-nine cities with their hamlets.
In the Shephelah: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, Zanoah, En-gannim,
Gederah, namely both parts of Gederah: fourteen cities with their hamlets.
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, Dilan, Mizpeh, Jotheel, Lachish, Boz-
kath, Eglon, Cabbon, Lahmas, Kithlish, Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah,
and Makkedah: sixteen cities with their hamlets. Libnah, Ether, Ashan,
Jiphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities with
their hamlets. Ekron, with its villages and hamlets, and from Ekron west-
wards, all the cities near Ashdod and their hamlets. Ashdod with its
villages and hamlets, Gaza with its villages and hamlets as far as the Torrent
of Egypt and the great Sea and the land adjacent.
In the hill-country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, Dannah, Kiriath-sannah,
that is Debir, Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven
cities in all with their hamlets. Arab, Dumah, Eshan, Janim, Beth-
tappuah, Aphek, Humtah, Kiriath-arba, that is Hebron, and Zior: nine
cities in all with their hamlets. Maon, Camel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel,
Jokdeam, Zanoah, Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities in all with their
hamlets. Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon: six
cities in all with their hamlets. Tekoa, Ephrathah, that is Bethlehem, Peor,
Etam, Culom, Tatam, Sores, Carem, Gallim, Baither, and Manach:
eleven cities in all with their hamlets. Kiriath-baal, that is Kiriath-jearim,
and Rabbah: two cities with their hamlets.
In the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, Ir-melach,
and En-gedi: six cities with their hamlets.
At Jerusalem, the men of Judah were unable to drive out the Jebusites
who lived there, and to this day Jebusites and men of Judah live together in
Jerusalem.
16 This is the Lot that fell to the sons of Joseph: the boundary runs from the
Jordan at Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho by the wilderness, and goes
up from Jericho into the hill-country to Bethel. It runs on from Bethel to
Luz and crosses the Archite border at Ataroth. Westwards it descends to
the boundary of the Japhletites as far as the boundary of Lower Beth-
horon and Gezer; its limit is the sea. Here Manasseh and Ephraim the sons
of Joseph received their patrimony.
This was the boundary of Ephraimites family by family: their
eastern boundary ran from Ataroth-addar up to Upper Beth-horon. It
continued westwards to Michmethath on the north, going round by the
east of Taanath-shiloh and passing by it on the east of Janoah. It descends
from Janoah to Ataroth and Naarath, touches Jericho and continues to the
Jordan, and from Tappuah it goes westwards by the gorge of Kanah; and
its limit is the sea. This is the patrimony of the tribe of Ephraim family by
family. There were also cities reserved for the Epraimites within the
patrimony of the Manassites, each of these cities with its hamlets. They
did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; the Canaan-
ites have lived among the Ephraimites to the present day but have been
subject to forced labour in perpetuity.
17 This is the territory allotted to the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph's eldest
son. Machir was Manasseh's eldest son and father of Gildead, a fighting
man; Gilead and Bashan were allotted to him.
The rest of the Manassites family by family were the sons of Abiezer,
the sons of Helek, the sons of Asriel, the sons of Shechem, the sons of
Hepher, the sons of Shemida; these were the male offspring of Manas-
seh son of Joseph family by family.
Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manas-
seh, had no sons but only daughters: their names were Mahlah, Noah,
Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. They presented themselves before Eleazar
the priest of Joshua son of Nun, and before the chiefs, and they said, 'The
Lord commanded Moses to allow us to inherit on the same footing as our
kinsmen.' They were therefore given a patrimony on the same footing as
their father's brothers according to the commandment of the Lord.
There fell to Manasseh's lot ten shares, apart from the country of Gilead
and Bashan beyond the Jordan, because Manasseh's daughters had re-
ceived a patrimony on the same footing as sons. The country of Gilead
belonged to the rest of Manasseh's sons. The boundary of Manasseh
reached from Asher as far as Michmethath, which is to the east of Shechem,
and thence southwards towards Jashub by En-tappuah. The territory of
Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself was on the border of
Manasseh and belonged to Ephraim. The boundary then followed the
gorge of Kanah to the south of the gorge (these cities belong to Ephraim,
although they lie among the cities of Manasseh), the boundary of Manasseh
being on the north of the gorge; its limit was the sea. The southern side
belonged to Ephraim and the northern to Manasseh, and their boundary
was the sea. They marched with Asher on the north and Issachar on the
east. But in Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed Beth-shean and its
villages, Ibleam, and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the
enhabitants of En-dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Taanach and its
villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages. (The third is the
district of Dor.) The Manassites were unable to occupy these cities;
the Canaanites maintained their hold on that part of the country. When
the Israelites grew stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labour, but
they did not drive them out.
The sons of Joseph appealed to Joshua and said, 'Why have you given
us only one lot and one share as our patrimony? We are a numerous people;
so far the Lord has blessed us.' Joshua replied, 'If you are so numerous,
go up into the forest in the territory of the Perizzites and the Rephaim and
clear it for yourselves. You are their near neighbours in the hill-country
of Ephraim.' The sons of Joseph said, 'The hill-country is not enough for
us; besides, all the Canaanites have chariots of iron, those who inhabit
the valley beside Beth-shean and its villages and also those in the Vale of
Jezreel.' Joshua replied to the tribes of Joseph, that is Ephraim and Manas-
seh: 'You are a numerous people with great resources. You shall not have
one lot only. The hill-country is yours. It is forest land; clear it and it shall
be yours to its furthest limits. The Canaanites may be powerful and
equipped with chariots of iron, but you will be able to drive them out.'
The New English Bible (with Apocrypha)
Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, 1970
Posted Jun 21, 2018, 12:54 AM UTC
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