Joshua 16; Joshua 17; Joshua 18

Joshua 16

1 This is the land the tribe of Joseph received. It started at the Jordan River near Jericho and continued to the waters of Jericho, just east of the city. The border went up from Jericho to the mountains of Bethel.

2 Then it continued from Bethel (also called Luz) to the Arkite border at Ataroth.

3 From there it went west to the border of the Japhletites and continued to the area of the Lower Beth Horon. Then it went to Gezer and ended at the sea.

4 So Manasseh and Ephraim, sons of Joseph, received their land.

5 This is the land that was given to the family groups of Ephraim: Their border started at Ataroth Addar in the east, went to Upper Beth Horon,

6 and then to the sea. From Micmethath it turned eastward toward Taanath Shiloh and continued eastward to Janoah.

7 Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah. It continued until it touched Jericho and stopped at the Jordan River.

8 The border went from Tappuah west to Kanah Ravine and ended at the sea. This is all the land that was given to each family group in the tribe of the Ephraimites.

9 Many of the towns were actually within Manasseh's borders, but the people of Ephraim got those towns and their villages.

10 The Ephraimites could not force the Canaanites to leave Gezer, so the Canaanites still live among the Ephraimites today, but they became slaves of the Ephraimites.

Joshua 17

1 Then land was given to the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph's first son. Manasseh's first son was Makir, the father of Gilead. Makir was a great soldier, so the lands of Gilead and Bashan were given to his family.

2 Land was also given to the other family groups of Manasseh -- Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were all the other sons of Manasseh son of Joseph.

3 Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, who was the son of Gilead, who was the son of Makir, who was the son of Manasseh. Zelophehad had no sons, but he had five daughters, named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

4 They went to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua son of Nun and all the leaders. They said, "The Lord told Moses to give us land like the men received." So Eleazar obeyed the Lord and gave the daughters some land, just like the brothers of their father.

5 So the tribe of Manasseh had ten sections of land west of the Jordan River and two more sections, Gilead and Bashan, on the east side of the Jordan River.

6 The daughters of Manasseh received land just as the sons did. Gilead was given to the rest of the families of Manasseh.

7 The lands of Manasseh were in the area between Asher and Micmethath, near Shechem. The border went south to the En Tappuah area,

8 which belonged to Manasseh, except for the town of Tappuah. It was along the border of Manasseh's land and belonged to the sons of Ephraim.

9 The border of Manasseh continued south to Kanah Ravine. The cities in this area of Manasseh belonged to Ephraim. Manasseh's border was on the north side of the ravine and went to the sea.

10 The land to the south belonged to Ephraim, and the land to the north belonged to Manasseh. The Mediterranean Sea was the western border. The border touched Asher's land on the north and Issachar's land on the east.

11 In the areas of Issachar and Asher, the people of Manasseh owned these towns: Beth Shan and its small towns; Ibleam and its small towns; the people who lived in Dor and its small towns; the people in Naphoth Dor and its small towns; the people who lived in Taanach and its small towns; the people in Megiddo and its small towns.

12 Manasseh was not able to defeat those cities, so the Canaanites continued to live there.

13 When the Israelites grew strong, they forced the Canaanites to work for them, although they did not force them to leave the land.

14 The people from the tribes of Joseph said to Joshua, "You gave us only one area of land, but we are many people. Why did you give us only one part of all the land the Lord gave his people?"

15 And Joshua answered them, "If you have too many people, go up to the forest and make a place for yourselves to live there in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaites. The mountain country of Ephraim is too small for you."

16 The people of Joseph said, "It is true. The mountain country of Ephraim is not enough for us, but the land where the Canaanites live is dangerous. They are skilled fighters. They have powerful weapons in Beth Shan and all the small towns in that area, and they are also in the Valley of Jezreel."

17 Then Joshua said to the people of Joseph -- to Ephraim and Manasseh, "There are many of you, and you have great power. You should be given more than one share of land.

18 You also will have the mountain country. It is a forest, but you can cut down the trees and make it a good place to live. You will own all of it because you will force the Canaanites to leave the land even though they have powerful weapons and are strong."

Joshua 18

1 All of the Israelites gathered together at Shiloh where they set up the Meeting Tent. The land was now under their control.

2 But there were still seven tribes of Israel that had not yet received their land.

3 So Joshua said to the Israelites: "Why do you wait so long to take your land? The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given this land to you.

4 Choose three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to study the land. They will describe in writing the land their tribe wants as its share, and then they will come back to me.

5 They will divide the land into seven parts. The people of Judah will keep their land in the south, and the people of Joseph will keep their land in the north.

6 You should describe the seven parts of land in writing and bring what you have written to me. Then I will throw lots in the presence of the Lord our God.

7 But the Levites do not get any part of these lands, because they are priests, and their work is to serve the Lord. Gad, Reuben, and East Manasseh have received the land promised to them, which is east of the Jordan River. Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave it to them."

8 So the men who were chosen to map the land started out. Joshua told them, "Go and study the land and describe it in writing. Then come back to me, and I will throw lots in the presence of the Lord here in Shiloh."

9 So the men left and went into the land. They described in a scroll each town in the seven parts of the land. Then they came back to Joshua, who was still at the camp at Shiloh.

10 There Joshua threw lots in the presence of the Lord to choose the lands that should be given to each tribe.

11 The first part of the land was given to the tribe of Benjamin. Each family group received some land between the land of Judah and the land of Joseph. This is the land chosen for Benjamin:

12 The northern border started at the Jordan River and went along the northern edge of Jericho, and then it went west into the mountains. That boundary continued until it was just east of Beth Aven.

13 From there it went south to Luz (also called Bethel) and then down to Ataroth Addar, which is on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.

14 At the hill to the south of Beth Horon, the border turned and went south near the western side of the hill. It went to Kiriath Baal (also called Kiriath Jearim), a town where people of Judah lived. This was the western border.

15 The southern border started near Kiriath Jearim and went west to the waters of Nephtoah.

16 Then it went down to the bottom of the hill, which was near the Valley of Ben Hinnom, on the north side of the Valley of Rephaim. The border continued down the Hinnom Valley just south of the Jebusite city to En Rogel.

17 There it turned north and went to En Shemesh. It continued to Geliloth near the Adummim Pass. Then it went down to the great Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.

18 The border continued to the northern part of Beth Arabah and went down into the Jordan Valley.

19 From there it went to the northern part of Beth Hoglah and ended at the north shore of the Dead Sea, where the Jordan River flows into the sea. This was the southern border.

20 The Jordan River was the border on the eastern side. So this was the land given to the family groups of Benjamin with the borders on all sides.

21 The family groups of Benjamin received these cities: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,

22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,

23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,

24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba. There were twelve towns and all their villages.

25 The tribe of Benjamin also received Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,

26 Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,

27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,

28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath. There were fourteen towns and their villages. All these areas are the lands the family groups of Benjamin were given.