Joshua 14
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Israel’s Inheritance in Canaan
14 The Israelites received these portions that Eleazar the priest,(A) Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes gave them in the land of Canaan.(B) 2 Their inheritance was by lot(C) as the Lord commanded through Moses for the nine and a half tribes, 3 because Moses had given the inheritance to the two and a half tribes beyond the Jordan.[a] But he gave no inheritance among them to the Levites. 4 The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. No portion of the land was given to the Levites except cities to live in, along with pasturelands for their cattle and livestock. 5 So the Israelites did as the Lord commanded Moses,(D) and they divided the land.
Caleb’s Inheritance
6 The descendants of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord promised Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me.(E) 7 I was 40 years old when Moses the Lord’s servant sent me from Kadesh-barnea to scout the land, and I brought back an honest report.(F) 8 My brothers who went with me caused the people’s hearts to melt with fear, but I remained loyal to the Lord my God.(G) 9 On that day Moses promised me: ‘The land where you have set foot will be an inheritance for you and your descendants forever, because you have remained loyal to the Lord my God.’(H)
10 “As you see, the Lord has kept me alive these 45 years as He promised,(I) since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel was journeying in the wilderness. Here I am today, 85 years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. My strength for battle and for daily tasks[b] is now as it was then.(J) 12 Now give me this hill country the Lord promised me on that day, because you heard then that the Anakim are there, as well as large fortified cities.(K) Perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will drive them out as the Lord promised.”
13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as an inheritance.(L) 14 Therefore, Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance to this day,(M) because he remained loyal to the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 Hebron’s name used to be Kiriath-arba; Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim.(N) After this, the land had rest from war.
Footnotes
- Joshua 14:3 = east of the Jordan River
- Joshua 14:11 Lit for going out and coming in
Joshua 14
The Message
Land West of the Jordan
14 1-2 Here are the inheritance allotments that the People of Israel received in the land of Canaan. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the family clans made the allotments. Each inheritance was assigned by lot to the nine and a half tribes, just as God had commanded Moses.
3-4 Moses had given the two and a half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan, but hadn’t given an inheritance to the Levites, as he had to the others. Because the sons of Joseph had become two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, they gave no allotment to the Levites; but they did give them cities to live in with pasture rights for their flocks and herds.
5 The People of Israel followed through exactly as God had commanded Moses. They apportioned the land.
Caleb
6-12 The people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite spoke: “You’ll remember what God said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me back at Kadesh Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of God sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land. And I brought back an honest and accurate report. My companions who went with me discouraged the people, but I stuck to my guns, totally with God, my God. That was the day that Moses solemnly promised, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance, you and your children’s, forever. Yes, you have lived totally for God.’ Now look at me: God has kept me alive, as he promised. It is now forty-five years since God spoke this word to Moses, years in which Israel wandered in the wilderness. And here I am today, eighty-five years old! I’m as strong as I was the day Moses sent me out. I’m as strong as ever in battle, whether coming or going. So give me this hill country that God promised me. You yourself heard the report, that the Anakim were there with their great fortress cities. If God goes with me, I will drive them out, just as God said.”
13-14 Joshua blessed him. He gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite still today, because he gave himself totally to God, the God of Israel.
15 The name of Hebron used to be Kiriath Arba, named after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.
And the land had rest from war.
Joshua 14
International Children’s Bible
14 Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the leaders of all the tribes of Israel decided what land to give to the people. 2 The Lord had commanded Moses long ago how he wanted the people to choose their land. The people of the nine-and-a-half tribes threw lots to decide which land they would receive. 3 Moses had already given the two-and-a-half tribes their land east of the Jordan River. But the tribe of Levi was not given any land like the others. 4 The sons of Joseph had divided into two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. The tribe of Levi was not given any land. It was given only some towns in which to live. It was also given pastures for its animals. 5 The Lord had told Moses how to give the land to the tribes of Israel. The Israelites divided the land as the Lord had commanded.
Caleb’s Land
6 One day some men from the tribe of Judah went to Joshua at Gilgal. One of those men was Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. He said to Joshua, “You remember what the Lord said at Kadesh Barnea. He was speaking to the prophet Moses about you and me. 7 Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me to look at the land where we were going. I was 40 years old then. When I came back, I told Moses what I thought about the land. 8 The other men who went with me told the people things that made them afraid. But I fully believed the Lord would allow us to take the land. 9 So that day Moses promised me, ‘The land where you went will become your land. Your children will own it forever. I will give you that land because you fully believed in the Lord, my God.’
10 “Now then, the Lord has kept his promise. He has kept me alive for 45 years from the time he said this to Moses. During that time we all wandered in the desert. Now here I am, 85 years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. I am just as ready to fight now as I was then. 12 So give me the mountain country the Lord promised me that day long ago. Back then you heard that the Anakite people lived there. And the cities were large and well protected. But now with the Lord helping me, I will force them out, just as the Lord said.”
13 Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh. He gave him the city of Hebron as his own. 14 And Hebron still belongs to the family of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. It still belongs to his people because he had faith. He obeyed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 (In the past it was called Kiriath Arba. It was named for the greatest man among the Anakites. He was named Arba.)
After this there was peace in the land.
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Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
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