Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 Now Y’hoshua was old; the years had taken their toll.Adonaisaid to him, “You are old, and the years have taken their toll; but there is yet a great deal of land to be possessed.

2 “This is the land that still remains: all the regions of the P’lishtim and all the G’shuri,

3 from the Shichor which fronts Egypt, to the border of ‘Ekron (northward from there the land is considered as belonging to the Kena‘ani) — that is, the territory of the rulers of the P’lishtim in ‘Azah, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gat and ‘Ekron; also the ‘Avim

4 to the south; all the land of the Kena‘ani; Me‘arah, which belongs to the Tzidonim, as far as Afek and on to the border with the Emori;

5 the land of the Givli; all the L’vanon eastward, from Ba‘al-Gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamat.

6 “As for the inhabitants of the hills between the L’vanon and Misrefot-Mayim, that is, all the Tzidonim, I myself will expel them ahead of the people of Isra’el; all you have to do is assign it to Isra’el as an inheritance, as I have ordered you.

7 So now, divide this land as an inheritance for the nine tribes and the half-tribe of M’nasheh.”

8 With the half-tribe of M’nasheh, the Re’uveni and the Gadi received their inheritance, which Moshe had given them, beyond the Yarden eastward, just as Moshe the servant ofAdonaihad given them —

9 from ‘Aro‘er on the edge of the Arnon Valley, the city in the middle of the valley, all the plateau between Meidva and Divon,

10 and all the cities of Sichon king of the Emori who ruled in Heshbon to the border with the people of ‘Amon;

11 and Gil‘ad, the territory of the G’shuri and Ma‘akhati, all Mount Hermon, all Bashan as far as Salkhah —

12 that is, all the kingdom of ‘Og in Bashan, who ruled in ‘Ashtarot and Edre‘i. ‘Og was one of those remaining from the Refa’im, whom Moshe defeated and expelled.

13 However, the people of Isra’el expelled neither the G’shuri nor the Ma‘akhati, with the consequence that G’shur and Ma‘akhat have lived among Isra’el to this day.

14 Only to the tribe of Levi did Moshe give no inheritance; because the offerings made by fire forAdonaithe God of Isra’el are its inheritance; as [Adonai]had said to Moshe.

15 Moshe gave land to the tribe of the descendants of Re’uven by clans.

16 Their territory included ‘Aro‘er on the edge of the Arnon Valley, the city in the middle of the valley, all the plateau near Meidva,

17 Heshbon and its villages on the plateau, Divon, Bamot-Ba‘al, Beit-Ba‘al-M‘on,

18 Yahatz, K’demot, Mefa‘at,

19 Kiryatayim, Sivmah, Tzeret-Shachar at the top of the valley,

20 Beit-P‘or, the slopes of Pisgah, Beit-Yeshimot,

21 all the cities of the plateau — all the kingdom of Sichon king of the Emori, who ruled in Heshbon. Moshe defeated him with the chiefs of Midyan, along with Evi, Rekem, Tzur, Hur and Reva the princes of Sichon who lived in the land.

22 Along with the others the people of Isra’el killed with the sword, they also struck down Bil‘am the son of B‘or, who practiced divination.

23 The Yarden formed the border for the descendants of Re’uven. This was the inheritance of the descendants of Re’uven by clans, with its cities and villages.

24 Moshe gave land to the tribe of the Gad, to the descendants of Gad by clans.

25 Their territory included Ya‘zer; all the cities of Gil‘ad; half the land of the people of ‘Amon, as far as ‘Aro‘er fronting Rabbah —

26 that is, from Heshbon to Ramot-Mitzpeh and B’tonim; and from Machanayim to the border of Lidvir;

27 while in the valley it included Beit-Haram, Beit-Nimrah, Sukkot and Tzafon — in other words, the rest of the kingdom of Sichon king of Heshbon; with the Yarden to the far end of Lake Kinneret as its border, their territory extended eastward.

28 This is the inheritance of the descendants of Gad by clans, with its cities and villages.

29 Moshe gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of the M’nasheh; it was for the half-tribe of the descendants of M’nasheh by clans.

30 Their territory included Machanayim and all of Bashan — that is, all the kingdom of ‘Og king of Bashan; all the villages of Ya’ir in Bashan, sixty cities;

31 half of Gil‘ad; and ‘Ashtarot and Edre‘i, the cities of the kingdom of ‘Og in Bashan. All this was for the descendants of Makhir the son of M’nasheh, or, rather, for half of the descendants of Makhir, by clans.

32 These are the inheritances which Moshe distributed in the plains of Mo’av, beyond the Yarden and Yericho, eastward.

33 But to the tribe of Levi Moshe gave no inheritance;Adonaithe God of Isra’el is their inheritance — as he told them.

1 These are the inheritances which the people of Isra’el took in the land of Kena‘an, which El‘azar thecohen, Y’hoshua the son of Nun and the heads of the ancestral clans of the tribes of the people of Isra’el distributed to them

2 by lot for them to inherit, asAdonaiordered through Moshe, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe.

3 Moshe had already given the inheritances to the two tribes and the half-tribe beyond the Yarden; to theL’vi’imhe gave no inheritance among them.

4 The descendants of Yosef constituted two tribes, M’nasheh and Efrayim; and they gave no portion of the land to theL’vi’imexcept cities to live in, with the open land surrounding them for their livestock and crops.

5 AsAdonaihad ordered Moshe, so the people of Isra’el did — they divided the land.

6 The descendants of Y’hudah approached Y’hoshua in Gilgal, and Kalev the son of Y’funeh the K’nizi said to him, “You know whatAdonaitold Moshe the man of God about me and you in Kadesh-Barnea.

7 I was forty years old when Moshe the servant ofAdonaisent me from Kadesh-Barnea to reconnoiter the land, and I brought back to him an honest report.

8 My brothers who went up with me discouraged the people, but I followedAdonaimy God completely.

9 On that day Moshe swore, ‘Surely the land where your foot has been will be the inheritance for you and your descendants forever, because you have followedAdonaimy God completely.’

10 Now, look:Adonaihas kept me alive these forty-five years, as he said he would, from the timeAdonaisaid this to Moshe, when Isra’el was going through the desert. Today I am eighty-five years old,

11 but I am as strong today as on the day Moshe sent me — I’m as strong now as I was then, whether for war or simply for going here and there.

12 Therefore, give me this hill, the oneAdonaispoke about on that day; for on that day you heard how the ‘Anakim were there with great, fortified cities; perhapsAdonaiwill be with me, and I will drive them away, asAdonaisaid.”

13 Y’hoshua blessed him and gave Hevron to Kalev the son of Y’funeh as his inheritance.

14 So Hevron became the inheritance of Kalev the son of Y’funeh the K’nizi, as it is to this day; because he followedAdonaithe God of Isra’el completely.

15 (Hevron was formerly called Kiryat-Arba; this Arba was the greatest man among the ‘Anakim.) Then the land had rest from war.

1 The territory chosen by lot for the tribe of the descendants of Y’hudah according to their families extended to the border of Edom in the Tzin Desert, toward the Negev in the far south.

2 Their southern border began at the far shore of the Dead Sea, from the bay facing southward,

3 and went out south of the Scorpion Ascent, passed toward Tzin, went up south of Kadesh-Barnea, passed Hetzron, went up toward Adar, turned toward Karka,

4 passed toward ‘Atzmon, and went out at theVadiof Egypt, with the border ending at the sea; this will be your southern border.

5 The eastern border was the Dead Sea to where the Yarden entered it.

The northern border began at the bay of the sea at the end of the Yarden;

6 then the border went up to Beit-Hoglah and passed north of Beit-‘Aravah; next the border went up to the Stone of Bohan the son of Re’uven;

7 then the border went up to D’vir from the Akhor Valley, then northward facing Gilgal (that is, across from Ma‘alei-Adumim, which is on the south side of thevadi); next the border passed to the ‘Ein-Shemesh Spring and went out at ‘Ein-Rogel.

8 Then the border went up the Ben-Hinnom Valley to the south side of the Y’vusi (that is, Yerushalayim), and the border continued up to the top of the hill in front of the Hinnom Valley on the west (which is also at the northernmost end of the Refa’im Valley)

9 From this hilltop the border was drawn to the source of the Neftoach Spring and continued out to the cities of Mount ‘Efron; next the border was drawn to Ba‘alah (that is, Kiryat-Ye‘arim).

10 Then the border turned from Ba‘al westward to Mount Se‘ir, passed the spur of Mount Ye‘arim (also called K’salon) on the north, went down to Beit-Shemesh and passed Timnah.

11 Next the border went out toward the side of ‘Ekron northward; and finally, the border was drawn to Shikron, passed Mount Ba‘alah, and went out at Yavne’el, with the border ending at the sea.

12 As for the west border, the Great Sea was its border. These were the borders of the territory of the descendants of Y’hudah, by clans.

13 To Kalev the son of Y’funeh he gave a portion with the descendants of Y’hudah, asAdonaihad ordered Y’hoshua, namely, Kiryat-Arba (Arba was the father of the ‘Anak), also called Hevron.

14 Kalev expelled from there three descendants of ‘Anak — Sheshai, Achiman and Talmai, children of ‘Anak.

15 From there he went up to fight the inhabitants of D’vir (D’vir was formerly called Kiryat-Sefer).

16 Kalev said, “To whoever overpowers Kiryat-Sefer and captures it I will give my daughter Akhsah as his wife.”

17 ‘Otni’el the son of K’naz, Kalev’s brother, captured it; so he gave him ‘Akhsah his daughter as his wife.

18 After becoming his wife, she persuaded him to ask her father to give them a field; when she got off her donkey, Kalev asked her, “What do you want?”

19 She said to him: “Give me a blessing: since you gave me land in the Negev, also give me sources of water.” So Kalev gave her the Upper Springs and the Lower Springs.

20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Y’hudah, by clans.

21 The cities at the outer part of the tribe of Y’hudah toward the border with Edom in the south were: Kavtze’el, ‘Eder, Yagur,

22 Kinah, Dimonah, ‘Ad‘adah,

23 Kedesh, Hatzor, Yitnan,

24 Zif, Telem, Be‘alot,

25 Hatzor, Hadatah, K’riot, Hetzron (which is Hatzor),

26 Amam, Sh’ma, Moladah,

27 Hatzar-Gadah, Heshmon, Beit-Pelet,

28 Hatzar-Shu‘al, Be’er-Sheva, Bizyot-Yah,

29 Ba‘alah, ‘Iyim, ‘Etzem,

30 El-Tolad, K’sil, Hormah,

31 Ziklag, Madmanah, Sansanah,

32 L’va’ot, Shilchim, ‘Ayin and Rimmon — twenty-nine cities in all, together with their villages.

33 In the Sh’felah: Eshta’ol, Tzor‘ah, Ashnah,

34 Zanoach, ‘Ein-Ganim, Tapuach, ‘Enam,

35 Yarmut, ‘Adulam, Sokhoh, ‘Azekah,

36 Sh’arim, ‘Aditayim, G’derah and G’derotayim — fourteen cities, together with their villages.

37 Tz’nan, Hadashah, Migdal-Gad,

38 Dil‘an, Mitzpeh, Yokte’el,

39 Lakhish, Bozkat, ‘Eglon,

40 Kabon, Lachmas, Kitlish,

41 G’derot, Beit-Dagon, Na‘amah and Makkedah — sixteen cities, together with their villages.

42 Livnah, ‘Eter, ‘Ashan,

43 Yiftach, Ashnah, N’tziv,

44 Ke‘ilah, Akhziv and Mareshah — nine cities, together with their villages.

45 ‘Ekron, with its towns and villages —

46 from ‘Ekron to the sea; all those near Ashdod, with their villages;

47 Ashdod, with its towns and villages; ‘Azah, with its towns and villages, to theVadiof Egypt, with the Great Sea as its border.

48 In the hills: Shamir, Yatir, Sokhoh,

49 Danah, Kiryat-Sanna (that is, D’vir),

50 ‘Anav, Esht’moh, ‘Anim,

51 Goshen, Holon and Giloh — eleven cities, together with their villages.

52 Arav, Dumah, Esh’an,

53 Yanum, Beit-Tapuach, Afekah,

54 Humtah, Kiryat-Arba (that is, Hevron) and Tzi‘or — nine cities, together with their villages.

55 Ma‘on, Karmel, Zif, Yutah,

56 Yizre‘el, Yokde‘am, Zanoach,

57 Kayin, Giv‘ah and Timnah — ten cities, together with their villages.

58 Halchul, Beit-Tzur, G’dor,

59 Ma‘arat, Beit-‘Anot, Elt’kon — six cities, together with their villages.

60 Kiryat-Ba‘al (that is, Kiryat-Ye‘arim) and Rabbah — two cities, together with their villages.

61 In the desert: Beit-‘Aravah, Middin, S’khakhah,

62 Nivshan, ‘Ir-Hamelach and ‘Ein-Gedi — six cities, together with their villages.

63 As for the Y’vusi, who lived in Yerushalayim, the descendants of Y’hudah could not drive them out; so the Y’vusi live with the descendants of Y’hudah in Yerushalayim to this day.

1 The border of the territory chosen by lot for the descendants of Yosef began from the Yarden at Yericho, at the spring of Yericho on the east, went up from Yericho through the hills and desert to Beit-El,

2 went out from Beit-El to Luz, passed on to the border with the Arki to ‘Atarot,

3 went down westward to the border with the Yafleti, to the border of Lower Beit-Horon, on to Gezer and ending at the sea.

4 So the descendants of Yosef, M’nasheh and Efrayim took the inheritance.

5 The border of the descendants of Efrayim according to their families was as follows: the eastern border of their inheritance began at ‘Atrot-Adar and went to Upper Beit-Horon;

6 then the border extended westward, with Mikhm’tat on the north; next the border turned eastward to Ta’anat-Shiloh and passed by it to the east of Yanochah;

7 then it went down from Yanochah to ‘Atarot, went to Na‘arah, extended to Yericho and ended at the Yarden.

8 From Tapuach the border went westward toVadiKanah and ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Efrayim according to their families,

9 together with the cities set aside for the descendants of Efrayim inside the territory to be inherited by the descendants of M’nasheh, all the cities with their villages.

10 They did not drive out the Kena‘ani living in Gezer, so the Kena‘ani live together with Efrayim to this day, having become slaves to do the heavy work.

1 This was the territory chosen by lot for the tribe of M’nasheh, for he was the firstborn of Yosef. As for Makhir the firstborn of M’nasheh, the father of Gil‘ad, because he was a warrior he got Gil‘ad and Bashan.

2 So the lot was drawn for the other descendants of M’nasheh according to their families — for the descendants of Avi‘ezer, Helek, Asri’el, Sh’khem, Hefer and Sh’mida; these were the male descendants of M’nasheh according to their families.

3 But Tz’lof’chad the son of Hefer, the son of Gil‘ad, the son of Makhir, the son of M’nasheh, had no sons, only daughters; these are the names of his daughters: Machlah, No‘ah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirtzah.

4 They approached El‘azar thecohen, Y’hoshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, “Adonaiordered Moshe to give us an inheritance together with our kinsmen.” Therefore, in keeping withAdonai’s order, he gave them an inheritance together with the kinsmen of their father.

5 Thus ten parts fell to M’nasheh, in addition to the land of Gil‘ad and Bashan beyond the Yarden,

6 because the daughters of M’nasheh had an inheritance along with his descendants; but the land of Gil‘ad belonged to the rest of the descendants of M’nasheh.

7 The border of M’nasheh began at Asher and went to Mikhm’tat, which is across from Sh’khem; next the border went along to the right, to the people of ‘Ein-Tapuach.

8 The land of Tapuach belonged to M’nasheh, but Tapuach on the border of M’nasheh belonged to the descendants of Efrayim.

9 The border descended toVadiKanah, south of thevadi, by cities which belonged to Efrayim among the cities of M’nasheh; but the border with M’nasheh was on the north side of thevadi, and it ended at the sea.

10 Southward it was Efrayim’s, northward it was M’nasheh’s, and the sea was its border; while to the north they extended to Asher, and on the east to Yissakhar.

11 In Asher and Yissakhar, M’nasheh had Beit-Sh’an and its villages; Yivle‘am and its villages; and the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, of ‘Ein-Dor and its villages, of Ta‘anakh and its villages, and of Megiddo and its villages — three districts in all.

12 But the descendants of M’nasheh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; the Kena‘ani wanted to stay in that land.

13 After the people of Isra’el had become strong, they made the Kena‘ani do heavy labor but didn’t completely drive them out.

14 Then the descendants of Yosef spoke to Y’hoshua; they said, “Why have you given me only one lot and only one portion to inherit? After all, I am a great people, sinceAdonaihas blessed me so.”

15 Y’hoshua answered them, “If you are a great people, go up to the forest, and clear land for yourself there in the territory of the P’rizi and the Refa’im — since the hills of Efrayim don’t give you enough space.”

16 The descendants of Yosef replied, “The hills won’t be enough for us; and all the Kena‘ani living in the valleys have iron chariots — both those in Beit-Sh’an and its villages and those in the Yizre‘el Valley.”

17 Then Y’hoshua said to the house of Yosef, to both Efrayim and M’nasheh, “You are a great people with much power; you will not have only one lot,

18 but the hills too will be yours. Although it is a forest, you will clear it, and the resulting open land will be yours. You will drive out the Kena‘ani, even though they have iron chariots and are strong.”

1 The entire community of the people of Isra’el assembled themselves together at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there, after the land had been subdued before them.

2 There still remained among the people of Isra’el seven tribes that had not yet received their inheritance.

3 Y’hoshua said to the people of Isra’el, “How long will you delay going in to take possession of the land whichAdonaithe God of your ancestors has given you?

4 Appoint three men for each tribe; I will commission them; and they are to set out, go through the land and describe it according to their inheritance; then they are to come back to me.

5 They are to divide it into seven portions, with Y’hudah remaining in its territory to the south and the house of Yosef in their territory to the north.

6 You will describe seven portions of land and bring the descriptions here to me; then I will cast lots for you here beforeAdonaiour God.

7 But theL’vi’imhave no share with you, because the office ofcohentoAdonaiis their inheritance; and Gad and Re’uven and the half-tribe of M’nasheh have received their inheritance beyond the Yarden to the east, which Moshe the servant ofAdonaigave them.”

8 So the men got up and went. Y’hoshua gave them this commission as they left to describe the land: “Go; walk through the land; and describe it; then come back to me, and I will cast lots for you here beforeAdonaiin Shiloh.”

9 The men went and passed through the land, surveying it by cities, dividing it into seven regions and writing the results on a scroll. Then they came to Y’hoshua in the camp at Shiloh.

10 Y’hoshua cast lots for them in Shiloh beforeAdonai, and there Y’hoshua divided the land among the people of Isra’el according to their regions.

11 The lot for the tribe of the descendants of Binyamin came up according to their families. The border of their territory chosen by lot was between the descendants of Y’hudah and the descendants of Yosef.

12 On the north side, their border began at the Yarden, went up alongside Yericho on the north, continued up through the hills westward and arrived at the Beit-Aven Desert.

13 From there the border passed on to Luz, to the south side of Luz (that is, Beit-El); then the border went down to ‘Atrot-Adar, by the hill on the south side of Lower Beit-Horon.

14 The border was delineated as turning at the western corner and heading southward, from the hill located in front of Beit-Horon on the south; and it ended at Kiryat-Ba‘al (that is, Kiryat-Ye‘arim), a city belonging to the descendants of Y’hudah; this was the west side.

15 On the south the border extended westward from the most distant part of Kiryat-Ye‘arim, going out to the source of the Neftoach Spring.

16 Then the border went down to the farthest part of the hill located in front of the Ben-Hinnom Valley, north of the Refa’im Valley, south of the Y’vusi; and continued down to ‘Ein-Rogel,

17 where it was drawn to the north; then it went on to ‘Ein-Shemesh; continued to G’lilot, which is across from Ma‘alei-Adumim; went down to the Stone of Bohan the son of Re’uven;

18 passed alongside the ‘Aravah, heading north; and went down to the ‘Aravah.

19 Then the border passed alongside Beit-Hoglah, heading north; and the border ended at the north bay of the Dead Sea, at the south end of the Yarden; this was the south border.

20 The Yarden was to be its border on the east side.

This was the inheritance of the descendants of Binyamin, defined by its surrounding borders, according to their families.

21 The cities of the tribe of the descendants of Binyamin according to their families were: Yericho, Beit-Hoglah, ‘Emek-K’tzitz,

22 Beit-‘Aravah, Tz’marayim, Beit-El,

23 ‘Avim, Parah, ‘Ofrah,

24 K’far-Ha‘amonah, ‘Ofni and Geva — twelve cities, together with their villages.

25 Giv‘on, Ramah, Be’erot,

26 Mitzpeh, K’firah, Motzah,

27 Rekem, Yirpe’el, Tar’alah,

28 Tzela, Elef, Y’vusi (that is, Yerushalayim), Giv‘at and Kiryat — fourteen cities, together with their villages.

This is the inheritance of the descendants of Binyamin according to their families.

1 The second lot came out for Shim‘on, for the tribe of the descendants of Shim‘on according to their families. Their inheritance was inside the inheritance of the descendants of Y’hudah.

2 For their inheritance they had Be’er-Sheva, Sheva, Moladah,

3 Hatzar-Shu‘al, Balah, ‘Etzem,

4 El-Tolad, B’tul, Hormah,

5 Ziklag, Beit-Markavot, Hatzar-Susah,

6 Beit-L’va’ot and Sharuchen — thirteen cities, together with their villages;

7 ‘Ayin, Rimmon, ‘Eter and ‘Ashan — four cities, together with their villages;

8 and all the villages surrounding these cities, as far as Ba‘alat-Be’er, Ramah of the Negev. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Shim‘on according to their families.

9 The inheritance of the descendants of Shim‘on was taken out of the allotment for the descendants of Y’hudah, because the portion given to the descendants of Y’hudah was too much for them, so the descendants of Shim‘on had an inheritance inside the descendants of Y’hudah.

10 The third lot came up for the descendants of Z’vulun according to their families. The border of their inheritance began at Sarid.

11 Then their border went up westward to Mar‘alah, extended to Dabeshet and on to thevadifronting Yokne‘am.

12 Also from Sarid it turned toward the sunrise to the east to the border of Kislot-Tavor, went on to Dovrat and up to Yafia.

13 From there it passed eastward to Gat-Hefer, on to ‘Et-Katzin, went out at Rimmon and reached to Ne‘ah.

14 Then the border turned on the north side to Hanaton, ending in the Yiftach’el Valley.

15 Also Katat, Nahalal, Shimron, Yid’alah and Beit-Lechem — twelve cities, together with their villages.

16 This is the inheritance of the descendants of Z’vulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.

17 The fourth lot came out for Yissakhar, for the descendants of Yissakhar according to their families.

18 Their territory included Yizre‘el, K’sulot, Shunem,

19 Hafarayim, Shi’on, Anacharat,

20 Rabit, Kishyon, Evetz,

21 Remet, ‘Ein-Ganim, ‘Ein-Hadah and Beit-Patzetz.

22 Their territory extended to Tavor, Shachatzimah and Beit-Shemesh; and their territory ended at the Yarden — sixteen cities, together with their villages.

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

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

25 Their territory included Helkat, Hali, Beten, Akhshaf,

26 Alamelekh, ‘Am‘ad and Mish’al. It extended to the Karmel on the west and to Shichor-Livnat.

27 The border turned eastward to Beit-Dagon, reached to Z’vulun and the Yiftach’el Valley on its north, then Beit-‘Emek and Ne‘i’el, went out to Kavul on the left,

28 then ‘Evron, Rechov, Hamon, Kanah and on to greater Tzidon.

29 The border turned toward Ramah and the fortified city of Tzor; next the border turned to Hosah; and it ended at the sea from Hevel to Akhziv.

30 Also included were ‘Umah, Afek and Rechov — twenty cities, together with their villages.

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

32 The sixth lot came out for the descendants of Naftali, for the descendants of Naftali according to their families.

33 Their border went from Helef and the oak in Tza‘ananim, included Adami-Nekev and Yavne’el, went on to Lakum and ended at the Yarden.

34 Westward the border turned to Aznot-Tavor and went out from there to Hukok, reaching to Z’vulun on the south, Asher on the west and Y’hudah at the Yarden toward the east.

35 The fortified cities were Tzidim, Tzer, Hamat, Rakat, Kinneret,

36 Adamah, Ramah, Hatzor,

37 Kedesh, Edre‘i, ‘Ein-Hatzor,

38 Yir’on, Migdal-El, Horem, Beit-‘Anat and Beit-Shemesh — nineteen cities, together with their villages.

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

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

41 The territory of their inheritance included Tzor‘ah, Eshta’ol, ‘Ir-Shemesh,

42 Sha‘alabin, Ayalon, Yitlah,

43 Eilon, Timnah, ‘Ekron,

44 Elt’keh, Gib’ton, Ba‘alat,

45 Y’hud, B’nei-Brak, Gat-Rimmon,

46 Yarkon Springs and Rakon, with the border fronting Yafo.

47 The territory of the descendants of Dan was too small for them, so the descendants of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, defeated it by the sword, took possession of it and lived there, calling Leshem “Dan” after Dan their ancestor.

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

49 When they had finished distributing the land for inheritance according to its borders, the people of Isra’el gave an inheritance within their territory to Y’hoshua the son of Nun.

50 According toAdonai’s order they gave him the city he had asked for, Timnat-Serach in the hills of Efrayim; so he built up the city and lived in it.

51 These are the inheritances which El‘azar thecohen, Y’hoshua the son of Nun and the leaders of the ancestral clans of the tribes of the people of Isra’el distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh beforeAdonaiat the door of the tent of meeting. Thus they finished dividing up the land.

1 Adonaisaid to Y’hoshua,

2 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘Select the cities of refuge about which I spoke to you through Moshe;

3 so that anyone who kills someone by mistake and unknowingly may escape there; they will serve as refuges for you from the next-of-kin avenger.

4 He is to flee to one of those cities, stand at the entrance to the city gate and state his cause to the city leaders. Then they will bring him into the city with them and give him a place, so that he may live among them.

5 If the next-of-kin avenger pursues him, they are not to hand over the killer to him; because he struck his fellow community member unknowingly and had not hated him previously.

6 So he will live in that city until he stands trial before the community, until the death of thecohen hagadolwho is in office at the time. When that time comes, the killer may return to his own city and his own house, to the city from which he fled.’”

7 So they set apart Kedesh in the Galil, in the hills of Naftali; Sh’khem in the hills of Efrayim; and Kiryat-Arba (that is, Hevron) in the hills of Y’hudah.

8 Beyond the Yarden east of Yericho they selected Betzer in the desert, on the plateau, out of the tribe of Re’uven; Ramot in Gil‘ad out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of M’nasheh.

9 These were the cities selected for all the people of Isra’el and for the foreigner living among them, so that anyone who kills any person by mistake could flee there and not die at the hand of the next-of-kin avenger prior to standing trial before the community.

1 Then the leaders of the ancestral clans of theL’vi’imapproached El‘azar thecohen, Y’hoshua the son of Nun and the leaders of the ancestral clans of the tribes of the people of Isra’el.

2 It was at Shiloh in the land of Kena‘an that they spoke to them; they said, “Adonaiordered through Moshe that we be given cities to live in, with the surrounding open land for our livestock.”

3 So out of their inheritance the people of Isra’el gave theL’vi’imthe following cities with the surrounding open land:

4 The lot came out for the families of the K’hati. The descendants of Aharon thecohen, who were of theL’vi’im, received by lot thirteen cities from the tribes of Y’hudah, Shim‘on and Binyamin.

5 The rest of the descendants of K’hat received by lot ten cities from the families of the tribes of Efrayim and Dan and the half-tribe of M’nasheh.

6 The descendants of Gershon received by lot thirteen cities from the families of the tribes of Yissakhar, Asher, Naftali and the half-tribe of M’nasheh in Bashan.

7 The descendants of M’rari according to their families received twelve cities from the tribes of Re’uven, Gad and Z’vulun.

8 The people of Isra’el gave by lot to theL’vi’imthese cities with the surrounding open land, asAdonaihad ordered through Moshe.

9 They gave from the tribe of the descendants of Y’hudah and from the tribe of the descendants of Shim‘on these cities here mentioned by name;

10 they were for the descendants of Aharon, of the families of the K’hati, who were among the descendants of Levi; because theirs was the first lot.

11 They gave them: Kiryat-Arba — this Arba was the father of ‘Anak — (that is, Hevron), in the hills of Y’hudah, with the surrounding open land;

12 but the fields and villages of the city they gave to Kalev the son of Y’funeh as his possession.

13 Thus to the descendants of Aharon thecohenthey gave: Hevron with its surrounding open land, already a city of refuge for the killer; Livnah with its surrounding open land;

14 Yatir with its surrounding open land; Esht’moa with its surrounding open land;

15 Holon with its surrounding open land; D’vir with its surrounding open land;

16 ‘Ayin with its surrounding open land, Yutah with its surrounding open land and Beit-Shemesh with its surrounding open land — nine cities out of these two tribes.

17 Out of the tribe of Binyamin: Giv‘on with its surrounding open land, Geva with its surrounding open land,

18 ‘Anatot with its surrounding open land and ‘Almon with its surrounding open land — four cities.

19 All the cities of the descendants of Aharon, thecohanim, numbered thirteen cities with their surrounding open land.

20 The families of the descendants of K’hat, who wereL’vi’im, that is, the rest of the descendants of K’hat, received the cities of their lot. Out of the tribe of Efrayim

21 they gave them: Sh’khem with its surrounding open land, in the hills of Efrayim, the city of refuge for the killer; Gezer with its surrounding open land;

22 Kivtzayim with its surrounding open land and Beit-Horon with its surrounding open land — four cities.

23 Out of the tribe of Dan: Elt’ke with its surrounding open land, Gib’ton with its surrounding open land,

24 Ayalon with its surrounding open land and Gat-Rimmon with its surrounding open land — four cities.

25 Out of the half-tribe of M’nasheh: Ta‘nakh with its surrounding open land and Gat-Rimmon with its surrounding open land — two cities.

26 All the cities of the families of the rest of the descendants of K’hat numbered ten with their surrounding open land.

27 To the descendants of Gershon, of the families of theL’vi’im, out of the half-tribe of M’nasheh they gave: Golan in Bashan with its surrounding open land, the city of refuge for the killer; and B’esht’rah with its surrounding open land — two cities.

28 Out of the tribe of Yissakhar: Kishyon with its surrounding open land, Dovrat with its surrounding open land,

29 Yarmut with its surrounding open land and ‘Ein-Ganim with its surrounding open land — four cities.

30 Out of the tribe of Asher: Mishal with its surrounding open land, ‘Avdon with its surrounding open land,

31 Helkat with its surrounding open land and Rechov with its surrounding open land — four cities.

32 Out of the tribe of Naftali: Kedesh in the Galil with its surrounding open land, the city of refuge for the killer; Hammot-Dor with its surrounding open land; and Kartan with its surrounding open land — three cities.

33 All the cities of the Gershuni according to their families were thirteen cities with their surrounding open land.

34 To the families of the descendants of M’rari, the rest of theL’vi’im, out of the tribe of Z’vulun: Yokne‘am with its surrounding open land, Kartah with its surrounding open land,

35 Dimnah with its surrounding open land and Nahalal with its surrounding open land — four cities. {Out of the tribe of Re’uven: Betzer with its surrounding open land, Yachtzah with its surrounding open land, K’demot with its surrounding open land and Mefa‘at with its surrounding open land — four cities.}*

36 Out of the tribe of Gad: Ramot in Gil‘ad with its surrounding open land, the city of refuge for the killer; Machanayim with its surrounding open land;

37 Heshbon with its surrounding open land and Ya‘zer with its surrounding open land — four cities in all.

38 All these were the cities of the descendants of M’rari according to their families, the rest of the families of theL’vi’im; their lot totaled twelve cities.

39 All the cities of theL’vi’im, forty-eight cities with their surrounding open land, are to be in among the lands possessed by the people of Isra’el —

40 these cities, each with its surrounding open land; thus is it to be with all these cities.

41 SoAdonaigave Isra’el all the land which he swore to give to their ancestors, and they took possession of it and lived in it.

42 ThenAdonaigave them rest all around, according to everything he had sworn to their ancestors. Not a man from all their enemies stood against them;Adonaihanded all their enemies over to them.

43 Not one good thing thatAdonaihad spoken of to the household of Isra’el failed to happen; it all took place.

1 Then Y’hoshua called the Re’uveni, the Gadi and the half-tribe of M’nasheh,

2 and said to them, “You have done everything Moshe the servant ofAdonaiordered you to do and heeded what I said in all the orders I gave you.

3 All this time you have not abandoned your kinsmen but have obeyed your commission, asAdonaiyour God ordered.

4 NowAdonaiyour God has given rest to your kinsmen, as he told them he would. So you too, return to your tents in the land which is your possession, which Moshe the servant ofAdonaigave you beyond the Yarden.

5 Only take great care to obey themitzvahand theTorahwhich Moshe the servant ofAdonaigave you — to loveAdonaiyour God, follow all his ways, observe hismitzvot, cling to him, and serve him with all your heart and being.”

6 Then Y’hoshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

7 (To the one half-tribe of M’nasheh, Moshe had given an inheritance in Bashan; but to the other half, Y’hoshua gave one among their kinsmen on the west side of the Yarden.) When Y’hoshua sent them away to their tents he blessed them,

8 saying, “Return with great riches to your tents — with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, iron and with great quantities of clothing; share the spoil of your enemies with your kinsmen.”

9 So the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh returned; they left the people of Isra’el in Shiloh, in the land of Kena‘an, to go to the land of Gil‘ad, to the land they were to possess and which they already did possess — according to the order ofAdonaithrough Moshe.

10 When the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe arrived in the area of the land of Kena‘an near the Yarden, they built an altar there by the Yarden, a large, impressive altar.

11 The people of Isra’el heard of it and said, “Look! The descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh have built an altar by the frontier of the land of Kena‘an, in the area by the Yarden, on the side that belongs to the people of Isra’el.”

12 When the people of Isra’el heard of it, the entire community of Isra’el gathered together in Shiloh to wage war against them.

13 The people of Isra’el sent Pinchas the son of El‘azar thecoheninto the land of Gil‘ad to the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh.

14 With him were ten leaders, one leader of an ancestral clan for each of the tribes of Isra’el; each one was a head of his ancestral clan among the thousands of Isra’el.

15 They came to the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh in the land of Gil‘ad and spoke with them; they said,

16 “Here is what the whole community ofAdonaiis saying: ‘What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Isra’el, turning away today from followingAdonai, in that you have built yourselves an altar, thus rebelling today againstAdonai?

17 Is the guilt we incurred at P‘or not enough for us? We haven’t cleansed ourselves from it to this day, even though a plague came on the community ofAdonai.

18 Is this why you have to turn away today from followingAdonai? If you rebel againstAdonaitoday, he will be angry tomorrow with the whole community of Isra’el.

19 If the land you have taken possession of is unclean, then cross back over into the land which belongs toAdonai, where the tabernacle ofAdonaiis located, and take a possession among us. But don’t rebel againstAdonai, and don’t rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar other than the altar ofAdonaiour God.

20 Didn’t Achan the son of Zerach commit a sin in regard to things set aside for destruction, and God’s anger fell on the whole community of Isra’el? He was not the only one who died for his crime.’”

21 Then the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the half-tribe of M’nasheh answered the leaders of the thousands of Isra’el:

22 “The Mighty One, God, isAdonai! He knows, and Isra’el will know — if we acted in rebellion or treachery againstAdonai, don’t vindicate us today!

23 We haven’t built an altar in order to turn away from followingAdonaior to offer on it burnt offerings, grain offerings or sacrifices as peace offerings. If we have, letAdonaihimself require us to atone for it.

24 Rather, we did this out of anxiety, because we thought, ‘Sometime in the future, your descendants might say to our descendants, “You don’t have anything to do withAdonai, the God of Isra’el,

25 becauseAdonaimade the Yarden the border between us and you, so you descendants of Re’uven and Gad have no share inAdonai.”’ In this way your descendants could make our descendants stop fearingAdonai.

26 So we said, ‘Let us now make preparations and build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices,

27 but as a witness between us and you, and between our generations who will come after us, so that we may perform the service forAdonaiin his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and peace offerings — so that your descendants will not say to our descendants at some future time, “You have no share inAdonai.”’

28 For this reason we said, ‘When they accuse us or future generations in this way, we will say, “Look! Here is a replica of the altar ofAdonaiwhich our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.”’

29 Far be it from us that we should rebel againstAdonaiand turn away today from followingAdonaiby building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings or sacrifices other than the altar ofAdonaiour God which stands in front of his tabernacle!”

30 When Pinchas thecohenand the leaders of the community, the heads of the thousands of Isra’el who were with him, heard what the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the descendants of M’nasheh said, it satisfied them.

31 Pinchas the son of El‘azar thecohensaid to the descendants of Re’uven, the descendants of Gad and the descendants of M’nasheh, “Today we know thatAdonaiis here with us, because you have not committed this treasonous act againstAdonai.Now you have saved the people of Isra’el from the anger ofAdonai.”

32 So Pinchas the son of El‘azar thecohenand the leaders returned from the descendants of Re’uven and Gad, from the land of Gil‘ad to the land of Kena‘an and the people of Isra’el, bringing word back to them.

33 What they said satisfied the people of Isra’el. The people of Isra’el blessed God and said no more about going to wage war against the descendants of Re’uven and Gad and destroying the land where they lived.

34 The descendants of Re’uven and Gad called the altar “‘Ed[a witness]” between us thatAdonaiis God.