T4T JOS Chapter 13

The areas that the Israelis had not yet captured

13 When Joshua was very old, Yahweh said to him, “Joshua, you are now an old man, but there is still a lot of land for your army to capture. 2 Here is a list of the land that remains: The Geshur region and all the area where the Philistia people-group live; 3 the area where the Canaan people-group live, from the Shihor River in the south at the eastern border of Egypt, to Ekron city in the north; the rulers of the five cities of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron; the area where the Avva people-group live, 4 which is south of the area where the Canaan people-group live; 5 the area where the Gebal people-group live; and all the Lebanon area east of Baal-Gad city at the bottom of Hermon Mountain, as far as Lebo-Hamath.

6 All the people of the Sidon people-group live in the hilly area from Lebanon to Misrephoth-Maim, but I will force them to leave that area before you Israelis arrive there. Be sure to give that area to the Israeli people when you divide the land among them, like I told you to do. 7 Divide all that land among the nine Israeli tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh, the tribes that do not have land on the east side of the Jordan River.”

The land east of the Jordan River

8 Half of the tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had already been told what land they would receive, because Moses, the man who served Yahweh well, had already assigned to them the land on the east side of the Jordan River. 9 Their land extended from Aroer town at the Arnon River gorge to the town in the middle of the gorge. It included the whole plain from Medeba town south to Dibon town. 10 All the towns ruled by King Sihon were in that area. The land extended to where the Ammon people-group lived. 11 The Gilead area was also there, and the regions where the people of the Geshur and Maacah people-groups lived, and all of Hermon Mountain and all the Bashan region south to Salecah. 12 All the land ruled by Og, the king who ruled the Bashan region, was in that land. Og was one of the last descendants of Repha; previously he had ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei cities, but the armies of Moses had defeated their armies and had taken their land from them. 13 But the Israelis did not force the people of the Geshur and Maacah people-groups to leave their land, so they still live among the Israeli people.

14 The tribe of Levi was the only tribe that did not get any land. Instead, just like Yahweh promised, they continued to receive food from the sacrifices that were given to Yahweh, the God whom the Israelis worship, the sacrifices that were burned on the sacred altar.

15 Moses had allotted land to each clan in the tribe of Reuben. 16 Their land extended from Aroer town near the Arnon River gorge to Medeba town. That included all of the plain that is near Medeba and the town in the middle of the gorge. 17 It also included Heshbon city and all the nearby towns on the plain—Dibon, Bamioth-Baal, Beth-Baal-Meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-Shahar on the hill overlooking the valley, 20 Beth-Peor, the hills in the Pisgah area, and Beth-Jeshimoth. 21 That land included all the towns on the plain and all the area that King Sihon had previously ruled. But the army of Moses had defeated him and the rulers of the Midian people-group: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. The armies of all those rulers fought battles along with the army of Sihon, and they lived in that country. 22 The Israeli army killed many people during those battles, including Balaam, the prophet from Beor, who tried to use magic to predict/tell what would happen in the future. 23 The western boundary of the land that was allotted to the clans of the tribe of Reuben was the Jordan River.

24 Moses also allotted some land to each clan in the tribe of Gad. 25 Their land included the Jazer area and all the towns of the Gilead area; half of the land where the Ammon people-group lived, as far as Aroer town which is near Rabbah town; 26 the area from Heshbon city to Ramath-Mizpah and Betonim towns; the area from Mahanaim town to the Debir region; 27 Beth-Haram, Beth-Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon cities in the valley; and the other area that King Sihon had ruled on the east side of the Jordan River. That area extended north to the southern end of Galilee Lake. 28 All this land, including the towns and villages, was allotted to the tribe of Gad.

29 Moses also had allotted some of the land on the east side of the Jordan River to half of the tribe of Manasseh. 30 Their land extended north from Mahanaim city. It included all the Bashan region, all the land that King Og had ruled, and all the towns in the Jair area in Bashan. Altogether that area included 60 towns. 31 Their area also included half of the Gilead region, and the cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei where King Og had ruled. All that area was allotted to the clans descended from Manasseh’s son Makir.

32 Moses had allotted to those tribes the land that was on the plain of the Moab region, on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 33 But Moses did not allot any land to the tribe of Levi because Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, promised that he himself would always provide for them.