Joshua 13:1-33

Many years passed, and Joshua was a very old man. One day, YAHWEH spoke to him: “Although you have reached a ripe old age, a great deal of land remains for you to conquer. The territory waiting for you to possess includes all the land of the Geshurites and the Philistines. (The kings of the Philistines lived at Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.) And also all the territory of the Avvites to the south. (The land from the stream of Shihor, at the Egyptian border, as far north as the border of Ekron was considered Canaanite.) There is still all the Canaanite territory from the Sidonian city of Mearah (which belonged to the Sidonians) as far as the Amorite border city of Aphek. You have still not conquered the land of the Gebalites, all the land eastward to Lebanon, from the city of Baal-Gad, which is south of Mount Hermon, to Hamath Pass. You still must conquer the land of the Sidonians who live in the hill country between the Lebanon Mountains and Misrephoth Maim. As the people of Israel advance, I myself will drive out these peoples from before you! Divide the land among the tribes of Israel exactly as I have commanded you. Divide among the other nine tribes and the other half-tribe of Manasseh the territory west of the Jordan to possess as their inheritance.” The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had already received their portion of the land on the east side of the Jordan, which YAHWEH’s servant Moses had assigned to them. These tribes occupied the land as far southeast as the city of Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley, including the city in the middle of the valley and the plain from Dibon in the south, north to Medeba. Their territory went as far east as the border of Ammon, including all the cities over which King Sihon, the Amorite king, ruled over from Heshbon. It also included Gilead, the land of the Geshurites and Maacathites, all of Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan to its eastern boundary of Salecah. It encompassed the entire kingdom of Og (the last of the Rephaites) in Bashan, who ruled from Ashtaroth and at Edrei. Moses had defeated them and possessed their lands, except for the Geshurites and Maacathites, who still live among the Israelites to this day. However, Moses did not assign any land as an inheritance to the tribe of Levi, for their inheritance was to share in the sacrificial offerings made to YAHWEH, the God of Israel, as he promised them. The land Moses assigned to the families of the tribe of Reuben extended from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon Valley, including the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba, Heshbon and all its surrounding towns on the plain, including Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley, Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth, including all the cities of the plain, and the whole kingdom of Sihon the Amorite, who had ruled at Heshbon. Moses defeated him and the Midianite tribal chiefs, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who dwelt in the land as princes of Sihon. Among those the Israelites killed in battle was the fortune-teller Balaam son of Beor. The western boundary of the Reubenites was the Jordan River. These cities and their surrounding villages comprised the inheritance of the families of the tribe of Reuben. The land Moses assigned to the families of the tribe of Gad included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half the Ammonite country as far as Aroer, near Rabbah. It extended north from the city of Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, continuing on to the city of Mahanaim, and to the borders of Lo-Debar. In addition, the tribe of Gad received the land along the eastern side of the Jordan River as far north as the southern end of Lake Galilee. This included the cities of Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Sukkoth, and Zaphon, all of which were in the Jordan Valley. These cities and their surrounding villages comprised the inheritance of the families of the tribe of Gad. The land Moses assigned to the families of the half-tribe of Manasseh extended north from the city of Mahanaim, including all of Bashan and the sixty villages of Jair. King Og of Bashan had once ruled over all this territory. Moses had given half of Gilead to this half-tribe of Manasseh, which descended from Manasseh’s son Machir, including the cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei, where king Og had once ruled. Moses had distributed all the territory of Moab in the Jordan Valley east of Jericho as the inheritances of these two and a half tribes of Israel. But Moses gave no inheritance of land to the tribe of Levi, but said to them, “YAHWEH, the God of Israel, is to be your inheritance.”