Joshua 17-19

English Standard Version

17 Then allotment was made to the people of Manasseh, for he was ^(A)the firstborn of Joseph. To ^(B)Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, ^(C)were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. ²And allotments were made ^(D)to the rest of the people of Manasseh by their clans, Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph, by their clans.

³Now ^(E)Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, and these are the names of his daughters: ^(F)Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴They approached ^(G)Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, ^(H)“The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers.” So according to the mouth of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father. ⁵Thus there fell to Manasseh ten portions, besides ^(I)the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of the Jordan, ⁶because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance along with his sons. The land of Gilead was allotted to the rest of the people of Manasseh.

⁷The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to ^(J)Michmethath, which is east of Shechem. Then the boundary goes along southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸The land of ^(K)Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah on the boundary of Manasseh belonged to the people of Ephraim. ⁹^(L)Then the boundary went down to the brook Kanah. These cities, to the south of the brook, among the cities of Manasseh, belong to Ephraim. Then the boundary of Manasseh goes on the north side of the brook and ends at the sea, ¹⁰the land to the south being Ephraim's and that to the north being Manasseh's, with the sea forming its boundary. On the north Asher is reached, and on the east Issachar. ¹¹Also in Issachar and in Asher ^(M)Manasseh had Beth-shean and its villages, and Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(N)Dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(O)Taanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of ^(P)Megiddo and its villages; ^(Q)the third is Naphath.^[a] ¹²^(R)Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. ¹³Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites ^(S)to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

¹⁴Then ^(T)the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but ^(U)one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am ^(V)a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me?” ¹⁵And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and ^(W)the Rephaim, since ^(X)the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” ¹⁶The people of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have ^(Y)chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in ^(Z)the Valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only, ¹⁸but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, ^(AA)though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”

Allotment of the Remaining Land

18 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at ^(AB)Shiloh and set up ^(AC)the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.

²There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. ³So Joshua said to the people of Israel, ^(AD)“How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? ⁴Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. ⁵They shall divide it into seven portions. ^(AE)Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, ^(AF)and the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. ⁶And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. ^(AG)And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. ⁷^(AH)The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage. ^(AI)And Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

⁸So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” ⁹So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, ¹⁰and Joshua ^(AJ)cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, ^(AK)to each his portion.

The Inheritance for Benjamin

¹¹The lot of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to its clans came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. ¹²^(AL)On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. ^(AM)Then the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and it ends at the wilderness of ^(AN)Beth-aven. ¹³From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of ^(AO)Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to ^(AP)Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower ^(AQ)Beth-horon. ¹⁴Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the ^(AR)western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (^(AS)that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city belonging to the people of Judah. This forms the western side. ¹⁵And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron,^[b] ^(AT)to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. ¹⁶Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks ^(AU)the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of ^(AV)Rephaim. And it then goes down the ^(AW)Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to ^(AX)En-rogel. ¹⁷Then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it goes down to ^(AY)the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, ¹⁸and passing on to the north of ^(AZ)the shoulder of Beth-arabah^[c] it goes down to ^(BA)the Arabah. ¹⁹Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of ^(BB)Beth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of ^(BC)the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. ²⁰The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, according to their clans, boundary by boundary all around.

²¹Now the cities of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to their clans were ^(BD)Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, ²²Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, Geba—twelve cities with their villages: ²⁵Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, ²⁸Zela, Haeleph, ^(BE)Jebus^[d] (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah^[e] and Kiriath-jearim^[f]—fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin according to its clans.

The Inheritance for Simeon

19 The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the people of Simeon, according to their clans, ^(BF)and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah. ²^(BG)And they had for their inheritance Beersheba, Sheba, Moladah, ³Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, ⁴Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, ⁶Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen cities with their villages; ⁷Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities with their villages, ⁸together with all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negeb. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Simeon according to their clans. ⁹^(BH)The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah. Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.

The Inheritance for Zebulun

¹⁰The third lot came up for the people of Zebulun, according to their clans. And the territory of their inheritance reached as far as Sarid. ¹¹Then their boundary goes up ^(BI)westward and on to Mareal and touches Dabbesheth, then the brook that is east of ^(BJ)Jokneam. ¹²From Sarid it goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chisloth-tabor. From there it goes to Daberath, then up to Japhia. ¹³From there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Neah, ¹⁴then on the north the boundary turns about to Hannathon, and it ends at the Valley of Iphtahel; ¹⁵and Kattath, Nahalal, ^(BK)Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve cities with their villages. ¹⁶This is the inheritance of the people of Zebulun, according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Issachar

¹⁷The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the people of Issachar, according to their clans. ¹⁸Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, ^(BL)Shunem, ¹⁹Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez. ²²The boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and its boundary ends at the Jordan—sixteen cities with their villages. ²³This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Issachar, according to their clans—the cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Asher

²⁴The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans. ²⁵Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ²⁶Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west it touches ^(BM)Carmel and Shihor-libnath, ²⁷then it turns eastward, it goes to Beth-dagon, and touches Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtahel northward to Beth-emek and Neiel. Then it continues in the north to ^(BN)Cabul, ²⁸Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as ^(BO)Sidon the Great. ²⁹Then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre. Then the boundary turns to Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab,^[g] Achzib, ³⁰Ummah, Aphek and Rehob—twenty-two cities with their villages. ³¹This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Asher according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Naphtali

³²The sixth lot came out for the people of Naphtali, for the people of Naphtali, according to their clans. ³³And their boundary ran from Heleph, from ^(BP)the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and it ended at the Jordan. ³⁴Then the boundary turns ^(BQ)westward to Aznoth-tabor and goes from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun at the south and Asher on the west and Judah on the east at the Jordan. ³⁵The fortified cities are Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, ^(BR)Chinnereth, ³⁶Adamah, Ramah, ^(BS)Hazor, ³⁷Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, ³⁸Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—nineteen cities with their villages. ³⁹This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Naphtali according to their clans—the cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Dan

⁴⁰The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans. ⁴¹And the territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, ⁴²^(BT)Shaalabbin, ^(BU)Aijalon, Ithlah, ⁴³Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, ⁴⁵Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, ⁴⁶and Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the territory over against ^(BV)Joppa. ⁴⁷When ^(BW)the territory of the people of Dan was lost to them, the people of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and after capturing it and striking it with the sword they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. ⁴⁸This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Dan, according to their clans—these cities with their villages.

The Inheritance for Joshua

⁴⁹When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. ⁵⁰By command of the Lord they gave him the city that he asked, ^(BX)Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he rebuilt the city and settled in it.

⁵¹^(BY)These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed by lot ^(BZ)at Shiloh before the Lord, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.