Joshua 18

New International Version

Division of the Rest of the Land

18 The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh^(A) and set up the tent of meeting^(B) there. The country was brought under their control, ²but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.

³So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? ⁴Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it,^(C) according to the inheritance of each.^(D) Then they will return to me. ⁵You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south^(E) and the tribes of Joseph in their territory on the north.^(F) ⁶After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots^(G) for you in the presence of the Lord our God. ⁷The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance.^(H) And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to them.^(I)”

⁸As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, “Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it.^(J) Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh^(K) in the presence of the Lord.” ⁹So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰Joshua then cast lots^(L) for them in Shiloh in the presence^(M) of the Lord, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions.^(N)

Allotment for Benjamin

¹¹The first lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin according to its clans. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:

¹²On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan, passed the northern slope of Jericho and headed west into the hill country, coming out at the wilderness^(O) of Beth Aven.^(P) ¹³From there it crossed to the south slope of Luz^(Q) (that is, Bethel^(R)) and went down to Ataroth Addar^(S) on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.

¹⁴From the hill facing Beth Horon^(T) on the south the boundary turned south along the western side and came out at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim),^(U) a town of the people of Judah. This was the western side.

¹⁵The southern side began at the outskirts of Kiriath Jearim on the west, and the boundary came out at the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.^(V) ¹⁶The boundary went down to the foot of the hill facing the Valley of Ben Hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim.^(W) It continued down the Hinnom Valley^(X) along the southern slope of the Jebusite city and so to En Rogel.^(Y) ¹⁷It then curved north, went to En Shemesh, continued to Geliloth,^(Z) which faces the Pass of Adummim,^(AA) and ran down to the Stone of Bohan^(AB) son of Reuben. ¹⁸It continued to the northern slope of Beth Arabah^[a]^(AC) and on down into the Arabah.^(AD) ¹⁹It then went to the northern slope of Beth Hoglah^(AE) and came out at the northern bay of the Dead Sea,^(AF) at the mouth of the Jordan in the south. This was the southern boundary.

²⁰The Jordan formed the boundary on the eastern side.

These were the boundaries that marked out the inheritance of the clans of Benjamin on all sides.^(AG)

²¹The tribe of Benjamin, according to its clans, had the following towns:

Jericho, Beth Hoglah,^(AH) Emek Keziz, ²²Beth Arabah,^(AI) Zemaraim,^(AJ) Bethel,^(AK) ²³Avvim,^(AL) Parah, Ophrah,^(AM) ²⁴Kephar Ammoni, Ophni and Geba^(AN)—twelve towns and their villages.

²⁵Gibeon,^(AO) Ramah,^(AP) Beeroth,^(AQ) ²⁶Mizpah,^(AR) Kephirah,^(AS) Mozah, ²⁷Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸Zelah,^(AT) Haeleph, the Jebusite city^(AU) (that is, Jerusalem^(AV)), Gibeah^(AW) and Kiriath—fourteen towns and their villages.^(AX)