Yosua 17:1--19:51
Konteks17:1 The tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn son, was also allotted land. 1 The descendants of Makir, Manasseh’s firstborn and the father of Gilead, received land, for they were warriors. 2 They were assigned Gilead and Bashan. 3 17:2 The rest of Manasseh’s descendants were also assigned land 4 by their clans, including the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.
17:3 Now Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 17:4 They went before Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, “The Lord told Moses to assign us land among our relatives.” 5 So Joshua 6 assigned them land among their uncles, as the Lord had commanded. 7 17:5 Manasseh was allotted ten shares of land, 8 in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan, 17:6 for the daughters of Manasseh were assigned land among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.
17:7 The border of Manasseh went 9 from Asher to Micmethath which is near 10 Shechem. It then went south toward those who live in Tappuah. 17:8 (The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah, located on the border of Manasseh, belonged to the tribe of Ephraim.) 17:9 The border then descended southward to the Valley of Kanah. Ephraim was assigned cities there among the cities of Manasseh, 11 but the border of Manasseh was north of the valley and ended at the sea. 17:10 Ephraim’s territory was to the south, and Manasseh’s to the north. The sea was Manasseh’s 12 western border and their territory 13 touched Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. 17:11 Within Issachar’s and Asher’s territory Manasseh was assigned Beth Shean, Ibleam, the residents of Dor, En Dor, the residents of Taanach, the residents of Megiddo, 14 the three of Napheth, 15 and the towns surrounding all these cities. 16 17:12 But the men 17 of Manasseh were unable to conquer these cities; the Canaanites managed 18 to remain in those areas. 17:13 Whenever the Israelites were strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them. 19
17:14 The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you assigned us only one tribal allotment? After all, we have many people, for until now the Lord has enabled us to increase in number.” 20 17:15 Joshua replied to them, “Since you have so many people, 21 go up into the forest and clear out a place to live in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites, for the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you.” 17:16 The descendants of Joseph said, “The whole hill country 22 is inadequate for us, and the Canaanites living down in the valley in Beth Shean and its surrounding towns and in the Valley of Jezreel have chariots with iron-rimmed wheels.” 23 17:17 Joshua said to the family 24 of Joseph – to both Ephraim and Manasseh: “You have many people and great military strength. You will not have just one tribal allotment. 17:18 The whole hill country 25 will be yours; though it is a forest, you can clear it and it will be entirely yours. 26 You can conquer the Canaanites, though they have chariots with iron-rimmed wheels and are strong.”
18:1 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. 27 Though they had subdued the land, 28 18:2 seven Israelite tribes had not been assigned their allotted land. 29 18:3 So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long do you intend to put off occupying 30 the land the Lord God of your ancestors 31 has given you? 18:4 Pick three men from each tribe. I will send them out to walk through the land and make a map of it for me. 32 18:5 Divide it into seven regions. 33 Judah will stay 34 in its territory in the south, and the family 35 of Joseph in its territory in the north. 18:6 But as for you, map out the land into seven regions and bring it to me. I will draw lots for you here before the Lord our God. 18:7 But the Levites will not have an allotted portion among you, for their inheritance is to serve the Lord. 36 Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their allotted land 37 east of the Jordan which Moses the Lord’s servant assigned them.”
18:8 When the men started out, Joshua told those going to map out the land, “Go, walk through the land, map it out, and return to me. Then I will draw lots for you before the Lord here in Shiloh.” 18:9 The men journeyed 38 through the land and mapped it and its cities out into seven regions on a scroll. Then they came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. 18:10 Joshua drew lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord and divided the land among the Israelites according to their allotted portions.
18:11 The first lot belonged to the tribe of Benjamin 39 by its clans. Their allotted territory was between Judah and Joseph. 40 18:12 Their northern border started at the Jordan, went up to the slope of Jericho 41 on the north, ascended westward to the hill country, and extended to the desert of Beth Aven. 18:13 It then crossed from there to Luz, to the slope of Luz to the south (that is, Bethel), 42 and descended to Ataroth Addar located on the hill that is south of lower Beth Horon. 18:14 It then turned on the west side southward from the hill near Beth Horon on the south and extended to Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a city belonging to the tribe 43 of Judah. This is the western border. 44 18:15 The southern side started on the edge of Kiriath Jearim and extended westward to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 18:16 The border then descended to the edge of the hill country near the Valley of Ben Hinnom located in the Valley of the Rephaites to the north. It descended through the Valley of Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites to the south and then down to En Rogel. 18:17 It went northward, extending to En Shemesh and Geliloth opposite the Pass 45 of Adummim, and descended to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. 18:18 It crossed to the slope in front of the Arabah to the north and descended into the Arabah. 18:19 It then crossed to the slope of Beth Hoglah to the north and ended at the northern tip of the Salt Sea 46 at the mouth of the Jordan River. 47 This was the southern border. 18:20 The Jordan River borders it on the east. These were the borders of the land assigned to the tribe of Benjamin by its clans. 48
18:21 These cities belonged to the tribe 49 of Benjamin by its clans: Jericho, 50 Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 18:22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 51 18:23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 18:24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba – a total of twelve cities and their towns.
18:25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 18:26 Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, 18:27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 18:28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city 52 (that is, Jerusalem), 53 Gibeah, and Kiriath – a total of fourteen cities and their towns. 54 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Benjamin 55 by its clans.
19:1 The second lot belonged to the tribe of Simeon by its clans. 56 19:2 Their assigned land included 57 Beer Sheba, 58 Moladah, 19:3 Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, 19:4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 19:5 Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, 19:6 Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen – a total of thirteen cities and their towns, 19:7 Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan – a total of four cities and their towns, 19:8 as well as all the towns around these cities as far as Baalath Beer (Ramah of the Negev). This was the land assigned to the tribe of Simeon by its clans. 59 19:9 Simeon’s assigned land was taken from Judah’s allotted portion, for Judah’s territory was too large for them; so Simeon was assigned land within Judah. 60
19:10 The third lot belonged to the tribe of Zebulun 61 by its clans. The border of their territory 62 extended to Sarid. 19:11 Their border went up westward to Maralah and touched Dabbesheth and the valley near 63 Jokneam. 19:12 From Sarid it turned eastward 64 to the territory of Kisloth Tabor, extended to Daberath, and went up to Japhia. 19:13 From there it crossed eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin and extended to Rimmon, turning toward Neah. 19:14 It then turned on the north to Hannathon and ended at the Valley of Iphtah El. 19:15 Their territory included Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem; 65 in all they had twelve cities and their towns. 66 19:16 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Zebulun 67 by its clans, including these cities and their towns.
19:17 The fourth lot belonged to the tribe of Issachar 68 by its clans. 19:18 Their assigned land 69 included Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, 19:19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 19:20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 19:21 Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez. 19:22 Their border touched Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh, and ended at the Jordan. They had sixteen cities and their towns. 19:23 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Issachar 70 by its clans, including the cities and their towns.
19:24 The fifth lot belonged to the tribe of Asher 71 by its clans. 19:25 Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, 19:26 Alammelech, Amad, and Mishal. Their border touched Carmel to the west and Shihor Libnath. 19:27 It turned eastward toward Beth Dagon, touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El to the north, as well as the Valley of Emek and Neiel, and extended to Cabul on the north 72 19:28 and on to Ebron, 73 Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. 74 19:29 It then turned toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, 75 turned to Hosah, and ended at the sea near Hebel, Aczib, 19:30 Umah, Aphek, and Rehob. In all they had 76 twenty-two cities and their towns. 19:31 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Asher 77 by its clans, including these cities and their towns.
19:32 The sixth lot belonged to the tribe of Naphtali 78 by its clans. 19:33 Their border started at Heleph and the oak of Zaanannim, went to Adami Nekeb, Jabneel and on to Lakkum, 79 and ended at the Jordan River. 80 19:34 It turned westward to Aznoth Tabor, extended from there to Hukok, touched Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and the Jordan 81 on the east. 19:35 The fortified cities included Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, 19:36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 82 19:37 Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, 19:38 Yiron, 83 Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh. In all they had 84 nineteen cities and their towns. 19:39 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Naphtali 85 by its clans, including the cities and their towns.
19:40 The seventh lot belonged to the tribe of Dan 86 by its clans. 19:41 Their assigned land included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, 19:42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 19:43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 19:44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 19:45 Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, 19:46 the waters of Jarkon, and Rakkon, including the territory in front of Joppa. 19:47 (The Danites failed to conquer their territory, 87 so they went up and fought with Leshem and captured it. They put the sword to it, took possession of it, and lived in it. They renamed it 88 Dan after their ancestor. 89 ) 19:48 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Dan 90 by its clans, including these cities and their towns.
19:49 When they finished dividing the land into its regions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun some land. 91 19:50 As the Lord had instructed, they gave him the city he requested – Timnath Serah in the Ephraimite hill country. He built up the city and lived in it.
19:51 These are the land assignments which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite tribal leaders 92 made by drawing lots in Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 93 So they finished dividing up the land.
[17:1] 1 tn Heb “and the lot belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph.”
[17:1] 2 tn Heb “to Makir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, for he was a man of war.”
[17:1] 3 tn Heb “Gilead and Bashan belonged to him.”
[17:1] sn On the assignment of Manasseh’s territory in Gilead and Bashan, see Josh 13:31.
[17:2] 4 tn Heb “and it belonged to the sons of Manasseh who remained.”
[17:4] 5 tn Heb “The
[17:4] 6 tn Heb “he.” The referent is probably Joshua, although Eleazar is mentioned first in the preceding list.
[17:4] 7 tn Heb “and he assigned to them in accordance with the mouth [i.e., command] of the
[17:5] 8 tn Heb “and the allotted portions of Manasseh fell out ten.”
[17:7] 10 tn Heb “in front of”; perhaps “east of.”
[17:9] 11 tn Heb “these cities belonged to Ephraim in the midst of the cities of Manasseh.”
[17:10] 12 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Manasseh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:10] 13 tn Heb “they”; the referent (their territory) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:11] 14 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
[17:11] 15 tn Or “the third [is] Napheth”; or “Napheth-dor.” The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain.
[17:11] 16 tn Heb “Beth Shean and its surrounding towns, Ibleam and its surrounding towns, the residents of Dor and its surrounding towns, the residents of En Dor and its surrounding towns, the residents of Taanach and its surrounding towns, the residents of Megiddo and its surrounding towns, three of Nepheth.”
[17:12] 17 tn Heb “sons”; “men” has been used in the translation because the context involves the conquest of cities; therefore, warriors (hence males) would be in view here.
[17:12] 18 tn Or “were determined.”
[17:13] 19 sn On the Israelites’ failure to conquer the Canaanites completely, see Judg 1:27-28.
[17:14] 20 tn Heb “Why have you given me as an inheritance one lot and one portion, though I am a great people until [the time] which, until now the
[17:15] 21 tn Heb “If you are a great people.”
[17:16] 22 tn The Hebrew text has simply “the hill country,” which must here include the hill country of Ephraim and the forest regions mentioned in v. 15.
[17:16] 23 tn Heb “and there are iron chariots among all the Canaanites who live in the land of the valley, to those who are in Beth Shean and its daughters and to those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255 and R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.
[17:18] 25 tn The Hebrew text has simply “the hill country,” which must here include the hill country of Ephraim and the forest regions mentioned in v. 15.
[17:18] 26 tn Heb “and its limits will be yours.”
[18:1] 27 tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”
[18:1] sn On the tent of meeting see Exod 33:7-11.
[18:1] 28 tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”
[18:2] 29 tn Heb “there were left among the sons of Israel who had not divided up their inheritance seven tribes.”
[18:3] 30 tn Heb “How long are you putting off entering and possessing.”
[18:4] 32 tn Heb “I will send them so they may arise and walk about in the land and describe it in writing according to their inheritance and come to me.”
[18:7] 36 tn Or “the priesthood of the
[18:7] 37 tn Or “inheritance.”
[18:9] 38 tn Heb “went and passed through.”
[18:11] 39 tn Heb “and the lot came up for the tribe of the sons of Benjamin.”
[18:11] 40 tn Heb “and the territory of their allotment went out between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.”
[18:12] 41 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[18:13] 42 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[18:14] 43 tn Heb “sons,” here referring to the tribe.
[18:19] 46 sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea.
[18:19] 47 tn Heb “to the tongue of the Salt Sea to the north, to the end of the Jordan to the south.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (also in the following verse).
[18:20] 48 tn Heb “This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin by its borders round about, by their clans.”
[18:21] 49 tn Heb “the sons,” here referring to the tribe.
[18:21] 50 map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.
[18:22] 51 map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.
[18:28] 52 tn The word “city” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
[18:28] 53 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[18:28] 54 tn The structure of this list presents problems. In v. 28 no conjunction appears before “Haeleph” or “Kiriath” in the Hebrew text. This suggests they should be compounded with the preceding names, yielding “Zelah Haeleph” and “Gibeah Kiriath” respectively. This results in a list of only twelve cities, however, while the summary statement (v. 28) gives the number fourteen. One should note, however, that the city lists in chap. 15 do not consistently use the conjunction before the name of each city. See also Josh 19:7, where no conjunction appears before “Rimmon,” but the summary assumes that Ain and Rimmon are distinct.
[18:28] 55 tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin.”
[19:1] 56 tn Heb “and the second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the sons of Simeon by their clans.”
[19:2] 57 tn Heb “and they had in their inheritance.”
[19:2] 58 tc The MT has “and Sheba” listed after “Beer Sheba.” The LXX suggests “Shema.” The Hebrew text appears to be corrupt, since the form “Sheba” duplicates the latter part of the preceding name. If Sheba (or Shema) is retained, the list numbers fourteen, one more than the number given in the concluding summary (v. 6).
[19:8] 59 tn Heb “this was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon.”
[19:9] 60 tn Heb “from the portion of the sons of Judah was the inheritance of the sons of Simeon for the portion of the sons of Judah was too large for them, and the sons of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.”
[19:10] 61 tn Heb “and the third lot came up for the sons of Zebulun.”
[19:10] 62 tn Or “inheritance.”
[19:11] 63 tn Heb “in front of”; perhaps “east of.”
[19:12] 64 tn Heb “eastward toward the rising of the sun.”
[19:15] 65 map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.
[19:15] 66 tn Heb “Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem, twelve cities and their towns.” The words “their territory included” and “in all they had” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[19:16] 67 tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun.”
[19:17] 68 tn Heb “the fourth lot came out for the sons of Issachar.”
[19:18] 69 tn Or “their inheritance.”
[19:23] 70 tn Heb “this was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Issachar.”
[19:24] 71 tn Heb “and the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the sons of Asher.”
[19:28] 73 tc Some Hebrew
[19:28] 74 map For location see Map1 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[19:29] 75 map For location see Map1 A2; Map2 G2; Map4 A1; JP3 F3; JP4 F3.
[19:30] 76 tn The words “in all they had” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[19:31] 77 tn Heb “this was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Asher.”
[19:32] 78 tn Heb “the sixth lot came out for the sons of Naphtali, for the sons of Naphtali.”
[19:33] 79 tn Heb “and their border was from Heleph, from the oak of Zaanannim, and Adami Nekeb, and Jabneel to Lakkum.”
[19:33] 80 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.
[19:34] 81 tc The MT reads “Judah, the Jordan”; the LXX omits “Judah.” Perhaps there was a town named Judah, distinct from the tribe of Judah, located near the northern end of the Jordan.
[19:36] 82 map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.
[19:38] 83 sn Instead of Yiron some English translations read Iron.
[19:38] 84 tn The words “in all they had” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
[19:39] 85 tn Heb “this was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali.”
[19:40] 86 tn Heb “the seventh lot came out for the sons of Dan.”
[19:47] 87 tn Heb “the territory of the sons of Dan went out from them.”
[19:47] 88 tn Heb “Leshem.” The pronoun (“it”) has replaced the name “Leshem” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
[19:47] 89 tn Heb “according to the name of their father.”
[19:48] 90 tn Heb “this was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Dan.”
[19:49] 91 tn Heb “an inheritance in their midst.”
[19:51] 92 tn Heb “the leaders of the fathers of the tribes.”
[19:51] 93 tn Heb “at the entrance of the tent of assembly.”
[19:51] sn On the tent of meeting see Exod 33:7-11.
