Joshua 13:1-33
The Land That Remained to Be Taken Over
Joshua was now very old. The Lord said to him, “You are very old. And there are still very large areas of land that have not yet been taken over.
“Here is the land that remains to be taken over.
“It includes all the areas of Philistia and Geshur. Those areas begin at the Shihor River in the eastern part of Egypt. They go to the territory of Ekron in the north. All that land is considered Canaanite even though it is controlled by five Philistine rulers. They rule over Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron.
The Avvites live south of them.
The rest of the land of Canaan that remains to be taken over reaches from Arah all the way to Aphek. Arah belongs to the people of Sidon. The land that remains to be taken reaches the border of Amorite territory.
It includes the area of Byblos.
It also includes all of Lebanon to the east. It reaches from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon all the way to Lebo Hamath.
“I myself will drive out all the people who live in the mountain areas. Those areas reach from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim. They include the area where all the people of Sidon live. I myself will drive out those people to make room for the Israelites. Make sure you set that land apart for Israel. Give it to them as their share, just as I have directed you. Divide it up among the nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh. Give each tribe its share.”
Land for the Tribes East of the Jordan River
The other half of Manasseh’s tribe had already received the share of land Moses had given them. Their share was east of the Jordan River. The tribes of Reuben and Gad had already received their share too. Moses, the servant of the Lord, had given it to them.
That land starts at Aroer on the rim of the Arnon River valley. It includes the town in the middle of the valley. It includes the high plains of Medeba all the way to Dibon. It also includes all the towns of Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He had ruled in Heshbon. That area reaches to the border of Ammon.
It also includes Gilead. It includes the territory of Geshur and Maakah. It includes Mount Hermon and the whole land of Bashan all the way to Salekah. So it includes the entire kingdom of Og in Bashan. Og had ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He was the last of the Rephaites. Moses had won the battle over Sihon and Og. He had taken over their land. But the Israelites didn’t drive out the people of Geshur and Maakah. So they continue to live among the Israelites to this day.
Moses hadn’t given any share of the land to the tribe of Levi. That’s because the food offerings are their share. Those offerings are presented to the Lord, the God of Israel. Moses gave the Levites what he had promised them.
Here is what Moses had given to the tribe of Reuben, according to its family groups.
Their territory starts at Aroer on the rim of the Arnon River valley. It includes the town in the middle of the valley. It includes all of the high plains near Medeba. It includes Heshbon and all its towns on those plains. Those towns include Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, Jahaz, Kedemoth and Mephaath. They include Kiriathaim, Sibmah and Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley. They also include Beth Peor, Beth Jeshimoth and the slopes of Pisgah. All those towns are on the high plains. The territory includes the whole kingdom of Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He had ruled in Heshbon. Moses had won the battle over him and over the chiefs of Midian. Those chiefs were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. They were princes who helped Sihon fight against Israel. They lived in that country. The Israelites killed many of them in battle. They also killed Balaam with their swords. He was the son of Beor. Balaam had used evil magic to find out what was going to happen.
The border of the tribe of Reuben was the bank of the Jordan River. All those towns and their villages were given to the tribe of Reuben as their very own. Each family group received its share.
Here is what Moses had given to the tribe of Gad, according to its family groups.
Their territory includes Jazer and all the towns of Gilead. It includes half of the country of Ammon all the way to Aroer, which was near Rabbah. Their territory reaches from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim. It reaches from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir. In the valley their land includes Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Sukkoth and Zaphon. It also includes the rest of the kingdom of Sihon. He was the king of Heshbon. His kingdom included the east side of the Jordan River. It reached up to the south end of the Sea of Galilee.
All those towns and their villages were given to the tribe of Gad as their very own. Each family group received its share.
Here is what Moses had given to half of the tribe of Manasseh, according to its family groups. It’s what Moses had given to half of Manasseh’s family line.
Their territory starts at Mahanaim. It includes the whole land of Bashan. That was the entire kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan. Manasseh’s territory includes all the 60 towns of Jair in Bashan. It includes half of the land of Gilead. It also includes Ashtaroth and Edrei. They were the royal cities of Og in Bashan.
That land was given to half of the family line of Makir. He was the son of Manasseh. Each family group received its share.
Those were the shares of land Moses had given the eastern tribes when he was in the plains of Moab. The plains are across the Jordan River east of Jericho. But Moses hadn’t given any share to the tribe of Levi. The Lord, the God of Israel, is their share. Moses gave the Levites what he had promised them.
Joshua 14:1-15
Land for the Tribes West of the Jordan River
The rest of the tribes of Israel received their shares of land in Canaan. Eleazar the priest and Joshua, the son of Nun, decided what each of the tribes should receive. The leaders of the tribes helped them make these decisions. The shares of nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh were decided by casting lots. That’s what the Lord had commanded through Moses. Moses had given two tribes and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh their shares east of the Jordan River. But Moses had not given the Levites a share among the other tribes. Manasseh and Ephraim were the sons of Joseph. They had become two tribes. The Levites didn’t receive any share of the land. They only received towns to live in and grasslands for their flocks and herds. So the Israelites divided up the land, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Joshua Gives Hebron to Caleb
The people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, spoke to Joshua. He said, “You know what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God. He spoke to him at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to check out the land. I was 40 years old at that time. I brought back an honest report to him. I told him exactly what I had seen. Several other men of Israel went up with me. What they reported terrified the people. But I followed the Lord my God with my whole heart. So on that day Moses made a promise to me. He said, ‘The land you have walked on will be your share. It will be the share of your children forever. That’s because you have followed the Lord my God with your whole heart.’ (Deuteronomy 1:36)
“The Lord has done just as he promised. He made the promise while Israel was wandering around in the desert. That was 45 years ago. He has kept me alive all this time. So here I am today, 85 years old! I’m still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. I’m just as able to go out to battle now as I was then. So give me this hill country. The Lord promised it to me that day. At that time you yourself heard that the Anakites were living there. You also heard that their cities were large and had high walls around them. But I’ll drive them out, just as the Lord said I would. He will help me do it.”
Then Joshua blessed Caleb, the son of Jephunneh. He gave him Hebron as his share. So ever since that time Hebron has belonged to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. That’s because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, with his whole heart. Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba. It was named after Arba. He was the greatest man among the Anakites.
So the land had peace and rest.
