1The whole community of Israel gathered together at Shiloh. They set up the tent of meeting there. The country was brought under their control.2But there were still seven tribes in Israel who had not yet received their shares of land.3So Joshua spoke to the Israelites. He said, ‘The LORD, the God of your people, has given you this land. How long will you wait before you begin to take it over?4Appoint three men from each tribe. I’ll send them to map out the land. Then they’ll write a report about its features. The report will point out the share of land each tribe will receive. Then the men will return to me.5You must divide the land up into seven shares. Judah must remain in its territory in the south. The people in Joseph’s family line must remain in their territory in the north.6Write reports about the features of those seven shares of land. Bring them here to me. Then I’ll cast lots for you in the sight of the LORD our God.7But the Levites don’t get any share of your land. That’s because their share is to serve the LORD as priests. The tribes of Gad and Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh have already received their shares. They are on the east side of the River Jordan. Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave their shares to them.’8The men started out on their way to map out the land. Joshua instructed them, ‘Go and map out the land. Write a report about its features. Then return to me. I’ll cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the sight of the LORD.’9So the men left and went through the land. They wrote a report about its features on a scroll. It showed how they divided up the land into seven shares. It listed the towns in each share. The men returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh.10Then Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh in the sight of the LORD. There he gave out a share of land to each of the remaining tribes in Israel.
Land is given to Benjamin
11The first lot drawn out was for the tribe of Benjamin, according to its family groups. The territory they were given was located between the tribes of the people of Judah and the people of Joseph. Here are the borders of Benjamin’s territory.12On the north side their border started at the River Jordan. It went past the north slope of Jericho. Then it headed west into the central hill country. It came to an end at the Desert of Beth Aven.13From there the border crossed to the south slope of Bethel. Then it went down to Ataroth Addar on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.14From the hill that faces Beth Horon on the south the border turned south. Then the border went along the west side of the hill. It came to an end at Kiriath Jearim. That town belongs to the people of Judah. That was the border on the west.15The border on the south side started at the west edge of Kiriath Jearim. It came to an end at the springs of Nephtoah.16It went down to the foot of the hill that faces the Valley of Ben Hinnom. The hill is north of the Valley of Rephaim. The border continued down the Hinnom Valley. It went along the south slope of Jerusalem, where the people of Jebus live. It continued on to En Rogel.17Then it curved north. It went to En Shemesh. It continued on to Geliloth. Geliloth faces the Pass of Adummim. The border ran down to the Stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben.18It continued to the north slope of Beth Arabah. It went on down into the Arabah Valley.19From there it went to the north slope of Beth Hoglah. It came to an end at the north bay of the Dead Sea. That’s where the River Jordan flows into the Dead Sea. That was the border on the south.20The River Jordan formed the border on the east side. Those were the borders that marked out on all sides the land the family groups of Benjamin received as their share.21Here is a list of towns given to the tribe of Benjamin, according to its family groups. Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,22Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,23Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,24Kephar Ammoni, Ophni and Geba. The total number of towns and their villages was 12.25Here is another list of towns given to Benjamin. Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,26Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,27Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,28Zelah, Haeleph, Jerusalem, Gibeah and Kiriath. The total number of towns and their villages was 14. That was the share of land the family groups of Benjamin received.
Joshua 18
English Standard Version
Allotment of the Remaining Land
1Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them. (Jos 19:51; Jos 21:2; Jos 22:9; Jos 22:12)2There remained among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned.3So Joshua said to the people of Israel, “How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land, which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? (Jud 18:9)4Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me.5They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall continue in his territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall continue in their territory on the north. (Jos 15:1; Jos 16:1; Jos 16:4)6And you shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God. (Jos 14:2; Jos 18:10)7The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their heritage. And Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.” (Jos 13:8; Jos 13:33)8So the men arose and went, and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go up and down in the land and write a description and return to me. And I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.”9So the men went and passed up and down in the land and wrote in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions. Then they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh,10and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord. And there Joshua apportioned the land to the people of Israel, to each his portion. (Jos 11:23; Jos 12:7; Jos 18:6)
The Inheritance for Benjamin
11The lot of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to its clans came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the people of Judah and the people of Joseph.12On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan. Then the boundary goes up to the shoulder north of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and it ends at the wilderness of Beth-aven. (Jos 7:2; Jos 16:1; Jos 18:21)13From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the shoulder of Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon. (Jos 10:10; Jos 16:2; Jos 16:3; Jos 16:5)14Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city belonging to the people of Judah. This forms the western side. (Jos 15:9; Jos 19:11)15And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron,[1] to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. (Jos 18:14)16Then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the Valley of Rephaim. And it then goes down the Valley of Hinnom, south of the shoulder of the Jebusites, and downward to En-rogel. (Jos 12:4; Jos 15:7; Jos 15:8)17Then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim. Then it goes down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, (Jos 15:6)18and passing on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-arabah[2] it goes down to the Arabah. (Jos 11:2; Jos 15:6)19Then the boundary passes on to the north of the shoulder of Beth-hoglah. And the boundary ends at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. (Jos 15:2; Jos 18:17)20The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin, according to their clans, boundary by boundary all around.21Now the cities of the tribe of the people of Benjamin according to their clans were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, (Jos 18:12)22Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,23Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,24Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, Geba—twelve cities with their villages:25Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,26Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,27Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,28Zela, Haeleph, Jebus[3] (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah[4] and Kiriath-jearim[5]—fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the people of Benjamin according to its clans. (Jos 15:8)