Day 63: Joshua 16-18
The Inheritances of Ephraim and Manasseh, and the Division of the Remaining Land
Joshua 16
1 The lot came out for the children of Joseph from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. 2 It went out from Bethel to Luz, and passed along to the border of the Archites to Ataroth; 3 and it went down westward to the border of the Japhletites, to the border of Beth Horon the lower, even to Gezer; and it ended at the sea.
4 The children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
5 The border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was this: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth Addar, to Beth Horon the upper. 6 The border went out westward at Michmethath on the north; and the border turned about eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed along it on the east of Janoah. 7 It went down from Janoah to Ataroth, and to Naarah, and reached to Jericho, and went out at the Jordan. 8 From Tappuah it went along westward to the brook of Kanah; and ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families, 9 together with the cities which were set apart for the children of Ephraim among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.
10 They didn’t drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites live in Ephraim to this day, and became servants to do forced labor.
Joshua 17
1 This was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph. As for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. 2 So this was for the rest of the children of Manasseh, according to their families: for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida. These were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.
3 But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They came near to Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the princes, saying, “Yahweh commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.”
Therefore according to the commandment of Yahweh he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father. 5 Ten parts fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan; 6 because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.
7 The border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem. The border went along to the right hand, to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. 8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh; but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim.
9 The border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook. These cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook, and ended at the sea. 10 Southward it was Ephraim’s, and northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea was his border. They reached to Asher on the north, and Issachar on the east.
11 Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth Shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, even the three heights.
12 Yet the children of Manasseh couldn’t drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. 13 It happened, when the children of Israel had grown strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and didn’t utterly drive them out.
14 The children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me just one lot and one part for an inheritance, since I am a great people, because Yahweh has blessed me so far?”
15 Joshua said to them, “If you are a great people, go up to the forest, and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.”
16 The children of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are in Beth Shean and its towns, and those who are in the valley of Jezreel.”
17 Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, “You are a great people, and have great power. You shall not have one lot only; 18 but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall cut it down, and its farthest borders shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”
Joshua 18
1 The whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled themselves together at Shiloh, and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The land was subdued before them.
2 Seven tribes remained among the children of Israel, which had not yet divided their inheritance.
3 Joshua said to the children of Israel, “How long will you wait to go in to possess the land, which Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has given you?
4 Appoint for yourselves three men of each tribe. I will send them, and they shall arise, and walk through the land, and describe it according to their inheritance; and they shall come to me. 5 They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall stay in his border on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their border on the north. 6 You shall describe the land into seven portions, and bring the description here to me; and I will cast lots for you here before Yahweh our God. 7 For the Levites have no portion among you; for the priesthood of Yahweh is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave them.”
8 The men arose, and went. Joshua commanded those who went to describe the land, saying, “Go walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me. I will cast lots for you here before Yahweh in Shiloh.”
9 The men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven portions in a book, and came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh. 10 Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Yahweh. There Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.
11 The lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families. The border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. 12 Their border on the north side was from the Jordan. The border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward; and its end was at the wilderness of Beth Aven. 13 The border passed along from there to Luz, to the side of Luz (the same is Bethel), southward; and the border went down to Ataroth Addar, by the mountain that lies on the south of Beth Horon the lower.
14 The border extended there, and turned around on the west quarter southward, from the mountain that lies before Beth Horon southward; and its end was at Kiriath Baal (the same is Kiriath Jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west quarter.
15 The south quarter was from the uttermost part of Kiriath Jearim. The border went out westward, and went out to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 16 The border went down to the uttermost part of the mountain that is before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En Rogel. 17 It extended northward, and went out at En Shemesh, and went out to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim; and it went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. 18 It passed along to the side opposite the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah. 19 The border passed along to the side of Beth Hoglah northward; and the border ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the south border.
20 The Jordan was its border on the east quarter. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the borders around it, according to their families.
21 Now the cities of the tribe of the children 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 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite (the same is Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages.
This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.
Scripture: World English Bible (WEB), public domain.
