Joshua 16 - 20 — Legacy Standard Bible

Ephraim’s Inheritance

16Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went out from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into ^athe wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. ²And it went out from Bethel to Luz and ^apassed on to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. ³Then it went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of lower ^aBeth-horon even to ^bGezer, and ¹it ended at the sea.

⁴So the ^asons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. ⁵Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was ^aAtaroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. ⁶Then the border went westward at ^aMichmethath on the north, and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and passed on beyond it to the east of Janoah. ⁷And it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to ^aNaarah and reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. ⁸From ^aTappuah the border continued westward to the ¹brook of Kanah, and ²it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, ⁹together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. ¹⁰^aBut they did not dispossess the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so ^bthe Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.

Manasseh’s Inheritance

17And this was the lot for the tribe of ^aManasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, ¹were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ²So the lot was made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families: for the sons of Abiezer and for the sons of Helek and for the sons of Asriel and for the sons of Shechem and for the sons of Hepher and for the sons of Shemida; these were the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the males according to their families.

³However, ^aZelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. ⁴And they came near before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun and before the leaders, saying, “Yahweh commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So ^aaccording to the ¹word of Yahweh he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. ⁵Thus there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, ⁶because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the ^aland of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

⁷And the border of Manasseh ¹ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went ²southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but ^aTappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. ⁹And the ^aborder went down to the ¹brook of Kanah, southward of the ²brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the ³brook, and ⁴it ended at the sea. ¹⁰The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was ¹their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. ¹¹And in Issachar and in Asher, ^aManasseh had Beth-shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, the third is ^bNapheth. ¹²^aBut the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities because the Canaanites persisted in living in that land. ¹³Now it happened that when the sons of Israel became strong, ^athey put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not dispossess them completely.

¹⁴Then the ^asons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me only one lot and one portion for an inheritance, since I am a numerous people whom Yahweh has thus far blessed?” ¹⁵And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go ¹up to the forest and ²clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶And the sons of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have ^achariots of iron, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷Then Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, ¹⁸but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall ¹clear it, and to its ²farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall dispossess the Canaanites, even though they have ^achariots of iron and even though they are strong.”

The Remaining Land Divided

18Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled themselves at ^aShiloh and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.

²And there remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided their inheritance. ³So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “^aHow long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴“Provide for yourselves three men from ¹each tribe that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall ²return to me. ⁵“And they shall divide it into seven portions; ^aJudah shall stay in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their territory on the north. ⁶“So you shall write a description of the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. ^aI will cast lots for you here before Yahweh our God. ⁷“For ^athe Levites have no portion among you because the priesthood of Yahweh is ¹their inheritance. Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh also have received their inheritance eastward beyond the Jordan, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave them.”

⁸Then the men arose and went, and Joshua commanded those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go and walk through the land and write a description of it, and return to me; then I will cast lots for you here before Yahweh in ^aShiloh.” ⁹So the men went and passed through the land and wrote a description of it by cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰And ^aJoshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Yahweh, and there Joshua divided the land to the sons of Israel according to their divisions.

Benjamin’s Inheritance

¹¹Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the territory of their lot ¹lay between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph. ¹²^aAnd their border on the north side was from the Jordan; then the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north and went up through the hill country westward, and ¹it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven. ¹³From there the border passed on to ^aLuz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel) southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, near the hill which lies on the south of ^blower Beth-horon. ¹⁴Then the border curved from there and turned round on the west side southward, from the hill which lies before Beth-horon southward; and ¹it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the west side. ¹⁵Then the ^asouth side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went out westward and went out to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶Then the border went down to the edge of the hill which is in the ^avalley of Ben-hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel. ¹⁷Then it curved northward and went out to En-shemesh and went out to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the ^astone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ¹⁸Then it continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward and went down to the Arabah. ¹⁹And the border passed on to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the ¹border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the south border. ²⁰Moreover, the Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin, according to their families and according to its borders all around.

²¹Now the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho and Beth-hoglah and Emek-keziz, ²²and Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Bethel, ²³and Avvim and Parah and Ophrah, ²⁴and Chephar-ammoni and Ophni and ^aGeba; twelve cities with their villages. ²⁵Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth, ²⁶and Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah, ²⁷and Rekem and Irpeel and Taralah, ²⁸and ^aZelah, Haeleph and the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the ^bsons of Benjamin according to their families.

Simeon’s Inheritance

19Then the second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families, and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Judah. ²So they had as their inheritance Beersheba or ¹Sheba and Moladah, ³and Hazar-shual and Balah and Ezem, ⁴and Eltolad and Bethul and Hormah, ⁵and Ziklag and Beth-marcaboth and Hazar-susah, ⁶and Beth-lebaoth and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages; ⁷Ain, Rimmon and Ether and Ashan; four cities with their villages; ⁸and all the villages which were around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the ¹Negev. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families. ⁹The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, for the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of ¹Judah’s inheritance.

Zebulun’s Inheritance

¹⁰Now the third lot came up for the sons of Zebulun according to their families. And the territory of their inheritance was as far as Sarid. ¹¹Then their border went up to the west and to Maralah; it then reached Dabbesheth and reached the ¹brook that is before Jokneam. ¹²Then it turned from Sarid to the east toward the sunrise as far as the border of Chisloth-tabor, and it went out to Daberath and ¹up to Japhia. ¹³From there it passed on to the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and it went out to Rimmon ¹which curves to Neah. ¹⁴And the border circled around it on the north to Hannathon, and ¹it ended at the valley of Iphtahel. ¹⁵Included also were Kattah and Nahalal and Shimron and Idalah and Bethlehem; twelve cities with their villages. ¹⁶This was the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Issachar’s Inheritance

¹⁷The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the sons of Issachar according to their families. ¹⁸And their territory included Jezreel and Chesulloth and ^aShunem, ¹⁹and Hapharaim and Shion and Anaharath, ²⁰and Rabbith and Kishion and Ebez, ²¹and Remeth and En-gannim and En-haddah and Beth-pazzez. ²²And the border reached to ^aTabor and Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh, and ¹their border ended at the Jordan; sixteen cities with their villages. ²³This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.

Asher’s Inheritance

²⁴Now the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families. ²⁵And their territory was Helkath and Hali and Beten and Achshaph, ²⁶and Allammelech and Amad and Mishal; and it reached to Carmel on the west and to Shihor-libnath. ²⁷Then it turned east toward the sunrise to Beth-dagon and reached to Zebulun and to the valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel; then it went out ¹to the north to ^aCabul, ²⁸and Ebron and Rehob and Hammon and Kanah, as far as Great ^aSidon. ²⁹Then the border turned to Ramah and to the fortified city of Tyre; then the border turned to Hosah, and ¹it ended at the sea by the region of ^aAchzib. ³⁰Included also were Ummah and Aphek and Rehob; twenty-two cities with their villages. ³¹This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.

Naphtali’s Inheritance

³²The sixth lot came out for the sons of Naphtali, for the sons of Naphtali according to their families. ³³And their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim and Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and ¹it ended at the Jordan. ³⁴Then the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and went out from there to Hukkok; and it reached to Zebulun on the south and reached to Asher on the west and to Judah at the Jordan to the east toward the sunrise. ³⁵Now the fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer and ^aHammath, Rakkath and ^bChinnereth, ³⁶and Adamah and Ramah and Hazor, ³⁷and Kedesh and Edrei and En-hazor, ³⁸and Yiron and Migdal-el, Horem and Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. ³⁹This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.

Dan’s Inheritance

⁴⁰The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families. ⁴¹And the territory of their inheritance was Zorah and Eshtaol and Ir-shemesh, ⁴²and Shaalabbin and Aijalon and Ithlah, ⁴³and Elon and Timnah and Ekron, ⁴⁴and Eltekeh and Gibbethon and Baalath, ⁴⁵and Jehud and Bene-berak and Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶and Me-jarkon and Rakkon, with the territory over against ¹Joppa. ⁴⁷And the territory of the ^asons of Dan went out from them; for the sons of Dan went up and fought with Leshem and captured it. Then they struck it with the edge of the sword and possessed it and ¹settled in it; and they called ²^,^bLeshem Dan after the name of Dan their father. ⁴⁸This was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.

⁴⁹So they finished apportioning the land for inheritance by its borders. Then the sons of Israel gave an inheritance in their midst to Joshua the son of Nun. ⁵⁰In accordance with the ¹command of Yahweh they gave him the city for which he asked, ^aTimnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So he built the city and ²settled in it.

⁵¹^aThese are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the ¹households of the tribes of the sons of Israel distributed by lot in Shiloh before Yahweh at the doorway of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

The Cities of Refuge

20Then Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying, ²“Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘¹Designate ^athe cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by the hand of Moses, ³that the manslayer who strikes down any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become for you as a refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴‘And he shall flee to one of these cities and shall stand at the entrance of the ^agate of the city and speak his case in the hearing of the elders of that city; and they shall ¹take him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may live among them. ⁵‘Now ^aif the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not surrender the manslayer into his hand because he struck his neighbor without premeditation and did not hate him beforehand. ⁶‘And he shall live in that city ^auntil he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the one who is high priest in those days. Then the manslayer shall return and come to his own city and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”

⁷So they ¹set apart ^aKedesh in ²Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali and Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in ^bthe hill country of Judah. ⁸Now beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, they ¹designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plain from the tribe of Reuben and Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹^aThese were the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the sojourner who sojourns among them, that whoever strikes down any person unintentionally may flee there and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.