Joshua 18
The Last of the Land Is Divided
1The entire congregation of the ⌞Israelites⌟ ▼▼Literally “sons/children of Israel”
assembled at Shiloh, and they set up there the tent of meeting, and the land was subdued before them. ▼▼Or “in their presence”
2And seven tribes remained among the ⌞Israelites⌟ ▼▼Literally “sons/children of Israel”
who had not been apportioned their inheritance. 3And Joshua said to the ⌞Israelites⌟, ▼▼Literally “sons/children of Israel”
“⌞How long⌟ ▼▼Literally “Until when”
will you be slack about going to take possession of the land that Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, ▼▼Or “fathers”
has given you? 4Provide three men ⌞from each tribe⌟, ▼▼Literally “according to each tribe”
and I will send them so that they may begin to go through the land and write a description of it ⌞according to their inheritance⌟, ▼▼Literally “according to the mouth of their inheritance”
and let them come to me. 5They will divide it among themselves into seven portions; ⌞Judah will maintain its border⌟ ▼▼Literally “Judah will stand on its border”
from the south, and ⌞the house of Joseph will maintain its border⌟ ▼▼Literally “the house of Joseph will stand on its border”
from the north. 6Describe the land in seven divisions, and bring it to me here; I will cast lots for you here before Yahweh our God. 7The Levites among you have no portion, for their inheritance is the priesthood of Yahweh; Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh received their inheritance beyond the Jordan to the east, which Moses Yahweh’s servant gave to them.” 8And ⌞the men went immediately⌟, ▼▼Literally “the men got up and went”
and Joshua commanded the ones going to describe the land, saying, “Go and walk about through the land, write a description, and return to me, and here I will cast a lot for you before ▼▼Or “in the presence of”
Yahweh at Shiloh.” 9And the men went and passed through the land, and they ⌞described⌟ ▼▼Literally “wrote it”
the cities in seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, 10and Joshua cast a lot for them at Shiloh before ▼▼Or “in the presence of”
Yahweh, and there he divided the land for the ⌞Israelites⌟, ▼▼Literally “sons/children of Israel”
⌞to each a portion⌟. ▼▼Literally “according to their allotment”
The Allotment of Benjamin
11And the allotment of the tribe of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the border of their allotment fell ▼▼Literally “went out”
between the descendants ▼▼Or “sons”
of Judah and the descendants ▼▼Or “sons”
of Joseph. 12Their northern border began at the Jordan and went up to the slope of Jericho on the north and continued into the hill country to the west; ⌞it ends⌟ ▼▼Literally “the goings out of it were”
at the wilderness of Beth Aven. 13The border passes on from there to Luz, to the slope of Luz to the south (that is, Bethel); then the border goes down to Ataroth Addar to the mountain that is south of Lower Beth-Horon. 14Then the border changes direction and turns to the western side southward, from the mountain that ⌞is opposite⌟ ▼▼Literally “against the face of”
Beth-Horon to the south. ⌞It ends⌟ ▼▼Literally “the goings out of it were”
at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a town belonging to the descendants ▼▼Or “sons”
of Judah. This is the western side. 15The southern side begins on the outskirts of Kiriath Jearim, and the border continues to the west to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah; 16the border goes down to the foot ▼▼Or “to the edge”
of the mountain, which is opposite the Valley of Ben Hinnom, ▼▼Or “valley of the son of-Hinnom”
which is in the valley of Rephaim to the north; then it does down the valley of Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites ▼▼Hebrew “Jebusite”
to the south, and then it goes down to En Rogel. 17It changes direction from the north, and it continues to En Shemesh; it goes out to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it goes down to the stone of Bohan, son of Reuben. 18It passes on to the slope opposite the Arabah ▼▼A dry region that runs south of the Sea of Galilee along the Jordan Valley
to the north, and it goes down to the Arabah. ▼▼A dry region that runs south of the Sea of Galilee along the Jordan Valley
19The border passes on to the slope of Beth-hoglah to the north and ⌞ends⌟ ▼▼Literally “the goings out of it were”
at the north bay of the Salt Sea ▼▼That is, the Dead Sea
at the south end of the Jordan. This is the southern border. 20The Jordan forms its border on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin, its borders that surrounds them, according to their families. 21Now the towns of the tribes of the descendants ▼▼Or “sons”
of Benjamin, according to their families, were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek Keziz, 22Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities and their villages. 25Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26Mizpeh, Kephirah, Mozah, 27Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath; fourteen cities and their villages. This is the inheritance of the descendants ▼▼Or “sons”
of Benjamin according to their families.
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