Joshua 18
18
1 AND THE whole congregation of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.
2 And there remained among the Israelites seven tribes who had not yet divided their inheritance.
3 Joshua asked the Israelites, How long will you be slack to go in and possess the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?
4 Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them to go through the land and write a description of it according to their [tribal] inheritances; then they shall return to me.
5 And they shall divide it into seven parts. Judah shall remain in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph shall remain in its territory on the north.
6 You shall describe the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.
7 But the Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance east of the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.
8 So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged them saying, Go and walk through the land and describe it and come again to me, and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.
9 And the men went and passed through the land and described it by cities in seven portions in a book; and they came again to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh.
10 Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there [he] divided the land to the Israelites, to each [tribe] his portion.
11 And the lot of the Benjamites came up according to their families; and the territory of their lot fell between the tribes of Judah and Joseph.
12 On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan; then it went up to the shoulder of Jericho on the north and up through the hill country westward and ended at the Beth-aven wilderness.
13 Then the boundary passed over southward toward Luz, to the shoulder of Luz (that is, Bethel); then it went down to Ataroth-addar by the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon.
14 The boundary extended from there, and turning about on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south opposite Beth-horon, it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the tribe of Judah. This formed the western side [of Benjamin's territory].
15 The southern side began at the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the boundary went on westward to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.
16 Then the boundary went down to the edge of the mountain overlooking the Valley of Ben-hinnom [son of Hinnom], which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim; and it descended to the Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and went on down to En-rogel.
17 Then it bent toward the north and went on to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth, which was opposite the ascent of Adummim, and went down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.
18 And it went on to the north of the shoulder [of Beth]-Arabah and down to the Arabah.
19 Then the boundary passed along to the north of the shoulder of Beth-hoglah and ended at the northern bay of the Salt [Dead] Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.
20 And the Jordan was its boundary on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin by their boundaries round about, according to their families.
21 Now the cities of the tribe of Benjamin according to [their] families were: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz,
22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,
24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages;
25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,
26 Mizpah, Chephirah, Mozah,
27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,
28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite [city]–that is, Jerusalem–Gibeah, and Kiriath-[jearim]; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families.
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Joshua 18: AMPC
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1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Joshua 18
18
Joshua Gives Out the Rest of the Land
1After Israel had captured the land, they met at Shiloh and set up the sacred tent.#18.1 sacred tent: Or “meeting tent.” 2There were still seven tribes without any land, 3-7so Joshua told the people:
The Judah tribe has already settled in its land in the south, and the Joseph tribes#18.3-7 Joseph tribes: See the note at 17.14. 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#18.3-7 find out: Hebrew “cast lots to find out” (see the note at 14.1-5). from the Lord our God what region each tribe should get.
8Just 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.”
9The 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. 10Joshua found out from the Lord how to divide the land, and he told the tribes what the Lord had decided.
Benjamin's Land
11Benjamin 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#18.11 Joseph tribes: See the note at 17.14. on the north. 12Benjamin'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. 13-14From there it went to Luz, which is now called Bethel. The border ran along the ridge south of Luz, then went to Ataroth-Orech#18.13,14 Ataroth-Orech: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Ataroth-Addar.” 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.
15Benjamin's southern border started at the edge of Kiriath-Jearim and went east to the ruins#18.15 the ruins: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. and on to Nephtoah Spring. 16From 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.#18.16 Jerusalem: Hebrew “the Jebusite town.” The border went down through Hinnom Valley until it reached Enrogel.
17At Enrogel the border curved north and went to Enshemesh and on east to Geliloth,#18.17 Geliloth: Probably another name for Gilgal. which is across the valley from Adummim Pass. Then it went down to the Monument of Bohan,#18.17 Monument of Bohan: See the note at 15.6. who belonged to the Reuben tribe. 18The border ran along the hillside north of Beth-Arabah,#18.18 hillside north of Beth-Arabah: One ancient translation (see also the border description in 15.6); Hebrew “the northern hillside overlooking the Jordan River valley.” then down into the Jordan River valley. 19Inside 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,#18.19 northern … Dead Sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. at the mouth of the Jordan River. 20The Jordan River itself was Benjamin's eastern border.
These were the borders of Benjamin's tribal land, where the clans of Benjamin lived.
21-24One 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.
25-28In 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,#18.25-28 Kiriath-Jearim: One ancient translation; Hebrew “Kiriath.” and Jerusalem, which is also called Jebusite Town.
These regions are the tribal lands of Benjamin.
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