Joshua 13-21

Lands Yet Unconquered

¹Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed. ²This is the land that remains: All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, ³from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites; ⁴to the south, all the land of the Canaanites, from Mearah of the Sidonians to Aphek, as far as the border of the Amorites; ⁵the land of the Gebalites; and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath. ⁶All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim—all the Sidonians—I Myself will drive out before the Israelites. Be sure to divide it by lot as an inheritance to Israel, as I have commanded you. ⁷Now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

The Inheritance East of the Jordan

⁸The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the LORD had assigned to them: ⁹The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon, ¹⁰and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the Ammonites; ¹¹also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah— ¹²the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and had remained as a remnant of the Rephaim. Moses had struck them down and dispossessed them, ¹³but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath dwell among the Israelites to this day. ¹⁴To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The food offerings to the LORD, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, just as He had promised them.

Reuben’s Inheritance

¹⁵This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Reuben: ¹⁶The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba, ¹⁷to Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, ¹⁸Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ¹⁹Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley, ²⁰Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth— ²¹all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land. ²²The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword. ²³And the border of the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the clans of the Reubenites, including the cities and villages.

Gad’s Inheritance

²⁴This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Gad: ²⁵The territory of Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, near Rabbah; ²⁶the territory from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir; ²⁷and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the territory on the east side of the Jordan up to the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth ). ²⁸This was the inheritance of the clans of the Gadites, including the cities and villages.

Manasseh’s Eastern Inheritance

²⁹This is what Moses had given to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh: ³⁰The territory from Mahanaim through all Bashan—all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, including all the towns of Jair that are in Bashan, sixty cities; ³¹half of Gilead; and Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan. All this was for the clans of the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh, that is, half of the descendants of Machir. ³²These were the portions Moses had given them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho. ³³To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, just as He had promised them.

Land Division West of the Jordan

¹Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel. ²Their inheritance was assigned by lot for the nine and a half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses. ³For Moses had given the inheritance east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes. But he granted no inheritance among them to the Levites. ⁴The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion of the land was given to the Levites, except for cities in which to live, along with pasturelands for their flocks and herds. ⁵So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.

Caleb Requests Hebron

⁶Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me. ⁷I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back to him an honest report. ⁸Although my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear, I remained loyal to the LORD my God. ⁹On that day Moses swore to me, saying, ‘Surely the land on which you have set foot will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’ ¹⁰Now behold, as the LORD promised, He has kept me alive these forty-five years since He spoke this word to Moses, while Israel wandered in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old, ¹¹still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. As my strength was then, so it is now for war, for going out, and for coming in. ¹²Now therefore give me this hill country that the LORD promised me on that day, for you yourself heard then that the Anakim were there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps with the LORD’s help I will drive them out, as the LORD has spoken.” ¹³Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. ¹⁴Therefore Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. ¹⁵(Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.) Then the land had rest from war.

Judah’s Inheritance

¹Now the allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah extended to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin at the extreme southern boundary: ²Their southern border started at the bay on the southern tip of the Salt Sea, ³proceeded south of the Ascent of Akrabbim, continued on to Zin, went over to the south of Kadesh-barnea, ran past Hezron up to Addar, and curved toward Karka. ⁴It proceeded to Azmon, joined the Brook of Egypt, and ended at the Sea. This was their southern border. ⁵The eastern border was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan. The northern border started from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan, ⁶went up to Beth-hoglah, proceeded north of Beth-arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. ⁷Then the border went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, turning north to Gilgal, which faces the Ascent of Adummim south of the ravine. It continued along the waters of En-shemesh and came out at En-rogel. ⁸From there the border went up the Valley of Ben-hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom on the west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. ⁹From the hilltop the border curved to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, and then bent around toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). ¹⁰The border curled westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, and crossed to Timnah. ¹¹Then it went out to the northern slope of Ekron, curved toward Shikkeron, proceeded to Mount Baalah, went on to Jabneel, and ended at the Sea. ¹²And the western border was the coastline of the Great Sea. These are the boundaries around the clans of the descendants of Judah.

Caleb’s Portion and Conquest

¹³According to the LORD’s command to him, Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah—Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) ¹⁴And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak—the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. ¹⁵From there he marched against the inhabitants of Debir (formerly known as Kiriath-sepher). ¹⁶And Caleb said, “To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage.” ¹⁷So Othniel son of Caleb’s brother Kenaz captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage. ¹⁸One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, “What do you desire?” ¹⁹“Give me a blessing,” she answered. “Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well.” So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.

The Cities of Judah

²⁰This is the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Judah. ²¹These were the southernmost cities of the tribe of Judah in the Negev toward the border of Edom: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²²Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, ²⁸Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³²Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages. ³³These were in the foothills: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim)—fourteen cities, along with their villages. ³⁷Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, ³⁸Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel, ³⁹Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish, ⁴¹Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah—sixteen cities, along with their villages. ⁴²Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah—nine cities, along with their villages. ⁴⁵Ekron, with its towns and villages; ⁴⁶from Ekron to the sea, all the cities near Ashdod, along with their villages; ⁴⁷Ashdod, with its towns and villages; Gaza, with its towns and villages, as far as the Brook of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea. ⁴⁸These were in the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—eleven cities, along with their villages. ⁵²Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—nine cities, along with their villages. ⁵⁵Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—ten cities, along with their villages. ⁵⁸Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon—six cities, along with their villages. ⁶⁰Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah—two cities, along with their villages. ⁶¹These were in the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶²Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi—six cities, along with their villages. ⁶³But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.

Ephraim’s Inheritance

¹The allotment for the descendants of Joseph extended from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east, through the wilderness that goes up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel. ²It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz) and proceeded to the border of the Archites in Ataroth. ³Then it descended westward to the border of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth-horon and on to Gezer, and it ended at the Sea. ⁴So Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, received their inheritance. ⁵This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar in the east to Upper Beth-horon ⁶and out toward the Sea. From Michmethath on the north it turned eastward toward Taanath-shiloh and passed by it to Janoah on the east. ⁷From Janoah it went down to Ataroth and Naarah, and then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. ⁸From Tappuah the border went westward to the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Sea. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, ⁹along with all the cities and villages set apart for the descendants of Ephraim within the inheritance of Manasseh. ¹⁰But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.

Manasseh’s Western Inheritance

¹Now this was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn son, namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because Machir was a man of war. ²So this allotment was for the rest of the descendants of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. ³But Zelophehad son of Hepher (the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh) had no sons but only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers, in keeping with the command of the LORD. ⁵Thus ten shares fell to Manasseh, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond the Jordan, ⁶because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh. ⁷Now the border of Manasseh went from Asher to Michmethath near Shechem, then southward to include the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸The region of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself, on the border of Manasseh, belonged to Ephraim. ⁹From there the border continued southward to the Brook of Kanah. There were cities belonging to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh, but the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook and ended at the Sea. ¹⁰Ephraim’s territory was to the south, and Manasseh’s was to the north, having the Sea as its border and adjoining Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. ¹¹Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements. ¹²But the descendants of Manasseh were unable to occupy these cities, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land. ¹³However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they failed to drive them out completely. ¹⁴Then the sons of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one portion as an inheritance? We have many people, because the LORD has blessed us abundantly.” ¹⁵Joshua answered them, “If you have so many people that the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go to the forest and clear for yourself an area in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.” ¹⁶“The hill country is not enough for us,” they replied, “and all the Canaanites who live in the valley have iron chariots, both in Beth-shean with its towns and in the Valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷So Joshua said to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You have many people and great strength. You shall not have just one allotment, ¹⁸because the hill country will be yours as well. It is a forest; clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours. Although the Canaanites have iron chariots and although they are strong, you can drive them out.”

The Remainder Divided

¹Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them, ²there were still seven tribes of Israel who had not yet received their inheritance. ³So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you put off entering and possessing the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴Appoint three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to survey the land and map it out, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me ⁵and divide the land into seven portions. Judah shall remain in their territory in the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in their territory in the north. ⁶When you have mapped out the seven portions of land and brought it to me, I will cast lots for you here in the presence of the LORD our God. ⁷The Levites, however, have no portion among you, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received the inheritance that Moses the servant of the LORD gave them beyond the Jordan to the east.” ⁸As the men got up to go out, Joshua commanded them to map out the land, saying, “Go and survey the land, map it out, and return to me. Then I will cast lots for you here in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD.” ⁹So the men departed and went throughout the land, mapping it city by city into seven portions. Then they returned with the document to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. ¹⁰And Joshua cast lots for them in the presence of the LORD at Shiloh, where he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their divisions.

Benjamin’s Inheritance

¹¹The first lot came up for the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph: ¹²On the north side their border began at the Jordan, went up past the northern slope of Jericho, headed west through the hill country, and came out at the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³From there the border crossed over to the southern slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth-addar on the hill south of Lower Beth-horon. ¹⁴On the west side the border curved southward from the hill facing Beth-horon on the south and came out at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the western side. ¹⁵On the south side the border began at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim and extended westward to the spring at the Waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶Then it went down to the foot of the hill that faces the Valley of Ben-hinnom at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim and ran down the Valley of Hinnom toward the southern slope of the Jebusites and downward to En-rogel. ¹⁷From there it curved northward and proceeded to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth facing the Ascent of Adummim, and continued down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. ¹⁸Then it went on to the northern slope of Beth-arabah and went down into the valley. ¹⁹The border continued to the northern slope of Beth-hoglah and came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the mouth of the Jordan. This was the southern border. ²⁰On the east side the border was the Jordan. These were the borders around the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. ²¹These were the cities of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²²Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve cities, along with their villages. ²⁵Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim —fourteen cities, along with their villages. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.

Simeon’s Inheritance

¹The second lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Simeon: Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah ²and included Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah, ³Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, ⁶Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen cities, along with their villages. ⁷Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities, along with their villages, ⁸and all the villages surrounding these cities as far as Baalath-beer (Ramah of the Negev). This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Simeon. ⁹The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the territory of Judah, because the share for Judah’s descendants was too large for them. So the Simeonites received an inheritance within Judah’s portion.

Zebulun’s Inheritance

¹⁰The third lot came up for the clans of the tribe of Zebulun: The border of their inheritance stretched as far as Sarid. ¹¹It went up westward to Maralah, reached Dabbesheth, and met the brook east of Jokneam. ¹²From Sarid it turned eastward along the border of Chisloth-tabor and went on to Daberath and up to Japhia. ¹³From there it crossed eastward to Gath-hepher and to Eth-kazin; it extended to Rimmon and curved around toward Neah. ¹⁴Then the border circled around the north side of Neah to Hannathon and ended at the Valley of Iphtah-el. ¹⁵It also included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. There were twelve cities, along with their villages. ¹⁶This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Zebulun, including these cities and their villages.

Issachar’s Inheritance

¹⁷The fourth lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Issachar: ¹⁸Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. ²²The border reached Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and ended at the Jordan. There were sixteen cities, along with their villages. ²³This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Issachar, including these cities and their villages.

Asher’s Inheritance

²⁴The fifth lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Asher: ²⁵Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ²⁶Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west the border touched Carmel and Shihor-libnath, ²⁷then turned eastward toward Beth-dagon, touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah-el, and went north to Beth-emek and Neiel, passing Cabul on the left. ²⁸It went on to Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. ²⁹The border then turned back toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Achzib, ³⁰Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob. There were twenty-two cities, along with their villages. ³¹This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Asher, including these cities and their villages.

Naphtali’s Inheritance

³²The sixth lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Naphtali: ³³Their border started at Heleph and the great tree of Zaanannim, passing Adami-nekeb and Jabneel as far as Lakkum and ending at the Jordan. ³⁴Then the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and ran from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun on the south side, Asher on the west, and Judah at the Jordan on the east. ³⁵The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, ³⁶Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, ³⁸Iron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh. There were nineteen cities, along with their villages. ³⁹This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Naphtali, including these cities and their villages.

Dan’s Inheritance

⁴⁰The seventh lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Dan: ⁴¹The territory of their inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, ⁴²Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, including the territory across from Joppa. ⁴⁷(Later, when the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and put it to the sword. So they took possession of Leshem, settled there, and renamed it after their father Dan.) ⁴⁸This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Dan, including these cities and their villages.

Joshua’s Inheritance

⁴⁹When they had finished distributing the land into its territories, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, ⁵⁰as the LORD had commanded. They gave him the city of Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, as he requested. He rebuilt the city and settled in it. ⁵¹These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families distributed by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing up the land.

Six Cities of Refuge

¹Then the LORD said to Joshua, ²“Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, ³so that anyone who kills another unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before its elders, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them. ⁵Now if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not surrender the manslayer into his hand, because that man killed his neighbor accidentally without prior malice. ⁶He is to stay in that city until he stands trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest serving at that time. Then the manslayer may return to his own home in the city from which he fled.” ⁷So they set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. ⁸And beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho, they designated Bezer on the wilderness plateau from the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and foreigners among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

Forty-Eight Cities for the Levites

¹Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribes of Israel ²at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said to them, “The LORD commanded through Moses that we be given cities in which to live, together with pasturelands for our livestock.” ³So by the command of the LORD, the Israelites gave the Levites these cities and their pasturelands out of their own inheritance: ⁴The first lot came out for the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. ⁵The remaining descendants of Kohath received ten cities by lot from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ⁶The descendants of Gershon received thirteen cities by lot from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. ⁷And the descendants of Merari received twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. ⁸So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these cities, together with their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses. ⁹From the tribes of Judah and Simeon, they designated these cities by name ¹⁰to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because the first lot fell to them: ¹¹They gave them Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pasturelands, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the father of Anak.) ¹²But they had given the fields and villages around the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession. ¹³So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave these cities, together with their pasturelands: Hebron, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah, ¹⁴Jattir, Eshtemoa, ¹⁵Holon, Debir, ¹⁶Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh—nine cities from these two tribes, together with their pasturelands. ¹⁷And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba, ¹⁸Anathoth, and Almon—four cities, together with their pasturelands. ¹⁹In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron. ²⁰The remaining Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted these cities: From the tribe of Ephraim ²¹they were given Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Gezer, ²²Kibzaim, and Beth-horon—four cities, together with their pasturelands. ²³From the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke, Gibbethon, ²⁴Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon—four cities, together with their pasturelands. ²⁵And from the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Taanach and Gath-rimmon—two cities, together with their pasturelands. ²⁶In all, ten cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans. ²⁷This is what the Levite clans of the Gershonites were given: From the half-tribe of Manasseh they were given Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for the manslayer, and Beeshterah—two cities, together with their pasturelands. ²⁸From the tribe of Issachar they were given Kishion, Daberath, ²⁹Jarmuth, and En-gannim—four cities, together with their pasturelands. ³⁰From the tribe of Asher they were given Mishal, Abdon, ³¹Helkath, and Rehob—four cities, together with their pasturelands. ³²And from the tribe of Naphtali they were given Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for the manslayer), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan—three cities, together with their pasturelands. ³³In all, thirteen cities, together with their pasturelands, were given to the Gershonite clans. ³⁴This is what the Merarite clan (the rest of the Levites) were given: From the tribe of Zebulun they were given Jokneam, Kartah, ³⁵Dimnah, and Nahalal—four cities, together with their pasturelands. ³⁶From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahaz, ³⁷Kedemoth, and Mephaath—four cities, together with their pasturelands. ³⁸And from the tribe of Gad they were given Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for the manslayer, Mahanaim, ³⁹Heshbon, and Jazer—four cities in all, together with their pasturelands. ⁴⁰In all, twelve cities were allotted to the clans of Merari, the remaining Levite clans. ⁴¹For the Levites, then, there were forty-eight cities in all, together with their pasturelands, within the territory of the Israelites. ⁴²Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities. ⁴³Thus the LORD gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it. ⁴⁴And the LORD gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. ⁴⁵Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.