Joshua 18-19
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
18 And the whole congregation of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.
2 And there remained among the Israelites seven tribes who had not yet divided their inheritance.
3 Joshua asked the Israelites, How long will you be slack to go in and possess the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?
4 Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them to go through the land and write a description of it according to their [tribal] inheritances; then they shall return to me.
5 And they shall divide it into seven parts. Judah shall remain in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph shall remain in its territory on the north.
6 You shall describe the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.
7 But the Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance east of the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.
8 So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged them saying, Go and walk through the land and describe it and come again to me, and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.
9 And the men went and passed through the land and described it by cities in seven portions in a book; and they came again to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh.
10 Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there [he] divided the land to the Israelites, to each [tribe] his portion.
11 And the lot of the Benjamites came up according to their families; and the territory of their lot fell between the tribes of Judah and Joseph.
12 On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan; then it went up to the shoulder of Jericho on the north and up through the hill country westward and ended at the Beth-aven wilderness.
13 Then the boundary passed over southward toward Luz, to the shoulder of Luz (that is, Bethel); then it went down to Ataroth-addar by the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon.
14 The boundary extended from there, and turning about on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south opposite Beth-horon, it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the tribe of Judah. This formed the western side [of Benjamin’s territory].
15 The southern side began at the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the boundary went on westward to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.
16 Then the boundary went down to the edge of the mountain overlooking the Valley of Ben-hinnom [son of Hinnom], which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim; and it descended to the Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and went on down to En-rogel.
17 Then it bent toward the north and went on to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth, which was opposite the ascent of Adummim, and went down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.
18 And it went on to the north of the shoulder [of Beth]-Arabah and down to the Arabah.
19 Then the boundary passed along to the north of the shoulder of Beth-hoglah and ended at the northern bay of the Salt [Dead] Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.
20 And the Jordan was its boundary on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin by their boundaries round about, according to their families.
21 Now the cities of the tribe of Benjamin according to [their] families were: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz,
22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,
24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages;
25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,
26 Mizpah, Chephirah, Mozah,
27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,
28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite [city]—that is, Jerusalem—Gibeah, and Kiriath-[jearim]; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families.
19 The second lot fell to Simeon, to the tribe of the Simeonites according to their families; and their inheritance lay within that of the people of Judah.
2 And they had for their inheritance: Beersheba or Sheba, Moladah,
3 Hazarshual, Balah, Ezem,
4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
5 Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah,
6 Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; [making] thirteen cities and their villages;
7 Ain [with] Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan; [making] four cities and their villages;
8 And all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, or Ramah of the Negeb. This was the possession of the Simeonites according to their families.
9 Out of the part assigned to the Judahites was the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon, for the portion of the tribe of Judah was too large for them. Therefore the tribe of Simeon had its inheritance in the midst of Judah’s inheritance.
10 The third lot came up for the tribe of Zebulun according to their families. The border of its inheritance extended to Sarid.
11 Then its boundary went up westward and on to Maralah and reached to Dabbesheth and to the brook east of Jokneam.
12 And it turned from Sarid eastward to the border of Chisloth-tabor and it went out to Daberath and on up to Japhia,
13 Then passed eastward to Gath-hepher [Jonah’s birthplace] and to Eth-kazin, and went on to Rimmon bending toward Neah.
14 The boundary circled on the north to Hannathon, ending at the Valley of Iphtah-el.
15 Included were Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem; twelve cities with their villages.
16 This is the inheritance of the people of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
17 The fourth lot fell to Issachar, to its people according to their families.
18 Their territory included: Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem,
19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath,
20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez,
21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez.
22 The boundary reached to Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and ended at the Jordan; sixteen cities with their villages.
23 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their villages.
24 The fifth lot fell to the tribe of Asher according to their families.
25 Their territory included: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph,
26 Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal; and on the west it touched Carmel and Shihor-libnath.
27 Then it turned eastward to Beth-dagon, touching Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah-el northward to Beth-emek and Neiel, and continued in the north to Cabul,
28 Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, even to populous Sidon.
29 Then the boundary turned to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre; and it turned to Hosah, and ended at the sea—Mahalab, Achzib,
30 Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob; twenty-two cities with their villages.
31 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.
32 The sixth lot fell to the tribe of Naphtali according to their families.
33 Their boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim and Adami-nekeb and Jabneel as far as Lakkum; and it ended at the Jordan.
34 Then the boundary turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and went from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and Judah on the east at the Jordan.
35 The fortified cities included Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth,
36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor,
37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor,
38 Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities and their villages.
39 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their villages.
40 And the seventh lot fell to the tribe of Dan according to their families.
41 The territory of their inheritance included: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh,
42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,
43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,
45 Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon,
46 Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the territory before Joppa.
47 The territory of the tribe of Dan had to be extended [because of the crowding in of the Amorites and Philistines]; so the sons of Dan went up to fight against Leshem (Laish) and took it and smote it with the sword and possessed it and dwelt there, and they called Leshem (Laish) Dan after Dan their [forefather].(A)
48 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
49 When they had finished dividing the land for inheritance by their boundaries, the Israelites gave an inheritance among them to Joshua son of Nun.
50 According to the word of the Lord they gave him the city for which he asked—Timnath-serah in the hills of Ephraim. And he built the city and dwelt in it.
51 These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of Israel distributed by lot in Shiloh before the Lord at the door of the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing the land.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
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