Joshua 13-22

The Voice

13 Now the years passed and Joshua grew old; and one day the Eternal came to him.

⁸ The other half-tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad received their inheritance. Moses, the Eternal’s servant, gave them land on the far side of the Jordan and toward the east, ⁹ from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Arnon Valley, with the town that is in the middle of the valley, and the plains from Medeba to Dibon; ¹⁰ and all the cities of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had reigned from Heshbon, as far as the border regions of the Ammonites; ¹¹ and the land of Gilead, and the lands of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all of Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah; ¹² in Bashan, this includes all the kingdom of Og who had reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (who was the last of the survivors of the giants). Moses conquered these kings and took over their lands, ¹³ although the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, which is why the people of Geshur and Maacath survive among the Israelites to this day.

¹⁴ The tribe of Levi was the only tribe of Israel that was not given land then as its inheritance. To offer burnt offerings to the Eternal God of Israel was their inheritance, as He told them.

¹⁵ Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the Reubenites, clan by clan. ¹⁶ Their territory comprised the plateau from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Arnon Valley, including the city in the middle of the valley, and the entire plain by Medeba; ¹⁷ Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the plains: Dibon, Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon, ¹⁸ Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath; ¹⁹ Kiriathaim, Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the mount of the valley; ²⁰ Beth-peor, the foothills of Mount Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth. ²¹ The tribe of Reuben received, then, all these cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites who had reigned in Heshbon until Moses defeated him and the leaders of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba) who were the princes of Sihon in the land. ²² Along with all of those they put to death, the Israelites also executed Balaam, the son of Beor, who practiced divination but blessed Israel by the command of the Eternal One. ²³ The western border of the land allotted to the people of Reuben was the Jordan with its banks. This, then, was the land given to the people of Reuben, clan by clan, and all their cities and villages.

²⁴ Moses also gave an inheritance to the tribe of the Gadites according to their clans. ²⁵ Their territory comprised Jazer, and all the cities of the land of Gilead, and half the country of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, east of Rabbah; ²⁶ from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim as far as the border of Debir; ²⁷ and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon—all the rest of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon—the Jordan and its eastern banks, to the southern end of the Sea of Galilee. ²⁸ This, then, was the land given to the people of Gad, clan by clan, and all their cities and villages.

²⁹ Finally Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh, again allotted clan by clan. ³⁰ Their territory started at Mahanaim and included all of Bashan and the whole kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and all the settlements of Jair, which were in Bashan: 60 towns in all. ³¹ Half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei (the royal cities of Og, king in Bashan) were allotted to half of the people of Machir, son of Manasseh, who would dwell east of the Jordan, according to their clans.

³² These were the inheritances Moses distributed on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan River and east of Jericho. ³³ The clans of the tribe of Levi received no inheritance from Moses since the Eternal God of Israel was their inheritance as He promised them.

14 Here is an account of the land that the other people of Israel were given as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, as the priest Eleazar, Joshua (son of Nun), and the heads of the elders of the Israelite tribes distributed it to them. ² They determined the inheritance of the nine tribes and one half-tribe by lot, as the Eternal One had commanded them through Moses. ³ (Remember Moses had already distributed land to the two tribes and the other half-tribe who lived beyond the Jordan, and he gave no land as an inheritance to the Levites. ⁴ Since the descendants of Joseph consisted of two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, no share of land was given to the Levites but only towns to live in, with pasture for their property and livestock.)

⁵ So the Israelites did as the Eternal commanded Moses and divided the land. ⁶ Some members of the tribe of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal, including Caleb, son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite.

¹³ So Joshua blessed Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and gave him Hebron as an inheritance. ¹⁴ Hebron belongs to the descendants of Caleb, son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, even now because he obeyed the Eternal God of Israel completely. ¹⁵ (In ancient times, Hebron was called Kiriath-arba after Arba, who was the greatest of the Anakim.) So that land was peaceful.

15 The territory allotted to the tribe of the Judahites, clan by clan, reached south to the border of Edom, and even further south into the wilderness of Zin. ² Their southern border ran from the bay at the south end of the Dead Sea (the Salt Sea), ³ and continued to the south of the ascent of Akrabbim,^[c] crossed the wilderness of Zin, and went up south of Kadesh-barnea, past Hezron, on up to Addar, and then turning toward Karka, ⁴ on to Azmon, then out by the wadi of Egypt, and ending at the Mediterranean Sea. “This,” they were told, “will be your southern boundary.”

⁵ On the east the territory of Judah was bounded by the Dead Sea up to where the Jordan runs into it. Their boundary on the north began at the bay at the mouth of the Jordan, ⁶ went up to Beth-hoglah, passed north of Beth-arabah, and continued up to the stone of Bohan, Reuben’s descendant. ⁷ From there the boundary went to Debir from the valley of Achor, and then northward, turning toward Gilgal across from the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the river valley. From there the boundary passed along to the waters of En-shemesh, and on to En-rogel. ⁸ Then the boundary went up the valley of Ben-hinnom, just at the southern slope of the Jebusite city, Jerusalem, and then up to the top of the mountain west of the Hinnom Valley at the northern end of the valley of Rephaim. ⁹ From the mountaintop, the boundary extended to the spring of Nephtoah, and from there to the towns of Mount Ephron. Then the boundary curved around to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim); ¹⁰ and from there circled west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, passed through Timnah ¹¹ to the northern flank of Ekron, then turned toward Shikkeron, past Mount Baalah, and out to Jabneel. The boundary ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

¹² The western boundary, then, was the Mediterranean coast, and this recounts all the boundary of the land allotted to the people of Judah and its clans.

¹³ As the Eternal had commanded him, Joshua gave Caleb, son of Jephunneh, a share of land within the territory allotted to the people of Judah—Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron; Arba was the father of Anak). ¹⁴ Caleb drove from that land the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. ¹⁵ From there he went to battle the inhabitants of Debir (formerly Kiriath-sepher).

¹⁷ Othniel, son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, captured it, so Caleb gave Othniel his daughter Achsah in marriage. ¹⁸ One day she urged Othniel to ask her father for a field. As she dismounted her donkey, Caleb spoke to her.

So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

²⁰ This, then, is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah, according to their clans. ²¹ A list of the towns belonging to the tribe of the people of Judah, beginning in the far south near the boundary of Edom: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, ²⁸ Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ²⁹ Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—in all, 29 cities with their surrounding villages.

³³ In the lowlands: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶ Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim—14 cities with their surrounding villages.

³⁷ Also Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah—16 cities with their surrounding villages.

⁴² Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah—9 cities with their surrounding villages.

⁴⁵ Ekron with its towns and villages, ⁴⁶ from Ekron to the Mediterranean Sea, and everything near Ashdod, with its villages.

⁴⁷ Also Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; on to the wadi of Egypt, and then the Mediterranean with its coast.

⁴⁸ In the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—11 cities with their surrounding villages.

⁵² Also Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³ Janum, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—9 cities with their surrounding villages.

⁵⁵ Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—10 cities with their surrounding villages.

⁵⁸ Also Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon—6 cities with their surrounding villages.

⁶⁰ Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah—2 cities with their surrounding villages.

⁶¹ In the desert: Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, the City of Salt, and Engedi—6 cities with their surrounding villages.

⁶³ But the people of Judah could not conquer the Jebusites who lived in Jerusalem, so the Jebusites still live alongside the people of Judah in Jerusalem today.

16 The inheritance of the people of Joseph was bounded on the east by the Jordan at the waters of Jericho, and into the desert, then rising from Jericho into the highlands of Bethel. ² From there it went to Luz, and along to Ataroth, the frontier of the land of the Archites, ³ then downward and westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the border of lower Beth-horon, then on to Gezer, and it ended at the sea. ⁴ So the people of Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim received their inheritance.

⁵ The territory of the Ephraimites, clan by clan, was as follows: the eastern border of their inheritance was Ataroth-addar to upper Beth-horon, ⁶ and the boundary went west at Michmethath on the north and turned east toward Taanath-shiloh, and passed along beyond it on the east to Janoah. ⁷ Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, touched Jericho, and ended at the Jordan. ⁸ From Tappuah, the boundary ran west to the wadi of Kanah and ended at the sea. This was the land allotted to the tribe of the Ephraimites, clan by clan, ⁹ along with the cities that were set apart for the people of Ephraim scattered within the inheritance of the people of Manasseh, all those cities and their surrounding villages. ¹⁰ But the people of Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, who have lived among the people of Ephraim to this day but are forced to serve them.

17 Land was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn. Machir, the firstborn son of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, received Gilead and Bashan because he was a warrior. ² Then land was allotted to the rest of the people of Manasseh by clans: Abiezerites, Helekites, Asrielites, Shechemites, Hepherites, and Shemidaites (the male descendants of Manasseh, son of Joseph, by clans).

³ Now Zelophehad, son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, great-grandson of Machir, great-great-grandson of Manasseh, had no sons to inherit, only five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ These daughters came before Eleazar the priest, Joshua (son of Nun), and the leaders of the people.

So, as the Eternal had commanded, he gave the daughters an inheritance alongside their uncles.

⁵ So Manasseh was given 10 portions (in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan on the far side of the Jordan) ⁶ since the daughters of Manasseh also received an inheritance among their male relatives. The land of Gilead itself was given to Manasseh’s other male descendants.

⁷ The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to Michmethath, which is east of Shechem; then the boundary went southward to the inhabitants of the spring of Tappuah. ⁸ (The land of Tappuah belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, but the town itself on the boundary of Manasseh belonged to the people of Ephraim.) ⁹ From there, the boundary went south to the wadi of Kanah. The towns to the south of the river among the towns of Manasseh also belonged to Ephraim. Then the boundary of Manasseh went along the north side of the wadi and ended at the sea.

¹⁰ The south side was given to Ephraim, and the north to Manasseh with the sea forming the western boundary; the northern boundary was the land allotted to Asher, and the eastern was Issachar. ¹¹ Within the territories of Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed these cities: Beth-shean and its villages, Ibleam and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Taanach and Megiddo and their villages, the three towns of the slopes.^[d]

¹² But the descendants of Manasseh could not conquer those cities because the Canaanites stubbornly continued to live among them in that region. ¹³ At last when the Israelites grew stronger, they made the Canaanites their servants, although they did not remove them completely.

¹⁴ Then the descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and made demands of him.

18 The whole community of Israelites assembled at Shiloh and raised the congregation tent. The region was fully under their control. ² But there were still seven tribes who had not received their inheritance of land.

⁸ So the chosen men prepared to go, and Joshua repeated his instructions to them.

⁹ The men went out and passed through the land, marking the cities, dividing it into seven parts and recording their findings on a scroll. Then they returned to Joshua at Shiloh, ¹⁰ and Joshua drew lots in Shiloh in the presence of the Eternal to divide the land among the remaining Israelites, each getting a share.

¹¹ The land assigned by lot to the tribe of the Benjaminites according to their clans was between the people of Judah in the south and the people of Joseph in the north. ¹² On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan: then the boundary went up to the northern side of Jericho, climbed westward through the hill country, and ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³ From there, the boundary went southward in the direction of Luz; near Luz (that is, Bethel) it went down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain to the south of lower Beth-horon. ¹⁴ From this point, the western boundary turned southward from the mountain opposite Beth-horon to Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a town belonging to the people of Judah. This was the western boundary of their inheritance.

¹⁵ The southern boundary began on the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim and from there went west to the springs of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then the boundary went along the border of the mountain overlooking the valley of Ben-hinnom, which is at the north end of the valley of Rephaim; and it then went down the valley of Hinnom, south of the slope of the Jebusites, and further to En-rogel. ¹⁷ Then it curved in a northerly direction toward En-shemesh and from there went on to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim; then down to the stone of Bohan, Reuben’s son, ¹⁸ and passing on to the north of the slope of Arabah, it descended down to the Arabah.^{[e] 19} The boundary then went north of the slope of Beth-hoglah and ended at the northern bay of the Dead Sea where the Jordan empties into the sea. This was the southern border. ²⁰ On the eastern side, the Jordan formed its boundary.

This, then, was the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, clan by clan, boundary by boundary. ²¹ And the cities of the tribe of the Benjaminites allocated to the clans were: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²² Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—12 cities and their surrounding villages. ²⁵ Also Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zela, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath—14 cities with their surrounding villages. This was the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, clan by clan.

19 The second allotment went to the tribe of the Simeonites, clan by clan, and its inheritance lay within the lands of the people of Judah. ² Simeon had for its inheritance Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, ³ Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴ Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵ Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, ⁶ Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—13 cities with their surrounding villages; ⁷ also Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four towns with their surrounding villages; ⁸ also all the villages surrounding these towns as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negev. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites, clan by clan. ⁹ The inheritance of the people of Simeon was taken from the people of Judah because the allotment of the people of Judah was too large for them. So the tribe of Simeon received an inheritance within Judah’s inheritance.

¹⁰ The third lot fell to the people of Zebulun, clan by clan. The boundary of its inheritance stretched as far as Sarid, ¹¹ then it climbed up westward to Maralah and brushed Dabbesheth, then on to the wadi that is east of Jokneam. ¹² From Sarid it turned in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the frontier of Chisloth-tabor; and from there it went to Daberath, then up to Japhia. ¹³ From there it went eastward to Gath-hepher, then Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon, it curved toward Neah. ¹⁴ Then on the north, the boundary curved toward Hannathon and ended at the valley of Iphtahel ¹⁵ with Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—12 cities with their surrounding villages. ¹⁶ This, then, was the land granted to the people of Zebulun, clan by clan: these cities with their surrounding villages.

¹⁷ The fourth lot went to the people of Issachar, clan by clan. ¹⁸ The territory that they inherited included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹ Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰ Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹ Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez. ²² The boundary extended up to Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and ended at the Jordan—16 cities with their surrounding villages. ²³ This, then, was the land granted to the tribe of the Issacharites, clan by clan: these cities with their surrounding villages.

²⁴ The fifth lot was drawn for the tribe of the Asherites, clan by clan. ²⁵ The boundary of its inheritance included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ²⁶ Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. It reached Carmel on the west and the brook Shihor-libnath, ²⁷ then it turned eastward toward Beth-dagon and brushed Zebulun and the valley of Iphtahel north to Beth-emek and Neiel; then it continued on north passing by Cabul on the left, ²⁸ to Ebron,^[f] Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as Sidon the Great. ²⁹ The border turned to Ramah and the fortified city of Tyre. Then it turned to Hosah and ended at the sea near the region of Achzib; ³⁰ also, Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob—22 cities with their surrounding villages. ³¹ This, then, was the land allotted to the tribe of the Asherites, clan by clan: these cities and their surrounding villages.

³² The sixth lot was drawn for the people of the Naphtalites, clan by clan; ³³ and its boundary ran from Heleph and the oak in Zaanannim, with Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum; it ended at the Jordan. ³⁴ The western boundary ran from Heleph to Aznoth-tabor and went from there to Hukkok, brushing the inheritance of Zebulun to the south, Asher on the west, and Judah on the east at the Jordan. ³⁵ The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, ³⁶ Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷ Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, ³⁸ Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—19 cities in all with their surrounding villages. ³⁹ This, then, was the land granted to the tribe of the Naphtalites, clan by clan: these cities with their surrounding villages.

⁴⁰ The seventh lot fell to the tribe of the Danites, clan by clan; ⁴¹ and the territory of its 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 and Me-jarkon and Rakkon on the border opposite Joppa. ⁴⁷ The people of Dan had a difficult time subduing their allotted territory so they went up and attacked Leshem, and when they had captured it and killed its inhabitants, they settled there, renaming Leshem “Dan,” after their ancestor. ⁴⁸ This, then, was the land granted to the tribe of the Danites, clan by clan: these cities with their surrounding villages.

⁴⁹ When at last they had finished distributing the territories of the land as inheritances, the Israelites gave Joshua, son of Nun, a special inheritance among them. ⁵⁰ As the Eternal had commanded, they gave Joshua the town he had asked for, Timnath-serah in the highlands of Ephraim. So he built a city and settled there.

⁵¹ These, then, are the inheritances that the priest Eleazar, Joshua (son of Nun), and the heads of the leaders of the Israelite tribes distributed by drawing lots at Shiloh. All this was done in the presence of the Eternal at the entrance of the congregation tent. And the division of the land was complete.

20 Then the Eternal One spoke to Joshua.

⁷ So they set apart and consecrated Kedesh in Galilee (in the hill country of Naphtali), Shechem (in the hill country of Ephraim), and Kiriath-arba (Hebron, in the hill country of Judah). ⁸ Beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho, they appointed Bezer (in the desert plateau from the tribe of Reuben), Ramoth in Gilead (from the tribe of Gad), and Golan in Bashan (from the tribe of Manasseh). ⁹ These, then, were the cities set aside to be sanctuaries for all the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who killed a person accidentally could flee there and not die at the hands of someone seeking blood revenge until there was a trial before the congregation.

21 It was at this time that the heads of the leaders of the Levites came before the priest Eleazar and Joshua, son of Nun, and the other leaders of the tribes of the Israelites ² at Shiloh in the land of Canaan.

³ So in obedience to the Eternal’s command, the Israelites allotted to the Levites towns with their surrounding pasturelands, from out of their inheritances, ⁴ and lots were drawn for the clans of the descendants of Kohath. To those Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest went 13 towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. ⁵ The other descendants of Kohath were given 10 towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim and Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. ⁶ The descendants of Gershon were allotted 13 towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the half-tribe of Manasseh that lived in Bashan. ⁷ The descendants of Merari and their clans were granted 12 towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. ⁸ This, then, was the land granted by drawing lots for the Levites, by the other people of Israel as the Eternal had commanded through Moses—these towns with their surrounding pastures. ⁹ From the tribes of the Judahites and the Simeonites came the following towns mentioned by name, ¹⁰ which were granted to the descendants of Aaron, of the clans of the descendants of Kohath who were Levites, since they were chosen first: ¹¹ the city of Kiriath-arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is Hebron, in the highlands of Judah, as well as the pasturelands around it. ¹² The fields and villages of the town had already been granted to Caleb, son of Jephunneh, for his inheritance.

^13-16 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, the city of refuge for a slayer, and Libnah; Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah, and Beth-shemesh, all with their villages—9 cities with their pastures given by these two tribes.

^17-19 These cities were given by the tribe of Benjamin: Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon, all with their villages—4 cities. So the cities granted to the descendants of Aaron—the priests—totaled 13, with their pastures and their villages.

^20-22 As for the remaining clans of the people of Kohath of the Levites, the cities allotted to them were given by the tribe of Ephraim: Shechem (the city of refuge in the highlands of Ephraim) Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth-horon, all with their villages—4 cities with their pastures. ^23-24 Out of the tribe of Dan they were given Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-rimmon, all with their pasturelands—4 cities. ²⁵ And out of the half-tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach with its villages and Gath-rimmon with its villages and their pastures—2 cities. ²⁶ So the cities given to the clans of the rest of the Kohathites totaled 10, with their pasturelands.

²⁷ The Gershonites, another of the clans of the Levites, received from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (the city of refuge), with its villages and pastures, and Beeshterah with its villages and pastures—2 cities. ^28-29 From the tribe of Issachar they received Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En-gannim, all with their villages—4 cities.

^30-31 From the tribe of Asher came Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob, all with their villages and pastures—4 cities. ³² From the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (the city of refuge), Hammoth-dor, and Kartan, all with their villages and their pastures—3 cities. ³³ In all, the cities granted to the clans of the Gershonites totaled 13, along with their villages and their pastures.

^34-35 The rest of the Levites—the clans of the Merarites—received from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah, and Nahalal, all with their villages and pastures—4 cities. ^36-37 From the tribe of Reuben they were given Bezer, Jahzah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath, all with their villages and their pastures—4 cities. ^38-39 From the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead (the city of refuge), Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer, all with their villages and their pastures—4 cities in all. ⁴⁰ So the cities of the Merarite clans, that is, the remaining clans of Levi, totaled 12. ⁴¹ The Levites were granted 48 cities, each with villages around them and the pasturelands, within the holdings of the Israelites. ⁴² So it was that they received these cities, their villages, and their pastures.

⁴³ That is how the Eternal gave to the people of Israel all the land He had promised to their ancestors; and when they had taken possession of the land, the Israelites settled upon it. ⁴⁴ So He gave them rest from war on every side as He had sworn to their ancestors; none of their enemies still stood against them, for the Eternal had delivered them all into their hands. ⁴⁵ Not a single one of all the good promises that He had made to the house of Israel went unfulfilled; all of them came to pass.

22 It was time for Joshua to discharge the tribes whose land was east of the Jordan, and they came before him—the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

⁶ He gave them his blessing and sent them home to their tents, ⁷ but since Moses had given to the half-tribe of Manasseh an inheritance in Bashan, east of the Jordan, and to the other half Joshua had given an inheritance alongside the other people west of the Jordan, he blessed them and sent them away.

⁹ So the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh departed from the other Israelites at Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, and returned to their homes and families in Gilead, which Moses had given them by order of the Eternal.

¹⁰ When the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh came to the western bank of the Jordan, although still in the land of Canaan, they built an immense altar there by the river. ¹¹ When the other people of Israel heard that the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built a huge altar on the frontier of Canaan on the side of the Jordan given to them, they feared the altar was going to be used to worship the gods of the land of Canaan. ¹² So the Israelites all gathered at Shiloh and talked of going to war against the tribes across the Jordan. ^13-14 But first they appointed the priest Phinehas, son of Eleazar, to travel with 10 chiefs, one from each Israelite tribe and each clan who were settled in the land of Canaan, to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead.

¹⁵ When they came to the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead, Phinehas and the chiefs delivered the message.

²¹ Then the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered Phinehas and the heads of the clans of Israel:

³⁰ When the priest Phinehas, and the leaders of the congregation and the heads of the clans of Israel who accompanied him, heard the reply from the people of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, they were satisfied.

³² So Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and the leaders left the people of Reuben and Gad in the land of Gilead and returned to the assembly at Shiloh to tell them what they had heard. ³³ Their report pleased the Israelites, and they stopped talking about going to war or destroying the people of Reuben and Gad. ³⁴ The people of Reuben and Gad called the altar “Witness.”