Land that Israel did not take over

1Many years later, the LORD told Joshua:

Now you are very old, but there is still a lot of land that Israel has not yet taken. 2-7First, there is the Canaanite territory that starts at the River Shihor just east of Egypt and goes north to Ekron. The southern part of this region belongs to the Avvites and the Geshurites,13.2-7 Geshurites: Not the same Geshur as in 12.5 and 13.11. One ancient translation has “Gezerites”. Gezer was a town north of Ekron that the Israelites did not capture (see Judges 1.29). and the land around Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron belongs to the five Philistine rulers.13.6: Nu 33.54.

The other Canaanite territory is in the north. Its northern border starts at the town of Arah, which belongs to the Sidonians. From there, it goes to Aphek,13.2-7 Aphek: Not the same Aphek as in 12.9-24. then along the Amorite border13.2-7 Amorite border: What had been the southern border of the old Amorite kingdom of Amurru. to Hamath Pass.13.2-7 Hamath Pass: Or “Lebo-Hamath”. The eastern border starts at Hamath Pass and goes south to Baal-Gad at the foot of Mount Hermon, and its southern boundary runs west from there to Misrephoth-Maim.13.2-7 Misrephoth-Maim: Or “Misrephoth” or “the River Misrephoth”. This northern region includes the Lebanon Mountains and the land that belongs to the Gebalites13.2-7 Gebalites: Gebal was another name for Byblos. and the Sidonians who live in the hill country from the Lebanon Mountains to Misrephoth-Maim.

With my help, Israel will capture these Canaanite territories and force out the people who live there. But you must divide up the land from the River Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea13.2-7 from…Sea: One ancient translation; the Hebrew text does not have these words. among the nine tribes and the half of Manasseh that don't have any land yet. Then each tribe will have its own land.

Tribal lands that Moses had assigned east of the Jordan

8Moses had already given land east of the River Jordan to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh.13.8: Nu 32.33; Dt 3.12. 9This region stretched north from the town in the middle of the valley of the River Arnon, and included the town of Aroer on the northern edge of the valley. It covered the flat lands of Medeba north of Dibon, 10and took in the towns that had belonged to Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon. Some of these towns were as far east as the Ammonite border.

11-12Geshur and Maacah were part of this region, and so was the whole territory that King Og had ruled, that is, Gilead, Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far east as Salecah. Og had lived in Ashtaroth part of each year, and he had lived in Edrei the rest of the year. Og had been one of the last of the Rephaim,13.11,12 Rephaim: See the note at 12.4. but Moses had defeated Sihon and Og and their people13.11,12 Sihon…people: Or “the Rephaim”. and had forced them to leave their land. 13However, the Israelites did not force the people of Geshur and Maacah to leave, and they still live there among the Israelites.

Moses did not give land to the Levi tribe

14Moses did not give any land to the Levi tribe, because the LORD God of Israel had told them, “Instead of land, you will receive the sacrifices offered at my altar.”13.14: Dt 18.1.

Moses gives land to the Reuben tribe

15Moses gave land to each of the clans in the Reuben tribe. 16Their land started in the south at the town in the middle of the valley of the River Arnon, took in the town of Aroer on the northern edge of the valley, and went as far north as the flat lands around Medeba. 17-21The Amorite King Sihon had lived in Heshbon and had ruled the towns in the flat lands. Now Heshbon belonged to Reuben, and so did the following towns in the flat lands: Dibon, Bamoth-Baal, Beth-Baal-Meon, Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-Shahar on the hill in the valley, Beth-Peor, Slopes of Mount Pisgah, and Beth-Jeshimoth.

Moses defeated Sihon and killed him and the Midianite chiefs who ruled parts of his kingdom for him. Their names were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. 22The Israelites also killed Balaam the son of Beor, who had been a fortune-teller.

23This region with its towns and villages was the land for the Reuben tribe, and the River Jordan was its western border.

Moses gives land to the Gad tribe

24Moses also gave land to each of the clans in the Gad tribe. 25It included the town of Jazer, and in the Gilead region their territory took in the land and towns as far east as the town of Aroer13.25 Aroer: Not the same town as the Aroer in verse 16. just west of Rabbah.13.25 Rabbah: The capital city of Ammon. This was about half of the land that had once belonged to the Ammonites. 26The land given to Gad stretched from Heshbon in the south to Ramath-Mizpeh and Betonim in the north, and even further north to Mahanaim and Lidebor.13.26 Lidebor: This may be another name for Lodebar, a town a few kilometres east of the River Jordan and about sixteen kilometres south of Lake Galilee. 27Gad also received the eastern half of the Jordan valley, which had been ruled by King Sihon of Heshbon. This territory stretched as far north as Lake Galilee,13.27 Lake Galilee: See the note at 11.2. and included the towns of Beth-Haram, Beth-Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon. 28These regions with their towns and villages were given to the Gad tribe.

Moses gives land to half of the Manasseh tribe

29Moses gave land east of the River Jordan to half of the clans from the Manasseh tribe. 30-31Their land started at Mahanaim and took in the region that King Og of Bashan had ruled, including Ashtaroth and Edrei, the two towns where he had lived. The villages where the Jair clan settled were part of Manasseh's land, and so was the northern half of the region of Gilead. The clans of this half of Manasseh had sixty towns in all.

The Manasseh tribe is sometimes called the Machir tribe, after Manasseh's son Machir.

32That was how Moses divided up the Moab Plains to the east of Jericho on the other side of the River Jordan, so these two and a half tribes would have land of their own. 33But Moses did not give any land to the Levi tribe, because the LORD had promised that he would always provide for them.13.33: Nu 18.20; Dt 18.2.