May 1: Josh 15-16

May 1: Josh 15-16

Joshua 15-16New King James Version (NKJV)

The Land of Judah

15 So this was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families:

The border of Edom at the Wilderness of Zin southward was the extreme southern boundary. ² And their southern border began at the shore of the Salt Sea, from the bay that faces southward. ³ Then it went out to the southern side of the Ascent of Akrabbim, passed along to Zin, ascended on the south side of Kadesh Barnea, passed along to Hezron, went up to Adar, and went around to Karkaa. ⁴ From there it passed toward Azmon and went out to the Brook of Egypt; and the border ended at the sea. This shall be your southern border.

⁵ The east border was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan.

And the border on the northern quarter began at the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. ⁶ The border went up to Beth Hoglah and passed north of Beth Arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. ⁷ Then the border went up toward Debir from the Valley of Achor, and it turned northward toward Gilgal, which is before the Ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley. The border continued toward the waters of En Shemesh and ended at En Rogel. ⁸ And the border went up by the Valley of the Son of Hinnom to the southern slope of the Jebusite city (which is Jerusalem). The border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the Valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the Valley of Rephaim^[a] northward. ⁹ Then the border went around from the top of the hill to the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and extended to the cities of Mount Ephron. And the border went around to Baalah (which is Kirjath Jearim). ¹⁰ Then the border turned westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the side of Mount Jearim on the north (which is Chesalon), went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed on to Timnah. ¹¹ And the border went out to the side of Ekron northward. Then the border went around to Shicron, passed along to Mount Baalah, and extended to Jabneel; and the border ended at the sea.

¹² The west border was the coastline of the Great Sea. This is the boundary of the children of Judah all around according to their families.

Caleb Occupies Hebron and Debir

¹³ Now to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a share among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, namely, Kirjath Arba, which is Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). ¹⁴ Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak from there: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. ¹⁵ Then he went up from there to the inhabitants of Debir (formerly the name of Debir was Kirjath Sepher).

¹⁶ And Caleb said, “He who attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife.” ¹⁷ So Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. ¹⁸ Now it was so, when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, “What do you wish?” ¹⁹ She answered, “Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water.” So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

The Cities of Judah

²⁰ This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families:

²¹ The cities at the limits of the tribe of the children of Judah, toward the border of Edom in the South, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, ²² Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, ²³ Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, ²⁴ Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵ Hazor, Hadattah, Kerioth, Hezron (which is Hazor), ²⁶ Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷ Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, ²⁸ Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Bizjothjah, ²⁹ Baalah, Ijim, Ezem, ³⁰ Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹ Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³² Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages.

³³ In the lowland: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴ Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵ Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶ Sharaim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim: fourteen cities with their villages; ³⁷ Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, ³⁸ Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, ³⁹ Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰ Cabbon, Lahmas,^[b]Kithlish, ⁴¹ Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah: sixteen cities with their villages; ⁴² Libnah, Ether, Ashan, ⁴³ Jiphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴ Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities with their villages; ⁴⁵ Ekron, with its towns and villages; ⁴⁶ from Ekron to the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages; ⁴⁷ Ashdod with its towns and villages, Gaza with its towns and villages—as far as the Brook of Egypt and the Great Sea with its coastline.

⁴⁸ And in the mountain country: Shamir, Jattir, Sochoh, ⁴⁹ Dannah, Kirjath Sannah (which is Debir), ⁵⁰ Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹ Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages; ⁵² Arab, Dumah, Eshean, ⁵³ Janum, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴ Humtah, Kirjath Arba (which is Hebron), and Zior: nine cities with their villages; ⁵⁵ Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶ Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷ Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages; ⁵⁸ Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹ Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon: six cities with their villages; ⁶⁰ Kirjath Baal (which is Kirjath Jearim) and Rabbah: two cities with their villages.

⁶¹ In the wilderness: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶² Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi: six cities with their villages.

⁶³ As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

Ephraim and West Manasseh

16 The lot fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan, by Jericho, to the waters of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goes up from Jericho through the mountains to Bethel, ² then went out from Bethel to Luz,^[c] passed along to the border of the Archites at Ataroth, ³ and went down westward to the boundary of the Japhletites, as far as the boundary of Lower Beth Horon to Gezer; and it ended at the sea.

⁴ So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.

The Land of Ephraim

⁵ The border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus: The border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth Addar as far as Upper Beth Horon.

⁶ And the border went out toward the sea on the north side of Michmethath; then the border went around eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed by it on the east of Janohah. ⁷ Then it went down from Janohah to Ataroth and Naarah,^[d] reached to Jericho, and came out at the Jordan.

⁸ The border went out from Tappuah westward to the Brook Kanah, and it ended at the sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families. ⁹ The separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

¹⁰ And they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become forced laborers.