Bible Reading Plan – Day 63

₁What follows is an account of how the land of Canaan west of the Jordan was divided among the people of Israel. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the families of the Israelite tribes divided it among the population. ₂As the LORD had commanded Moses, the territories of the nine and a half tribes west of the Jordan were determined by drawing lots. _3-4Moses had already assigned the land east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes. (The descendants of Joseph were divided into two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim.) However, Moses gave the Levites no portion of the territory. Instead, they received cities to live in, with fields for their cattle and flocks. ₅The people of Israel divided the land as the LORD had commanded Moses.

₆One day some people from the tribe of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. One of them, Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, said to him, “You know what the LORD said in Kadesh Barnea about you and me to Moses, the man of God. ₇I was forty years old when the LORD's servant Moses sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out this land. I brought an honest report back to him. ₈The men who went with me, however, made our people afraid. But I faithfully obeyed the LORD my God. ₉Because I did, Moses promised me that my children and I would certainly receive as our possession the land which I walked over. ₁₀But now, look. It has been 45 years since the LORD said that to Moses. That was when Israel was going through the desert, and the LORD, as he promised, has kept me alive ever since. Look at me! I am 85 years old ₁₁and I'm just as strong today as I was when Moses sent me out. I am still strong enough for war or for anything else. ₁₂Now then, give me the hill country that the LORD promised me on that day when my men and I reported. We told you then that the race of giants called the Anakim were there in large walled cities. Maybe the LORD will be with me, and I will drive them out, just as the LORD said.”

₁₃Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him the city of Hebron as his possession. ₁₄Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, because he faithfully obeyed the LORD, the God of Israel. ₁₅Before this, Hebron was called the city of Arba. (Arba had been the greatest of the Anakim.)

There was now peace in the land.

₁The families of the tribe of Judah received a part of the land described as follows:

The land reached south to the southernmost point of the wilderness of Zin, at the border of Edom. ₂This southern border ran from the south end of the Dead Sea, ₃went southwards from the Akrabbim Pass and on to Zin. It ran south of Kadesh Barnea, past Hezron and up to Addar, turned towards Karka, ₄went on to Azmon, and followed the stream on the border of Egypt to the Mediterranean Sea, where the border ended. That was the southern border of Judah.

₅The eastern border was the Dead Sea, all the way up to the inlet where the Jordan empties into it.

The northern border began there, ₆extended up to Beth Hoglah, and went north of the ridge overlooking the Jordan Valley. Then it went up to the Stone of Bohan (Bohan was a son of Reuben), ₇from Trouble Valley up to Debir, and then turned north towards Gilgal, which faces Adummim Pass on the south side of the valley. It then went on to the springs of Enshemesh, out to Enrogel, ₈and up through the Valley of Hinnom on the south side of the hill where the Jebusite city of Jerusalem was located. The border then proceeded up to the top of the hill on the west side of the Valley of Hinnom, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. ₉From there it went to the Springs of Nephtoah and out to the cities near Mount Ephron. There it turned towards Baalah (or Kiriath Jearim), ₁₀where it circled west of Baalah towards the hill country of Edom, went on the north side of Mount Jearim (or Chesalon), down to Beth Shemesh, and on past Timnah. ₁₁The border then went out to the hill north of Ekron, turned towards Shikkeron, past Mount Baalah, and on to Jamnia. It ended at the Mediterranean Sea, ₁₂which formed the western border.

Within these borders lived the people of the families of Judah.

₁₃As the LORD commanded Joshua, part of the territory of Judah was given to Caleb son of Jephunneh, from the tribe of Judah. He received Hebron, the city belonging to Arba, father of Anak. ₁₄Caleb drove the descendants of Anak out of the city — the clans of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai. ₁₅From there he went to attack the people living in Debir. (This city used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) ₁₆Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Achsah in marriage to the man who succeeds in capturing Kiriath Sepher.” ₁₇Othniel, the son of Caleb's brother Kenaz, captured the city, so Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. ₁₈On the wedding day Othniel urged her to ask her father for a field. She got down from her donkey, and Caleb asked her what she wanted. ₁₉She answered, “I want some pools of water. The land you have given me is in the dry country.” So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.

₂₀This is the land that the families of the tribe of Judah received as their possession. ₂₁The cities farthest south that belonged to them, those that were near the border of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ₂₂Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ₂₃Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ₂₄Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ₂₅Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (or Hazor), ₂₆Amam, Shema, Moladah, ₂₇Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Bethpelet, ₂₈Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, ₂₉Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ₃₀Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ₃₁Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ₃₂Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon: 29 cities in all, along with the towns round them.

₃₃The cities in the foothills were Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ₃₄Zanoah, Engannim, Tappuah, Enam, ₃₅Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ₃₆Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim: fourteen cities, along with the towns round them.

₃₇There were also Zenan, Hadashah, Migdalgad, ₃₈Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, ₃₉Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ₄₀Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, ₄₁Gederoth, Bethdagon, Naamah, and Makkedah: sixteen cities, along with the towns round them.

₄₂There were also Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ₄₃Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ₄₄Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities, along with the towns round them.

₄₅There was Ekron with its towns and villages, ₄₆and all the cities and towns near Ashdod, from Ekron to the Mediterranean Sea.

₄₇There were Ashdod and Gaza, with their towns and villages, reaching to the stream on the border of Egypt and the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.

₄₈In the hill country there were Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ₄₉Dannah, Kiriath Sepher (or Debir), ₅₀Anab, Eshtemoa, Anim, ₅₁Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities, along with the towns round them.

₅₂There were Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ₅₃Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, ₅₄Humtah, Hebron, and Zior: nine cities, along with the towns round them.

₅₅There were Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ₅₆Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ₅₇Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities, along with the towns round them.

₅₈There were Halhul, Bethzur, Gedor, ₅₉Maarath, Bethanoth, and Eltekon: six cities, along with the towns round them.

₆₀There were Kiriath Baal (or Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah: two cities, along with the towns round them.

₆₁In the desert there were Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, ₆₂Nibshan, the city of Salt, and Engedi: six cities, along with the towns round them.

₆₃But the people of Judah were not able to drive out the Jebusites, who lived in Jerusalem. The Jebusites still live there with the people of Judah.

₁The southern boundary of the land assigned to the descendants of Joseph started from the Jordan near Jericho, at a point east of the springs of Jericho, and went into the desert. It went from Jericho up into the hill country as far as Bethel. ₂From Bethel it went to Luz, passing on to Ataroth Addar, where the Archites lived. ₃It then went west to the area of the Japhletites, as far as the area of Lower Beth Horon. It went on from there to Gezer and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

₄The descendants of Joseph, the tribes of Ephraim and West Manasseh, received this land as their possession.

₅This was the territory of the Ephraimite families: their border ran from Ataroth Addar eastwards to Upper Beth Horon, ₆and from there to the Mediterranean Sea. Michmethath was on their north. East of there the border bent towards Taanath Shiloh and went past it on the east to Janoah. ₇Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and Naarah, reaching Jericho and ending at the Jordan. ₈The border went west from Tappuah to the stream of Kanah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This was the land given to the families of the tribe of Ephraim as their possession, ₉along with some towns and villages that were within the borders of Manasseh, but given to the Ephraimites. ₁₀But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived among the Ephraimites to this day, but they have been forced to work as slaves.

₁A part of the land west of the Jordan was assigned to some of the families descended from Joseph's elder son Manasseh. Machir, the father of Gilead, was Manasseh's eldest son and a military hero, so Gilead and Bashan, east of the Jordan, were assigned to him. ₂Land west of the Jordan was assigned to the rest of the families of Manasseh: Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and they were heads of families. ₃Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, did not have any sons, but only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ₄They went to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua son of Nun and to the leaders, and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us, as well as our male relatives, a part of the land to possess.” So, as the LORD had commanded, they were given land along with their male relatives. ₅That is why Manasseh received ten shares in addition to Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan, ₆since his female descendants as well as his male descendants were assigned land. The land of Gilead was assigned to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.

₇The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to Michmethath, east of Shechem. The border then went south to include the people of Entappuah. ₈The land round Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah, on the border, belonged to the descendants of Ephraim. ₉The border then went down to the stream of Kanah. The cities south of the stream belonged to Ephraim, even though they were in the territory of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh proceeded along the north side of the stream and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. ₁₀Ephraim was to the south, and Manasseh was to the north, with the Mediterranean Sea as their western border. Asher was to the north-west, and Issachar to the north-east. ₁₁Within the territories of Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed Beth Shan and Ibleam, along with their surrounding towns, as well as Dor (the one on the coast), Endor, Taanach, Megiddo, and their surrounding towns. ₁₂The people of Manasseh, however, were not able to drive out the people living in those cities, so the Canaanites continued to live there. ₁₃Even when the Israelites became stronger, they did not drive out all the Canaanites, but they did force them to work for them.

₁₄The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one part of the land to possess as our own? There are very many of us because the LORD has blessed us.”

₁₅Joshua answered, “If there are so many of you and the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, then go into the forests and clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.”

₁₆They replied, “The hill country is not big enough for us, but the Canaanites in the plains have iron chariots, both those who live in Beth Shan and its surrounding towns and those who live in the Valley of Jezreel.”

₁₇Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and West Manasseh, “There are indeed many of you, and you are very powerful. You shall have more than one share. ₁₈The hill country will be yours. Even though it is a forest, you will clear it and take possession of it from one end to the other. As for the Canaanites, you will drive them out, even though they do have iron chariots and are a strong people.”