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18 And the whole congregation of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.

And there remained among the Israelites seven tribes who had not yet divided their inheritance.

Joshua asked the Israelites, How long will you be slack to go in and possess the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?

Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them to go through the land and write a description of it according to their [tribal] inheritances; then they shall return to me.

And they shall divide it into seven parts. Judah shall remain in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph shall remain in its territory on the north.

You shall describe the land in seven divisions, and bring the description here to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.

But the Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance east of the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.

So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged them saying, Go and walk through the land and describe it and come again to me, and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.

And the men went and passed through the land and described it by cities in seven portions in a book; and they came again to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh.

10 Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there [he] divided the land to the Israelites, to each [tribe] his portion.

11 And the lot of the Benjamites came up according to their families; and the territory of their lot fell between the tribes of Judah and Joseph.

12 On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan; then it went up to the shoulder of Jericho on the north and up through the hill country westward and ended at the Beth-aven wilderness.

13 Then the boundary passed over southward toward Luz, to the shoulder of Luz (that is, Bethel); then it went down to Ataroth-addar by the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon.

14 The boundary extended from there, and turning about on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south opposite Beth-horon, it ended at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the tribe of Judah. This formed the western side [of Benjamin’s territory].

15 The southern side began at the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the boundary went on westward to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.

16 Then the boundary went down to the edge of the mountain overlooking the Valley of Ben-hinnom [son of Hinnom], which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim; and it descended to the Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and went on down to En-rogel.

17 Then it bent toward the north and went on to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth, which was opposite the ascent of Adummim, and went down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.

18 And it went on to the north of the shoulder [of Beth]-Arabah and down to the Arabah.

19 Then the boundary passed along to the north of the shoulder of Beth-hoglah and ended at the northern bay of the Salt [Dead] Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.

20 And the Jordan was its boundary on the east side. This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin by their boundaries round about, according to their families.

21 Now the cities of the tribe of Benjamin according to [their] families were: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz,

22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,

23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,

24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages;

25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,

26 Mizpah, Chephirah, Mozah,

27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,

28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite [city]—that is, Jerusalem—Gibeah, and Kiriath-[jearim]; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families.

Division of the Rest of the Land

18 The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh(A) and set up the tent of meeting(B) there. The country was brought under their control, but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.

So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given you? Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it,(C) according to the inheritance of each.(D) Then they will return to me. You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south(E) and the tribes of Joseph in their territory on the north.(F) After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots(G) for you in the presence of the Lord our God. The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance.(H) And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to them.(I)

As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, “Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it.(J) Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh(K) in the presence of the Lord.” So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. 10 Joshua then cast lots(L) for them in Shiloh in the presence(M) of the Lord, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions.(N)

Allotment for Benjamin

11 The first lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin according to its clans. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:

12 On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan, passed the northern slope of Jericho and headed west into the hill country, coming out at the wilderness(O) of Beth Aven.(P) 13 From there it crossed to the south slope of Luz(Q) (that is, Bethel(R)) and went down to Ataroth Addar(S) on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.

14 From the hill facing Beth Horon(T) on the south the boundary turned south along the western side and came out at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim),(U) a town of the people of Judah. This was the western side.

15 The southern side began at the outskirts of Kiriath Jearim on the west, and the boundary came out at the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.(V) 16 The boundary went down to the foot of the hill facing the Valley of Ben Hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim.(W) It continued down the Hinnom Valley(X) along the southern slope of the Jebusite city and so to En Rogel.(Y) 17 It then curved north, went to En Shemesh, continued to Geliloth,(Z) which faces the Pass of Adummim,(AA) and ran down to the Stone of Bohan(AB) son of Reuben. 18 It continued to the northern slope of Beth Arabah[a](AC) and on down into the Arabah.(AD) 19 It then went to the northern slope of Beth Hoglah(AE) and came out at the northern bay of the Dead Sea,(AF) at the mouth of the Jordan in the south. This was the southern boundary.

20 The Jordan formed the boundary on the eastern side.

These were the boundaries that marked out the inheritance of the clans of Benjamin on all sides.(AG)

21 The tribe of Benjamin, according to its clans, had the following towns:

Jericho, Beth Hoglah,(AH) Emek Keziz, 22 Beth Arabah,(AI) Zemaraim,(AJ) Bethel,(AK) 23 Avvim,(AL) Parah, Ophrah,(AM) 24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni and Geba(AN)—twelve towns and their villages.

25 Gibeon,(AO) Ramah,(AP) Beeroth,(AQ) 26 Mizpah,(AR) Kephirah,(AS) Mozah, 27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28 Zelah,(AT) Haeleph, the Jebusite city(AU) (that is, Jerusalem(AV)), Gibeah(AW) and Kiriath—fourteen towns and their villages.(AX)

This was the inheritance of Benjamin for its clans.(AY)

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 18:18 Septuagint; Hebrew slope facing the Arabah