Joshua 15:1--17:18

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. ¹  15:2 Their southern border started at the southern tip of the Salt Sea, ²  15:3 extended ³  south of the Scorpion Ascent, ⁴  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, ⁵  and ended at the sea. This was their ⁶  southern border.

15:5 The eastern border was the Salt Sea to the mouth ⁷  of the Jordan River. ⁸ 

The northern border started north of the Salt Sea at the mouth of the Jordan, ⁹  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 ¹⁰  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), ¹¹  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. ¹²  These were the borders of the tribe of Judah and its clans. ¹³ 

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.) ¹⁴  15:14 Caleb drove out ¹⁵  from there three Anakites – Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, descendants of Anak. 15:15 From there he attacked the people of Debir. ¹⁶  (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, ¹⁷  captured it, Caleb ¹⁸  gave Acsah his daughter to him as a wife.

15:18 One time Acsah ¹⁹  came and charmed her father ²⁰  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. ²¹  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: ²²  15:21 These cities were located at the southern extremity of Judah’s tribal land near the border of Edom: ²³  Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 15:22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 15:23 Kedesh, Hazor, ²⁴  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. ²⁵ 

15:33 These cities were ²⁶  in the lowlands: ²⁷  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 ²⁸  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 ²⁹  and the border at the Mediterranean Sea. ³⁰ 

15:48 These cities were ³¹  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, ³²  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 ³³  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. ³⁴  The Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this very day. ³⁵ 

Joseph’s Tribal Lands

16:1 The land allotted to Joseph’s descendants extended from the Jordan at Jericho ³⁶  to the waters of Jericho to the east, through the desert and on up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel. ³⁷  16:2 The southern border ³⁸  extended from Bethel to Luz, ³⁹  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. ⁴⁰  16:5 The territory of the tribe of Ephraim by its clans included the following: ⁴¹  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, ⁴²  and extended to the Jordan River. ⁴³  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 ⁴⁴  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. ⁴⁵ 

16:10 The Ephraimites ⁴⁶  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. ⁴⁷  The descendants of Makir, Manasseh’s firstborn and the father of Gilead, received land, for they were warriors. ⁴⁸  They were assigned Gilead and Bashan. ⁴⁹  17:2 The rest of Manasseh’s descendants were also assigned land ⁵⁰  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.” ⁵¹  So Joshua ⁵²  assigned them land among their uncles, as the Lord had commanded. ⁵³  17:5 Manasseh was allotted ten shares of land, ⁵⁴  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 ⁵⁵  from Asher to Micmethath which is near ⁵⁶  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, ⁵⁷  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 ⁵⁸  western border and their territory ⁵⁹  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, ⁶⁰  the three of Napheth, ⁶¹  and the towns surrounding all these cities. ⁶²  17:12 But the men ⁶³  of Manasseh were unable to conquer these cities; the Canaanites managed ⁶⁴  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. ⁶⁵ 

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.” ⁶⁶  17:15 Joshua replied to them, “Since you have so many people, ⁶⁷  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 ⁶⁸  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.” ⁶⁹  17:17 Joshua said to the family ⁷⁰  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 ⁷¹  will be yours; though it is a forest, you can clear it and it will be entirely yours. ⁷²  You can conquer the Canaanites, though they have chariots with iron-rimmed wheels and are strong.”

[15:1]  ¹ 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.”

[15:2]  ² tn Heb “Their southern border was from the end of the Salt Sea, from the tongue that faces to the south.”

[15:3]  ³ tn Heb “went out.”

[15:3]  ⁴ tn Or “the Ascent of Scorpions” (עַקְרַבִּים [’aqrabbim] means “scorpions” in Hebrew).

[15:4]  ⁵ tn Traditionally “the Brook of Egypt,” although a number of recent translations have “the Wadi of Egypt” (cf. NAB, NIV, NRSV).

[15:4]  ⁶ tn The translation follows the LXX at this point. The MT reads, “This will be your southern border.”

[15:5]  ⁷ tn Heb “end.”

[15:5]  ⁸ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied for clarity.

[15:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “the border on the northern side was from the tongue of the sea, from the end of the Jordan.”

[15:7]  ¹⁰ tn Or “ascent.”

[15:8]  ¹¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:12]  ¹² tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

[15:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “this was the border of the sons of Judah round about, by their clans.”

[15:13]  ¹⁴ 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 Lord to Joshua, Kiriath Arba (the father of Anak), it is Hebron.”

[15:14]  ¹⁵ tn Or “dispossessed.”

[15:15]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he went up against the inhabitants of Debir.”

[15:17]  ¹⁷ tn “Caleb’s brother” may refer either to Othniel or to Kenaz. If Kenaz was the brother of Caleb, Othniel is Caleb’s nephew.

[15:17]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Caleb) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Acsah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:18]  ²⁰ 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.

[15:19]  ²¹ 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).

[15:20]  ²² tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Judah by their clans.”

[15:21]  ²³ 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.”

[15:23]  ²⁴ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

[15:32]  ²⁵ 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.

[15:33]  ²⁶ tn The words “these cities were” have been supplied for English stylistic reasons.

[15:33]  ²⁷ tn Or “the foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”

[15:45]  ²⁸ tn Heb “daughters.”

[15:47]  ²⁹ tn See the note on this place name in 15:4.

[15:47]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

[15:48]  ³¹ tn The words “These cities were” have been supplied in the translation for English stylistic reasons.

[15:52]  ³² tc Some Hebrew mss and some mss of the LXX read “Rumah” in place of “Dumah.”

[15:61]  ³³ tn The words “These cities were” have been supplied for English stylistic reasons.

[15:63]  ³⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[15:63]  ³⁵ 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).

[16:1]  ³⁶ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[16:1]  ³⁷ 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.”

[16:2]  ³⁸ tn Heb “it”; the referent (the southern border) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[16:2]  ³⁹ 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]”).

[16:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Or “received their inheritance.”

[16:5]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “The territory of the sons of Ephraim was for their clans.”

[16:7]  ⁴² map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

[16:7]  ⁴³ tn The word “River” is not in the Hebrew text, but has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[16:8]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim.”

[16:9]  ⁴⁵ 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.”

[16:10]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “they”; the referent (the Ephraimites) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:1]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “and the lot belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph.”

[17:1]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “to Makir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, for he was a man of war.”

[17:1]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “Gilead and Bashan belonged to him.”

[17:2]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and it belonged to the sons of Manasseh who remained.”

[17:4]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “The Lord commanded Moses to assign to us an inheritance in the midst of our brothers.” Since Zelophehad had no sons, “brothers” must refer to their uncles, as the next sentence makes clear.

[17:4]  ⁵² tn Heb “he.” The referent is probably Joshua, although Eleazar is mentioned first in the preceding list.

[17:4]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and he assigned to them in accordance with the mouth [i.e., command] of the Lord an inheritance in the midst of the brothers of their father.”

[17:5]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and the allotted portions of Manasseh fell out ten.”

[17:7]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “was.”

[17:7]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “in front of”; perhaps “east of.”

[17:9]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “these cities belonged to Ephraim in the midst of the cities of Manasseh.”

[17:10]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “his”; the referent (Manasseh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:10]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “they”; the referent (their territory) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[17:11]  ⁶⁰ map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.

[17:11]  ⁶¹ tn Or “the third [is] Napheth”; or “Napheth-dor.” The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain.

[17:11]  ⁶² 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.”

[17:12]  ⁶³ 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.

[17:12]  ⁶⁴ tn Or “were determined.”

[17:13]  ⁶⁵ sn On the Israelites’ failure to conquer the Canaanites completely, see Judg 1:27-28.

[17:14]  ⁶⁶ 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 Lord has blessed me?” The construction עַד אֲשֶׁר־עַד־כֹּה (’ad-’asher-’ad-koh, “until [the time] which, until now”) is extremely awkward. An emendation of the first עַד (’ad) to עַל (’al) yields a more likely reading: “for until now” (see HALOT 2:787).

[17:15]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “If you are a great people.”

[17:16]  ⁶⁸ 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.

[17:16]  ⁶⁹ 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.

[17:17]  ⁷⁰ tn Heb “house.”

[17:18]  ⁷¹ 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.

[17:18]  ⁷² tn Heb “and its limits will be yours.”