3:1 Bright and early the next morning Joshua and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan. 1 They camped there before crossing the river. 2 3:2 After three days the leaders went through the camp 3:3 and commanded the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God 3 being carried by the Levitical priests, you must leave here 4 and walk 5 behind it. 3:4 But stay about three thousand feet behind it. 6 Keep your distance 7 so you can see 8 which way you should go, for you have not traveled this way before.”
3:5 Joshua told the people, “Ritually consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will perform miraculous deeds among you.” 3:6 Joshua told the priests, “Pick up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.
3:7 The Lord told Joshua, “This very day I will begin to honor you before all Israel 9 so they will know that I am with you just as I was with Moses. 3:8 Instruct the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, ‘When you reach the bank of the Jordan River, 10 wade into the water.’” 11
3:9 Joshua told the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God!” 3:10 Joshua continued, 12 “This is how you will know the living God is among you and that he will truly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. 3:11 Look! The ark of the covenant of the Ruler 13 of the whole earth is ready to enter the Jordan ahead of you. 3:12 Now select for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one per tribe. 3:13 When the feet 14 of the priests carrying the ark of the Lord, the Ruler 15 of the whole earth, touch 16 the water of the Jordan, the water coming downstream toward you will stop flowing and pile up.” 17
3:14 So when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went 18 ahead of them. 3:15 When the ones carrying the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the surface 19 of the water – (the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest time) 20 – 3:16 the water coming downstream toward them stopped flowing. 21 It piled up far upstream 22 at Adam (the city near Zarethan); there was no water at all flowing to the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea). 23 The people crossed the river opposite Jericho. 24 3:17 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan. All Israel crossed over on dry ground until the entire nation was on the other side. 25
4:1 When the entire nation was on the other side, 26 the Lord told Joshua, 4:2 “Select for yourselves twelve men from the people, one per tribe. 4:3 Instruct them, ‘Pick up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests 27 stand firmly, and carry them over with you and put them in the place where you camp tonight.’”
4:4 Joshua summoned the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one per tribe. 4:5 Joshua told them, “Go in front of the ark of the Lord your God to the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to put a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the Israelite tribes. 4:6 The stones 28 will be a reminder to you. 29 When your children ask someday, ‘Why are these stones important to you?’ 4:7 tell them how the water of the Jordan stopped flowing 30 before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the water of the Jordan stopped flowing. 31 These stones will be a lasting memorial for the Israelites.”
4:8 The Israelites did just as Joshua commanded. They picked up twelve stones, according to the number of the Israelite tribes, from the middle of the Jordan as the Lord had instructed Joshua. They carried them over with them to the camp and put them there. 4:9 Joshua also set up twelve stones 32 in the middle of the Jordan in the very place where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant stood. They remain there to this very day.
4:10 Now the priests carrying the ark of the covenant were standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua to tell the people was accomplished, in accordance with all that Moses had commanded Joshua. The people went across quickly, 4:11 and when all the people had finished crossing, the ark of the Lord and the priests crossed as the people looked on. 33 4:12 The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed for battle ahead of the Israelites, just as Moses had instructed them. 4:13 About forty thousand battle-ready troops 34 marched past the Lord to fight 35 on the plains of Jericho. 36 4:14 That day the Lord brought honor to Joshua before all Israel. They respected 37 him all his life, 38 just as they had respected 39 Moses.
4:15 The Lord told Joshua, 4:16 “Instruct the priests carrying the ark of the covenantal laws 40 to come up from the Jordan.” 4:17 So Joshua instructed the priests, “Come up from the Jordan!” 4:18 The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord came up from the middle of the Jordan, and as soon as they set foot on dry land, 41 the water of the Jordan flowed again and returned to flood stage. 42
4:19 The people went up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month 43 and camped in Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 44 4:20 Now Joshua set up in Gilgal the 45 twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan. 4:21 He told the Israelites, “When your children someday ask their fathers, ‘What do these stones represent?’ 46 4:22 explain 47 to your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan River 48 on dry ground.’ 4:23 For the Lord your God dried up the water of the Jordan before you while you crossed over. It was just like when the Lord your God dried up the Red Sea before us while we crossed it. 49 4:24 He has done this so 50 all the nations 51 of the earth might recognize the Lord’s power 52 and so you might always obey 53 the Lord your God.”
5:1 When all the Amorite kings on the west side of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the seacoast heard how the Lord had dried up the water of the Jordan before the Israelites while they 54 crossed, they lost their courage and could not even breathe for fear of the Israelites. 55
5:2 At that time the Lord told Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites once again.” 56 5:3 So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites on the Hill of the Foreskins. 57 5:4 This is why Joshua had to circumcise them: All the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt died on the journey through the desert after they left Egypt. 58 5:5 Now 59 all the men 60 who left were circumcised, but all the sons 61 born on the journey through the desert after they left Egypt were uncircumcised. 5:6 Indeed, for forty years the Israelites traveled through the desert until all the men old enough to fight when they left Egypt, the ones who had disobeyed the Lord, died off. 62 For the Lord had sworn a solemn oath to them that he would not let them see the land he had sworn on oath to give them, 63 a land rich in 64 milk and honey. 5:7 He replaced them with their sons, 65 whom Joshua circumcised. They were uncircumcised; their fathers had not circumcised them along the way. 5:8 When all the men 66 had been circumcised, they stayed there in the camp until they had healed. 5:9 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I have taken away 67 the disgrace 68 of Egypt from you.” So that place is called Gilgal 69 even to this day.
5:10 So the Israelites camped in Gilgal and celebrated the Passover in the evening of the fourteenth day of the month on the plains of Jericho. 70 5:11 They ate some of the produce of the land the day after the Passover, including unleavened bread and roasted grain. 71 5:12 The manna stopped appearing the day they ate 72 some of the produce of the land; the Israelites never ate manna again. 73
5:13 When Joshua was near 74 Jericho, 75 he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him holding a drawn sword. 76 Joshua approached him and asked him, “Are you on our side or allied with our enemies?” 77 5:14 He answered, 78 “Truly I am the commander of the Lord’s army. 79 Now I have arrived!” 80 Joshua bowed down with his face to the ground 81 and asked, “What does my master want to say to his servant?” 5:15 The commander of the Lord’s army answered Joshua, “Remove your sandals from your feet, because the place where you stand is holy.” Joshua did so.
6:1 Now Jericho 82 was shut tightly 83 because of the Israelites. No one was allowed to leave or enter. 84 6:2 The Lord told Joshua, “See, I am about to defeat Jericho for you, 85 along with its king and its warriors. 6:3 Have all the warriors march around the city one time; 86 do this for six days. 6:4 Have seven priests carry seven rams’ horns 87 in front of the ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times, while the priests blow the horns. 6:5 When you hear the signal from the ram’s horn, 88 have the whole army give a loud battle cry. 89 Then the city wall will collapse 90 and the warriors should charge straight ahead.” 91
6:6 So Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and instructed them, “Pick up the ark of the covenant, and seven priests must carry seven rams’ horns in front of the ark of the Lord.” 6:7 And he told 92 the army, 93 “Move ahead 94 and march around the city, with armed troops going ahead of the ark of the Lord.”
6:8 When Joshua gave the army its orders, 95 the seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the Lord moved ahead and blew the horns as the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed behind. 6:9 Armed troops marched ahead of the priests blowing the horns, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark blowing rams’ horns. 6:10 Now Joshua had instructed the army, 96 “Do not give a battle cry 97 or raise your voices; say nothing 98 until the day I tell you, ‘Give the battle cry.’ 99 Then give the battle cry!” 100 6:11 So Joshua made sure they marched the ark of the Lord around the city one time. 101 Then they went back to the camp and spent the night there. 102
6:12 Bright and early the next morning Joshua had the priests pick up the ark of the Lord. 103 6:13 The seven priests carrying the seven rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord marched along blowing their horns. Armed troops marched ahead of them, while the rear guard followed along behind the ark of the Lord blowing rams’ horns. 6:14 They marched around the city one time on the second day, then returned to the camp. They did this six days in all.
6:15 On the seventh day they were up at the crack of dawn 104 and marched around the city as before – only this time they marched around it seven times. 105 6:16 The seventh time around, the priests blew the rams’ horns and Joshua told the army, 106 “Give the battle cry, 107 for the Lord is handing the city over to you! 108 6:17 The city and all that is in it must be set apart for the Lord, 109 except for Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house, because she hid the spies 110 we sent. 6:18 But be careful when you are setting apart the riches for the Lord. If you take any of it, you will make the Israelite camp subject to annihilation and cause a disaster. 111 6:19 All the silver and gold, as well as bronze and iron items, belong to the Lord. 112 They must go into the Lord’s treasury.”
6:20 The rams’ horns sounded 113 and when the army 114 heard the signal, 115 they gave a loud battle cry. 116 The wall collapsed 117 and the warriors charged straight ahead into the city and captured it. 118 6:21 They annihilated with the sword everything that breathed in the city, 119 including men and women, young and old, as well as cattle, sheep, and donkeys. 6:22 Joshua told the two men who had spied on the land, “Enter the prostitute’s house 120 and bring out the woman and all who belong to her as you promised her.” 121 6:23 So the young spies went and brought out Rahab, her father, mother, brothers, and all who belonged to her. They brought out her whole family and took them to a place outside 122 the Israelite camp. 6:24 But they burned 123 the city and all that was in it, except for the silver, gold, and bronze and iron items they put in the treasury of the Lord’s house. 124 6:25 Yet Joshua spared 125 Rahab the prostitute, her father’s family, 126 and all who belonged to her. She lives in Israel 127 to this very day because she hid the messengers Joshua sent to spy on Jericho. 128 6:26 At that time Joshua made this solemn declaration: 129 “The man who attempts to rebuild 130 this city of Jericho 131 will stand condemned before the Lord. 132 He will lose his firstborn son when he lays its foundations and his youngest son when he erects its gates!” 133 6:27 The Lord was with Joshua and he became famous throughout the land. 134
7:1 But the Israelites disobeyed the command about the city’s riches. 135 Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, 136 son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the riches. 137 The Lord was furious with the Israelites. 138
7:2 Joshua sent men from Jericho 139 to Ai (which is located near Beth Aven, east of Bethel 140 ) and instructed them, “Go up and spy on the land.” So the men went up and spied on Ai. 7:3 They returned and reported to Joshua, 141 “Don’t send the whole army. 142 About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai. 143 Don’t tire out the whole army, for Ai is small.” 144
7:4 So about three thousand men went up, but they fled from the men of Ai. 7:5 The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them and chased them from in front of the city gate all the way to the fissures 145 and defeated them on the steep slope. 146 The people’s 147 courage melted away like water. 148
7:6 Joshua tore his clothes; 149 he and the leaders 150 of Israel lay face down on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening 151 and threw dirt on their heads. 152 7:7 Joshua prayed, 153 “O, Master, Lord! Why did you bring these people across the Jordan to hand us over to the Amorites so they could destroy us? 7:8 If only we had been satisfied to live on the other side of the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say now that Israel has retreated 154 before its enemies? 7:9 When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will turn against us and destroy the very memory of us 155 from the earth. What will you do to protect your great reputation?” 156
7:10 The Lord responded 157 to Joshua, “Get up! Why are you lying there face down? 158 7:11 Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenantal commandment! 159 They have taken some of the riches; 160 they have stolen them and deceitfully put them among their own possessions. 161 7:12 The Israelites are unable to stand before their enemies; they retreat because they have become subject to annihilation. 162 I will no longer be with you, 163 unless you destroy what has contaminated you. 164 7:13 Get up! Ritually consecrate the people and tell them this: ‘Ritually consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, because the Lord God of Israel says, “You are contaminated, 165 O Israel! You will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove what is contaminating you.” 166 7:14 In the morning you must approach in tribal order. 167 The tribe the Lord selects 168 must approach by clans. The clan the Lord selects must approach by families. 169 The family the Lord selects must approach man by man. 170 7:15 The one caught with the riches 171 must be burned up 172 along with all who belong to him, because he violated the Lord’s covenant and did such a disgraceful thing in Israel.’”
7:16 Bright and early the next morning Joshua made Israel approach in tribal order 173 and the tribe of Judah was selected. 7:17 He then made the clans of Judah approach and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He made the clan of the Zerahites approach and Zabdi 174 was selected. 175 7:18 He then made Zabdi’s 176 family approach man by man 177 and Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, from the tribe of Judah, was selected. 7:19 So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, honor 178 the Lord God of Israel and give him praise! Tell me what you did; don’t hide anything from me!” 7:20 Achan told Joshua, “It is true. I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel in this way: 179 7:21 I saw among the goods we seized a nice robe from Babylon, 180 two hundred silver pieces, 181 and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels. I wanted them, so I took them. They are hidden in the ground right in the middle of my tent with the silver underneath.”
7:22 Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent. The things were hidden right in his tent, with the silver underneath. 182 7:23 They took it all from the middle of the tent, brought it to Joshua and all the Israelites, and placed 183 it before the Lord. 7:24 Then Joshua and all Israel took Achan, son of Zerah, along with the silver, the robe, the bar of gold, his sons, daughters, ox, donkey, sheep, tent, and all that belonged to him and brought them up to the Valley of Disaster. 184 7:25 Joshua said, “Why have you brought disaster 185 on us? The Lord will bring disaster on you today!” All Israel stoned him to death. (They also stoned and burned the others.) 186 7:26 Then they erected over him a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day 187 ) and the Lord’s anger subsided. So that place is called the Valley of Disaster to this very day.
8:1 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! 188 Take the whole army with you and march against Ai! 189 See, I am handing over to you 190 the king of Ai, along with his people, city, and land. 8:2 Do to Ai and its king what you did to Jericho 191 and its king, except you may plunder its goods and cattle. Set an ambush behind the city!”
8:3 Joshua and the whole army marched against Ai. 192 Joshua selected thirty thousand brave warriors and sent them out at night. 8:4 He told 193 them, “Look, set an ambush behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city; all of you be ready! 8:5 I and all the troops 194 who are with me will approach the city. When they come out to fight us like before, we will retreat from them. 8:6 They will attack 195 us until we have lured them from the city, for they will say, ‘They are retreating from us like before.’ We will retreat from them. 8:7 Then you rise up from your hiding place 196 and seize 197 the city. The Lord your God will hand it over to you. 8:8 When you capture the city, set it 198 on fire. Do as the Lord says! See, I have given you orders.” 199 8:9 Joshua sent them away and they went to their hiding place 200 west of Ai, between Bethel 201 and Ai. 202 Joshua spent that night with the army. 203
8:10 Bright and early the next morning Joshua gathered 204 the army, 205 and he and the leaders 206 of Israel marched 207 at the head of it 208 to Ai. 8:11 All the troops that were with him marched up and drew near the city. 209 They camped north of Ai on the other side of the valley. 210 8:12 He took five thousand men and set an ambush west of the city between Bethel 211 and Ai. 8:13 The army was in position – the main army north of the city and the rear guard west of the city. That night Joshua went into 212 the middle of the valley.
8:14 When the king of Ai saw Israel, he and his whole army quickly got up the next day and went out to fight Israel at the meeting place near the Arabah. 213 But he did not realize 214 men were hiding behind the city. 215 8:15 Joshua and all Israel pretended to be defeated by them and they retreated along the way to the desert. 8:16 All the reinforcements 216 in Ai 217 were ordered 218 to chase them; they chased Joshua and were lured away from the city. 8:17 No men were left in Ai or Bethel; 219 they all went out after Israel. 220 They left the city wide open and chased Israel.
8:18 The Lord told Joshua, “Hold out toward Ai the curved sword in your hand, for I am handing the city 221 over to you.” So Joshua held out toward Ai the curved sword in his hand. 8:19 When he held out his hand, the men waiting in ambush rose up quickly from their place and attacked. 222 They entered the city, captured it, and immediately set it on fire. 8:20 When the men of Ai turned around, they saw 223 the smoke from the city ascending into the sky and were so shocked they were unable to flee in any direction. 224 In the meantime the men who were retreating to the desert turned against their pursuers. 8:21 When Joshua and all Israel saw that the men in ambush had captured the city and that the city was going up in smoke, 225 they turned around and struck down the men of Ai. 8:22 At the same time the men who had taken the city came out to fight, and the men of Ai were trapped in the middle. 226 The Israelites struck them down, leaving no survivors or refugees. 8:23 But they captured the king of Ai alive and brought him to Joshua.
8:24 When Israel had finished killing all the men 227 of Ai who had chased them toward the desert 228 (they all fell by the sword), 229 all Israel returned to Ai and put the sword to it. 8:25 Twelve thousand men and women died 230 that day, including all the men of Ai. 8:26 Joshua kept holding out his curved sword until Israel had annihilated all who lived in Ai. 231 8:27 But Israel did plunder the cattle and the goods of the city, in accordance with the Lord’s orders to Joshua. 232 8:28 Joshua burned Ai and made it a permanently uninhabited mound (it remains that way to this very day). 233 8:29 He hung the king of Ai on a tree, leaving him exposed until evening. 234 At sunset Joshua ordered that his corpse be taken down from the tree. 235 They threw it down at the entrance of the city gate and erected over it a large pile of stones (it remains to this very day). 236
8:30 Then Joshua built an altar for the Lord God of Israel on Mount Ebal, 8:31 just as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded the Israelites. As described in the law scroll of Moses, it was made with uncut stones untouched by an iron tool. 237 They offered burnt sacrifices on it and sacrificed tokens of peace. 238 8:32 There, in the presence of the Israelites, Joshua inscribed on the stones a duplicate of the law written by Moses. 239 8:33 All the people, 240 rulers, 241 leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there. 242 Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord’s servant had previously instructed to them to do for the formal blessing ceremony. 243 8:34 Then 244 Joshua read aloud all the words of the law, including the blessings and the curses, just as they are written in the law scroll. 8:35 Joshua read aloud every commandment Moses had given 245 before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, children, and resident foreigners who lived among them. 246
9:1 When the news reached all the kings on the west side of the Jordan 247 – in the hill country, the lowlands, 248 and all along the Mediterranean coast 249 as far as 250 Lebanon (including the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites) – 9:2 they formed an alliance to fight against Joshua and Israel. 251
9:3 When the residents of Gibeon heard what Joshua did to Jericho 252 and Ai, 9:4 they did something clever. They collected some provisions 253 and put worn-out sacks on their donkeys, along with worn-out wineskins that were ripped and patched. 9:5 They had worn-out, patched sandals on their feet and dressed in worn-out clothes. All their bread 254 was dry and hard. 255 9:6 They came to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal and said to him and the men of Israel, “We have come from a distant land. Make a treaty with us.” 9:7 The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “Perhaps you live near us. 256 So how can we make a treaty with you?” 9:8 But they said to Joshua, “We are willing to be your subjects.” 257 So Joshua said to them, “Who are you and where do you come from?” 9:9 They told him, “Your subjects 258 have come from a very distant land because of the reputation 259 of the Lord your God, for we have heard the news about all he did in Egypt 260 9:10 and all he did to the two Amorite kings on the other side of the Jordan – King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan in Ashtaroth. 9:11 Our leaders and all who live in our land told us, ‘Take provisions for your journey and go meet them. Tell them, “We are willing to be your subjects. 261 Make a treaty with us.”’ 9:12 This bread of ours was warm when we packed it in our homes the day we started out to meet you, 262 but now it is dry and hard. 263 9:13 These wineskins we filled were brand new, but look how they have ripped. Our clothes and sandals have worn out because it has been a very long journey.” 9:14 The men examined 264 some of their provisions, but they failed to ask the Lord’s advice. 265 9:15 Joshua made a peace treaty with them and agreed to let them live. The leaders of the community 266 sealed it with an oath. 267
9:16 Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby. 268 9:17 So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities – Gibeon, Kephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath Jearim. 9:18 The Israelites did not attack them because the leaders of the community had sworn an oath to them in the name of the Lord God of Israel. 269 The whole community criticized 270 the leaders, 9:19 but all the leaders told the whole community, “We swore an oath to them in the name of 271 the Lord God of Israel. So now we can’t hurt 272 them! 9:20 We must let them live so we can escape the curse attached to the oath we swore to them.” 273 9:21 The leaders then added, 274 “Let them live.” So they became 275 woodcutters and water carriers for the whole community, as the leaders had decided. 276
9:22 277 Joshua summoned the Gibeonites 278 and said to them, “Why did you trick 279 us by saying, ‘We live far away from you,’ when you really live nearby? 280 9:23 Now you are condemned to perpetual servitude as woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.” 281 9:24 They said to Joshua, “It was carefully reported to your subjects 282 how the Lord your God commanded Moses his servant to assign you the whole land and to destroy all who live in the land from before you. Because of you we were terrified 283 we would lose our lives, so we did this thing. 9:25 So now we are in your power. 284 Do to us what you think is good and appropriate. 285 9:26 Joshua did as they said; he kept the Israelites from killing them 286 9:27 and that day made them woodcutters and water carriers for the community and for the altar of the Lord at the divinely chosen site. (They continue in that capacity to this very day.) 287
10:1 Adoni-Zedek, king of Jerusalem, 288 heard how Joshua captured Ai and annihilated it and its king as he did Jericho 289 and its king. 290 He also heard how 291 the people of Gibeon made peace with Israel and lived among them. 10:2 All Jerusalem was terrified 292 because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai and all its men were warriors. 10:3 So King Adoni-Zedek of Jerusalem sent this message to King Hoham of Hebron, King Piram of Jarmuth, King Japhia of Lachish, and King Debir of Eglon: 10:4 “Come to my aid 293 so we can attack Gibeon, for it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.” 10:5 So the five Amorite kings (the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon) and all their troops gathered together and advanced. They deployed their troops and fought against Gibeon. 294
10:6 The men of Gibeon sent this message to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal, “Do not abandon 295 your subjects! 296 Rescue us! Help us! For all the Amorite kings living in the hill country are attacking us.” 297 10:7 So Joshua and his whole army, including the bravest warriors, marched up from Gilgal. 298 10:8 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for I am handing them over to you. 299 Not one of them can resist you.” 300 10:9 Joshua attacked them by surprise after marching all night from Gilgal. 301 10:10 The Lord routed 302 them before Israel. Israel 303 thoroughly defeated them 304 at Gibeon. They chased them up the road to the pass 305 of Beth Horon and struck them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. 10:11 As they fled from Israel on the slope leading down from 306 Beth Horon, the Lord threw down on them large hailstones from the sky, 307 all the way to Azekah. They died – in fact, more died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.
10:12 The day the Lord delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the Lord before Israel: 308
“O sun, stand still over Gibeon!
O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon!”
10:13 The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One. 309 The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day. 310 10:14 There has not been a day like it before or since. The Lord obeyed 311 a man, for the Lord fought for Israel! 10:15 Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.
10:16 The five Amorite kings 312 ran away and hid in the cave at Makkedah. 10:17 Joshua was told, “The five kings have been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah.” 10:18 Joshua said, “Roll large stones over the mouth of the cave and post guards in front of it. 313 10:19 But don’t you delay! Chase your enemies and catch them! 314 Don’t allow them to retreat to 315 their cities, for the Lord your God is handing them over to you.” 316 10:20 Joshua and the Israelites almost totally wiped them out, but some survivors did escape to the fortified cities. 317 10:21 Then the whole army safely returned to Joshua at the camp in Makkedah. 318 No one 319 dared threaten the Israelites. 320 10:22 Joshua said, “Open the cave’s mouth and bring the five kings 321 out of the cave to me.” 10:23 They did as ordered; 322 they brought the five kings 323 out of the cave to him – the kings of Jerusalem, 324 Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. 10:24 When they brought the kings out to Joshua, he 325 summoned all the men of Israel and said to the commanders of the troops who accompanied him, “Come here 326 and put your feet on the necks of these kings.” So they came up 327 and put their feet on their necks. 10:25 Then Joshua said to them, “Don’t be afraid and don’t panic! 328 Be strong and brave, for the Lord will do the same thing to all your enemies you fight. 10:26 Then Joshua executed them 329 and hung them on five trees. They were left hanging on the trees until evening. 10:27 At sunset Joshua ordered his men to take them down from the trees. 330 They threw them into the cave where they had hidden and piled large stones over the mouth of the cave. (They remain to this very day.) 331
10:28 That day Joshua captured Makkedah and put the sword to it and its king. He annihilated everyone who lived in it; he left no survivors. He did to its king what he had done to the king of Jericho. 332
10:29 Joshua and all Israel marched from Makkedah to Libnah and fought against it. 333 10:30 The Lord handed it and its king over to Israel, and Israel 334 put the sword to all who lived there; they 335 left no survivors. They 336 did to its king what they 337 had done to the king of Jericho. 338
10:31 Joshua and all Israel marched from Libnah to Lachish. He deployed his troops 339 and fought against it. 10:32 The Lord handed Lachish over to Israel and they 340 captured it on the second day. They put the sword to all who lived there, just as they had done to Libnah. 10:33 Then King Horam of Gezer came up to help Lachish, but Joshua struck down him and his army 341 until no survivors remained.
10:34 Joshua and all Israel marched from Lachish to Eglon. They deployed troops 342 and fought against it. 10:35 That day they captured it and put the sword to all who lived there. That day they 343 annihilated it just as they 344 had done to Lachish.
10:36 Joshua and all Israel marched up from Eglon to Hebron and fought against it. 10:37 They captured it and put the sword to its king, all its surrounding cities, and all who lived in it; they 345 left no survivors. As they 346 had done at Eglon, they 347 annihilated it and all who lived there.
10:38 Joshua and all Israel turned to Debir and fought against it. 10:39 They 348 captured it, its king, and all its surrounding cities and put the sword to them. They annihilated everyone who lived there; they 349 left no survivors. They 350 did to Debir and its king what they 351 had done to Libnah and its king and to Hebron. 352
10:40 Joshua defeated the whole land, including the hill country, the Negev, the lowlands, 353 the slopes, and all their kings. He left no survivors. He annihilated everything that breathed, just as the Lord God of Israel had commanded. 10:41 Joshua conquered the area between Kadesh Barnea and Gaza and the whole region of Goshen, all the way to Gibeon. 354 10:42 Joshua captured in one campaign 355 all these kings and their lands, for the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. 10:43 Then Joshua and all Israel returned to the camp at Gilgal.
11:1 When King Jabin of Hazor 356 heard the news, he organized a coalition, including 357 King Jobab of Madon, the king of Shimron, the king of Acshaph, 11:2 and the northern kings who ruled in 358 the hill country, the Arabah south of Kinnereth, 359 the lowlands, and the heights of Dor to the west. 11:3 Canaanites came 360 from the east and west; Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, and Jebusites from the hill country; and Hivites from below Hermon in the area 361 of Mizpah. 11:4 These kings came out with their armies; they were as numerous as the sand on the seashore and had a large number of horses and chariots. 362 11:5 All these kings gathered and joined forces 363 at the Waters of Merom to fight Israel.
11:6 The Lord told Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them, for about this time tomorrow I will cause all of them to lie dead before Israel. You must hamstring their horses and burn 364 their chariots.” 11:7 Joshua and his whole army caught them by surprise at the Waters of Merom and attacked them. 365 11:8 The Lord handed them over to Israel and they struck them down and chased them all the way to Greater Sidon, 366 Misrephoth Maim, 367 and the Mizpah Valley to the east. They struck them down until no survivors remained. 11:9 Joshua did to them as the Lord had commanded him; he hamstrung their horses and burned 368 their chariots.
11:10 At that time Joshua turned, captured Hazor, 369 and struck down its king with the sword, for Hazor was at that time 370 the leader of all these kingdoms. 11:11 They annihilated everyone who lived there with the sword 371 – no one who breathed remained – and burned 372 Hazor.
11:12 Joshua captured all these royal cities and all their kings and annihilated them with the sword, 373 as Moses the Lord’s servant had commanded. 11:13 But Israel did not burn any of the cities located on mounds, 374 except for Hazor; 375 it was the only one Joshua burned. 11:14 The Israelites plundered all the goods of these cities and the cattle, but they totally destroyed all the people 376 and allowed no one who breathed to live. 11:15 Moses the Lord’s servant passed on the Lord’s commands to Joshua, and Joshua did as he was told. He did not ignore any of the commands the Lord had given Moses. 377
11:16 Joshua conquered the whole land, 378 including the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the lowlands, 379 the Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its lowlands, 11:17 from Mount Halak on up to Seir, as far as Baal Gad in the Lebanon Valley below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and executed them. 380 11:18 Joshua campaigned against 381 these kings for quite some time. 382 11:19 No city made peace with the Israelites (except the Hivites living in Gibeon); 383 they had to conquer all of them, 384 11:20 for the Lord determined to make them obstinate so they would attack Israel. He wanted Israel to annihilate them without mercy, as he had instructed Moses. 385
11:21 At that time Joshua attacked and eliminated the Anakites from the hill country 386 – from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and all the hill country of Judah and Israel. 387 Joshua annihilated them and their cities. 11:22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory, though some remained in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. 11:23 Joshua conquered 388 the whole land, just as the Lord had promised Moses, 389 and he assigned Israel their tribal portions. 390 Then the land was free of war.
12:1 Now these are the kings of the land whom the Israelites defeated and drove from their land 391 on the east side of the Jordan, 392 from the Arnon Valley to Mount Hermon, including all the eastern Arabah:
12:2 King Sihon of the Amorites who lived 393 in Heshbon and ruled from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) – including the city in the middle of the valley 394 and half of Gilead – all the way to the Jabbok Valley bordering Ammonite territory. 12:3 His kingdom included 395 the eastern Arabah from the Sea of Kinnereth 396 to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), 397 including the route to Beth Jeshimoth and the area southward below the slopes of Pisgah.
12:4 The territory of King Og of Bashan, one of the few remaining Rephaites, 398 who lived 399 in Ashtaroth and Edrei 12:5 and ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all of Bashan to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and half of Gilead as far as the border of King Sihon of Heshbon.
12:6 Moses the Lord’s servant and the Israelites defeated them and Moses the Lord’s servant assigned their land 400 to Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.
12:7 These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal Gad in the Lebanon Valley to Mount Halak on up to Seir. Joshua assigned this territory to the Israelite tribes, 401 12:8 including the hill country, the lowlands, 402 the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negev – the land of 403 the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites:
12:9 the king of Jericho 404 (one),
the king of Ai – located near Bethel – (one),
12:10 the king of Jerusalem 405 (one),
the king of Hebron (one),
12:11 the king of Jarmuth (one),
the king of Lachish (one),
12:12 the king of Eglon (one),
the king of Gezer (one),
12:13 the king of Debir (one),
the king of Geder (one),
12:14 the king of Hormah (one),
the king of Arad (one),
12:15 the king of Libnah (one),
the king of Adullam (one),
12:16 the king of Makkedah (one),
the king of Bethel 406 (one),
12:17 the king of Tappuah (one),
the king of Hepher (one),
12:18 the king of Aphek (one),
the king of Lasharon (one),
12:19 the king of Madon (one),
the king of Hazor 407 (one),
12:20 the king of Shimron Meron (one),
the king of Acshaph (one),
12:21 the king of Taanach (one),
the king of Megiddo 408 (one),
12:22 the king of Kedesh (one),
the king of Jokneam near Carmel (one),
12:23 the king of Dor – near Naphath Dor – (one),
the king of Goyim – near Gilgal – (one),
12:24 the king of Tirzah (one),
a total of thirty-one kings.
13:1 When Joshua was very old, 409 the Lord told him, “You are very old, and a great deal of land remains to be conquered. 13:2 This is the land that remains: all the territory of the Philistines and all the Geshurites, 13:3 from the Shihor River 410 east of 411 Egypt northward to the territory of Ekron (it is regarded as Canaanite territory), 412 including the area belonging to the five Philistine lords who ruled in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as Avvite land 413 13:4 to the south; 414 all the Canaanite territory, 415 from Arah 416 in the region of Sidon 417 to Aphek, as far as Amorite territory; 13:5 the territory of Byblos 418 and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath. 419 13:6 I will drive out before the Israelites all who live in the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim, 420 all the Sidonians; you be sure to parcel it out to Israel as I instructed you.” 421 13:7 Now, divide up this land 422 among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
13:8 The other half of Manasseh, 423 Reuben, and Gad received their allotted tribal lands beyond the Jordan, 424 just as Moses, the Lord’s servant, had assigned them. 13:9 Their territory started 425 from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley), included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba as far as Dibon, 13:10 and all the cities of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon, and ended at the Ammonite border. 13:11 Their territory also included 426 Gilead, Geshurite and Maacathite territory, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah – 13:12 the whole kingdom of Og in Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. (He was one of the few remaining Rephaites.) 427 Moses defeated them and took their lands. 428 13:13 But the Israelites did not conquer 429 the Geshurites and Maacathites; Geshur and Maacah live among Israel to this very day. 13:14 However, Moses 430 did not assign land as an inheritance 431 to the Levites; their inheritance 432 is the sacrificial offerings 433 made to the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed 434 them.
13:15 Moses assigned land to the tribe of Reuben 435 by its clans. 13:16 Their territory started at Aroer 436 (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and included the city in the middle of the valley, the whole plain of Medeba, 13:17 Heshbon and all its surrounding cities on the plain, including Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, 13:18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 13:19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley, 13:20 Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth. 13:21 It encompassed 437 all the cities of the plain and the whole realm of King Sihon of the Amorites who ruled in Heshbon. Moses defeated him and the Midianite leaders Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba (they were subjects of Sihon and lived in his territory). 438 13:22 The Israelites killed Balaam son of Beor, the omen reader, 439 along with the others. 440 13:23 The border of the tribe of Reuben was the Jordan. The land allotted to the tribe of Reuben by its clans included these cities and their towns. 441
13:24 Moses assigned land to the tribe of Gad 442 by its clans. 13:25 Their territory included Jazer, all the cities of Gilead, and half of Ammonite territory 443 as far as Aroer near 444 Rabbah. 13:26 Their territory ran 445 from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir. 13:27 It included the valley of Beth Haram, 446 Beth Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, and the rest of the realm of King Sihon of Heshbon, the area east of the Jordan to the end of the Sea of Kinnereth. 447 13:28 The land allotted to the tribe of Gad by its clans included these cities and their towns. 448
13:29 Moses assigned land to the half-tribe of Manasseh 449 by its clans. 13:30 Their territory started at 450 Mahanaim and encompassed all Bashan, the whole realm of King Og of Bashan, including all sixty cities in Havvoth Jair 451 in Bashan. 13:31 Half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities in the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were assigned to the descendants of Makir son of Manasseh, to half the descendants of Makir by their clans.
13:32 These are the land assignments made by Moses 452 on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River opposite Jericho. 453 13:33 However, Moses did not assign land as an inheritance 454 to the Levites; their inheritance 455 is the Lord God of Israel, as he instructed 456 them.
14:1 The following is a record of the territory assigned to the Israelites in the land of Canaan by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite tribal leaders. 457 14:2 The land assignments to the nine-and-a-half tribes were made by drawing lots, as the Lord had instructed Moses. 458 14:3 Now Moses had assigned land 459 to the two-and-a-half tribes east of the Jordan, but he assigned no land 460 to the Levites. 461 14:4 The descendants of Joseph were considered as two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites were allotted no territory, though they were assigned cities in which to live, along with the grazing areas for their cattle and possessions. 462 14:5 The Israelites followed the Lord’s instructions to Moses and divided up the land. 463
14:6 The men of Judah approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said about you and me to Moses, the man of God, at Kadesh Barnea. 464 14:7 I was forty years old when Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy on the land and I brought back to him an honest report. 465 14:8 My countrymen 466 who accompanied 467 me frightened the people, 468 but I remained loyal to the Lord my God. 469 14:9 That day Moses made this solemn promise: 470 ‘Surely the land on which you walked 471 will belong to you and your descendants permanently, 472 for you remained loyal to the Lord your God.’ 14:10 So now, look, the Lord has preserved my life, just as he promised, these past forty-five years since the Lord spoke these words to Moses, during which Israel traveled through the wilderness. Now look, I am today eighty-five years old. 14:11 Today I am still as strong as when Moses sent me out. I can fight and go about my daily activities with the same energy I had then. 473 14:12 Now, assign me this hill country which the Lord promised me at that time! No doubt you heard at that time that the Anakites live there in large, fortified cities. 474 But, assuming the Lord is with me, I will conquer 475 them, as the Lord promised.” 14:13 Joshua asked God to empower Caleb son of Jephunneh and assigned him Hebron. 476 14:14 So Hebron remains the assigned land of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this very day 477 because he remained loyal to the Lord God of Israel. 14:15 (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba. Arba was a famous Anakite. 478 ) Then the land was free of war.
15:1 The land allotted to the tribe of Judah by its clans reached to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin in the Negev far to the south. 479 15:2 Their southern border started at the southern tip of the Salt Sea, 480 15:3 extended 481 south of the Scorpion Ascent, 482 crossed to Zin, went up from the south to Kadesh Barnea, crossed to Hezron, went up to Addar, and turned toward Karka. 15:4 It then crossed to Azmon, extended to the Stream of Egypt, 483 and ended at the sea. This was their 484 southern border.
15:5 The eastern border was the Salt Sea to the mouth 485 of the Jordan River. 486
The northern border started north of the Salt Sea at the mouth of the Jordan, 487 15:6 went up to Beth Hoglah, crossed north of Beth Arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. 15:7 It then went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, turning northward to Gilgal (which is opposite the Pass 488 of Adummim south of the valley), crossed to the waters of En Shemesh and extended to En Rogel. 15:8 It then went up the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites on the south (that is, Jerusalem), 489 going up to the top of the hill opposite the Valley of Ben Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the Valley of the Rephaites to the north. 15:9 It then went from the top of the hill to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, extended to the cities of Mount Ephron, and went to Baalah (that is, Kiriath Jearim). 15:10 It then turned from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, crossed to the slope of Mount Jearim on the north (that is Kesalon), descended to Beth Shemesh, and crossed to Timnah. 15:11 It then extended to the slope of Ekron to the north, went toward Shikkeron, crossed to Mount Baalah, extended to Jabneel, and ended at the sea.
15:12 The western border was the Mediterranean Sea. 490 These were the borders of the tribe of Judah and its clans. 491
15:13 Caleb son of Jephunneh was assigned Kiriath Arba (that is Hebron) within the tribe of Judah, according to the Lord’s instructions to Joshua. (Arba was the father of Anak.) 492 15:14 Caleb drove out 493 from there three Anakites – Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, descendants of Anak. 15:15 From there he attacked the people of Debir. 494 (Debir used to be called Kiriath Sepher.) 15:16 Caleb said, “To the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher I will give my daughter Acsah as a wife.” 15:17 When Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s brother, 495 captured it, Caleb 496 gave Acsah his daughter to him as a wife.
15:18 One time Acsah 497 came and charmed her father 498 so that she could ask him for some land. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb said to her, “What would you like?” 15:19 She answered, “Please give me a special present. 499 Since you have given me land in the Negev, now give me springs of water. So he gave her both upper and lower springs.
15:20 This is the land assigned to the tribe of Judah by its clans: 500 15:21 These cities were located at the southern extremity of Judah’s tribal land near the border of Edom: 501 Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 15:22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 15:23 Kedesh, Hazor, 502 Ithnan, 15:24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 15:25 Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), 15:26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 15:27 Hazar Gaddah, Heshbon, Beth Pelet, 15:28 Hazar Shual, Beer Sheba, Biziothiah, 15:29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 15:30 Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, 15:31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 15:32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon – a total of twenty-nine cities and their towns. 503
15:33 These cities were 504 in the lowlands: 505 Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 15:34 Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 15:35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 15:36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim) – a total of fourteen cities and their towns.
15:37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, 15:38 Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, 15:39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 15:40 Cabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish, 15:41 Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah – a total of sixteen cities and their towns.
15:42 Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 15:43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 15:44 Keilah, Aczib, and Mareshah – a total of nine cities and their towns.
15:45 Ekron and its surrounding towns 506 and settlements; 15:46 from Ekron westward, all those in the vicinity of Ashdod and their towns; 15:47 Ashdod with its surrounding towns and settlements, and Gaza with its surrounding towns and settlements, as far as the Stream of Egypt 507 and the border at the Mediterranean Sea. 508
15:48 These cities were 509 in the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 15:49 Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir), 15:50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 15:51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh – a total of eleven cities and their towns.
15:52 Arab, Dumah, 510 Eshan, 15:53 Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, 15:54 Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior – a total of nine cities and their towns.
15:55 Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 15:56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 15:57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah – a total of ten cities and their towns.
15:58 Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, 15:59 Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon – a total of six cities and their towns.
15:60 Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah – a total of two cities and their towns.
15:61 These cities were 511 in the desert: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, 15:62 Nibshan, the city of Salt, and En Gedi – a total of six cities and their towns.
15:63 The men of Judah were unable to conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. 512 The Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this very day. 513
16:1 The land allotted to Joseph’s descendants extended from the Jordan at Jericho 514 to the waters of Jericho to the east, through the desert and on up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel. 515 16:2 The southern border 516 extended from Bethel to Luz, 517 and crossed to Arkite territory at Ataroth. 16:3 It then descended westward to Japhletite territory, as far as the territory of lower Beth Horon and Gezer, and ended at the sea.
16:4 Joseph’s descendants, Manasseh and Ephraim, were assigned their land. 518 16:5 The territory of the tribe of Ephraim by its clans included the following: 519 The border of their assigned land to the east was Ataroth Addar as far as upper Beth Horon. 16:6 It then extended on to the sea, with Micmethath on the north. It turned eastward to Taanath Shiloh and crossed it on the east to Janoah. 16:7 It then descended from Janoah to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho, 520 and extended to the Jordan River. 521 16:8 From Tappuah it went westward to the Valley of Kanah and ended at the sea. This is the land assigned to the tribe of Ephraim 522 by its clans. 16:9 Also included were the cities set apart for the tribe of Ephraim within Manasseh’s territory, along with their towns. 523
16:10 The Ephraimites 524 did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites live among the Ephraimites to this very day and do hard labor as their servants.
17:1 The tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn son, was also allotted land. 525 The descendants of Makir, Manasseh’s firstborn and the father of Gilead, received land, for they were warriors. 526 They were assigned Gilead and Bashan. 527 17:2 The rest of Manasseh’s descendants were also assigned land 528 by their clans, including the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.
17:3 Now Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 17:4 They went before Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, “The Lord told Moses to assign us land among our relatives.” 529 So Joshua 530 assigned them land among their uncles, as the Lord had commanded. 531 17:5 Manasseh was allotted ten shares of land, 532 in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan, 17:6 for the daughters of Manasseh were assigned land among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.
17:7 The border of Manasseh went 533 from Asher to Micmethath which is near 534 Shechem. It then went south toward those who live in Tappuah. 17:8 (The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah, located on the border of Manasseh, belonged to the tribe of Ephraim.) 17:9 The border then descended southward to the Valley of Kanah. Ephraim was assigned cities there among the cities of Manasseh, 535 but the border of Manasseh was north of the valley and ended at the sea. 17:10 Ephraim’s territory was to the south, and Manasseh’s to the north. The sea was Manasseh’s 536 western border and their territory 537 touched Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. 17:11 Within Issachar’s and Asher’s territory Manasseh was assigned Beth Shean, Ibleam, the residents of Dor, En Dor, the residents of Taanach, the residents of Megiddo, 538 the three of Napheth, 539 and the towns surrounding all these cities. 540 17:12 But the men 541 of Manasseh were unable to conquer these cities; the Canaanites managed 542 to remain in those areas. 17:13 Whenever the Israelites were strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor, but they never totally conquered them. 543
17:14 The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you assigned us only one tribal allotment? After all, we have many people, for until now the Lord has enabled us to increase in number.” 544 17:15 Joshua replied to them, “Since you have so many people, 545 go up into the forest and clear out a place to live in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites, for the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you.” 17:16 The descendants of Joseph said, “The whole hill country 546 is inadequate for us, and the Canaanites living down in the valley in Beth Shean and its surrounding towns and in the Valley of Jezreel have chariots with iron-rimmed wheels.” 547 17:17 Joshua said to the family 548 of Joseph – to both Ephraim and Manasseh: “You have many people and great military strength. You will not have just one tribal allotment. 17:18 The whole hill country 549 will be yours; though it is a forest, you can clear it and it will be entirely yours. 550 You can conquer the Canaanites, though they have chariots with iron-rimmed wheels and are strong.”
18:1 The entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh and there they set up the tent of meeting. 551 Though they had subdued the land, 552 18:2 seven Israelite tribes had not been assigned their allotted land. 553 18:3 So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long do you intend to put off occupying 554 the land the Lord God of your ancestors 555 has given you? 18:4 Pick three men from each tribe. I will send them out to walk through the land and make a map of it for me. 556 18:5 Divide it into seven regions. 557 Judah will stay 558 in its territory in the south, and the family 559 of Joseph in its territory in the north. 18:6 But as for you, map out the land into seven regions and bring it to me. I will draw lots for you here before the Lord our God. 18:7 But the Levites will not have an allotted portion among you, for their inheritance is to serve the Lord. 560 Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their allotted land 561 east of the Jordan which Moses the Lord’s servant assigned them.”
18:8 When the men started out, Joshua told those going to map out the land, “Go, walk through the land, map it out, and return to me. Then I will draw lots for you before the Lord here in Shiloh.” 18:9 The men journeyed 562 through the land and mapped it and its cities out into seven regions on a scroll. Then they came to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. 18:10 Joshua drew lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord and divided the land among the Israelites according to their allotted portions.
18:11 The first lot belonged to the tribe of Benjamin 563 by its clans. Their allotted territory was between Judah and Joseph. 564 18:12 Their northern border started at the Jordan, went up to the slope of Jericho 565 on the north, ascended westward to the hill country, and extended to the desert of Beth Aven. 18:13 It then crossed from there to Luz, to the slope of Luz to the south (that is, Bethel), 566 and descended to Ataroth Addar located on the hill that is south of lower Beth Horon. 18:14 It then turned on the west side southward from the hill near Beth Horon on the south and extended to Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a city belonging to the tribe 567 of Judah. This is the western border. 568 18:15 The southern side started on the edge of Kiriath Jearim and extended westward to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. 18:16 The border then descended to the edge of the hill country near the Valley of Ben Hinnom located in the Valley of the Rephaites to the north. It descended through the Valley of Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites to the south and then down to En Rogel. 18:17 It went northward, extending to En Shemesh and Geliloth opposite the Pass 569 of Adummim, and descended to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. 18:18 It crossed to the slope in front of the Arabah to the north and descended into the Arabah. 18:19 It then crossed to the slope of Beth Hoglah to the north and ended at the northern tip of the Salt Sea 570 at the mouth of the Jordan River. 571 This was the southern border. 18:20 The Jordan River borders it on the east. These were the borders of the land assigned to the tribe of Benjamin by its clans. 572
18:21 These cities belonged to the tribe 573 of Benjamin by its clans: Jericho, 574 Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, 18:22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 575 18:23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 18:24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba – a total of twelve cities and their towns.
18:25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 18:26 Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, 18:27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 18:28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city 576 (that is, Jerusalem), 577 Gibeah, and Kiriath – a total of fourteen cities and their towns. 578 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Benjamin 579 by its clans.
19:1 The second lot belonged to the tribe of Simeon by its clans. 580 19:2 Their assigned land included 581 Beer Sheba, 582 Moladah, 19:3 Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, 19:4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 19:5 Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, 19:6 Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen – a total of thirteen cities and their towns, 19:7 Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan – a total of four cities and their towns, 19:8 as well as all the towns around these cities as far as Baalath Beer (Ramah of the Negev). This was the land assigned to the tribe of Simeon by its clans. 583 19:9 Simeon’s assigned land was taken from Judah’s allotted portion, for Judah’s territory was too large for them; so Simeon was assigned land within Judah. 584
19:10 The third lot belonged to the tribe of Zebulun 585 by its clans. The border of their territory 586 extended to Sarid. 19:11 Their border went up westward to Maralah and touched Dabbesheth and the valley near 587 Jokneam. 19:12 From Sarid it turned eastward 588 to the territory of Kisloth Tabor, extended to Daberath, and went up to Japhia. 19:13 From there it crossed eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin and extended to Rimmon, turning toward Neah. 19:14 It then turned on the north to Hannathon and ended at the Valley of Iphtah El. 19:15 Their territory included Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem; 589 in all they had twelve cities and their towns. 590 19:16 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Zebulun 591 by its clans, including these cities and their towns.
19:17 The fourth lot belonged to the tribe of Issachar 592 by its clans. 19:18 Their assigned land 593 included Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, 19:19 Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 19:20 Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 19:21 Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez. 19:22 Their border touched Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh, and ended at the Jordan. They had sixteen cities and their towns. 19:23 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Issachar 594 by its clans, including the cities and their towns.
19:24 The fifth lot belonged to the tribe of Asher 595 by its clans. 19:25 Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, 19:26 Alammelech, Amad, and Mishal. Their border touched Carmel to the west and Shihor Libnath. 19:27 It turned eastward toward Beth Dagon, touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El to the north, as well as the Valley of Emek and Neiel, and extended to Cabul on the north 596 19:28 and on to Ebron, 597 Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. 598 19:29 It then turned toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, 599 turned to Hosah, and ended at the sea near Hebel, Aczib, 19:30 Umah, Aphek, and Rehob. In all they had 600 twenty-two cities and their towns. 19:31 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Asher 601 by its clans, including these cities and their towns.
19:32 The sixth lot belonged to the tribe of Naphtali 602 by its clans. 19:33 Their border started at Heleph and the oak of Zaanannim, went to Adami Nekeb, Jabneel and on to Lakkum, 603 and ended at the Jordan River. 604 19:34 It turned westward to Aznoth Tabor, extended from there to Hukok, touched Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and the Jordan 605 on the east. 19:35 The fortified cities included Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, 19:36 Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 606 19:37 Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, 19:38 Yiron, 607 Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh. In all they had 608 nineteen cities and their towns. 19:39 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Naphtali 609 by its clans, including the cities and their towns.
19:40 The seventh lot belonged to the tribe of Dan 610 by its clans. 19:41 Their assigned land included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, 19:42 Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 19:43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 19:44 Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 19:45 Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, 19:46 the waters of Jarkon, and Rakkon, including the territory in front of Joppa. 19:47 (The Danites failed to conquer their territory, 611 so they went up and fought with Leshem and captured it. They put the sword to it, took possession of it, and lived in it. They renamed it 612 Dan after their ancestor. 613 ) 19:48 This was the land assigned to the tribe of Dan 614 by its clans, including these cities and their towns.
19:49 When they finished dividing the land into its regions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun some land. 615 19:50 As the Lord had instructed, they gave him the city he requested – Timnath Serah in the Ephraimite hill country. He built up the city and lived in it.
19:51 These are the land assignments which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite tribal leaders 616 made by drawing lots in Shiloh before the Lord at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 617 So they finished dividing up the land.
20:1 The Lord instructed Joshua: 20:2 “Have the Israelites select 618 the cities of refuge 619 that I told you about through Moses. 20:3 Anyone who accidentally kills someone can escape there; 620 these cities will be a place of asylum from the avenger of blood. 20:4 The one who committed manslaughter 621 should escape to one of these cities, stand at the entrance of the city gate, and present his case to the leaders of that city. 622 They should then bring him into the city, give him a place to stay, and let him live there. 623 20:5 When the avenger of blood comes after him, they must not hand over to him the one who committed manslaughter, for he accidentally killed his fellow man without premeditation. 624 20:6 He must remain 625 in that city until his case is decided by the assembly 626 and the high priest dies. 627 Then the one who committed manslaughter may return home to the city from which he escaped.” 628
20:7 So they selected 629 Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. 20:8 Beyond the Jordan east of Jericho 630 they selected 631 Bezer in the desert on the plain belonging to the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead belonging to the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan belonging to the tribe of Manasseh. 20:9 These were the cities of refuge 632 appointed for all the Israelites and for resident foreigners living among them. Anyone who accidentally killed someone could escape there and not be executed by 633 the avenger of blood, at least until his case was reviewed by the assembly. 634
21:1 The tribal leaders of the Levites went before Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the Israelite tribal leaders 21:2 in Shiloh in the land of Canaan and said, “The Lord told Moses to assign us cities in which to live along with the grazing areas for our cattle.” 21:3 So the Israelites assigned these cities and their grazing areas to the Levites from their own holdings, as the Lord had instructed.
21:4 The first lot belonged to 635 the Kohathite clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted thirteen cities from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 21:5 The rest of Kohath’s descendants were allotted ten cities from the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, and from the tribe of Dan and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 21:6 Gershon’s descendants were allotted thirteen cities from the clans of the tribe of Issachar, and from the tribes of Asher and Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. 21:7 Merari’s descendants by their clans were allotted twelve cities from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun. 21:8 So the Israelites assigned to the Levites by lot these cities and their grazing areas, as the Lord had instructed Moses.
21:9 They assigned from the tribes of Judah and Simeon the cities listed below. 21:10 They were assigned to the Kohathite clans of the Levites who were descendants of Aaron, 636 for the first lot belonged to them. 21:11 They assigned them Kiriath Arba (Arba was the father of Anak), that is, Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, along with its surrounding grazing areas. 21:12 (Now the city’s fields and surrounding towns they had assigned to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his property.) 21:13 So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they assigned Hebron (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Libnah, 21:14 Jattir, Eshtemoa, 21:15 Holon, Debir, 21:16 Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of nine cities taken from these two tribes. 21:17 From the tribe of Benjamin they assigned 637 Gibeon, Geba, 21:18 Anathoth, and Almon, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities. 21:19 The priests descended from Aaron received thirteen cities and their grazing areas.
21:20 The rest of the Kohathite clans of the Levites were allotted cities from the tribe of Ephraim. 21:21 They assigned them Shechem (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer, 21:22 Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities. 21:23 From the tribe of Dan they assigned Eltekeh, Gibbethon, 21:24 Aijalon, and Gath Rimmon, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities. 21:25 From the half-tribe of Manasseh they assigned Taanach and Gath Rimmon, 638 along with the grazing areas of each – a total of two cities. 21:26 The rest of the Kohathite clans received ten cities and their grazing areas.
21:27 They assigned to the Gershonite clans of the Levites the following cities: 639 from the half-tribe of Manasseh: Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter) and Beeshtarah, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of two cities; 21:28 from the tribe of Issachar: Kishon, Daberath, 21:29 Jarmuth, and En Gannim, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities; 21:30 from the tribe of Asher: Mishal, Abdon, 21:31 Helkath, and Rehob, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities; 21:32 from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of three cities. 21:33 The Gershonite clans received thirteen cities and their grazing areas.
21:34 They assigned to the Merarite clans (the remaining Levites) the following cities: from the tribe of Zebulun: Jokneam, Kartah, 21:35 Dimnah, and Nahalal, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities; 21:36 640 from the tribe of Reuben: Bezer, Jahaz, 21:37 Kedemoth, and Mephaath, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities; 21:38 from the tribe of Gad: Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Mahanaim, 21:39 Heshbon, and Jazer, along with the grazing areas of each – a total of four cities. 21:40 The Merarite clans (the remaining Levites) were allotted twelve cities.
21:41 The Levites received within the land owned by the Israelites 641 forty-eight cities in all and their grazing areas. 21:42 Each of these cities had grazing areas around it; they were alike in this regard. 642
21:43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had solemnly promised to their ancestors, 643 and they conquered 644 it and lived in it. 21:44 The Lord made them secure, 645 in fulfillment of all he had solemnly promised their ancestors. 646 None of their enemies could resist them. 647 21:45 Not one of the Lord’s faithful promises to the family of Israel 648 was left unfulfilled; every one was realized. 649
22:1 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh 22:2 and told them: “You have carried out all the instructions of Moses the Lord’s servant, and you have obeyed all I have told you. 650 22:3 You have not abandoned your fellow Israelites 651 this entire time, 652 right up to this very day. You have completed the task given you by the Lord your God. 653 22:4 Now the Lord your God has made your fellow Israelites secure, 654 just as he promised them. So now you may turn around and go to your homes 655 in your own land 656 which Moses the Lord’s servant assigned to you east of the Jordan. 22:5 But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord’s servant gave you. Love 657 the Lord your God, follow all his instructions, 658 obey 659 his commands, be loyal to him, 660 and serve him with all your heart and being!” 661
22:6 Joshua rewarded 662 them and sent them on their way; they returned to their homes. 663 22:7 (Now to one half-tribe of Manasseh, Moses had assigned land in Bashan; and to the other half Joshua had assigned land on the west side of the Jordan with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home, 664 he rewarded 665 them, 22:8 saying, “Take home 666 great wealth, a lot of cattle, 667 silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a lot of 668 clothing. Divide up the goods captured from your enemies with your brothers.” 22:9 So the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites in Shiloh in the land of Canaan and headed home to their own land in Gilead, 669 which they acquired by the Lord’s command through Moses.
22:10 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan and built there, near the Jordan, an impressive altar. 670 22:11 The Israelites received this report: 671 “Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance to 672 the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side.” 22:12 When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to launch an attack against them. 673
22:13 The Israelites sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 22:14 He was accompanied by ten leaders, one from each of the Israelite tribes, each one a family leader among the Israelite clans. 674 22:15 They went to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said to them: 22:16 “The entire community of the Lord says, ‘Why have you disobeyed the God of Israel by turning back today from following the Lord? You built an altar for yourselves and have rebelled today against the Lord. 675 22:17 The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the Lord. 676 22:18 Now today you dare to turn back 677 from following the Lord! You are rebelling today against the Lord; tomorrow he may break out in anger against 678 the entire community of Israel. 22:19 But if your own land 679 is impure, 680 cross over to the Lord’s own land, 681 where the Lord himself lives, 682 and settle down among us. 683 But don’t rebel against the Lord or us 684 by building for yourselves an altar aside from the altar of the Lord our God. 22:20 When Achan son of Zerah disobeyed the command about the city’s riches, the entire Israelite community was judged, 685 though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!’” 686
22:21 The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders 687 of the Israelite clans: 22:22 “El, God, the Lord! 688 El, God, the Lord! He knows the truth! 689 Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the Lord, 690 don’t spare us 691 today! 22:23 If we have built 692 an altar for ourselves to turn back from following the Lord by making 693 burnt sacrifices and grain offerings on it, or by offering 694 tokens of peace 695 on it, the Lord himself will punish us. 696 22:24 We swear we have done this because we were worried that 697 in the future your descendants would say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord God of Israel? 698 22:25 The Lord made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the Lord.’ 699 In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying 700 the Lord. 22:26 So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, 22:27 but as a reminder to us and you, 701 and to our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the Lord in his very presence 702 with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace. 703 Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no right to worship the Lord.’ 704 22:28 We said, ‘If in the future they say such a thing 705 to us or to our descendants, we will reply, “See the model of the Lord’s altar that our ancestors 706 made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.”’ 707 22:29 Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord by turning back today from following after the Lord by building an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace 708 aside from the altar of the Lord our God located in front of his dwelling place!” 709
22:30 When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, 710 they were satisfied. 711 22:31 Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, 712 “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not disobeyed the Lord in this. 713 Now 714 you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord’s judgment.” 715
22:32 Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders left the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead and reported back to the Israelites in the land of Canaan. 716 22:33 The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God. 717 They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived. 718 22:34 The Reubenites and Gadites named the altar, “Surely it is a Reminder to us 719 that the Lord is God.”
23:1 A long time 720 passed after the Lord made Israel secure from all their enemies, 721 and Joshua was very old. 722 23:2 So Joshua summoned all Israel, including the elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and told them: “I am very old. 23:3 You saw everything the Lord your God did to all these nations on your behalf, for the Lord your God fights for you. 723 23:4 See, I have parceled out to your tribes these remaining nations, 724 from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea 725 in the west, including all the nations I defeated. 726 23:5 The Lord your God will drive them out from before you and remove them, 727 so you can occupy 728 their land as the Lord your God promised 729 you. 23:6 Be very strong! Carefully obey 730 all that is written in the law scroll of Moses so you won’t swerve from it to the right or the left, 23:7 or associate with these nations that remain near 731 you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! 732 You must not worship 733 or bow down to them! 23:8 But you must be loyal to 734 the Lord your God, as you have been 735 to this very day.
23:9 “The Lord drove out from before you great and mighty nations; no one has been able to resist you 736 to this very day. 23:10 One of you makes a thousand run away, 737 for the Lord your God fights for you 738 as he promised you he would. 739 23:11 Watch yourselves carefully! Love the Lord your God! 740 23:12 But if you ever turn away and make alliances with 741 these nations that remain near you, 742 and intermarry with them and establish friendly relations with them, 743 23:13 know for certain that the Lord our God will no longer drive out these nations from before you. They will trap and ensnare you; 744 they will be a whip that tears 745 your sides and thorns that blind 746 your eyes until you disappear 747 from this good land the Lord your God gave you.
23:14 “Look, today I am about to die. 748 You know with all your heart and being 749 that not even one of all the faithful promises the Lord your God made to you is left unfulfilled; every one was realized – not one promise is unfulfilled! 750 23:15 But in the same way every faithful promise the Lord your God made to you has been realized, 751 it is just as certain, if you disobey, that the Lord will bring on you every judgment 752 until he destroys you from this good land which the Lord your God gave you. 23:16 If you violate the covenantal laws of the Lord your God which he commanded you to keep, 753 and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods, 754 the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear 755 quickly from the good land which he gave to you.”
24:1 Joshua assembled all the Israelite tribes at Shechem. He summoned Israel’s elders, rulers, judges, and leaders, and they appeared before God. 24:2 Joshua told all the people, “Here is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘In the distant past your ancestors 756 lived beyond the Euphrates River, 757 including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor. They worshiped 758 other gods, 24:3 but I took your father Abraham from beyond the Euphrates 759 and brought him into 760 the entire land of Canaan. I made his descendants numerous; I gave him Isaac, 24:4 and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I assigned Mount Seir, 761 while Jacob and his sons went down to Egypt. 24:5 I sent Moses and Aaron, and I struck Egypt down when I intervened in their land. 762 Then I brought you out. 24:6 When I brought your fathers out of Egypt, you arrived at the sea. The Egyptians chased your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea. 24:7 Your fathers 763 cried out for help to the Lord; he made the area between you and the Egyptians dark, 764 and then drowned them in the sea. 765 You witnessed with your very own eyes 766 what I did in Egypt. You lived in the wilderness for a long time. 767 24:8 Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought with you, but I handed them over to you; you conquered 768 their land and I destroyed them from before you. 24:9 Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, launched an attack 769 against Israel. He summoned 770 Balaam son of Beor to call down judgment 771 on you. 24:10 I refused to respond to Balaam; he kept 772 prophesying good things about 773 you, and I rescued you from his power. 774 24:11 You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. 775 The leaders 776 of Jericho, as well as the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites, and Jebusites, fought with you, but I handed them over to you. 24:12 I sent terror 777 ahead of you to drive out before you the two 778 Amorite kings. I gave you the victory; it was not by your swords or bows. 779 24:13 I gave you a land in 780 which you had not worked hard; you took up residence in cities you did not build and you are eating the produce of 781 vineyards and olive groves you did not plant.’
24:14 Now 782 obey 783 the Lord and worship 784 him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors 785 worshiped 786 beyond the Euphrates 787 and in Egypt and worship 788 the Lord. 24:15 If you have no desire 789 to worship 790 the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, 791 whether it be the gods whom your ancestors 792 worshiped 793 beyond the Euphrates, 794 or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family 795 will worship 796 the Lord!”
24:16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can 797 worship 798 other gods! 24:17 For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery 799 in the land of Egypt 800 and performed these awesome miracles 801 before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations. 802 24:18 The Lord drove out from before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we too will worship 803 the Lord, for he is our God!”
24:19 Joshua warned 804 the people, “You will not keep worshiping 805 the Lord, for 806 he is a holy God. 807 He is a jealous God who will not forgive 808 your rebellion or your sins. 24:20 If 809 you abandon the Lord and worship 810 foreign gods, he will turn against you; 811 he will bring disaster on you and destroy you, 812 though he once treated you well.” 813
24:21 The people said to Joshua, “No! We really will 814 worship 815 the Lord!” 24:22 Joshua said to the people, “Do you agree to be witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to worship the Lord?” 816 They replied, “We are witnesses!” 817 24:23 Joshua said, 818 “Now put aside the foreign gods that are among you and submit to 819 the Lord God of Israel.”
24:24 The people said to Joshua, “We will worship 820 the Lord our God and obey him.” 821
24:25 That day Joshua drew up an agreement 822 for the people, and he established rules and regulations 823 for them in Shechem. 24:26 Joshua wrote these words in the Law Scroll of God. He then took a large stone and set it up there under the oak tree near the Lord’s shrine. 24:27 Joshua said to all the people, “Look, this stone will be a witness against you, for it has heard everything the Lord said to us. 824 It will be a witness against you if 825 you deny your God.” 24:28 When Joshua dismissed the people, they went to their allotted portions of land. 826
24:29 After all this 827 Joshua son of Nun, the Lord’s servant, died at the age of one hundred ten. 24:30 They buried him in his allotted territory 828 in Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 24:31 Israel worshiped 829 the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and as long as the elderly men who outlived him remained alive. 830 These men had experienced firsthand everything the Lord had done for Israel. 831
24:32 The bones of Joseph, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the part of the field that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for one hundred pieces of money. 832 So it became the inheritance of the tribe of Joseph. 833
24:33 Eleazar son of Aaron died, and they buried him in Gibeah in the hill country of Ephraim, where his son Phinehas had been assigned land. 834
1 tn Heb “And Joshua arose early in the morning and he and the Israelites left Shittim and came to the Jordan.”
2 tn The words “the river,” though not in the Hebrew text, have been supplied in the translation for clarity.
3 sn The ark of the covenant refers to the wooden chest that symbolized God’s presence among his covenant people.
4 tn Heb “set out from your place.”
5 tn Or “march.”
6 tn Heb “But there should be a distance between you and it, about two thousand cubits in measurement.”
7 tn Heb “do not approach it.”
8 tn Heb “know.”
9 tn Or more literally, “to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel.”
10 tn Heb “the edge of the waters of the Jordan.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.
11 tn Heb “stand in the Jordan.” Here the repetition of the word “Jordan” would be redundant according to contemporary English style, so it was not included in the translation.
12 tn Heb “said.”
13 tn Or “Lord”; or “Master.”
14 tn Heb “the soles of the feet.”
15 tn Or “Lord”; or “Master.”
16 tn Or “rest in.”
17 tn Heb “the waters of the Jordan, the waters descending from above, will be cut off so that they will stand in one pile.”
18 tn The verb, though not in the Hebrew, is added for clarification.
19 tn Heb “dipped into the edge.”
20 tn Heb “and the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest.”
21 tn Heb “the waters descending from above stood still.”
22 tn Heb “they stood in one pile very far away.”
23 tn Heb “the [waters] descending toward the sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) were completely cut off.”
24 map For the location of Jericho see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
25 tn Heb “and all Israel was crossing over on dry ground until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
26 tn Heb “And when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
27 tn Heb “the feet of the priests.”
28 tn Heb “that this may be”; the referent of “this” (the twelve stones) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn Heb “in order that this might be a sign among you.”
30 tn Heb “were cut off from before.”
31 tn Heb “how the waters descending from above stood still.”
32 tn Here “also” has been supplied in the translation to make it clear (as indicated by v. 20) that these are not the same stones the men took from the river bed.
33 tn Heb “in the presence of the people.”
34 tn Heb “men equipped for battle.”
35 tn Heb “for war.”
36 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
37 tn Heb “feared.”
38 tn Heb “all the days of his life.”
39 tn Heb “had feared.”
40 tn Traditionally, “the ark of the testimony,” another name for the ark of the covenant. The Hebrew term עֵדוּת (’edut, “testimony” or “witness”) here refers to the Mosaic covenant and the body of stipulations contained within it (see HALOT 2:791).
41 tn Heb “and the soles of the feet of the priests were brought up to the dry land.”
42 tn Heb “and the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and went as formerly over their banks.”
43 sn The first month was the month Abib (= late March-early April in the modern calendar). The Passover in Egypt also occurred on the tenth day of the first month (Exod 12:2; 13:4).
44 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
45 tn Heb “these,” referring specifically to the twelve stones mentioned in vv. 3-7.
46 tn Heb “What are these stones?”
47 tn Heb “make known.”
48 tn Heb “crossed this Jordan”; the word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning.
49 tn Heb “just as the
50 tn Heb “in order that.”
51 tn Or “peoples.”
52 tn Heb “know the hand of the
53 tn Heb “fear.”
54 tc Another textual tradition has, “while we crossed.”
55 tn Heb “their heart[s] melted and there was no longer in them breathe because of the sons of Israel.”
56 tn Heb “return, circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” The Hebrew term שׁוּב (shuv, “return”) is used here in an adverbial sense to indicate the repetition of an action.
57 tn Or “Gibeath Haaraloth.” This name means “Hill of the Foreskins.” Many modern translations simply give the Hebrew name, although an explanatory note giving the meaning of the name is often included.
58 tn Heb “All the people who went out from Egypt, the males, all the men of war, died in the desert in the way when they went out from Egypt.”
59 tn Or “indeed.”
60 tn Heb “people.”
61 tn Heb “all the people.”
62 tn Heb “all the nation, the men of war who went out from Egypt, who did not listen to the voice of the
63 tn Some Hebrew
64 tn Heb “flowing with.”
65 tn Heb “their sons he raised up in their place.”
66 tn Heb “nation.”
67 tn Heb “rolled away.”
68 sn One might take the disgrace of Egypt as a reference to their uncircumcised condition (see Gen 34:14), but the generation that left Egypt was circumcised (see v. 5). It more likely refers to the disgrace they experienced in Egyptian slavery. When this new generation reached the promised land and renewed their covenantal commitment to the Lord by submitting to the rite of circumcision, the
69 sn The name Gilgal sounds like the Hebrew verb “roll away” (גַּלַל, galal).
70 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
71 tn The Hebrew text adds, “on this same day.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has not been translated.
72 tn Heb “the day after, when they ate.” The present translation assumes this means the day after the Passover, though it is possible it refers to the day after they began eating the land’s produce.
73 tn Heb “and the sons of Israel had no more manna.”
74 tn Heb “in.”
75 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
76 tn Heb “he lifted up his eyes and looked. And look, a man was standing in front of him, and his sword was drawn in his hand.” The verb הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) invites the reader to view the scene through Joshua’s eyes. By calling the stranger “a man,” the author reflects Joshua’s perspective. The text shortly reveals his true identity (vv. 14-15).
77 tn Heb “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
78 tc Heb “He said, “Neither.” An alternative reading is לוֹ (lo, “[He said] to him”; cf. NEB). This reading is supported by many Hebrew
79 sn The Lord’s heavenly army, like an earthly army, has a commander who leads the troops. For the phrase שַׂר־צְבָא (sar-tsÿva’, “army commander”) in the human sphere, see among many other references Gen 21:22, 32; 26:26; Judg 4:2, 7; 1 Sam 12:9.
80 sn The commander’s appearance seems to be for Joshua’s encouragement. Joshua could now lead Israel into battle knowing that the
81 tn Heb “Joshua fell on his face to the ground and bowed down.”
82 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
83 tn Heb “was shutting and shut up.” HALOT 2:743 paraphrases, “blocking [any way of access] and blocked [against any who would leave].”
84 tn Heb “there was no one going out and there was no one coming in.”
85 tn Heb “I have given into your hand Jericho.” The Hebrew verb נָתַתִּי (natatti, “I have given”) is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action. The Hebrew pronominal suffix “your” is singular, being addressed to Joshua as the leader and representative of the nation. To convey to the modern reader what is about to happen and who is doing it, the translation “I am about to defeat Jericho for you” has been used.
86 tn Heb “and go around the city, all [you] men of war, encircling the city one time.” The Hebrew verb וְסַבֹּתֶם (vÿsabbotem, “and go around”) is plural, being addressed to the whole army.
87 tn Heb “rams’ horns, trumpets.”
88 tn Heb “and it will be at the sounding of the horn, the ram’s horn, when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn.” The text of Josh 6:5 seems to be unduly repetitive, so for the sake of English style and readability, it is best to streamline the text here. The reading in the Hebrew looks like a conflation of variant readings, with the second (“when you hear the sound of the ram’s horn”) being an interpolation that assimilates the text to verse 20 (“when the army heard the sound of the horn”). Note that the words “when you hear the sound of the ram's horn” do not appear in the LXX of verse 5.
89 tn Heb “all the people will shout with a loud shout.”
90 tn Heb “fall in its place.”
91 tn Heb “and the people will go up, each man straight ahead.”
92 tn An alternative reading is “and they said.” In this case the subject is indefinite and the verb should be translated as passive, “[the army] was told.”
93 tn Heb “the people.”
94 tn Heb “pass by.”
95 tn Heb “when Joshua spoke to the people.”
96 tn Heb “the people.”
97 tn Or “the shout.”
98 tn Heb “do not let a word come out of your mouths.”
99 tn Or “the shout.”
100 tn Or “the shout.”
101 tn Heb “and he made the ark of the
102 tn Heb “and they entered the camp and spent the night in the camp.”
103 tn Heb “Joshua rose early in the morning and the priests picked up the ark of the
104 tn Heb “On the seventh day they rose early, when the dawn ascended.”
105 tn Heb “and they went around the city according to this manner seven times, only on that day they went around the city seven times.”
106 tn Heb “the people.”
107 tn Or “the shout.”
108 tn Heb “for the
109 tn Or “dedicated to the
110 tn Heb “messengers.”
111 tn Heb “Only you keep [away] from what is set apart [to the
112 tn Heb “it is holy to the
113 tc Heb “and the people shouted and they blew the rams’ horns.” The initial statement (“and the people shouted”) seems premature, since the verse goes on to explain that the battle cry followed the blowing of the horns. The statement has probably been accidentally duplicated from what follows. It is omitted in the LXX.
114 tn Heb “the people.”
115 tn Heb “the sound of the horn.”
116 tn Heb “they shouted with a loud shout.”
117 tn Heb “fell in its place.”
118 tn Heb “and the people went up into the city, each one straight ahead, and they captured the city.”
119 tn Heb “all which was in the city.”
120 tn Heb “the house of the woman, the prostitute.”
121 tn Heb “and bring out from there the woman and all who belong to her as you swore on oath to her.”
122 tn Or “placed them outside.”
123 tn The Hebrew text adds “with fire.”
124 tn Heb “the treasury of the house of the
125 tn Heb “kept alive.”
126 tn Heb the house of her father.”
127 tn Or “among the Israelites”; Heb “in the midst of Israel.”
128 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
129 tn Normally the Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) has a causative sense (“make [someone] take an oath”; see Josh 2:17, 20), but here (see also Josh 23:7) no object is stated or implied. If Joshua is calling divine judgment down upon the one who attempts to rebuild Jericho, then “make a solemn appeal [to God as judge]” or “pronounce a curse” would be an appropriate translation. However, the tone seems stronger. Joshua appears to be announcing the certain punishment of the violator. 1 Kgs 16:34, which records the fulfillment of Joshua’s prediction, supports this. Casting Joshua in a prophetic role, it refers to Joshua’s statement as the “word of the
130 tn Heb “rises up and builds.”
131 tc The LXX omits “Jericho.” It is probably a scribal addition.
132 tn The Hebrew phrase אָרוּר לִפְנֵי יְהוָה (’arur lifney yÿhvah, “cursed [i.e., condemned] before the
133 tn Heb “With his firstborn he will lay its foundations and with his youngest he will erect its gates.” The Hebrew verb יַצִּיב (yatsiv, “he will erect”) is imperfect, not jussive, suggesting Joshua’s statement is a prediction, not an imprecation.
134 tn Heb “and the report about him was in all the land.” The Hebrew term אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”) may also be translated “earth.”
135 tn Heb “But the sons of Israel were unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the
136 tn 1 Chr 2:6 lists a “Zimri” (but no Zabdi) as one of the five sons of Zerah (cf. also 1 Chr 7:17, 18).
137 tn Heb “took from what was set apart [to the
138 tn Heb “the anger of the
139 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
140 map For the location of Bethel see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
141 tn Heb “and they returned to Joshua and said to him.”
142 tn Heb “Don’t let all the people go up.”
143 tn Heb “Let about two thousand men or about three thousand men go up to defeat Ai.”
144 tn Heb “all the people for they are small.”
145 tn The meaning and correct translation of the Hebrew word שְׁבָרִים (shÿvarim) is uncertain. The translation “fissures” is based on usage of the plural form of the noun in Ps 60:4 HT (60:2 ET), where it appears to refer to cracks in the earth caused by an earthquake. Perhaps deep ravines or gorges are in view, or the word is a proper noun (“all the way to Shebarim”).
146 sn The precise geographical location of the Israelite defeat at this “steep slope” is uncertain.
147 tn Or “army’s.”
148 tn Heb “and the heart of the people melted and became water.”
149 sn Tearing one’s clothes was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Gen 37:34; 44:13).
150 tn Or “elders.”
151 tn Heb “and fell on his face to the ground before the ark of the
152 sn Throwing dirt on one’s head was an outward expression of extreme sorrow (see Lam 2:10; Ezek 27:30).
153 tn Heb “said.”
154 tn Heb “turned [the] back.”
155 tn Heb “and cut off our name.”
156 tn Heb “What will you do for your great name?”
157 tn Heb “said.”
158 tn Heb “Why are you falling on your face?”
159 tn Heb “They have violated my covenant which I commanded them.”
160 tn Heb “what was set apart [to the
161 tn Heb “and also they have stolen, and also they have lied, and also they have placed [them] among their items.”
162 tn Heb “they turn [the] back before their enemies because they are set apart [to destruction by the
163 tn The second person pronoun is plural in Hebrew, indicating these words are addressed to the entire nation.
164 tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the
165 tn Heb “what is set apart [to destruction by the
166 tn Heb “remove what is set apart [i.e., to destruction by the
167 tn Heb “by your tribes.”
168 tn Heb “takes forcefully, seizes.”
169 tn Heb “houses.”
170 tn Heb “by men.”
171 tn Heb “with what was set apart [to the
172 tn Heb “burned with fire.”
173 tn Heb “by tribes.”
174 tn See the note on “Zabdi” in 1 Chr 7:1.
175 tn Heb “and he selected Zabdi.” The
176 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Zabdi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
177 tn Heb “by men.”
178 tn Heb “give glory to.”
179 tn Heb “like this and like this I did.”
180 tn Heb “Shinar,” a reference to Babylon (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1). Many modern translations retain the Hebrew name “Shinar” (cf. NEB, NRSV) but some use the more familiar “Babylon” (cf. NIV, NLT).
181 tn Heb “shekels.”
182 tn Heb “Look, [it was] hidden in his tent, and the silver was beneath it.”
183 tn Heb “poured out,” probably referring to the way the silver pieces poured out of their container.
184 tn Or “Trouble” The name is “Achor” in Hebrew, which means “disaster” or “trouble” (also in v. 26).
185 tn Or “trouble.” The word is “achor” in Hebrew (also in the following clause).
186 tc Heb “and they burned them with fire and they stoned them with stones.” These words are somewhat parenthetical in nature and are omitted in the LXX; they may represent a later scribal addition.
187 tc Heb “to this day.” The phrase “to this day” is omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition.
188 tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”
189 tn Heb “Take with you all the people of war and arise, go up against Ai!”
190 tn Heb “I have given into our hand.” The verbal form, a perfect, is probably best understood as a perfect of certitude, indicating the certainty of the action.
191 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
192 tn “And Joshua and all the people of war arose to go up [against] Ai.”
193 tn Or “commanded, ordered.”
194 tn Heb “the people.”
195 tn Heb “come out after.”
196 tn Heb “from the ambush.”
197 tn Heb “take possession of.”
198 tn Heb “the city.”
199 tn Heb “I have commanded you.”
200 tn Or “the place of ambush.”
201 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
202 tn Heb “and they stayed between Bethel and Ai, west of Ai.”
203 tn Heb “in the midst of the people.”
204 tn Or “summoned, mustered.”
205 tn Heb “the people.”
206 tn Or “elders.”
207 tn Heb “went up.”
208 tn Heb “them” (referring to “the people” in the previous clause, which requires a plural pronoun). Since the translation used “army” in the previous clause, a singular pronoun (“it”) is required in English.
209 tn Heb “All the people of war who were with him went up and approached and came opposite the city.”
210 tn Heb “and the valley [was] between them and Ai.”
211 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
212 tn Some Hebrew
213 tn Heb “When the king of Ai saw, the men of Ai hurried and rose early and went out to meet Israel for battle, he and all his people at the meeting place before the Arabah.”
214 tn Or “know.”
215 tn Heb “that (there was) an ambush for him behind the city.”
216 tn Heb “All the people.”
217 tc Some textual witnesses read “the city.”
218 tn Or “were summoned”; or “were mustered.”
219 tc The LXX omits the words “or Bethel.”
220 tn Heb “who did not go out after Israel.”
221 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the city of Ai) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
222 tn Heb “and ran.”
223 tn Heb “and they saw, and look.” The Hebrew term הִנֵּה (hinneh, “look”) draws attention to the scene and invites the audience to view the events from the perspective of the men of Ai.
224 tn Heb “and there was not in them hands to flee here or there.” The Hebrew term יָדַיִם (yadayim, “hands”) is idiomatic for “strength.”
225 tn Heb “and that the smoke of the city ascended.”
226 tn Heb “and these went out from the city to meet them and they were for Israel in the middle, some on this side, and others on the other side.”
227 tn Heb “residents.”
228 tn Heb “in the field, in the desert in which they chased them.”
229 tc Heb “and all of them fell by the edge of the sword until they were destroyed.” The LXX omits the words, “and all of them fell by the edge of the sword.” They may represent a later scribal addition.
230 tn Heb “fell.”
231 tn Heb “Joshua did not draw back his hand which held out the curved sword until he had annihilated all the residents of Ai.”
232 tn Heb “according to the word of the
233 tn Heb “and made it a permanent mound, a desolation, to this day.”
234 tn Heb “on a tree until evening.” The words “leaving him exposed” are supplied in the translation for clarity.
235 sn For the legal background of this action, see Deut 21:22-23.
236 tn Heb “to this day.”
237 tn Heb “as it is written in the scroll of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones on which no one had wielded iron.” The expression “whole stones” refers to stones in their natural condition, i.e., not carved or shaped artificially with tools (“wielded iron”).
238 tn Or “peace offerings.”
239 tn Heb “and he wrote there on the stones a duplicate of the law of Moses which he wrote before the sons of Israel.”
240 tn Heb “All Israel.”
241 tn Or “elders.”
242 tn Heb “like the resident alien, like the citizen.” The language is idiomatic, meaning that both groups were treated the same, at least in this instance.
243 tn Heb “as Moses, the
244 tn Or “afterward.”
245 tn Heb “There was not a word from all which Moses commanded that Joshua did not read aloud.”
246 tn Heb “walked in their midst.”
247 tn Heb “When all the kings who were beyond the Jordan heard.”
248 tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”
249 tn Heb “all the coast of the Great Sea.” The “Great Sea” was the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
250 tn Heb “in front of.”
251 tn Heb “they gathered together to fight against Joshua and Israel [with] one mouth.”
252 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
253 tc Heb “and they went and [?].” The root and meaning of the verb form יִצְטַיָּרוּ (yitstayyaru) are uncertain. The form is most likely a corruption of יִצְטַיָּדוּ (yitstayyadu), read by some Hebrew
254 tn Heb “all the bread of their provisions.”
255 tn Or “moldy.”
256 tn Heb “in our midst.”
257 tn Heb “we are your servants.”
258 tn Or “servants.”
259 tn Heb “name.”
260 tn Heb “the report about him, all that he did in Egypt.”
261 tn Heb “your servants.”
262 tn Heb “in the day we went out to come to you.”
263 tn Or “moldy.”
264 tn Heb “took.” This probably means they tasted some of the food to make sure it was stale.
265 tn Heb “but they did not ask the mouth of the
266 tn Or “assembly.”
267 tn Heb “Joshua made peace with them and made a treaty with them to let them live, and the leaders of the community swore an oath to them.”
268 tn Heb “At the end of three days, after they made the treaty with them, they heard that they were neighbors to them and in their midst they were living.”
269 tn Heb “by the
270 tn Or “grumbled against.”
271 tn Heb “to them by….”
272 tn Or “touch.”
273 tn Heb “This is what we will do to them, keeping them alive so there will not be upon us anger concerning the oath which we swore to them.”
274 tc Heb “and the leaders said to them.” The LXX omits the words “and the leaders said to them.”
275 tn The vav (ו) consecutive construction in the Hebrew text suggests that the narrative resumes at this point. The LXX reads here, “and they will be,” understanding what follows to be a continuation of the leaders’ words rather than a comment by the narrator.
276 tn Heb “as the leaders said to them.”
277 sn Verses 22-27 appear to elaborate on v. 21b.
278 tn Heb “them.”
279 tn Or “deceive.”
280 tn Heb “live in our midst?”
281 tn Heb “Now you are cursed and a servant will not be cut off from you, woodcutters and water carriers for the house of my God.”
282 tn Heb “your servants.”
283 tn Or “we were very afraid.”
284 tn Heb “so now, look, we are in your hand.”
285 tn Heb “according to what is good and according to what is upright in your eyes to do us, do.”
286 tn Heb “And he did to them so and he rescued them from the hand of the sons of Israel and they did not kill them.”
287 tn Heb “and Joshua made them in that day woodcutters and water carriers for the community, and for the altar of the
288 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
289 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
290 tn Heb “as he had done to Jericho and to its king, so he did to Ai and to its king.”
291 tn Heb “and how.”
292 tn This statement is subordinated to v. 1 in the Hebrew text, which reads literally, “When Adoni-Zedek…they feared greatly.” The subject of the plural verb at the beginning of v. 2 is probably the residents of Jerusalem.
293 tn Heb “Come up to me and help me.”
294 tn Heb “and they camped against Gibeon and fought against it.”
295 tn Heb “do not let your hand drop from us.”
296 tn Heb “your servants!”
297 tn Heb “have gathered against us.”
298 tn Heb “And Joshua went up from Gilgal, he and all the people of war with him, and all the brave warriors.”
299 tn Heb “I have given them into your hand.” The verbal form is a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action.
300 tn Heb “and not a man [or “one”] of them will stand before you.”
301 tn Heb “Joshua came upon them suddenly, all the night he went up from Gilgal.”
302 tn Or “caused to panic.”
303 tn Heb “he.” The referent is probably Israel (mentioned at the end of the previous sentence in the verse; cf. NIV, NRSV), but it is also possible that the
304 tn Heb “struck them down with a great striking down.”
305 tn Or “ascent.”
306 tn Heb “on the descent of.”
307 tn Or “heaven” (also in v. 13). The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heaven(s)” or “sky” depending on the context.
308 tn Heb “Then Joshua spoke to the
309 tn Heb “Is it not written down in the Scroll of the Upright One.” Many modern translations render, “the Scroll [or Book] of Jashar,” leaving the Hebrew name “Jashar” (which means “Upright One”) untranslated.
310 tn Heb “and did not hurry to set [for] about a full day.”
311 tn Heb “listened to the voice of.”
312 tn Heb “these five kings.”
313 tn Heb “and appoint by it men to guard them.”
314 tn Heb “But [as for] you, don’t stand still, chase after your enemies and attack them from the rear.”
315 tn Or “enter into.”
316 tn Heb “has given them into your hand.” The verbal form is a perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of the action.
317 tn Heb “When Joshua and the sons of Israel finished defeating them with a very great defeat until they were destroyed (now the survivors escaped to the fortified cities).” In the Hebrew text the initial temporal clause (“when Joshua…finished”) is subordinated to v. 21 (“the whole army returned”).
318 tn Heb “all the people returned to the camp, to Joshua [at] Makkedah [in] peace.”
319 tc Heb “No man.” The lamed (ל) prefixed to אִישׁ (’ish, “man”) is probably dittographic (note the immediately preceding יִשְׂרָאֵל [isra’el] which ends in lamed, ל); cf. the LXX.
320 tn Heb “no man sharpened [or perhaps, “pointed”] his tongue against the sons of Israel.” Cf. NEB “not a man of the Israelites suffered so much as a scratch on his tongue,” which understands “sharpened” as “scratched” (referring to a minor wound). Most modern translations understand the Hebrew expression “sharpened his tongue” figuratively for opposition or threats against the Israelites.
321 tn Heb “these five kings.”
322 tn Heb “they did so.”
323 tn Heb “these five kings.”
324 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
325 tn Heb “Joshua.” The translation has replaced the proper name with the pronoun (“he”) because a repetition of the proper name here would be redundant according to English style.
326 tn Or “Draw near.”
327 tn Or “drew near.”
328 tn Or perhaps “and don’t get discouraged!”
329 tn Heb “struck them down and killed them.”
330 sn For the legal background of the removal of the corpses before sundown, see Deut 21:22-23.
331 tn Heb “to this very day.” The words “They remain” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
332 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
333 tn Heb “Libnah.” Repetition of the proper name here would be redundant according to English style, so the pronoun (“it”) has been employed in the translation.
334 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
335 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
336 tn Heb “He”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
337 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
338 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
339 tn Heb “encamped against it.”
340 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
341 tn Heb “people.”
342 tn Heb “they encamped against it.”
343 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
344 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
345 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
346 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
347 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
348 tn Heb “He”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
349 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
350 tn Heb “He”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
351 tn Heb “he”; the implied subject may be Israel, or Joshua (as the commanding general of the army).
352 tn Heb “as he did to Hebron, so he did to Debir and its king, and as he did to Libnah and its king.” The clauses have been rearranged in the translation for stylistic reasons.
353 tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”
354 tn Heb “and Joshua struck them down, from Kadesh Barnea even to Gaza, and all the land of Goshen, even to Gibeon.”
355 tn Heb “at one time.”
356 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
357 tn Heb “he sent to.”
358 tn Heb “and to the kings who [are] from the north in.”
359 tn Heb “Chinneroth,” a city and plain located in the territory of Naphtali in Galilee (BDB 490 s.v. כִּנֶּרֶת, כִּנֲרוֹת).
360 tn The verb “came” is supplied in the translation (see v. 4).
361 tn Or “land.”
362 tn Heb “They and all their camps with them came out, a people as numerous as the sand which is on the edge of the sea in multitude, and [with] horses and chariots very numerous.”
363 tn Heb “and came and camped together.”
364 tn Heb “burn with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
365 tn Heb “Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them at the Waters of Merom suddenly and fell upon them.”
366 map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
367 tn The meaning of the Hebrew name “Misrephoth Maim” is perhaps “lime-kilns by the water” (see HALOT 2:641).
368 tn Heb “burned with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
369 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
370 tn Or “formerly.”
371 tn Heb “and they struck down all life which was in it with the edge of the sword, annihilating.”
372 tn Heb “burned with fire”; the words “with fire” are redundant in English and have not been included in the translation.
373 tn Heb “and he struck them down with the edge of the sword, he annihilated them.”
374 tn Heb “standing on their mounds.”
375 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
376 tn Heb “but all the people they struck down with the edge of the sword until they destroyed them.”
377 tn Heb “As the
378 tn Heb “Joshua took all this land.”
379 tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”
380 tn Heb “and struck them down and killed them.”
381 tn Heb “made war with.”
382 tn Heb “for many days.”
383 tn The LXX omits this parenthetical note, which may represent a later scribal addition.
384 tn Heb “the whole they took in battle.”
385 tn Heb “for from the
386 tn Heb “went and cut off the Anakites from the hill country.”
387 tn Heb “and from all the hill country of Israel.”
388 tn Heb “took.”
389 tn Heb “according to all which the
390 tn Heb “and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their allotted portions by their tribes.”
391 tn Heb “and took possession of their land.”
392 tn Heb “beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun.”
393 tn Or perhaps, “reigned.”
394 tc The MT reads here, “and the middle of the valley,” but the reading “the city in the middle of valley” can be reconstructed on the basis of Josh 13:9, 16.
395 tn The words “his kingdom included” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
396 sn The Sea of Kinnereth is another name for the Sea of Galilee. See the note on the word “Kinnereth” in 11:2.
397 sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea.
398 tn Heb “from the remnant of the Rephaites.”
399 tn Or perhaps “who reigned.”
400 tn Heb “gave it for a possession.”
401 tn Heb “Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their allotted portions.”
402 tn Or “the foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”
403 tn The words “the land of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
404 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
405 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
406 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
407 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
408 map For location see Map1-D4; Map2-C1; Map4-C2; Map5-F2; Map7-B1.
409 tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following clause.
410 tn Heb “the Shihor”; the word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning.
411 tn Heb “in front of.”
412 tn Heb “it is reckoned to the Canaanites.”
413 tn Heb “the five lords of the Philistines, the Gazaite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gathite, and the Ekronite, and the Avvites.”
414 tn Or “from Teman.” The phrase is especially problematic if taken with what follows, as the traditional verse division suggests. For further discussion see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 146.
415 tn Heb “all the land of the Canaanites.”
416 tc The reading “Arah” assumes a slight emendation of the Hebrew vowel pointing. The MT reads, “and a cave,” or “and Mearah” (if one understands the word as a proper noun).
417 tn Heb “which belongs to the Sidonians.”
418 tn Heb “and the land of the Gebalites.”
419 tn Or “the entrance to Hamath.” Most modern translations take the phrase “Lebo Hamath” to be a proper name, but often provide a note with the alternative, where “Hamath” is the proper name and לְבוֹא (lÿvo’) is taken to mean “entrance to.”
420 tn The meaning of the Hebrew name “Misrephoth Maim” is perhaps “lime-kilns by the water” (see HALOT 2:641).
421 tn Heb “only you, assign it by lots to Israel as an inheritance as I commanded you.”
422 tn Heb “now apportion this land as an inheritance.”
423 tn The MT reads “with him,” which is problematic, since the reference would be to the other half of the tribe of Manasseh (not the half mentioned in v. 7).
424 tn Heb “received their inheritance, which Moses had assigned to them beyond the Jordan.”
425 tn The words “their territory started” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
426 tn The words “their territory also included” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
427 tn Heb “from the remnant of the Rephaites.”
428 tn Or “dispossessed them.”
429 tn Or “dispossess.”
430 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
431 tn Heb “did not assign an inheritance.”
432 tn That is, “their source of food and life.”
433 tn Or “offerings made by fire.”
434 tn Or “promised” (Heb “spoke”).
435 tn Heb “assigned to the sons of Reuben.”
436 tn Heb “their territory was from.”
437 tn The words “it encompassed” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
438 tn Heb “princes of Sihon, inhabitants of the land.”
439 tn Or “diviner.”
440 tn Heb “Balaam son of Beor, the omen-reader, the Israelites killed with the sword, along with their slain ones.”
441 tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the sons of Reuben by their clans, the cities and their towns.”
442 tn Heb “assigned to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad.”
443 tn Heb “and half of the land of the sons of Ammon.”
444 tn Heb “in front of.”
445 tn The words “Their territory ran” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied for clarification.
446 tn Or “it included in the valley, Beth Haram.”
447 sn The Sea of Kinnereth is another name for the Sea of Galilee. See the note on the word “Kinnereth” in 11:2.
448 tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the sons of Gad by their clans, the cities and their towns.”
449 tn Heb “assigned to the half-tribe of Manasseh, and it belonged to the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
450 tn The words “their territory started at” are not in the Hebrew text, but have been supplied for clarification.
451 sn The Hebrew name Havvoth Jair means “the tent villages of Jair.”
452 tn Heb “These are [the lands] which Moses gave as an inheritance.”
453 tn Heb “beyond the Jordan, east of Jericho.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied to clarify the meaning.
454 tn Heb “Moses did not assign an inheritance.” The word “land” has been supplied in the translation to clarify what the inheritance consisted of.
455 tn That is, “their source of food and life.”
456 tn Or “as he promised”; Heb “as he spoke to.”
457 tn Heb “These are [the lands] which the sons of Israel received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes assigned as an inheritance to the sons of Israel.”
458 tn Heb “By lot was their inheritance, as the
459 tn Or “assigned an inheritance.”
460 tn Or “no inheritance.”
461 tn The Hebrew text adds, “in their midst.”
462 tn Heb “and they did not assign a portion to the Levites in the land, except cities [in which] to live and their pastures for their cattle and property.”
463 tn Heb “Just as the
464 tn Heb “You know the word which the
465 tn Heb “and I brought back to him a word just as [was] in my heart.”
466 tn Heb “brothers.”
467 tn Heb “went up with.”
468 tn Heb “made the heart[s] of the people melt.”
469 tn Heb “I filled up after the
470 tn Heb “swore an oath.”
471 tn Heb “on which your foot has walked.”
472 tn Heb “will belong to you for an inheritance, and to your sons forever.”
473 tn Heb “like my strength then, like my strength now, for battle and for going out and coming in.”
474 tn Heb “are there and large, fortified cities.”
475 tn Or “will dispossess.”
476 tn Heb “Joshua blessed him and gave Hebron to Caleb son of Jephunneh as an inheritance.”
477 tn Heb “Therefore Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh for an inheritance to this day.”
478 tn Heb “And he was the great man among the Anakites.”
479 tn Heb “The lot was to the tribe of the sons of Judah by their clans to the border of Edom, the wilderness of Zin toward the south, southward.”
480 tn Heb “Their southern border was from the end of the Salt Sea, from the tongue that faces to the south.”
481 tn Heb “went out.”
482 tn Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [’aqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).
483 tn Traditionally “the Brook of Egypt,” although a number of recent translations have “the Wadi of Egypt” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).
484 tn The translation follows the LXX at this point. The MT reads, “This will be your southern border.”
485 tn Heb “end.”
486 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.
487 tn Heb “the border on the northern side was from the tongue of the sea, from the end of the Jordan.”
488 tn Or “ascent.”
489 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
490 tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
491 tn Heb “this was the border of the sons of Judah round about, by their clans.”
492 tn Heb “To Caleb son of Jephunneh he gave a portion in the midst of the sons of Judah according to the mouth [i.e., command] of the
493 tn Or “dispossessed.”
494 tn Heb “he went up against the inhabitants of Debir.”
495 tn “Caleb’s brother” may refer either to Othniel or to Kenaz. If Kenaz was the brother of Caleb, Othniel is Caleb’s nephew.
496 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
497 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Acsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
498 tn Heb “him.” The referent of the pronoun could be Othniel, in which case the translation would be, “she incited him [Othniel] to ask her father for a field.” This is problematic, however, for Acsah, not Othniel, makes the request in v. 19. The LXX has “he [Othniel] urged her to ask her father for a field.” This appears to be an attempt to reconcile the apparent inconsistency and probably does not reflect the original text. If Caleb is understood as the referent of the pronoun, the problem disappears. For a fuller discussion of the issue, see P. G. Mosca, “Who Seduced Whom? A Note on Joshua 15:18//Judges 1:14,” CBQ 46 (1984): 18-22. This incident is also recorded in Judg 1:14.
499 tn Elsewhere this Hebrew word (בְּרָכָה, bÿrakhah) is often translated “blessing,” but here it refers to a gift (as in Gen 33:11; 1 Sam 25:27; 30:26; and 2 Kgs 5:15).
500 tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Judah by their clans.”
501 tn Heb “and the cities were at the end of the tribe of the sons of Judah, at the border of Edom, to the south.”
502 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
503 tn The total number of names in the list is thirty-six, not twenty-nine. Perhaps (1) some of the names are alternatives (though the text appears to delineate clearly such alternative names here and elsewhere, see vv. 8, 9, 10, 13, 25b) or (2), more likely, later scribes added to a list originally numbering twenty-nine and failed to harmonize the concluding summary statement with the expanded list.
504 tn The words “these cities were” have been supplied for English stylistic reasons.
505 tn Or “the foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”
506 tn Heb “daughters.”
507 tn See the note on this place name in 15:4.
508 tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
509 tn The words “These cities were” have been supplied in the translation for English stylistic reasons.
510 tc Some Hebrew
511 tn The words “These cities were” have been supplied for English stylistic reasons.
512 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
513 sn The statement to this very day reflects the perspective of the author, who must have written prior to David’s conquest of the Jebusites (see 2 Sam 5:6-7).
514 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
515 tn Heb “The lot went out to the sons of Joseph from the Jordan [at] Jericho to the waters of Jericho to the east, the desert going up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel.”
516 tn Heb “it”; the referent (the southern border) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
517 tn In the Hebrew text the place name “Luz” has the directive ending, indicating that the border went from Bethel to Luz. Elsewhere Luz and Bethel appear to be names for the same site (cf. Judg 1:23), but here they appear to be distinct. Note that the NIV translates “from Bethel (that is, Luz)” here, following the reading of the LXX, εἰς Βαιθηλ Λουζα (eis Baiqhl Louza, “from Bethel [Luz]”).
518 tn Or “received their inheritance.”
519 tn Heb “The territory of the sons of Ephraim was for their clans.”
520 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
521 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
522 tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim.”
523 tn Heb “and the cities set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities and their towns.”
524 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ephraimites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
525 tn Heb “and the lot belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph.”
526 tn Heb “to Makir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, for he was a man of war.”
527 tn Heb “Gilead and Bashan belonged to him.”
528 tn Heb “and it belonged to the sons of Manasseh who remained.”
529 tn Heb “The
530 tn Heb “he.” The referent is probably Joshua, although Eleazar is mentioned first in the preceding list.
531 tn Heb “and he assigned to them in accordance with the mouth [i.e., command] of the
532 tn Heb “and the allotted portions of Manasseh fell out ten.”
533 tn Heb “was.”
534 tn Heb “in front of”; perhaps “east of.”
535 tn Heb “these cities belonged to Ephraim in the midst of the cities of Manasseh.”
536 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Manasseh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
537 tn Heb “they”; the referent (their territory) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
538 map For location see Map1-D4; Map2-C1; Map4-C2; Map5-F2; Map7-B1.
539 tn Or “the third [is] Napheth”; or “Napheth-dor.” The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain.
540 tn Heb “Beth Shean and its surrounding towns, Ibleam and its surrounding towns, the residents of Dor and its surrounding towns, the residents of En Dor and its surrounding towns, the residents of Taanach and its surrounding towns, the residents of Megiddo and its surrounding towns, three of Nepheth.”
541 tn Heb “sons”; “men” has been used in the translation because the context involves the conquest of cities; therefore, warriors (hence males) would be in view here.
542 tn Or “were determined.”
543 sn On the Israelites’ failure to conquer the Canaanites completely, see Judg 1:27-28.
544 tn Heb “Why have you given me as an inheritance one lot and one portion, though I am a great people until [the time] which, until now the
545 tn Heb “If you are a great people.”
546 tn The Hebrew text has simply “the hill country,” which must here include the hill country of Ephraim and the forest regions mentioned in v. 15.
547 tn Heb “and there are iron chariots among all the Canaanites who live in the land of the valley, to those who are in Beth Shean and its daughters and to those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255 and R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.
548 tn Heb “house.”
549 tn The Hebrew text has simply “the hill country,” which must here include the hill country of Ephraim and the forest regions mentioned in v. 15.
550 tn Heb “and its limits will be yours.”
551 tn Heb “the tent of assembly.”
552 tn Heb “and the land was subdued before them.”
553 tn Heb “there were left among the sons of Israel who had not divided up their inheritance seven tribes.”
554 tn Heb “How long are you putting off entering and possessing.”
555 tn Or “fathers.”
556 tn Heb “I will send them so they may arise and walk about in the land and describe it in writing according to their inheritance and come to me.”
557 tn Heb “portions.”
558 tn Heb “stand.”
559 tn Heb “the house.”
560 tn Or “the priesthood of the
561 tn Or “inheritance.”
562 tn Heb “went and passed through.”
563 tn Heb “and the lot came up for the tribe of the sons of Benjamin.”
564 tn Heb “and the territory of their allotment went out between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph.”
565 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
566 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
567 tn Heb “sons,” here referring to the tribe.
568 tn Or “side.”
569 tn Or “ascent.”
570 sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea.
571 tn Heb “to the tongue of the Salt Sea to the north, to the end of the Jordan to the south.” The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity (also in the following verse).
572 tn Heb “This was the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin by its borders round about, by their clans.”
573 tn Heb “the sons,” here referring to the tribe.
574 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
575 map For location see Map4-G4; Map5-C1; Map6-E3; Map7-D1; Map8-G3.
576 tn The word “city” is supplied in the translation for clarification.
577 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
578 tn The structure of this list presents problems. In v. 28 no conjunction appears before “Haeleph” or “Kiriath” in the Hebrew text. This suggests they should be compounded with the preceding names, yielding “Zelah Haeleph” and “Gibeah Kiriath” respectively. This results in a list of only twelve cities, however, while the summary statement (v. 28) gives the number fourteen. One should note, however, that the city lists in chap. 15 do not consistently use the conjunction before the name of each city. See also Josh 19:7, where no conjunction appears before “Rimmon,” but the summary assumes that Ain and Rimmon are distinct.
579 tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the sons of Benjamin.”
580 tn Heb “and the second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the sons of Simeon by their clans.”
581 tn Heb “and they had in their inheritance.”
582 tc The MT has “and Sheba” listed after “Beer Sheba.” The LXX suggests “Shema.” The Hebrew text appears to be corrupt, since the form “Sheba” duplicates the latter part of the preceding name. If Sheba (or Shema) is retained, the list numbers fourteen, one more than the number given in the concluding summary (v. 6).
583 tn Heb “this was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Simeon.”
584 tn Heb “from the portion of the sons of Judah was the inheritance of the sons of Simeon for the portion of the sons of Judah was too large for them, and the sons of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance.”
585 tn Heb “and the third lot came up for the sons of Zebulun.”
586 tn Or “inheritance.”
587 tn Heb “in front of”; perhaps “east of.”
588 tn Heb “eastward toward the rising of the sun.”
589 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
590 tn Heb “Kattah, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem, twelve cities and their towns.” The words “their territory included” and “in all they had” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
591 tn Heb “this is the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun.”
592 tn Heb “the fourth lot came out for the sons of Issachar.”
593 tn Or “their inheritance.”
594 tn Heb “this was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Issachar.”
595 tn Heb “and the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the sons of Asher.”
596 tn Heb “left.”
597 tc Some Hebrew
598 map For location see Map1-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
599 map For location see Map1-A2; Map2-G2; Map4-A1; JP3-F3; JP4-F3.
600 tn The words “in all they had” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
601 tn Heb “this was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Asher.”
602 tn Heb “the sixth lot came out for the sons of Naphtali, for the sons of Naphtali.”
603 tn Heb “and their border was from Heleph, from the oak of Zaanannim, and Adami Nekeb, and Jabneel to Lakkum.”
604 tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.
605 tc The MT reads “Judah, the Jordan”; the LXX omits “Judah.” Perhaps there was a town named Judah, distinct from the tribe of Judah, located near the northern end of the Jordan.
606 map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-D3; Map3-A2; Map4-C1.
607 sn Instead of Yiron some English translations read Iron.
608 tn The words “in all they had” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
609 tn Heb “this was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Naphtali.”
610 tn Heb “the seventh lot came out for the sons of Dan.”
611 tn Heb “the territory of the sons of Dan went out from them.”
612 tn Heb “Leshem.” The pronoun (“it”) has replaced the name “Leshem” in the translation for stylistic reasons.
613 tn Heb “according to the name of their father.”
614 tn Heb “this was the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Dan.”
615 tn Heb “an inheritance in their midst.”
616 tn Heb “the leaders of the fathers of the tribes.”
617 tn Heb “at the entrance of the tent of assembly.”
618 tn Heb “Say to the sons of Israel, ‘Set aside for yourselves.’”
619 tn Or “asylum.”
620 tn Heb “so that the one who kills, taking life accidentally without knowledge, may flee there.”
621 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the one who accidentally kills another, cf. v. 2) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
622 tn Heb “and speak into the ears of the elders of that city his words.”
623 tn Heb “and they should gather him into the city to themselves, give to him a place, and he will live with them.”
624 tn Heb “for without knowledge he killed his neighbor, and he was not hating him prior to that.”
625 tn Or “live.”
626 tn Heb “until he stands before the assembly for judgment.”
627 tn Heb “until the death of the high priest who is in those days.”
628 tn Heb “may return and enter his city and his house, the city from which he escaped.”
629 tn Heb “set apart.”
630 map For the location of Jericho see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
631 tn Or “set aside.”
632 tn The Hebrew text reads simply “the cities.” The words “for refuge” are supplied for clarification.
633 tn Heb “and not die by the hand of.”
634 tn Heb “until he stands before the assembly.” The words “at least” are supplied for clarification.
635 tn Heb “came out for.”
636 tn Heb “and it belonged to the sons of Aaron, from the Kohathite clans, from the sons of Levi.”
637 tn The words “they assigned” are supplied for clarification (also in vv. 23, 25).
638 tn The name “Gath Rimmon” is problematic here, for it appears in the preceding list of Danite cities. The LXX reads “Iebatha”; 1 Chr 6:55 HT (6:70 ET) reads “Bileam.” Most modern translations retain the name “Gath Rimmon,” however.
639 tn The words “they assigned” and “the following cities” are supplied for clarification (also in v. 34).
640 tc 21:36-37 are accidentally omitted from a number of significant Hebrew
641 tn Heb “in the midst of the possession of the sons of Israel.”
642 tn Heb “these cities were city [by] city, and its grazing areas [were] around it; so [it was] for all these cities.”
643 tn Heb “which he had sworn to give to their fathers.”
644 tn Or “possessed.”
645 tn Heb “gave them rest all around.”
646 tn Heb “according to all he swore to their fathers.”
647 tn Heb “not a man stood from before them from all their enemies.”
648 tn Heb “the house of Israel.” Cf. NCV “the Israelites”; TEV “the people of Israel”; CEV, NLT “Israel.”
649 tn Heb “not a word from all the good word which the
650 tn Heb “You have kept all which Moses, the
651 tn Heb “your brothers” (also in vv. 4, 7), but this does not refer to siblings or necessarily even to relatives. It refers to the Israelites of the remaining tribes.
652 tn Heb “these many days.”
653 tn Heb “you have kept the charge of the command of the
654 tn Heb “has given rest to your brothers.”
655 tn Heb “tents.”
656 tn Heb “the land of your possession.”
657 tn Heb “But be very careful to do the commandment and the law which Moses, the
658 tn Heb “walk in all his paths.”
659 tn Or “keep.”
660 tn Heb “hug him.”
661 tn Or “soul.”
662 tn Heb “blessed.” However, see v. 8, where rewards are given.
663 tn Heb “and they went to their tents.”
664 tn Heb “to their tents.”
665 tn Heb “blessed.”
666 tn Heb “return to your tents with.”
667 tn Heb “very many cattle.”
668 tn Heb “very much clothing.”
669 tn Heb “returned and went from the sons of Israel, from Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession.”
670 tn Heb “and they went to Geliloth of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, and the sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar near the Jordan, an altar great with respect to appearance.”
671 tn Heb “the sons of Israel heard, saying.”
672 tn Heb “toward the front of.”
673 tn Heb “to go up against them for battle.”
674 tn Heb “ten leaders with him, one leader, one leader for a paternal house, for all the tribes of Israel, and each a head of the house of their father, they belong to the clans of Israel.”
675 tn Heb “What is this unfaithfulness with which you have been unfaithful against the God of Israel, turning today from after the
676 tn Heb “Was the sin of Peor too insignificant for us, from which we have not made purification to this day? And there was a plague in the assembly of the
677 tn Heb “you are turning back.”
678 tn Or “he will be angry with.”
679 tn Heb “the land of your possession.”
680 sn The western tribes here imagine a possible motive for the action of the eastern tribes. T. C. Butler explains the significance of the land’s “impurity”: “East Jordan is impure because it is not Yahweh’s possession. Rather it is simply ‘your possession.’ That means it is land where Yahweh does not live, land which his presence has not sanctified and purified” (Joshua [WBC], 247).
681 tn Heb “the land of the possession of the
682 tn Heb “where the dwelling place of the
683 tn Heb “and take for yourselves in our midst.”
684 tc Heb “and us to you rebel.” The reading of the MT, the accusative sign with suffix (וְאֹתָנוּ, vÿ’otanu), is problematic with the verb “rebel” (מָרַד, marad). Many Hebrew
685 tn Heb “Is it not [true that] Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful with unfaithfulness concerning what was set apart [to the
686 tn The second half of the verse reads literally, “and he [was] one man, he did not die for his sin.” There are at least two possible ways to explain this statement: (1) One might interpret the statement to mean that Achan was not the only person who died for his sin. In this case it could be translated, “and he was not the only one to die because of his sin.” (2) Another option, the one reflected in the translation, is to take the words וְהוּא אִישׁ אֶחָד (vÿhu’ ’ish ’ekhad, “and he [was] one man”) as a concessive clause and join it with what precedes. The remaining words (לֹא גָוַע בַּעֲוֹנוֹ, lo’ gava’ ba’avono) must then be taken as a rhetorical question (“Did he not die for his sin?”). Taking the last sentence as interrogative is consistent with the first part of the verse, a rhetorical question introduced with the interrogative particle. The present translation has converted these rhetorical questions into affirmative statements to bring out more clearly the points they are emphasizing. For further discussion, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 240.
687 tn Heb “answered and spoke to the heads of.”
688 sn Israel’s God is here identified with three names: (1) אֵל (’el), “El” (or “God”); (2) אֱלֹהִים (’elohim), “Elohim” (or “God”), and (3) יְהוָה (yÿhvah), “Yahweh” (or “the
689 tn Heb “he knows.”
690 tn Heb “if in rebellion or if in unfaithfulness against the
691 tn Heb “do not save us.” The verb form is singular, being addressed to either collective Israel or the Lord himself. The LXX translates in the third person.
692 tn Heb “by building.” The prepositional phrase may be subordinated to what precedes, “if in unfaithfulness…by building.”
693 tn Heb “or if to offer up.”
694 tn Heb “or if to make.”
695 tn Or “peace offerings.”
696 tn Heb “the
697 tn Heb “Surely, from worry concerning a matter we have done this, saying.”
698 tn Heb “What is there to you and to the
699 tn Heb “You have no portion in the
700 tn Heb “fearing.”
701 tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
702 tn Heb “to do the service of the
703 tn Or “peace offerings.”
704 tn Heb “You have no portion in the
705 tn The words “such a thing” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
706 tn Heb “fathers.”
707 tn Heb “but it is a witness between us and you.”
708 tn Or “peace offerings.”
709 sn The Lord’s dwelling place here refers to the tabernacle.
710 tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
711 tn Heb “it was good in their eyes.”
712 tn Heb “the sons of Reuben, and the sons of Gad, and the sons of Manasseh.”
713 tn Heb “because you were not unfaithful with this unfaithfulness against the
714 tn On the use of אָז in a logical sense, see Waltke-O’Connor, Hebrew Syntax, 667.
715 tn Heb “the hand (i.e., power) of the
716 tn Heb “and Phinehas…returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel. And they brought back to them a word.”
717 tn Heb “and the word was good in the eyes of the sons of Israel and the sons of Israel blessed God.”
718 tn Heb “and they did not speak about going up against them for battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living.”
719 tn Heb “a witness between us.”
720 tn Heb “many days.”
721 tn Heb “the
722 tn Heb “was old, coming into the days.” This expression, referring to advancing in years, also occurs in the following verse.
723 tn Heb “for the
724 tn Heb “I have assigned by lots to you these remaining nations as an inheritance for your tribes.”
725 tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.
726 tn Heb “from the Jordan and all the nations which I cut off and the Great Sea [at] the place where the sun sets.” The relationship of the second half of the verse, which mentions nations already conquered, to the first half, which speaks of “remaining nations,” is difficult to understand.
727 tn The Hebrew text reads, “from before you.” This has not been included in the translation because it is redundant in English.
728 tn Or “take possession of.”
729 tn Heb “said to.”
730 tn Heb “Be strong so you can be careful to do.”
731 tn Heb “with.”
732 tn Heb “and in the name of their gods you must not invoke and you must not make solemn declarations.” The words “and you must not make solemn declarations” are omitted in the LXX and may represent a later scribal addition to elucidate the immediately preceding command. The Hiphil of שָׁבַע (shava’) without an object occurs only here and in Josh 6:26.
733 tn Or “serve.”
734 tn Heb “hug.”
735 tn Heb “done.”
736 tn Heb “not a man has stood before you.”
737 tn Or “chases a thousand.”
738 tn Heb “for the
739 tn Heb “as he said to you.”
740 tn Heb “Watch carefully yourselves so as to love the
741 tn Heb “and hug.”
742 tn Heb “the remnant of the these nations, these nations that are with you.”
743 tn Heb “and go into them, and they into you.”
744 tn Heb “be a trap and a snare to you.”
745 tn Heb “in.”
746 tn Heb “thorns in your eyes.”
747 tn Or “perish.”
748 tn Heb “go the way of all the earth.”
749 tn Or “soul.”
750 tn Heb “one word from all these words which the
751 tn Heb “and it will be as every good word which the
752 tn Heb “so the
753 tn Heb “when you violate the covenant of the
754 tn Heb “and you walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
755 tn Or “perish.”
756 tn Heb “your fathers.”
757 tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
758 tn Or “served.”
759 tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity.
760 tn Or “through.”
761 tn Heb “I gave to Esau Mount Seir to possess it.”
762 tn Heb “by that which I did in its midst.”
763 tn Heb “they”; the referent (the fathers) has been specified in the translation for clarity (see the previous verse).
764 tn Or “put darkness between you and the Egyptians.”
765 tn Heb “and he brought over them the sea and covered them.”
766 tn Heb “your eyes saw.”
767 tn Heb “many days.”
768 tn Or “took possession of.”
769 tn Heb “arose and fought.”
770 tn Heb “sent and called.”
771 tn Or “to curse.”
772 tn The infinitive absolute follows the finite verb in the Hebrew text and indicates continuation or repetition of the action. Balaam pronounced several oracles of blessing over Israel (see Num 23-24).
773 tn Heb “blessing.” Balaam’s “blessings” were actually prophecies of how God would prosper Israel.
774 tn Heb “hand.”
775 map For location see Map5-B2; Map6-E1; Map7-E1; Map8-E3; Map10-A2; Map11-A1.
776 tn Or perhaps, “citizens.”
777 tn Traditionally, “the hornet” (so KJV, NKJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV) but the precise meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (cf. NEB “panic”).
778 tn The LXX has “twelve,” apparently understanding this as a reference to Amorite kings west of the Jordan (see Josh 5:1, rather than the trans-Jordanian Amorite kings Sihon and Og (see Josh 2:10; 9:10).
779 tn Heb “and it drove them out from before you, the two kings of the Amorites, not by your sword and not by your bow.” The words “I gave you the victory” are supplied for clarification.
780 tn Or perhaps, “for.”
781 tn The words “the produce of” are supplied for clarification.
782 sn Joshua quotes the
783 tn Heb “fear.”
784 tn Or “and serve.”
785 tn Heb “your fathers.”
786 tn Or “served.”
787 tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.
788 tn Or “and serve.”
789 tn Heb “if it is bad in your eyes.”
790 tn Or “to serve.”
791 tn Or “will serve.”
792 tn Heb “your fathers.”
793 tn Or “served.”
794 tn Heb “the river,” referring to the Euphrates. This has been specified in the translation for clarity; see v. 3.
795 tn Heb “house.”
796 tn Or “will serve.”
797 tn Heb “to.”
798 tn Or “can serve.”
799 tn Heb “of the house of slavery.”
800 tn Heb “for the
801 tn Or “great signs.”
802 tn Heb “and he guarded us in all the way in which we walked and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.”
803 tn Or “will serve.”
804 tn Heb “said to.”
805 tn Heb “you are not able to serve.”
806 sn For an excellent discussion of Joshua’s logical argument here, see T. C. Butler, Joshua (WBC), 274-75.
807 tn In the Hebrew text both the divine name (אֱלֹהִים, ’elohim) and the adjective (קְדֹשִׁים, qÿdoshim, “holy”) are plural. Normally the divine name, when referring to the one true God, takes singular modifiers, but this is a rare exception where the adjective agrees grammatically with the honorific plural noun. See GKC §124.i and IBHS 122.
808 tn Heb “lift up” or “take away.”
809 tn Or “when.”
810 tn Or “and serve.”
811 tn The words “against you” are added for clarification.
812 tn Heb “bring you to an end.”
813 tn Heb “after he did good for you.”
814 tn The translation assumes that כִּי (ki) is emphatic. Another option is to take it as explanatory, “No, for we will….”
815 tn Or “will serve.”
816 tn Heb “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves the
817 sn Like witnesses in a court of law, Israel’s solemn vow to worship the Lord will testify against them in the divine court if the nation ever violates its commitment.
818 tn The words “Joshua said” are supplied for clarification.
819 tn Heb “bend your heart toward.” The term לֵבָב (levav, “heart”) probably here refers to the people’s volition or will.
820 tn Or “will serve.”
821 tn Heb “and listen to his voice.”
822 tn Heb “cut a covenant.”
823 tn Heb “a statute and a judgment.”
824 tn Heb “all the words of the
825 tn Or “lest,” “so that you might not.”
826 tn Heb “And Joshua sent the people away, each to his inheritance.”
827 tn Heb “after these things.”
828 tn Heb “in the territory of his inheritance.”
829 tn Or “served.”
830 tn Heb “all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived him.”
831 tn Heb “who knew all the work of the
832 tn Heb “one hundred qesitahs.” The Hebrew word קְשִׂיטָה (qesitah) is generally understood to refer to a unit of money, but the value and/or weight is unknown. The word occurs only here and in Gen 33:19 and Job 42:11.
833 tn Heb “and they became for the sons of Joseph an inheritance.” One might think “bones” is the subject of the verb “they became,” but the verb is masculine, while “bones” is feminine. The translation follows the emendation suggested in the BHS note, which appeals to the Syriac and Vulgate for support. The emended reading understands “the part (of the field)” as the subject of the verb “became.” The emended verb is feminine singular; this agrees with “the part” (of the field), which is feminine in Hebrew.
834 tn Heb “in Gibeah of Phinehas, his son, which had been given to him in the hill country of Ephraim.”