Lands Yet Unconquered (Judges 1:1–7)
1Now Joshua was old and well along in years, and YHVH said to him, “You are old and well along in years, but very much of the land remains to be possessed. 2This is the land that remains:
All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, 3from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites;
4to the south, all the land of the Canaanites, from Mearaha of the Sidonians to Aphek, as far as the border of the Amorites;
and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath.
6All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim—all the Sidonians—I Myself will drive out before the Israelites. Be sure to divide it by lot as an inheritance to Israel, as I have commanded you. 7Now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
The Inheritance East of the Jordan (Numbers 32:1–42; Deuteronomy 3:12–22)
8The other half of Manasseh, along with the Reubenites and Gadites, had received the inheritance Moses had given them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of YHVH had assigned to them:
9The area from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plateau of Medeba as far as Dibon, 10and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the Ammonites;
11also Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all of Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah— 12the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and had remained as a remnant of the Rephaim.
Moses had struck them down and dispossessed them, 13but the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites. So Geshur and Maacath dwell among the Israelites to this day.
14To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. The offerings made by fire to YHVH, the Elohim of Israel, are their inheritance, just as He had promised them.
Reuben’s Inheritance
15This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Reuben:
16The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Valley, along with the city in the middle of the valley, to the whole plateau beyond Medeba, 17to Heshbon and all its cities on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, 18Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,19Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill in the valley, 20Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth— 21all the cities of the plateau and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon until Moses killed him and the chiefs of Midian (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes of Sihon who lived in the land.
22The Israelites also killed the diviner Balaam son of Beor along with the others they put to the sword. 23And the border of the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan.
This was the inheritance of the clans of the Reubenites, including the cities and villages.
Gad’s Inheritance
24This is what Moses had given to the clans of the tribe of Gad:
25The territory of Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, near Rabbah;
26the territory from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir;c
27and in the valley, Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, with the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon (the territory on the east side of the Jordan up to the edge of the Sea of Chinnerethd).
28This was the inheritance of the clans of the Gadites, including the cities and villages.
Manasseh’s Eastern Inheritance
29This is what Moses had given to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the tribe of the descendants of Manasseh:
30The territory from Mahanaim through all Bashan—all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, including all the towns of Jair that are in Bashan, sixty cities; 31half of Gilead; and Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan.
All this was for the clans of the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh, that is, half of the descendants of Machir.
32These were the portions Moses had given them on the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.
33To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance. YHVH, the Elohim of Israel, is their inheritance, just as He had promised them.
joshua 13
Land Division West of the Jordan
1Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel. 2Their inheritance was assigned by lot for the nine and a half tribes, as YHVH had commanded through Moses. 3For Moses had given the inheritance east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes. But he granted no inheritance among them to the Levites.
4The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion of the land was given to the Levites, except for cities in which to live, along with pasturelands for their flocks and herds.
5So the Israelites did as YHVH had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.
Caleb Requests Hebron
6Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what YHVH said to Moses the man of Elohim at Kadesh-barnea about you and me. 7I was forty years old when Moses the servant of YHVH sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back to him an honest report.
8Although my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear, I remained loyal to YHVH my God. 9On that day Moses swore to me, saying, ‘Surely the land on which you have set foot will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed YHVH my God.’
10Now behold, as YHVH promised, He has kept me alive these forty-five years since He spoke this word to Moses, while Israel wandered in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old,11still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. As my strength was then, so it is now for war, for going out, and for coming in.
12Now therefore give me this hill country that YHVH promised me on that day, for you yourself heard then that the Anakim were there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps with YHVH’s help I will drive them out, as YHVH has spoken.”
13Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance.14Therefore Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance to this day, because he wholly followed YHVH, the Elohim of Israel. 15(Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.)
Then the land had rest from war.
Joshua 14
63But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.
Joshua 15:63
10But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.
Joshua 16:10
12But the descendants of Manasseh were unable to occupy these cities, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land. 13However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they failed to drive them out completely.
14Then the sons of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one portion as an inheritance? We have many people, because YHVH has blessed us abundantly.”
15Joshua answered them, “If you have so many people that the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go to the forest and clear for yourself an area in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.”
16“The hill country is not enough for us,” they replied, “and all the Canaanites who live in the valley have iron chariots, both in Beth-shean with its towns and in the Valley of Jezreel.”
17So Joshua said to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You have many people and great strength. You shall not have just one allotment, 18because the hill country will be yours as well. It is a forest; clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours. Although the Canaanites have iron chariots and although they are strong, you can drive them out.”
Joshua 17:12-18
1Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them, 2there were still seven tribes of Israel who had not yet received their inheritance.
3So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you put off entering and possessing the land that YHVH, the Elohim of your fathers, has given you?
JOSHUA 18:1-3
The site of Shiloh (Khirbet Seilun) excavations confirm the presence of a MB IIB shrine consistent with the erection of the sacred TEMENOS of the Ark, by the Israelites who were carriers of the Middle Bronze Age culture of the central hill country. “The Israelites tribes came together from all over Israel to gather around the shrine of the Ark and would have worked together as a combined labour force in order to contract the temenos with its great enclosure wall.”
Professor Israel Finkelstein of tel Aviv University
49When they had finished distributing the land into its territories, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, 50as YHVH had commanded. They gave him the city of Timnath-serahd in the hill country of Ephraim, as he requested. He rebuilt the city and settled in it.
51These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families distributed by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh before YHVH at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing up the land.
Joshua 19:49-51
43Thus YHVH gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled in it.
44And YHVH gave them rest on every side, just as He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies could stand against them, for YHVH delivered all their enemies into their hand.
45Not one of all YHVH’s good promises to the house of Israel had failed; everything was fulfilled.
Joshua 21:43-45
1A long time after YHVH had given Israel rest from all the enemies around them, when Joshua was old and well along in years, 2he summoned all Israel, including its elders, leaders, judges, and officers. “I am old and well along in years,” he said, 3“and you have seen everything that YHVH your Elohim has done to all these nations for your sake, because it was YHVH your Elohim who fought for you.
4See, I have allotted as an inheritance to your tribes these remaining nations, including all the nations I have already cut off, from the Jordan westward to the Great Sea.a 5YHVH your Elohim will push them out of your way and drive them out before you, so that you can take possession of their land, as YHVH your Elohim promised you.
6Be very strong, then, so that you can keep and obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, not turning aside from it to the right or to the left. 7So you are not to associate with these nations that remain among you. You must not call on the names of their gods or swear by them, and you must not serve them or bow down to them. 8Instead, you shall hold fast to YHVH your Elohim, as you have done to this day.
9YHVH has driven out great and powerful nations before you, and to this day no one can stand against you. 10One of you can put a thousand to flight, because YHVH your Elohim fights for you, just as He promised. 11Therefore watch yourselves carefully, that you love YHVH your Elohim. 12For if you turn away and cling to the rest of these nations that remain among you, and if you intermarry and associate with them, 13know for sure that YHVH your Elohim will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become for you a snare and a trap, a scourge in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that YHVH your Elohim has given you.
Joshua 23
14Now, therefore, fear YHVH and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve YHVH. 15But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve YHVH, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve YHVH!”
16The people replied, “Far be it from us to forsake YHVH to serve other gods!
25On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem he established for them a statute and ordinance. 26Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oakc that was near the sanctuary of YHVH.27And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone. It will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the YHVH has spoken to us, and it will be a witness against you if you ever deny your God.”
28Then Joshua sent the people away, each to his own inheritance.