Joshua 18 – 21; Psalm 15; Luke 18

Numbers 22 - 25

Joshua Gives Out the Rest of the Land

18 After Israel had captured the land, they met at Shiloh and set up the sacred tent.[a] 2 There were still seven tribes without any land, 3-7 so Joshua told the people:

The Judah tribe has already settled in its land in the south, and the Joseph tribes[b] have settled in their land in the north. The tribes of Gad, Reuben, and East Manasseh already have the land that the Lord's servant Moses gave them east of the Jordan River. And the people of Levi won't receive land like the other tribes. Instead, they will serve the Lord as priests.

But the rest of you haven't done a thing to take over any land. The Lord God who was worshiped by your ancestors has given you the land, and now it's time to go ahead and settle there.

Seven tribes still don't have any land. Each of these tribes should choose three men, and I'll send them to explore the remaining land. They will divide it into seven regions, write a description of each region, and bring these descriptions back to me. I will find out[c] from the Lord our God what region each tribe should get.

8 Just before the men left camp, Joshua repeated their orders: “Explore the land and write a description of it. Then come back to Shiloh, and I will find out from the Lord how to divide the land.”

9 The men left and went across the land, dividing it into seven regions. They wrote down a description of each region, town by town, and returned to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. 10 Joshua found out from the Lord how to divide the land, and he told the tribes what the Lord had decided.

Benjamin's Land

11 Benjamin was the first tribe chosen to receive land. The region for its clans lay between the Judah tribe on the south and the Joseph tribes[d] on the north. 12 Benjamin's northern border started at the Jordan River and went up the ridge north of Jericho, then on west into the hill country as far as the Beth-Aven Desert. 13-14 From there it went to Luz, which is now called Bethel. The border ran along the ridge south of Luz, then went to Ataroth-Orech[e] and on as far as the mountain south of Lower Beth-Horon. At that point it turned south and became the western border. It went as far south as Kiriath-Baal, a town in Judah now called Kiriath-Jearim.

15 Benjamin's southern border started at the edge of Kiriath-Jearim and went east to the ruins[f] and on to Nephtoah Spring. 16 From there it went to the bottom of the hill at the northern end of Rephaim Valley. The other side of this hill faces Hinnom Valley, which is on the land that slopes south from Jerusalem.[g] The border went down through Hinnom Valley until it reached Enrogel.

17 At Enrogel the border curved north and went to Enshemesh and on east to Geliloth,[h] which is across the valley from Adummim Pass. Then it went down to the Monument of Bohan,[i] who belonged to the Reuben tribe. 18 The border ran along the hillside north of Beth-Arabah,[j] then down into the Jordan River valley. 19 Inside the valley it went south as far as the northern hillside of Beth-Hoglah. The last section of the border went from there to the northern end of the Dead Sea,[k] at the mouth of the Jordan River. 20 The Jordan River itself was Benjamin's eastern border.

These were the borders of Benjamin's tribal land, where the clans of Benjamin lived.

21-24 One region of Benjamin's tribal land had twelve towns with their surrounding villages. Those towns were Jericho, Beth-Hoglah, Emek-Keziz, Beth-Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, Chephar-Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba.

25-28 In the other region there were the following 14 towns with their surrounding villages: Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, Zelah, Haeleph, Gibeah, Kiriath-Jearim,[l] and Jerusalem, which is also called Jebusite Town.

These regions are the tribal lands of Benjamin.

Simeon's Land

19 Simeon was the second tribe chosen to receive land, and the region for its clans was inside Judah's borders. 2-6  In one region of Simeon's tribal land there were the following 13 towns with their surrounding villages:

Beersheba, Shema,[m] Moladah, Hazar-Shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-Marcaboth, Hazar-Susah, Beth-Lebaoth, and Sharuhen.

7 In another region, Simeon had the following four towns with their surrounding villages:

Enrimmon,[n] Tachan,[o] Ether, and Ashan.

8 Simeon's land also included all the other towns and villages as far south as Baalath-Beer, which is also called Ramah of the South.

9 Simeon's tribal land was actually inside Judah's territory. Judah had received too much land for the number of people in its tribe, so part of Judah's land was given to Simeon.

Zebulun's Land

10-12 Zebulun was the third tribe chosen to receive land. The southern border for its clans started in the west at the edge of the gorge near Jokneam. It went east to the edge of the land that belongs to the town of Dabbesheth, and continued on to Maralah and Sarid. It took in the land that belongs to Chislothtabor, then ended at Daberath.

The eastern border went up to Japhia 13 and continued north to Gath-Hepher, Ethkazin, and Rimmonah,[p] where it curved[q] toward Neah 14 and became the northern border. Then it curved south around Hannathon and went as far west as Iphtahel Valley.

15 Zebulun had twelve towns with their surrounding villages. Some of these were Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Jiralah,[r] and Bethlehem.[s]

16 This is the tribal land, and these are the towns and villages of the Zebulun clans.

Issachar's Land

17-23 Issachar was the fourth tribe chosen to receive land. The northern border for its clans went from Mount Tabor east to the Jordan River. Their land included the following 16 towns with their surrounding villages:

Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, Debirath,[t] Kishion, Ebez, Remeth, En-Gannim, Enhaddah, Beth-Pazzez, Tabor,[u] Shahazumah and Beth-Shemesh.[v]

Asher's Land

24-26 Asher was the fifth tribe chosen to receive land, and the region for its clans included the following towns:

Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal.

Asher's southern border ran from the Mediterranean Sea southeast along the Shihor-Libnath River at the foot of Mount Carmel, 27 then east to Beth-Dagon. On the southeast, Asher shared a border with Zebulun along the Iphtahel Valley. On the eastern side their border ran north to Beth-Emek, went east of Cabul, and then on to Neiel, 28 Abdon,[w] Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, and as far north as the city of Sidon. 29-31 Then it turned west to become the northern border and went to Ramah[x] and the fortress-city of Tyre.[y] Near Tyre it turned toward Hosah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

Asher had a total of 22 towns with their surrounding villages, including Mahalab,[z] Achzib, Acco,[aa] Aphek, and Rehob.

Naphtali's Land

32-34 Naphtali was the sixth tribe chosen to receive land. The southern border for its clans started in the west, where the tribal lands of Asher and Zebulun meet near Hukkok. From that point it ran east and southeast along the border with Zebulun as far as Aznoth-Tabor. From there the border went east to Heleph, Adami-Nekeb, Jabneel,[ab] then to the town called Oak in Zaanannim,[ac] and Lakkum. The southern border ended at the Jordan River, at the edge of the town named Jehudah.[ad] Naphtali shared a border with Asher on the west.

35-39 The Naphtali clans received this region as their tribal land, and it included 19 towns with their surrounding villages. The following towns had walls around them:

Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, Adamah, Ramah,[ae] Hazor, Kedesh, Edrei,[af] Enhazor, Iron, Migdalel, Horem, Beth-Anath, and Beth-Shemesh.[ag]

Dan's Land

40-46 Dan was the seventh tribe chosen to receive land, and the region for its clans included the following towns:

Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-Shemesh,[ah] Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, Elon, Timnah, Ekron, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, Jehud, Azor,[ai] Beneberak, Gath-Rimmon, Mejarkon, and Rakkon.

Dan's tribal land[aj] went almost as far as Joppa. 47-48  Its clans received this land and these towns with their surrounding villages.

Later, when enemies[ak] forced them to leave their tribal land, they went to the town of Leshem. They attacked the town, captured it, and killed the people who lived there. Then they settled there themselves and renamed the town Dan after their ancestor.

Joshua's Land

49-51 The Israelites were still gathered in Shiloh in front of the sacred tent,[al] when Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the family leaders of Israel finished giving out the land to the tribes. The Lord had told the people to give Joshua whatever town he wanted. So Joshua chose Timnath-Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, and the people gave it to him. Joshua went to Timnath-Serah, rebuilt it, and lived there.

The Safe Towns

(Numbers 35.9-15; Deuteronomy 19.1-13)

20  One day the Lord told Joshua:

2 When Moses was still alive, I commanded him to tell the Israelites about the Safe Towns. Now you tell them that it is time to set up these towns. 3-4 If a person accidentally kills someone and the victim's relatives say it was murder, they might try to take revenge.[am] Anyone accused of murder can run to one of the Safe Towns and be safe from the victim's relatives. The one needing protection will stand at the entrance to the town gate and explain to the town leaders what happened. Then the leaders will bring that person in and provide a place to live in their town.

5 One of the victim's relatives might come to the town, looking for revenge. But the town leaders must not simply hand over the person accused of murder. After all, the accused and the victim had been neighbors, not enemies. 6 The citizens of that Safe Town must come together and hold a trial. They may decide that the victim was killed accidentally and that the accused is not guilty of murder.

Everyone found not guilty[an] must still live in the Safe Town until the high priest dies. Then they can go back to their own towns and their homes that they had to leave behind.

7 The Israelites decided that the following three towns west of the Jordan River would be Safe Towns:

Kedesh in Galilee in Naphtali's hill country, Shechem in Ephraim's hill country, and Kiriath-Arba in Judah's hill country. Kiriath-Arba is now called Hebron.

8 The Israelites had already decided on the following three towns east of the Jordan River:

Bezer in the desert flatlands of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead, which was a town that belonged to Gad, and Golan in Bashan, which belonged to Manasseh.

9 These Safe Towns were set up, so that if Israelites or even foreigners who lived in Israel accidentally killed someone, they could run to one of these towns. There they would be safe until a trial could be held, even if one of the victim's relatives came looking for revenge.

Levi's Towns

21 1-2  While the Israelites were still camped at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, the family leaders of the Levi tribe went to speak to the priest Eleazar, Joshua, and the family leaders of the other Israelite tribes. The leaders of Levi said, “The Lord told Moses that you have to give us towns and provide pastures for our animals.”[ao]

3 Since the Lord had said this, the leaders of the other Israelite tribes agreed to give some of the towns and pastures from their tribal lands to Levi. 4 The leaders asked the Lord to show them[ap] in what order the clans of Levi would be given towns, and which towns each clan would receive.

The Kohath clans were first. The descendants of Aaron, Israel's first priest,[aq] were given 13 towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The other members of the Kohath clans received 10 towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh. 6 The clans that were descendants of Gershon were given 13 towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and East Manasseh. 7 The clans that were descendants of Merari[ar] received 12 towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

8 The Lord had told Moses that he would show the Israelites which towns and pastures to give to the clans of Levi, and he did.

Towns from Judah, Simeon, Benjamin

9-19 The descendants of Aaron from the Kohath clans of Levi were priests, and they were chosen to receive towns first. They were given 13 towns and the pastureland around them. Nine of these towns were from the tribes of Judah and Simeon and four from Benjamin.

Hebron, Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ashan,[as] Juttah, and Beth-Shemesh were from Judah and Simeon. Hebron, located in the hill country of Judah, was earlier called Arba's Town.[at] It had been named after Arba, the ancestor of the Anakim.[au] Hebron's pasturelands went along with the town, but its farmlands and the villages around it had been given to Caleb.[av] Hebron was also one of the Safe Towns for people who had accidentally killed someone.

Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth, and Almon were from Benjamin.

Towns from Ephraim, Dan, West Manasseh

20-26 The rest of the Kohath clans of the Levi tribe received ten towns and the pastureland around them. Four of these towns were from the tribe of Ephraim, four from Dan, and two from West Manasseh.

Shechem, Gezer, Kibzaim, and Beth-Horon were from Ephraim. Shechem was located in the hill country, and it was also one of the Safe Towns for people who had accidentally killed someone.

Elteke, Gibbethon, Aijalon, and Gath-Rimmon were from Dan.

Taanach and Jibleam[aw] were from West Manasseh.

Towns from East Manasseh, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali

27-33 The clans of Levi that were descendants of Gershon received 13 towns and the pastureland around them. Two of these towns were from the tribe of East Manasseh, four from Issachar, four from Asher, and three from Naphtali.

Golan in Bashan and Beeshterah were from East Manasseh.

Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth, and En-Gannim were from Issachar.

Mishal, Abdon, Helkath, and Rehob were from Asher.

Kedesh in Galilee, Hammothdor, and Kartan were from Naphtali. Golan in Bashan and Kedesh in Galilee were also Safe Towns for people who had accidentally killed someone.

Towns from Zebulun, Reuben, Gad

34-40 The rest of the Levi clans were descendants of Merari, and they received twelve towns with the pastureland around them. Four towns were from the tribe of Zebulun, four from Reuben, and four from Gad.

Jokneam, Kartah, Rimmonah,[ax] and Nahalal were from Zebulun.

Bezer, Jazah, Kedemoth, and Mephaath were from Reuben. Bezer was located in the desert flatlands east of the Jordan River across from Jericho.[ay]

Ramoth in Gilead, Mahanaim, Heshbon, and Jazer were from Gad.

Bezer and Ramoth in Gilead were Safe Towns[az] for people who had accidentally killed someone.

41-42 The people of the Levi tribe had a total of 48 towns within Israel, and they had pastures around each one of their towns.

Israel Settles in the Land

43 The Lord gave the Israelites the land he had promised their ancestors, and they captured it and settled in it. 44 There still were enemies around Israel, but the Lord kept his promise to let his people live in peace. And whenever the Israelites did have to go to war, no enemy could defeat them. The Lord always helped Israel win. 45 The Lord promised to do many good things for Israel, and he kept his promise every time.