Joshua 13

By this time Joshua was old, far along in years. The LORD said to him, "You are old, far along in years, and there is still a great deal of land left to take.

1Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.

Note"Stricken in years" is old English for advanced in age; it has nothing to do with illness or being struck down.

2This is the land that is left: all the territory of the Philistines and all the land of the Geshurites,

2This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri,

NoteThe Philistines were a people settled in five cities on the southern coastal plain, culturally distinct from the Canaanites and Israel's chief rivals for generations. The Geshurites named here are a small group in the far south; they are not the same as the Geshur east of the Sea of Galilee mentioned in verse 11.

3from the Shihor stream east of Egypt north to the border of Ekron, which counts as Canaanite land. That includes the areas of the five Philistine rulers, based in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, and also the land of the Avvites.

3From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites:

NoteThe Shihor was a watercourse at Egypt's frontier, probably an eastern branch of the Nile or the desert wadi that marked the border. The KJV's "lords" translates a Hebrew title, *seren*, used only of Philistine rulers: five men, one for each city, who acted together as a council rather than under a single king. The Avvites were an earlier population living in the same area before the Philistines arrived.

4To the south, there is all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah, which belongs to the people of Sidon, stretching to Aphek and on to the border of the Amorites.

4From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites:

NoteSidon was a Phoenician port city on the coast of what is now Lebanon. "Sidonians" is often used loosely for the Phoenicians in general.

5There is also the land of the Gebalites, and all of Lebanon on the east side, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.

5And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baalgad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.

NoteThe Gebalites were the people of Gebal, the Phoenician port the Greeks later called Byblos. Lebo-hamath, the KJV's "entering into Hamath," was the pass leading toward the city of Hamath on the Orontes River; it served as the standard marker of Israel's ideal far-northern limit.

6As for everyone living in the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, that is, all the people of Sidon, I myself will drive them out ahead of the Israelites. Just be sure to divide the land by lot among the Israelites as their permanent share, as I have commanded you.

6All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephothmaim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee.

NoteCasting lots meant drawing marked stones or sticks; it was a way of settling a decision that took the choice out of human hands. "Inheritance" here translates a word meaning a permanent family holding, land that stays in the family line generation after generation, rather than a one-time gift that could be traded away.

7So now divide this land as a permanent share among the nine tribes and the half tribe of Manasseh."

7Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh,

NoteThe count works out because Levi receives no land at all and Joseph is counted as two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh had already taken land east of the Jordan, which leaves nine and a half tribes to be settled west of the river.

8The other half of Manasseh, along with the tribes of Reuben and Gad, had already received their share of land. Moses had given it to them on the east side of the Jordan River, just as Moses, the servant of the LORD, had assigned it.

8With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them;

Note"Beyond Jordan" in the KJV means the far side of the river as seen by someone standing west of it: that is, the eastern side.

9It stretched from Aroer, which sits on the rim of the Arnon Valley, and included the town in the middle of that valley, and the whole flat highland of Medeba as far as Dibon.

9From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon;

NoteThe Arnon is a deep gorge running west into the Dead Sea; it was the traditional dividing line between Moab to the south and the territory to the north. The "plain" of the KJV is a flat tableland of high open country, not low ground.

10It also included all the cities of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had ruled from Heshbon, out to the border of the Ammonites.

10And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon;

NoteSihon was the Amorite king who refused Israel passage through his land and was defeated on the way north; the story is told in Numbers 21.

11It took in Gilead, the territory of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, all of Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah.

11And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah;

NoteGilead is the hilly, wooded region east of the Jordan; Bashan is the high, fertile plateau farther north, east of the Sea of Galilee.

12It included the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who had ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He was one of the last of the Rephaim, a people known for their great size. Moses had defeated these kings and driven their people out.

12All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants: for these did Moses smite, and cast them out.

NoteOg of Bashan was the second king defeated east of the Jordan. The KJV's "giants" renders *Rephaim*, the name of an earlier population remembered in Israel's traditions for unusual size; it is a people's name, not a general word for giants.

13But the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, so those two peoples still live among the Israelites today.

13Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.

Note"Until this day" means as of the time this account was written down, which was long after the events described.

14Moses gave no land at all to the tribe of Levi. Their share is the offerings burned on the altar to the LORD, the God of Israel, exactly as he told them.

14Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them.

NoteThe tribe of Levi supplied the priests and the staff of the sanctuary. Instead of farmland they were supported by set portions of the animals and grain that worshipers brought to be burned on the altar, along with tithes and other dues.

15Here is what Moses gave to the tribe of Reuben, family group by family group.

15And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families.

16Their territory ran from Aroer, on the rim of the Arnon Valley, and included the town in the middle of that valley, and all the flat highland around Medeba.

16And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba;

Note"Coast" in the KJV means a border or the territory inside it; it has nothing to do with the sea.

17It took in Heshbon and all its towns out on the highland, including Dibon, Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon,

17Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and Bethbaalmeon,

18along with Jahaz, Kedemoth, and Mephaath,

18And Jahaza, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath,

19and Kiriathaim, Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar, which sits on the hill in the valley,

19And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zarethshahar in the mount of the valley,

20and Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth.

20And Bethpeor, and Ashdothpisgah, and Bethjeshimoth,

NotePisgah is the ridge in the highlands east of the Dead Sea from which Moses looked out over the land. Beth-peor lay nearby, close to Israel's last camp before crossing the Jordan.

21It included all the towns of the highland and the whole kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who had ruled in Heshbon. Moses defeated him and also the chiefs of Midian, named Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were rulers under Sihon and lived in that land.

21And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country.

NoteThe KJV's "dukes" and "princes" mean tribal chiefs and subordinate rulers, not European-style nobility. Midian was a nomadic or semi-nomadic people of the desert regions to the south and east.

22The Israelites also killed Balaam son of Beor, the man who told fortunes, along with the others they put to death in that battle.

22Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.

NoteBalaam was the seer hired by the king of Moab to curse Israel, who ended up blessing them instead; the story runs through Numbers 22–24. A "soothsayer" was a professional diviner, someone paid to read omens and deliver oracles.

23The western border of Reuben's land was the Jordan River. This was the share given to the family groups of Reuben, with its towns and villages.

23And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border thereof. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages thereof.

24Here is what Moses gave to the tribe of Gad, family group by family group.

24And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families.

25Their territory was Jazer, all the towns of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, which lies near Rabbah.

25And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah;

NoteThe land described as Ammonite was territory Ammon had earlier lost to Sihon, which is why Israel could take it without attacking Ammon directly. Rabbah was the Ammonite capital, on the site of present-day Amman.

26It ran from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir.

26And from Heshbon unto Ramathmizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir;

27Down in the valley it took in Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, that is, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon. Its western edge was the Jordan River, running north to the end of the Sea of Chinnereth, all on the east side of the Jordan.

27And in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.

NoteThe Sea of Chinnereth is the freshwater lake later known as the Sea of Galilee.

28This was the share given to the family groups of Gad, with its towns and villages.

28This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages.

29Here is what Moses gave to the half tribe of Manasseh, family group by family group.

29And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh: and this was the possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families.

30Their territory ran from Mahanaim through all of Bashan, taking in the whole kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, and all the settlements of Jair in Bashan, sixty towns in all.

30And their coast was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities:

NoteThese are the "tent-villages of Jair," a cluster of small unwalled settlements named after a descendant of Manasseh who took them. "Threescore" in the KJV means sixty.

31It also took in half of Gilead, plus Ashtaroth and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan. All of this went to the descendants of Machir son of Manasseh, that is, to half of Machir's descendants, family group by family group.

31And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the one half of the children of Machir by their families.

NoteMachir was Manasseh's firstborn son; his descendants made up the tribe's dominant clan, which is why the half tribe's allotment is described as going to them.

32These are the areas Moses handed out as permanent shares in the plains of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan across from Jericho.

32These are the countries which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side Jordan, by Jericho, eastward.

NoteThe plains of Moab are the flat stretch of land east of the Jordan, opposite Jericho, where Israel camped before crossing the river.

33But Moses gave no land at all to the tribe of Levi. The LORD, the God of Israel, is their share, exactly as he told them.

33But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.

NoteThe word translated "inheritance" normally means an allotted piece of land. Saying the LORD is Levi's inheritance uses that legal term deliberately: what the other tribes held in fields, Levi held in service at the sanctuary and the income that came with it.