The Division of the Land Among the Tribes of Israel

13 When Joshua was old, well advanced in years, the Lord said to him, ‘You are old, well advanced in years, and yet much land still remains to be occupied. 2 This is the land still left to be occupied: all the Philistine districts and all the Geshurite territory 3 from Shibor east of Egypt to the northern frontier of Ekron (which is counted Canaanite), the five Philistine capitals, Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, also the territory of the Avim 4 to the south, all the Canaanite country from Mearah (which is Sideonian) as far as Aphek on the Amorite frontier, 5 the land of the Gebalites and all that borders on the eastern Lebanon, from Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath, 6 with everyone who lives in the highlands from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, whom I will evict before the Israelites, while you must allot this country to Israel as its inheritance, as I command you. 7 Now, then, divide up this land of Canaan among the nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh as their inheritance.’ 8 The other half of the tribe of Manasseh, the Reubenites, and the Gadites, had already received their inheritance from Moses to the east of the Jordan, as assigned by Moses the servant of the Lord, 9 stretching from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the town in the middle of the gorge, all the tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon, 10 with all the towns of King Sihon of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the frontier of the Ammonites, 11 with Gilead, the territory of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, all Mount Hermon and all Bashan as far as Salecah, 12 all the realm of King Og of Bashan who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (a survivor of the Rephaim) – these kings Moses defeated and drove out, 13 though the Israelites never expelled the Geshurites or the Maacathites, who live among the Israelites to this day. 14 Only the tribe of Levi were assigned no property, for the Levites” inheritance is the sacrificial offerings made by fire to the Lord God of Israel, as he told Moses. 15 Moses assigned land to the tribe of Reuben by their clans. 16 Their frontier ran from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge and the town in the middle of the gorge, covering all the tableland near Medeba, 17 Heshbon, and all its townships on the tableland, Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, 20 Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, Beth-jeshimoth, 21 that is, all the towns on the tableland, all the realm of Sihon, the Amorite king who reigned in Heshbon and was defeated by Moses along with the Midianite leaders Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, Sihon”s princes throughout the land. 22 Balaam the son of Beor, who used magic to divine the future, was also slaughtered by the Israelites among the rest of the slain. 23 The bank of the Jordan formed the western frontier of the Reubenites. Such was their allotted country, with its towns and villages, according to their clans. 24 Moses also assigned land to the tribe of Gad according to their clans. 25 Their territory was Jazer, all the towns of Gilead, and half the country of the Ammonites, as far as Aroer east of Rabbah. 26 It reached from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, from Mahanaim to the district of Lidebir, 27 with Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon in the valley, the rest of the realm of King Sihon of Heshbon, the frontier being the line of the Jordan to the south end of the lake of Chinnereth on the east of the Jordan. 28 Such was the allotted territory of the Gadites, with its towns and villages, according to their clans. 29 Moses also assigned land to the half tribe of Manasseh, according to its clans. 30 Their territory covered Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the realm of King Og of Bashan, all Havvoth-jair in Bashan (sixty towns in all), 31 half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth and Edrei, the towns of King Og of Bashan. All this was for the descendants of Machir, who was the son of Manasseh, for the half tribe of the Machirites by their clans. 32 Such were the properties allotted by Moses in the plains of Moab to the east of the Jordan, opposite Jericho. 33 Only to the tribe of Levi he assigned no property, for the Lord, the God of Israel, is Levi”s inheritance, as he told Moses.

14 And these are the properties occupied in Canaan by the Israelites, and assigned to them by lot as their own, by Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the households in the tribes of Israel, 2 as the Lord had commanded by Moses, for the nine and a half tribes. 3 Moses had assigned the other two and a half tribes their property and inheritance to the east of the Jordan, and assigned nothing to the Levites. 4 The two tribes of the Josephites were Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites received no share of the land, except some towns to live in, with their pastures for cattle and livestock. 5 The Israelites, in dividing up the land, acted according to the orders given by the Lord to Moses. 6 The Judahites came before Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, ‘You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God about me and yourself at Kadesh-barnea. 7 1 was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the country, and I reported to him as best I could. 8 My kinsmen and companions made the heart of the people tremble, but I was devoted to the Lord my God, 9 and Moses swore that day that the land my feet had trodden should belong to me and to my children for all time, because I had been devoted to the Lord my God. 10 Well now, the Lord has kept me alive as he promised, all these forty-five years, ever since the Lord said that word to Moses, all the time of Israel”s wandering in the desert. Today I am eighty-five, 11 11 and I am as strong today as I was when Moses sent me on that mission. As my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war or any enterprise. 12 So let me have this hill country of which the Lord spoke that day. As you heard that day, the Anakim are there with great, fortified towns. But perhaps the Lord will be with me and I will evict them, as he promised.’ 13 So Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his property. 14 Hebron became the property of Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and still is in his family – for he was devoted to the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 Hebron was formerly called Kiriath-arba, or the city of Arba, Arba being the greatest among the Anakim. So the land had rest from war.

15 The land allotted to the tribe of Judah, by clans, reached to the frontier of Edom, far south to the desert of Zin. 2 The southern frontier ran from the foot of the Dead Sea, from the bay facing south. 3 It went south of the Ascent of Akrabbim, right along to Zin, then up to the south of Kadesh-barnea as far as Hezron, up to Adar, round to Karka, 4 and on to Azmon, ending at the Stream of Egypt. Their southern frontier thus ended at the sea. 5 To the east their frontier was the Dead Sea up to the mouth of the Jordan. The northern frontier ran from the bay at the mouth of the Jordan 6 up to Beth-hoglah and north of Beth-arabah, on to the Stone of Bohan, who was Reuben’s son, 7 then to Debir from the valley of Achor and so north in the direction of Gilgal opposite the ascent to Adummim on the south side of the river, then along to the waters of En-shemesh, ending at En-rogel. 8 Then the frontier ran by the valley of Ben-Hinnom to the southern side of the Jebusite ridge (that is, Jerusalem), westward to the top of the hill that lies in front of the valley of Ben-Hinnom at the northern end of the valley of Rephaim. 9 From the top of this hill it ran to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah and on to the towns of Mount Ephron. It also extended to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim) 10 and west of Baalah round to Mount Seir, going on to the north of the ridge of Mount Jeadrim (that is, Chesalon), down to Beth-shemesh, and on to Timnah. 11 It ran on to the ridge of Ekron on the north, extending to Shikkeron and on to Mount Baalah, ending at Jabneel. Thus the frontier ended at the sea. 12 The western frontier was the Mediterranean. Such were the entire frontiers of the Judahites, by their clans. 13 He allotted Caleb the son of Jephunneh a share among the Judahites, by order of the Lord. It was Kiriath-arba or the city of Arba (Arba being the father of Anak), otherwise Hebron. 14 Caleb drove out the three groups of of Anakites, the Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, who were the descendants of Anak. 15 Then he marched against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath-sepher). 16 Caleb declared, ‘Whoever attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him my daughter Achsah in marriage.’ 17 Othniel, the son of Caleb”s brother Kenaz, captured it. So Caleb gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage. 18 On the wedding day, Othniel induced her[fn] to ask her father for a tract of land as her dowry. So she alighted from her donkey, and when Caleb asked her what she wanted, 19 she said to him, ‘Give me a parting present. As you have settled me in the dry south country, let me have some springs of water.’ Then Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

20 Here is the inheritance of the tribe of the Judahites according to their clans: 21 The towns to the south in the Negeb, towards the frontier of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, Bedloth, 25 Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (or, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, 28 Hazar-shual, Beer-sheba, Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, 31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon, twenty-nine towns in all with their villages. 33 In the lowlands, Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim, fourteen towns with their villages. 37 Also Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, 38 Dilan, Mizpeh, Jokthe-el, 39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah, sixteen towns with their villages. 42 Also Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah, nine towns with their villages. 45 There was Ekron with its townships and villages 46 from Ekron to the sea, all that lay alongside of Ashdod, 47 Ashdod with its townships and villages, and Gaza with its townships and villages, to the Stream of Egypt, The western frontier was the Mediterranean coast. 48 In the highlands Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (which is Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh, eleven towns with their villages. 52 Also Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53 Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kiriath-arba (which is Hebron), and Zior, nine towns with their villages. 55 Also Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah, ten towns with their villages. 58 Also Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon, six towns with their villages. 60 Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jedrim) and Rabbah, two towns with their villages. 61 In the desert, Beth-arabah, Middin, Sekakah, 62 Nibshan, Salt City, and En-gedi, six towns with their villages. 63 But the Judites could not evict the Jebusites, who inhabited Jerusalem, so the Jebusites live there in Jerusalem among the people of Judah to this day.

16 The land allotted to the Josephites had a frontier starting from the Jordan at Jericho, east of the Waters of Jericho, near the desert, extending from Jericho up through the highlands to Bethel, 2 then from Bethel to Luz, and along to Ataroth on the frontier of the Archites, 3 from which it came down west to the frontier of the Japhletites, the frontier of Lower Beth-horon and Gezer, ending at the sea. 4 Such was the property received by the Josephites, that is Manasseh and Ephraim, as their inheritance.

5 The territory of the Ephraimites, according to their clans, had a frontier to the east running from Ashtaroth to Upper Beth-horon. 6 westward the frontier ran to Michmethath on the north, then round east to Taanath-shiloh, and on to the east of Janoah, 7 down to Ataroth and Naarah, and as far as Jericho, ending at the Jordan, 8 westward the frontier ran from Tappuah to the Kanah Valley, ending at the sea. Such was the property inherited by the tribe of Ephraim, according to their clans, 9 together with the towns set aside for the Ephraimites in the territory of the Manassites, all these towns and their villages. 10 They did not evict the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. The Canaanites lived among the Ephraimites, as they do to this day, though they have had to slave for them.

17 The tribe of Manasseh received its share. Manasseh was the eldest son of Joseph, and as Machir the eldest son of Manasseh and the father of Gilead was a famous soldier, he was allotted Gilead and Bashan. 2 The rest of the Manassites, according to their clans, were the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida, the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph. 3 However, Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. His daughters were called Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They came before Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the chiefs, urging that the Lord had told Moses to grant them an inheritance along with their male relatives. So, as the Lord had ordered, Joshua gave them an inheritance among the relatives of their father. 5 Ten shares fell to Manasseh, apart from the land of Gilead and Bashan on the east of the Jordan 6 (because the daughters of Manasseh inherited along with their male relatives, and the rest of the descendants of Manasseh held the land of Gilead). 7 The frontier of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethah east of Shechem, then south to the people living in En-tappuah 8 (the land of Tappuah belonging to Manasseh, but Tappuah on the frontier of Manasseh belonging to Ephraim). 9 The frontier went down to the south of the Kanah Valley these towns belonged to Ephraim among the towns of Manasseh, then ran along the north side of the valley as far as the sea, 10 the land to the south being Ephraim”s and the land to the north belonging to Manasseh, with the sea as the frontier to the west. They stretched to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. 11 In Issachar and Asher Manasseh held Beth-shean and its townships, Ibleam and its townships, the people living in Dor and its townships (the three heights of Dor), the people living in En-dor and its townships, the people living in Taanach and its townships, the people living in Megiddo and its townships[fn]. 12 But the Manassites could not evict the people of these towns. The Canaanites clung to this country. 13 When Israel became a power, they forced the Canaanites to slave for them. They never evicted them entirely.

14 Then the Josephites complained to Joshua, ‘Why have you allotted us only one part as our inheritance, when we are a large tribe, since the Lord has been prospering us?’ 15 Joshua replied, ‘If there are so many of you, go up to the Forest and clear land for yourselves there, among the Perizzites and the Rephaim, if the highlands of Ephraim are too small for you.’ 16 ‘The highlands are not large enough for us,’ said the Josephites, ‘and all the Canaanites who live in the valley country have iron chariots, both the people of Beth-shean and its townships and those who live in the valley of Jezreel.’ 17 Then Joshua said to the Josephites, to Ephraim and Manasseh, ‘You are a numerous tribe, and a powerful tribe, so you will have more than one part allotted to you. 18 The hill country of Gilead will be yours, for though it is a Forest you will clear it and hold it to its full extent. For you will evict the Canaanites, though they do have iron chariots and though they are strong.’

18 Then the whole community of the Israelites, having subdued the country, met at Shilo and set up the Tent of Meeting there. 2 As there were still seven tribes of Israel which had not yet divided their inheritance, 3 Joshua said to the Israelites, ‘How long will you delay to enter and occupy the land which the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? 4 Appoint three men from each tribe, and I will send them to make a survey of the land showing the proposed areas for their inheritance before they come back to me. 5 They must divide it into seven parts, with Judah in the southern territory and Joseph in the northern. 6 Mark out the land into seven divisions and bring me the plan. Then I will draw lots for you here before the Lord our God. 7 The Levites do not share with you. Their share is the priesthood of the Lord. Gad and Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east of the Jordan, assigned them by Moses the servant of the Lord.’ 8 Then the men started, ordered by Joshua to travel through the land and map it out before they returned to him. Then he would draw lots for them before the Lord at Shilo. 9 The men went and traversed the country, mapping it out by towns into seven parts, and brought their written report to Joshua at the camp in Shilo. 10 Joshua then drew lots for them at Shilo before the Lord, where he divided the land for the Israelites according to their divisions.

11 When the lot was drawn for the tribe of the Benjamites according to their clans, the territory allotted to them was to lie between the Judahites and the Josephites. 12 Their frontier on the north stretched from the Jordan to the north of Jericho right through the highlands westward, ending at the desert of Beth-aven. 13 Then the frontier ran to Luz, passing below Luz (which is Bethel) to the south, down to Ataroth-addar near the hill that lies south of Lower Beth-horon. 14 The frontier then turned from the hill south of Lower Beth-horon and passed on to the south along the west, ending at Kiriath-baal (which is Kiriath-jearim), a Judahite town. This was the western frontier. 15 The southern stretched from the end of Kiriath-jearim westward on to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, 16 going down to the end of the hill which lies in front of the valley of Ben-Hinnom at the north end of the valley of Rephaim, then down through the valley of Hinnom to the south of the Jebusite ridge as far as En-rogel, 17 where it turned north and ran to En-shemesh, passing to Geliloth opposite the ascent to Adummim, from which it ran to the Stone of Bohan (who was Reuben’s son) 18 and on to the ridge along the north of the Arabah right down to the Arabah 19 and on to the north of the ridge of Beth-hoglah, ending at the northern bay of the Dead Sea at the southern end of the Jordan. This was the southern frontier. 20 The Jordan was the eastern frontier. Such was the inheritance of the Benjamites according to their clans, frontier by frontier. 21 Their towns were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23 Avim, Parah, Ophrah, 24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba, twelve towns with their villages. 25 Also Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26 Mizpeh, Chefirah, Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah, Eleph, the Jebusite capital (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath, fourteen towns with their villages. Such was the inheritance of the Benjamites according to their clans.

19 The second lot fell to the tribe of the Simeonites by their clans. Their inheritance lay inside the inheritance of the Judahites. 2 They held as their inheritance Beer-sheba (or Sheba), Moladah, 3 Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, 6 Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen, thirteen towns with their villages. 7 Also Ain, Rimmon, Ether, Ashan, four towns with their villages, 8 and all the villages around these towns down to Baalath-beer, Ramah in the south. Such was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites. 9 As the inheritance of the Judahites was too large for them, the Simeonites held their inheritance within the Judahite territory.

10 The third lot fell to the Zebulunites according to their clans. Their frontier reached as far as Sarid, 11 then westward to Maralah, stretching to Dabbesheth and to the valley east of Jokneam. 12 From Sarid it turned eastward to the frontier of Chisloth-tabor, on to Daberath, and to Japhia 13 and then it continued eastward to Hepher and Eth-kazin, Rimmon and turning towards Neah. 14 The northern frontier wheeled round to Hannathon, ending at the valley of Iphtah-el. 15 There were Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, Bethlehem – twelve towns with their villages. 16 Such was the inheritance of the Zebulunites according to their clans, these towns with their villages.

17 The fourth lot fell to the Issacharites according to their clans. 18 Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, 19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21 Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez, 22 their frontier touching Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and ending at the Jordan. Sixteen towns they had with their villages. 23 Such was the inheritance of the tribe of the Issacharites according to their clans, these towns with their villages.

24 The fifth lot fell to the tribe of the Asherites according to their clans. 25 Their territory held Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26 Allammelech, Amal, and Mishal. Their frontier reached Carmel on the west and Shihor-libnath. 27 It turned east to Beth-dagon, reaching Zebulun and the valley of Iphtah-el on the north, Beth-emek, and Neiel. It kept on north to Cabul, 28 Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Sidon the Great, 29 then turned to Ramah and the fortified city of Tyre, then to Hosah and so to the sea. Mahalab, Achzib, 30 Ummmah, Aphek, Rehob: twenty-two towns with their villages, 31 these were the inheritance of the tribe of the Asherites according to their clans.

32 The sixth lot fell to the Naphtalites according to their clans. 33 Their frontier stretched from Heleph, from the sacred oak at Zaanannim (from Adami-nekeb and Jabneel) to Lakkum, ending at the Jordan. 34 It turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and on to Hukkok, touching Zebulun on the south and Asher on the west and Judah at the Jordan on the east. 35 The fortified towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, 36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37 Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, 38 Iron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh, nineteen towns with their villages. 39 Such was the inheritance of the tribe of the Naphtalites according to their clans, these towns with their villages.

40 The seventh lot fell to the tribe of the Danites according to their clans. 41 Their territory held Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42 Shaalabbin, Ajalon, Ithiah, 43 Elon, Timmah, Ekron, 44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45 Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46 Me-jarkon, and Rakkon, with the territory opposite Joppa. 47 As the territory of the Danites was too small for them, they marched out and attacked Leshem, captured it, sacked it, took possession of it, and lived there, renaming it Dan after their ancestor Dan. 48 Such was the inheritance of the tribe of the Danites according to their clans, these towns with their villages.

49 When the Israelites had finished distributing the various territories of the country, they gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun within their territory. 50 By order of the Lord they gave him the town he asked, Timnath-serah in the highlands of Ephraim. He fortified the town and lived there. 51 Such were the inheritances which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the tribes of Israel distributed by lot at Shilo before the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. They finished dividing up the country.

20 Then the Lord told Joshua 2 to tell the Israelites to ‘Assign the towns of refuge of which I spoke to you by Moses, 3 so that anyone who kills another person by mistake, by accident, may run into one of them. They will serve as a refuge from the vengeance of the dead person’s next of kin. 4 The killer will flee to one of these towns and stand at the entry of the town gate, telling their case to the elders of that town. The elders must let the killer have a place to stay among them, 5 and if the next of kin comes in pursuit, they must not hand the killer over, because they killed their neighbour by accident, having had no feud with them previously. 6 The killer must stay in that town until they appear before the community for trial, and then until the death of the then high priest. After that the killer may return to their own town and their own home, from which they ran away.’

7 So they consecrated Kedesh in Galilee, in the highlands of Naphtali, Shechem in the highlands of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the highlands of Judah. 8 On the eastern side of the Jordan they assigned Bezer in the desert, on the tableland belonging to the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan from the tribe of Manasseh. 9 These were the fixed towns for all the Israelites and also for any foreigners resident among them, so that anyone who killed a person by mistake might flee there and not die by the avenging hand of the dead person’s next of kin, until they appeared before the community.

21 Then the heads of the Levites appeared before Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the tribes of Israel 2 at Shilo in the land of Canaan, pleading, ‘The Lord gave orders by Moses that we were to receive towns to live in, with the pasture lands of the towns for our cattle.’ 3 So the Israelites gave the Levites, as the Lord had commanded, the following towns and pasture lands out of their inheritance. 4 Thirteen towns fell by lot to the Kohathite families the sons of Aaron the priest, who were Levites, from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. 5 The rest of the Kohathites were allotted ten towns from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, the tribe of Dan, and the half tribe of Manasseh. 6 The Gershonites had thirteen towns allotted to them from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, the tribe of Asher, the tribe of Naphtali, and the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 7 The Merarites had twelve towns allotted to them according to their clans, from the tribe of Reuben, the tribe of Gad, and the tribe of Zebulun. 8 These towns and their pastures were allotted to the Levites by the Israelites, as the Lord had given orders by Moses. 9 The following towns were given from the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon, 10 to the descendants of Aaron, the Kohathite families, who were Levites, since the lot fell to them first. 11 They gave them Kiriath-arba, the town of Arba (the father of Anak) or Hebron, in the highlands of Judah, with the surrounding pastures. 12 But the fields of that town and the villages were given to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as his property.

13 To the sons of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron and its pastures, the town of refuge for a person who commits manslaughter, Libnah and its pastures, 14 Jattir and its pastures, Eshtemoa and its pastures, 15 Holon and its pastures, Debir and its pastures, 16 Ain and its pastures, Juttah and its pastures, Beth-shemesh and its pastures, nine towns out of these two tribes. 17 Then, from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon and its pastures, Geba and its pastures, 18 Andthoth and its pastures, and Almon and its pastures, four towns, 19 making thirteen towns in all with their pastures for the sons of Aaron the priests.

20 The Kohathite families of the Levites, that is, the Kohathite families who were Levites, had towns allotted to them from the tribe of Ephraim, 21 Shechem and its pastures in the highlands of Ephraim (the town of refuge for those who commit manslaughter), Gezer with its pastures, 22 Kibzaim with its pastures, and Beth-horon with its pastures, four towns. 23 From the tribe of Dan they got Elteke with its pastures, Gibbethon with its pastures, 24 Aijalon with its pastures, and Gath-rimmon with its pastures, four towns, 25 and from the half tribe of Manasseh Taanach with its pastures and Gath-rimmon with its pastures, two towns. 26 The rest of the Kohathite families had ten towns with their pastures.

27 The Gershonites among the Levites received Golan in Bashan with its pastures (the town of refuge for a person who commits manslaughter) from the half tribe of Manasseh, and Beeshterah with its pastures, two towns. 28 From the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its pastures, Daberath with its pastures, 29 Jarmuth with its pastures, and En-gannim with its pastures, four towns. 30 From the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pastures, Abdon with its pastures, 31 Helkath with its pastures, and Rehob with its pastures, four towns. 32 From the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its pastures (the town of refuge for a person who commits manslaughter), Hammoth-dor with its pastures, and Kartan with its pastures, three towns. 33 The Gershonite families received thirteen towns in all with their pastures.

34 The Merarite families, the rest of the Levites, received from the tribe of Zebulun Jokneam with its pastures, Kartah with its pastures, 35 Dimnah with its pastures, and Nahalal with its pastures, four towns. 36 [fn] From the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its pastures, Jahaz with its pastures, 37 Kedemoth with its pastures, and Mephaath with its pastures, four towns. 38 From the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its pastures (the town of refuge for a person who commits manslaughter), Mahanaim with its pastures, 39 Heshbon with its pastures, and Jazer with its pastures, four towns in all. 40 All the towns allotted to the Merarite families, the rest of the Levites, numbered twelve.

41 These towns of the Levites within the holdings of the Israelites numbered in all forty-eight, with their pastures. 42 Every town had its own pastures round it, every one.

43 In this way the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give to their ancestors. They occupied it and settled in it, 44 and the Lord gave them security on every side, exactly as he had sworn to their ancestors. 44 Not one of their enemies could hold their own against them, for the Lord put all their enemies into their power. 45 Not one of the good promises made by the Lord to the people of Israel failed. All were fulfilled.