Jos 1, Jos 18 | ESV | STEP | After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord , the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun , Moses ’ assistant ,

ar[See ver. 14 above]

asSee ch. 15:8

atSee ch. 12:4

auSee ch. 15:8

avSee ch. 15:7

aw ch. 15:6

ax ch. 11:2; 15:6

az ch. 11:2; 15:6

ba[See ver. 17 above]

bb ch. 15:2

bc ver. 12

bdSee ch. 15:8

Joshua 1

God Commissions Joshua

1 After the death of Moses the ^aservant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses’ ^bassistant, 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. 3 ^cEvery place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. 4 ^dFrom the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. 5 ^eNo man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just ^fas I was with Moses, so ^gI will be with you. ^hI will not leave you or forsake you. 6 ⁱBe strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and ^jvery courageous, being careful to do according to all the law ^kthat Moses my servant commanded you. ^lDo not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success ^{▼▼Or may act wisely} wherever you go. 8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but ⁿyou shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? ^oBe strong and courageous. ^pDo not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua Assumes Command

10 And Joshua commanded the ^qofficers of the people, 11 “Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, ‘Prepare your provisions, for ^rwithin three days ^syou are to pass over this Jordan to go in to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.’”

12 And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh Joshua said, 13 “Remember the word that ^tMoses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land.’ 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, 15 ^uuntil the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. ^vThen you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise.”

16 And they answered Joshua, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go. 17 Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you. Only may the Lord your God ^wbe with you, as he was with Moses! 18 Whoever rebels against your commandment and disobeys your words, whatever you command him, shall be put to death. ^xOnly be strong and courageous.”

Joshua 18

Allotment of the Remaining Land

1 Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at ^yShiloh and set up ^zthe tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.

2 There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. 3 So Joshua said to the people of Israel, ^aa“How long will you put off going in to take possession of 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 out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. 5 They shall divide it into seven portions. ^abJudah shall continue in his territory on the south, ^acand the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. 6 And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. ^adAnd I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. 7 ^aeThe Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage. ^afAnd Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.”

8 So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.” 9 So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh, 10 and Joshua ^agcast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, ^ahto each his portion.

The Inheritance for Benjamin

11 The lot of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to its clans came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. 12 ^aiOn the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. ^ajThen the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and it ends at the wilderness of ^akBeth-aven. 13 From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of ^alLuz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to ^amAtaroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower ^anBeth-horon. 14 Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the ^aowestern side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal ( ^apthat is, Kiriath-jearim), a city belonging to the people of Judah. This forms the western side. 15 And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron, ^{▼▼See 15:9; Hebrew westward} ^arto the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 16 Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks ^asthe Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of ^atRephaim. And it then goes down the ^auValley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to ^avEn-rogel. 17 Then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it goes down to ^awthe stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, 18 and passing on to the north of ^axthe shoulder of Beth-arabah ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew to the shoulder over against the Arabah} it goes down to ^azthe Arabah. 19 Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of ^baBeth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of ^bbthe Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. 20 The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, according to their clans, boundary by boundary all around.

21 Now the cities of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to their clans were ^bcJericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, Geba—twelve cities with their villages: 25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zela, Haeleph, ^bdJebus ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew the Jebusite} (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah ^{▼▼Hebrew Gibeath} and Kiriath-jearim ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew Kiriath}—fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin according to its clans.