Joshua 18–20

1The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The land was subdued before them.

2Seven tribes remained among the children of Israel, which had not yet divided their inheritance.

3Joshua said to the children of Israel, “How long will you neglect to go in to possess the land, which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has given you?

4Appoint for yourselves three men from each tribe. I will send them, and they shall arise, walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; then they shall come to me.

5They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall live in his borders on the south, and the house of Joseph shall live in their borders on the north.

6You shall survey the land into seven parts, and bring the description here to me; and I will cast lots for you here before Yahweh our God.

7However, the Levites have no portion among you; for the priesthood of Yahweh is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance east of the Jordan, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave them.”

8The men arose and went. Joshua commanded those who went to survey the land, saying, “Go walk through the land, survey it, and come again to me. I will cast lots for you here before Yahweh in Shiloh.”

9The men went and passed through the land, and surveyed it by cities into seven portions in a book. They came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh.

10Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Yahweh. There Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.

11The lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families. The border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.

12Their border on the north quarter was from the Jordan. The border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward. It ended at the wilderness of Beth Aven.

13The border passed along from there to Luz, to the side of Luz (also called Bethel), southward. The border went down to Ataroth Addar, by the mountain that lies on the south of Beth Horon the lower.

14The border extended, and turned around on the west quarter southward, from the mountain that lies before Beth Horon southward; and ended at Kiriath Baal (also called Kiriath Jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west quarter.

15The south quarter was from the farthest part of Kiriath Jearim. The border went out westward, and went out to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.

16The border went down to the farthest part of the mountain that lies before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward. It went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En Rogel.

17It extended northward, went out at En Shemesh, and went out to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. It went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.

18It passed along to the side opposite the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah.

19The border passed along to the side of Beth Hoglah northward; and the border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the south border.

20The Jordan was its border on the east quarter. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the borders around it, according to their families.

21Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,

22Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,

23Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,

24Chephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages.

25Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,

26Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,

27Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,

28Zelah, Eleph, the Jebusite (also called Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

1The second lot came out for Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. Their inheritance was in the middle of the inheritance of the children of Judah.

2They had for their inheritance Beersheba (or 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;

8and all the villages that were around these cities to Baalath Beer, Ramah of the South. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.

9Out of the part of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon; for the portion of the children of Judah was too much for them. Therefore the children of Simeon had inheritance in the middle of their inheritance.

10The third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families. The border of their inheritance was to Sarid.

11Their border went up westward, even to Maralah, and reached to Dabbesheth. It reached to the brook that is before Jokneam.

12It turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrise to the border of Chisloth Tabor. It went out to Daberath, and went up to Japhia.

13From there it passed along eastward to Gath Hepher, to Ethkazin; and it went out at Rimmon which stretches to Neah.

14The border turned around it on the north to Hannathon; and it ended at the valley of Iphtah El;

15Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.

16This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

17The fourth lot came out for Issachar, even for the children of Issachar according to their families.

18Their border was to Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem,

19Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath,

20Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez,

21Remeth, Engannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez.

22The border reached to Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh. Their border ended at the Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages.

23This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.

24The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.

25Their border was Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph,

26Allammelech, Amad, Mishal. It reached to Carmel westward, and to Shihorlibnath.

27It turned toward the sunrise to Beth Dagon, and reached to Zebulun, and to the valley of Iphtah El northward to Beth Emek and Neiel. It went out to Cabul on the left hand,

28and Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, even to great Sidon.

29The border turned to Ramah, to the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah. It ended at the sea by the region of Achzib;

30Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty-two cities with their villages.

31This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.

32The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families.

33Their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, to Lakkum. It ended at the Jordan.

34The border turned westward to Aznoth Tabor, and went out from there to Hukkok. It reached to Zebulun on the south, and reached to Asher on the west, and to Judah at the Jordan toward the sunrise.

35The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth,

36Adamah, Ramah, Hazor,

37Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor,

38Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages.

39This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.

40The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.

41The border of their inheritance was Zorah, Eshtaol, Irshemesh,

42Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,

43Elon, Timnah, Ekron,

44Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,

45Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon,

46Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border opposite Joppa.

47The border of the children of Dan went out beyond them; for the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and lived therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their forefather.

48This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.

49So they finished distributing the land for inheritance by its borders. The children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them.

50According to Yahweh’s commandment, they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnathserah in the hill country of Ephraim; and he built the city, and lived there.

51These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh before Yahweh, at the door of the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

1Yahweh spoke to Joshua, saying,

2“Speak to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Assign the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you by Moses,

3that the man slayer who kills any person accidentally or unintentionally may flee there. They shall be to you for a refuge from the avenger of blood.

4He shall flee to one of those cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and declare his case in the ears of the elders of that city. They shall take him into the city with them, and give him a place, that he may live among them.

5If the avenger of blood pursues him, then they shall not deliver up the man slayer into his hand; because he struck his neighbor unintentionally, and didn’t hate him before.

6He shall dwell in that city until he stands before the congregation for judgment, until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days. Then the man slayer shall return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city he fled from.’”

7They set apart Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (also called Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.

8Beyond the Jordan at Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness in the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.

9These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel, and for the alien who lives among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally might flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stands trial before the congregation.