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New Jerusalem Bible with Apocrypha
Book of Joshua

This first book of the deuteronomic history begins by recounting the conquest of the Promised Land. It gives the impression of a sweeping and quick victory by Yahweh and his lieutenant Joshua*a way of stressing that Israel owes its land to Yahweh. In fact almost all the stories of conquest (chh. 2*9) concern the territories of the small tribe of Benjamin and contain folk traditions of the tribe. Many of them give historical reasons for notable features of the countryside, e.g. the two stories to explain a group of stones in the Jordan and at Gilgal (4:1-9, 19-24), or the explanation of the spectacular ruin at Ai. The story of the destruction of Jericho is presented as a religious, almost liturgical, act to emphasise that Yahweh alone is responsible for the victory, and to relate this fine empty site (in fact destroyed long before) to the conquest. Other biblical passages make clear that large tracts remained too strong for Israel until David's time. And even in the course of this conquering progress there are warnings, when victory is turned to defeat because of disobedience to Yahweh's commands. The distribution of land by Joshua in the second part of the book is a formal justification of the later holdings of the tribes and the theoretical boundaries of the Holy Land. Since cities of refuge were not instituted before Solomon's time this list (ch. 20) must also be later. The title of all the tribes to their ancestral land was its grant by Yahweh through his servant Joshua. In fact the land was acquired in many different ways: some elements in Israel never went down to Egypt, some infiltrated peacefully, some invaded from the south, only some (with Joshua) from the east. The great assembly at Shechem which forms the conclusion of the book seals the religious bonds of the various Semitic groups in Palestine which join Joshua and thus commit themselves to his victorious God.

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Chapter 1

THE CONQUEST OF THE PROMISED LAND

^1:1When Moses, servant of Yahweh, was dead, Yahweh spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' adjutant. He said, ²*Moses my servant is dead; go now and cross this Jordan, you and this whole people, into the country which I am giving to them (the Israelites). ³Every place you tread with the soles of your feet I shall give you, as I declared to Moses that I would. ⁴From the desert and the Lebanon, to the Great River, the Euphrates (the entire country of the Hittites), and as far as the Great Sea to westward, is to be your territory. ⁵As long as you live, no one will be able to resist you; I shall be with you as I was with Moses; I shall not fail you or desert you.

God's help conditional on faithfulness to the Law

⁶"Be strong and stand firm, for you are the man to give this people possession of the land which I swore to their ancestors that I would give them. ⁷Only be strong and stand very firm and be careful to keep the whole Law which my servant Moses laid down for you. Do not swerve from this either to right or to left, and then you will succeed wherever you go. ⁸Have the book of this Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may carefully keep everything that is written in it. Then your undertakings will prosper, then you will have success. ⁹Have I not told you: Be strong and stand firm? Be fearless and undaunted, for go where you may, Yahweh your God is with you.*

Support from the Transjordanian tribes

¹⁰Joshua then gave the people's officials this instruction: ¹¹"Go through the camp and give the people this order, Make provisions ready, for in three days' time you will cross this Jordan and go on to take possession of the land which Yahweh your God is giving you as your own." ¹²Joshua then said to the Reubenites and Gadites and the half*tribe of Manasseh, ¹³*Remember the order given you by Moses, servant of Yahweh: Yahweh your God, in bringing you to rest, has given you the land where we are. ¹⁴Your wives, your little ones and your cattle must stay in the country given you by Moses beyond the Jordan. But all you fighting men must cross in battle formation at the head of your brothers and help them, ¹⁵until Yahweh grants rest to your brothers and you alike, when they too have taken possession of the land which Yahweh your God is giving to them. Then you may go back and take possession of the land which belongs to you and which Moses, servant of Yahweh, has given you on the eastern side of the Jordan.* ¹⁶They answered Joshua, *We will do whatever you order us, and wherever you send us we will go. ¹⁷We obeyed Moses in everything, and now we will obey you. Only may Yahweh your God be with you as he was with Moses! ¹⁸If anyone rebels against your orders or will not listen to your commands, let him be put to death. Only be strong and stand firm.*

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Chapter 2

Joshua's spies at Jericho

^2:1From Shittim, Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men to reconnoitre. He said, *Go and explore the country and Jericho.* They left; they went into the house of a prostitute called Rahab, to spend the night there. ²The king of Jericho was told, *Some men have come here tonight from the Israelites, to reconnoitre the country.* ³The king of Jericho then sent a message to Rahab, *Send out the men who came to you and are lodging in your house, for they have come to reconnoitre the whole country.* ⁴But the woman took the two men and hid them. *It is true,* she said, *the men did come to me, but I did not know where they came from. ⁵When the city gate was about to be closed at nightfall, the men went out and I cannot say where they have gone. Follow them quickly and you will overtake them.* ⁶She had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under some stalks of flax which she had laid out there. ⁷The men hurried in pursuit of them towards the Jordan, as far as the fords, and the gate was shut once the pursuers had gone through.

The pact between Rahab and the spies

⁸The two men had not yet settled down for the night when Rahab came up to them on the roof. ⁹She said to them, *I know that Yahweh has given you this country, that we are afraid of you and that everyone living in this country has been seized with terror at your approach; ¹⁰for we have heard how Yahweh dried up the Sea of Reeds before you when you came out of Egypt and what you did to the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put under the curse of destruction. ¹¹When we heard this, our hearts failed us, and now no one has any courage left to resist you, since Yahweh your God is God both in heaven above and on earth beneath. ¹²So, swear to me now by Yahweh, since I have been kind to you, ¹³that you in your turn will be kind to my father's family; and give me a sure sign of this: that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters and all who belong to them, and will preserve us from death.* ¹⁴The men replied, *We pledge you our lives, provided that you say nothing about our mission. When Yahweh has given us the country, we shall treat you kindly and faithfully.* ¹⁵She then let them down from the window on a rope, as her house was against the city wall and she actually lived in the wall. ¹⁶*Make for the hills,* she said, *or you may run into your pursuers. Hide there for three days, until your pursuers have come back, and then go on your way.* ¹⁷The men said, *This is how we shall fulfil the oath which you have made us swear: ¹⁸when we invade the country, you must tie this scarlet cord to the window from which you let us down, and collect your father, mother, brothers and entire family inside your house. ¹⁹If anyone goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his own head and we shall not be to blame; but the blood of all staying inside the house with you will be on our heads if a hand is laid on any of them. ²⁰But if you divulge our mission in the meanwhile, we shall be free of the oath which you have made us swear.* ²¹She replied, *Let it be as you say.* She let them go, and they left. She then tied the scarlet cord to the window.

The spies return

22They left and made for the hills. They stayed there for three days, until their pursuers had gone home, having scoured the countryside without finding them. ²³The two men then came down again from the hills, crossed over and, going to Joshua son of Nun, told him everything that had happened to them. ²⁴To Joshua they said, *Yahweh has put the whole country at our mercy, and its inhabitants are all panic'stricken at our approach.*

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Chapter 3

THE CROSSING OF THE JORDAN
Before the crossing

^3:1Early in the morning, Joshua struck camp and set out from Shittim with all the Israelites. They went as far as the Jordan and there they camped before they crossed. ²Three days later, the officials went through the camp ³and gave the people these instructions, *When you see the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God being carried by the levitical priests, you will leave your position and follow it, ^4bso that you may know which way to take, since you have never gone this way before. ^4aBetween you and the ark, however, keep a distance of about two thousand cubits: do not go near it.* ⁵Joshua said to the people, *Sanctify yourselves, since tomorrow Yahweh will work wonders among you.* ⁶Joshua then said to the priests, *Take up the ark of the covenant and cross at the head of the people.* They took up the ark of the covenant and moved to the head of the people.

Final instructions

7Yahweh said to Joshua, *This very day, I shall begin to make you great in the eyes of all Israel so that they will know that, as I was with Moses, so I shall be with you. ⁸Now, give this order to the priests carrying the ark of the covenant, "When you have reached the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you must halt in the Jordan itself." * ⁹To the Israelites, Joshua then said, *Come closer and hear the words of Yahweh your God.* ¹⁰Joshua said, *By this, you are to know that the living God is with you and without a doubt will expel the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites before you. ¹¹Look, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of the whole earth is about to move into the Jordan at your head. ¹²Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from each tribe. ¹³As soon as the priests carrying the ark of Yahweh, Lord of the whole earth, have set the soles of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off; the upper waters flowing down will stop as a single mass.*

Crossing the Jordan

14Accordingly, when the people left their tents to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant ahead of the people. ¹⁵As soon as the bearers of the ark reached the Jordan and the feet of the priests carrying the ark touched the waters*the Jordan is in spate throughout the harvest season* ¹⁶the upper waters stood still and formed a single mass over a great distance, at Adam, the town near Zarethan, while those flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely separated. The people crossed opposite Jericho. ¹⁷The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh stood firm on dry ground in mid*Jordan, while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until the whole nation had completed its crossing of the Jordan.

The twelve memorial stones

4When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, Yahweh spoke to Joshua and said, ²*Choose twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, and give them this order, ³"Here, from mid*Jordan, from the place where the priests* feet were standing, take twelve stones; carry them with you and set them down in the camp where you pass the night." * ⁴Joshua called the twelve men whom he had selected from the Israelites, one man from each tribe, ⁵and Joshua said to them, *Go on ahead of the ark of Yahweh your God into mid*Jordan, and each of you take one stone on his shoulder, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel, ⁶to make this a sign among you; and when, in the future, your children ask you, "What do these stones mean for you?" ⁷you will then tell them, "The waters of the Jordan separated before the ark of the covenant of Yahweh; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the river separated. These stones are an everlasting reminder of this to the Israelites."

8The Israelites did as Joshua ordered; they took twelve stones from mid*Jordan corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel, as Yahweh had told Joshua; they carried them over to the camp and set them down there. ⁹Joshua then erected twelve stones in mid*Jordan, on the spot where the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are still there today.

The crossing ends

10The priests carrying the ark stood still in mid*Jordan, until everything had been done that Yahweh had ordered Joshua to tell the people (in accordance with everything that Moses had ordered Joshua); and the people hurried across. ¹¹When the people had finished crossing, the ark of Yahweh then crossed, with the priests, to the head of the people. ¹²The sons of Reuben, the sons of Gad and the half*tribe of Manasseh crossed in battle formation at the head of the Israelites, as Moses had told them. ¹³Some forty thousand warriors in arms, they crossed in Yahweh's presence, ready for battle, towards the plain of Jericho. ¹⁴That day, Yahweh made Joshua great in the eyes of all Israel, who respected him as they had respected Moses, as long as he lived. ¹⁵Yahweh said to Joshua, ¹⁶*Order the priests carrying the ark of the Testimony to come up out of the Jordan.* ¹⁷And Joshua gave the order to the priests, *Come up, out of the Jordan!* ¹⁸Now, when the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came up out of mid*Jordan, no sooner had the soles of the priests* feet touched solid ground, than the waters of the Jordan returned to their bed and ran on, in spate as before.

Arrival at Gilgal

19It was the tenth day of the first month when the people came up from the Jordan and made their camp at Gilgal, on the eastern border of Jericho. ²⁰As regards those twelve stones, which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set them up at Gilgal. ²¹He then said to the Israelites, *When, in the future, your children ask their fathers, "What are these stones?" ²²you will explain to your children, "Israel crossed this Jordan dry'shod. ²³For Yahweh your God dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of you until you had crossed, just as Yahweh your God did to the Sea of Reeds, which he dried up before us until we had crossed it; ²⁴so that all the peoples of the earth may know how mighty the hand of Yahweh is, and always stand in awe of Yahweh your God." *

Terror of the peoples west of the Jordan

5When all the kings of the Amorites living to westward across the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites living on the seaboard, heard that Yahweh had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed, their hearts failed and they lost all courage to resist the Israelites.

Circumcision of the Hebrews at Gilgal

2At this time Yahweh said to Joshua, *Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again (a second time). ³Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites on the Hill of Foreskins. ⁴The reason why Joshua circumcised them was this. All the males of the people who had come out of Egypt of age to bear arms had died in the desert on their journey after leaving Egypt. ⁵Now, all the people who came out had been circumcised; but none of those born in the desert, during the journey, after leaving Egypt, had been circumcised; ⁶for the Israelites walked the desert for forty years, until the whole nation had died out, that is, the men who had come out of Egypt of age to bear arms; they had not obeyed the voice of Yahweh, and Yahweh had sworn to them never to let them see the land which he had sworn to their ancestors that he would give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. ⁷But in place of these he set their sons, and these were the ones whom Joshua circumcised: they were uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised during the journey. ⁸When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they stayed resting in the camp till they were well again. ⁹Yahweh then said to Joshua, *Today I have taken the shame of Egypt away from you.* Hence, the place has been called Gilgal ^* ever since.

Celebration of the Passover

10The Israelites pitched their camp at Gilgal and kept the Passover there on the fourteenth day of the month, at evening, in the plain of Jericho. ¹¹On the very next day after the Passover, they ate what the land produced, unleavened bread and roasted ears of corn. ¹²The manna stopped the day after they had eaten the produce of the land. The Israelites from that year onwards ate the produce of Canaan and had no more manna.

C: THE CONQUEST OF JERICHO

Prelude: a theophany

13Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him, grasping a naked sword. Joshua walked towards him and said to him, *Are you on our side or on that of our enemies?* ¹⁴He replied, *On neither side. I have come now as the captain of the army of Yahweh.* Joshua fell on his face to the ground, worshipping him, and said, *What has my Lord to say to his servant?* ¹⁵The captain of the army of Yahweh answered Joshua, *Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.* And Joshua did so.

Capture of Jericho ^*

6Now, Jericho had shut and barricaded its gates (against the Israelites): no one came out and no one went in. ²Yahweh then said to Joshua, *Look, I am putting Jericho, its picked troops and its king, at your mercy. ³All you warriors must march round the city (go right round the city once, doing the same on six successive days. ⁴Seven priests must carry seven ram's*horn trumpets in front of the ark. On the seventh day, you will go seven times round the city and the priests will blow their trumpets). ⁵When the ram's horn sounds (when you hear the sound of the trumpet), the entire people must utter a mighty war cry and the city wall will collapse then and there; the people will then go into the assault, each man straight ahead.* ⁶Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them, *Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests carry seven ram's*horn trumpets ahead of the ark of Yahweh.* ⁷To the people he then said, *Forward! March round the city, and let the vanguard march ahead of the ark of Yahweh!* ⁸(Everything was done as Joshua had given orders to the people.) Seven priests, carrying seven ram's*horn trumpets ahead of Yahweh, moved forward blowing their trumpets; the ark of the covenant of Yahweh came behind them, ⁹the vanguard marched ahead of the priests, who blew their trumpets, the rearguard followed behind the ark; the men marched, the trumpets sounded. ¹⁰Joshua had given the people the following orders, *Do not raise a war cry, do not let your voice be heard (not a word must pass your lips), until the day when I say, "Raise the war cry." That is when you must raise the war cry.* ¹¹He made the ark go round the city (going round it once), then they went back to camp, where they spent the night. ¹²Joshua got up early, and the priests took up the ark of Yahweh. ¹³Carrying the seven ram's*horn trumpets, the seven priests walked ahead of the ark of Yahweh, blowing their trumpets as they went, while the vanguard marched ahead of them and the rearguard behind the ark of Yahweh, and the march went on to the sound of the trumpet. ¹⁴They marched once round the city (on the second day) and went back to camp; and so on for six days. ¹⁵On the seventh day, they got up at dawn and marched (in the same manner) round the city seven times. (This was the only day when they marched round the city seven times.) ¹⁶At the seventh time, the priests blew their trumpets and Joshua said to the people, *Raise the war cry, for Yahweh has given you the city!

Jericho placed under the curse of destruction

17*The city and everyone in it must be devoted to Yahweh under the curse of destruction; the life of Rahab the prostitute alone must be spared, with all those with her in her house, since she hid the messengers we sent. ¹⁸But beware of the curse of destruction, yourselves, for fear that, moved by greed, you take something lying under the curse; that would put the camp of Israel under the same curse and bring disaster on it. ¹⁹All the silver and all the gold, everything made of bronze or iron, will be consecrated to Yahweh and put in his treasury.* ²⁰The people raised the war cry, the trumpets sounded. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a mighty war cry and the wall collapsed then and there. At once the people stormed the city, each man going straight forward; and they captured the city. ²¹They enforced the curse of destruction on everyone in the city: men and women, young and old, including the oxen, the sheep and the donkeys, slaughtering them all.

Rahab's house preserved

22Joshua said to the two men who had reconnoitred the country, *Go into the prostitute's house, and bring the woman out with all who belong to her, as you swore to her that you would.* ²³The young men who had been spies went and brought Rahab out, with her father and mother and brothers and all who belonged to her. They brought out all her clansmen too, and put them in a place of safety outside the camp of Israel. ²⁴They burned the city and everything inside it, except the silver, the gold and the things of bronze and iron; these they put into the treasury of Yahweh's house. ²⁵But Rahab the prostitute, her father's family and all who belonged to her, these Joshua spared. She is still living in Israel even today, for having hidden the messengers whom Joshua sent to reconnoitre Jericho.

A curse on anyone who rebuilds Jericho

26At that time Joshua made them take this oath before Yahweh: Accursed before Yahweh be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city (Jericho)! On his first*born will he lay its foundations, on his youngest son set up its gates! ²⁷So Yahweh was with Joshua, whose fame spread throughout the country.

Violation of the curse of destruction

7But the Israelites were unfaithful to the curse of destruction. Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took something that fell under the curse of destruction, and the anger of Yahweh was aroused against the Israelites.

The sacrilege punished by a repulse at Ai

2Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai ^* (which is near Beth*Aven), to the east of Bethel, having said to them, *Go up and reconnoitre the country.* They went up and reconnoitred Ai. ³Coming back to Joshua, they said, *There is no need for the whole people to go up; let some two or three thousand go and attack Ai. Spare the whole people such an effort; there are only a few of them!* ⁴Of the people, some three thousand marched up, but these broke before the people of Ai, ⁵who killed some thirty'six of them and pursued them from the town gate as far as Shebarim, and on the slope cut them to pieces. The hearts of the people melted away and turned to water.

Joshua's prayer

6Joshua then tore his clothes and prostrated himself before the ark of Yahweh till nightfall; the elders of Israel did the same, and all poured dust on their heads. ⁷And Joshua said, *Alas, Lord Yahweh, why did you bother to bring this nation across the Jordan, if it was only to put us at the mercy of the Amorites and destroy us? If only we could have settled down on the other side of the Jordan! ⁸Forgive me, Lord, but what can I say, now that Israel has turned tail on the enemy? ⁹The Canaanites, all the inhabitants of the land, will hear of it; they will unite against us to wipe our name from the earth. And what will you do about your great Name then?*

Yahweh's answer

10Yahweh said to Joshua, *Stand up! Why are you lying prostrate like this? ¹¹Israel has sinned; they have violated the covenant which I imposed on them. They have gone so far as to take what was under the curse of destruction, they have even stolen it; they have actually hidden it; they have put it in their baggage. ¹²That is why the Israelites cannot stand up to their foes, why they have turned tail on their enemies: because they have come under the curse of destruction themselves. Unless you get rid of the object among you which has been put under the curse of destruction, I shall be with you no longer.* ¹³*Get up, sanctify the people and say, "Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, since Yahweh, the God of Israel, declares: The curse of destruction has now fallen on you, Israel; you will not be able to stand up to your enemies, until you have rid yourselves of that object which has been put under the curse of destruction. ¹⁴Tomorrow morning, therefore, you will come forward tribe by tribe, and then the tribe which Yahweh selects by lot will come forward clan by clan, and the clan which Yahweh selects by lot will come forward family by family, and the family which Yahweh selects by lot will come forward man by man. ¹⁵And the man indicated by lot as regards the object which has been put under the curse of destruction will be delivered to the flames, he and all his possessions, for having violated the covenant with Yahweh and for having committed an infamy in Israel." *

The culprit discovered and punished

16Joshua got up early; he made Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the lot indicated the tribe of Judah. ¹⁷He summoned the clans of Judah, and the lot indicated the clan of Zerah. He summoned the clan of Zerah, family by family, and the lot indicated Zabdi. ¹⁸Joshua then summoned the family of Zabdi, man by man, and the lot indicated Achan son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah. ¹⁹Joshua then said to Achan, *My son, give glory to Yahweh, God of Israel, and confess; tell me what you have done and hide nothing from me.* ²⁰Achan replied to Joshua, *Yes, I am the man who has sinned against Yahweh, God of Israel, and this is what I have done. ²¹In the loot, I saw a fine robe from Shinar and two hundred shekels of silver and an ingot of gold weighing fifty shekels, I set my heart on them and I took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.* ²²Joshua sent messengers; they ran to the tent, and the robe was indeed hidden in the tent, with the silver underneath. ²³They took the things out of the tent and, bringing them to Joshua and all the Israelites, laid them out before Yahweh. ²⁴Joshua then took Achan son of Zerah and led him up to the Vale of Achor, with the silver and the robe and the ingot of gold, his sons, his daughters, his oxen, his donkeys, his sheep, his goats, his tent and all his belongings. All Israel went with him. ²⁵Joshua said, *Why have you brought misfortune on us? Today may Yahweh bring misfortune on you!* And all Israel stoned him to death (and they burned them and threw stones at them). ²⁶Over him, they raised a great mound of stones, which is still there today. Yahweh then relented from his fierce anger. That was why the place was called the Vale of Achor, ^* as it still is today.

D: THE CAPTURE OF AI

The command given to Joshua

8Yahweh then said to Joshua, *Be fearless and undaunted. Take all your fighting men with you. Up! March against Ai. Look, I have put the king of Ai, his people, his town and his territory at your mercy. ²You must treat Ai and its king as you treated Jericho and its king. The only booty you will take are the spoils and the cattle. Take up a concealed position by the town, to the rear of it.*

Joshua's stratagem

3Joshua set out to march against Ai with all the fighting men. Joshua chose thirty thousand of the bravest and sent them out under cover of dark, ⁴having given them these orders, *Pay attention! You must take up a concealed position by the town, at the rear, not very far from the town, and be sure you all keep alert! ⁵I, and the whole people with me, shall advance on the town, and when the people of Ai come out to engage us as they did the first time, we shall run away from them. ⁶They will then give chase, and we shall draw them away from the town, since they will think, "They are running away from us as they did the first time." ⁷You will then burst out of your concealed position and seize the town; Yahweh your God will put it at your mercy. ⁸When you have captured the town, set fire to it, in obedience to Yahweh's command. Well then, these are my orders.* ⁹Joshua sent them off, and they made their way to the place of ambush and took up position between Bethel and Ai, to the west of Ai. Joshua spent the night with the people, ¹⁰then, getting up early next morning, reviewed the people and, with the elders of Israel, marched on Ai at their head. ¹¹All the warriors marching with him advanced on the front of the town and pitched camp north of Ai, with the valley between them and the town. ¹²Joshua took about five thousand men and concealed these between Bethel and Ai, to the west of the town. ¹³The people pitched the main camp to the north of the town and set up its ambush to the west of the town. Joshua went that night into the middle of the plain.

The capture of Ai

14The king of Ai had seen this; the people of the town got up early and hurried out, so that he and all his people could engage Israel in battle on the slope facing the Arabah; but he did not know that an ambush had been laid for him to the rear of the town. ¹⁵Joshua and all Israel pretended to be beaten by them and took to their heels along the road to the desert. ¹⁶All the people in the town joined in the pursuit and, in pursuing Joshua, were drawn away from the town. ¹⁷Not a man was left in Ai (nor in Bethel), who had not gone in pursuit of Israel; and in pursuing Israel they left the town undefended. ¹⁸Yahweh then said to Joshua, *Point the sabre in your hand at Ai; for I am about to put the town at your mercy.* Joshua pointed the sabre in his hand towards the town. ¹⁹No sooner had he stretched out his hand than the men in ambush burst from their position, ran forward, entered the town, captured it and quickly set it on fire. ²⁰When the men of Ai looked back, they saw smoke rising from the town into the sky. None of them had the courage to run in any direction, for the people fleeing towards the desert turned back on their pursuers. ²¹For, once Joshua and all Israel saw that the town had been seized by the men in ambush, and that smoke was rising from the town, they turned about and attacked the men of Ai. ²²The others came out from the town to engage them too, and the men of Ai were thus surrounded by Israelites, some on this side and some on that. The Israelites struck them down until not one was left alive and none to flee; ²³but the king of Ai was taken alive, and brought to Joshua. ²⁴When Israel had finished killing all the inhabitants of Ai in the open ground, and in the desert where they had pursued them, and when every single one had fallen to the sword, all Israel returned to Ai and slaughtered its remaining population. ²⁵The number of those who fell that day, men and women together, was twelve thousand, all people of Ai.

The curse of destruction; the destruction of the town

26Joshua did not draw back the hand with which he had pointed the sabre until he had subjected all the inhabitants of Ai to the curse of destruction. ²⁷For booty, Israel took only the cattle and the spoils of this town, in accordance with the order that Yahweh had given to Joshua. ²⁸Joshua then burned Ai, making it a ruin for evermore, a desolate place even today. ²⁹He hanged the king of Ai from a tree till evening; but at sunset Joshua ordered his body to be taken down from the tree. It was then thrown down at the entrance to the town gate and on top of it was raised a great mound of stones, which is still there today.

E: SACRIFICE AND READING OF THE LAW ON MOUNT EBAL

The altar of undressed stones

30Joshua then built an altar to Yahweh, God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, ³¹as Moses, servant of Yahweh, had ordered the Israelites, as is written in the law of Moses: an altar of undressed stones, on which no iron has been used. On this they presented burnt offerings to Yahweh and communion sacrifices as well.

The reading of the Law

32There, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses, which Moses had written in the presence of the Israelites. ³³All Israel, with their elders, their officials and their judges, stood on either side of the ark, facing the levitical priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant of Yahweh, foreigners with the native*born, half of them on the upper slopes of Mount Gerizim, and half of them on the upper slopes of Mount Ebal, as Moses, servant of Yahweh, had originally ordered for the blessing of the people of Israel. ³⁴After this, Joshua read all the words of the Law*the blessing and the cursing*exactly as it stands written in the Book of the Law. ³⁵Of every word laid down by Moses, not one was left unread by Joshua in the presence of the whole assembly of Israel, including the women and children, and the foreigners living with them.

F: THE TREATY BETWEEN ISRAEL AND THE GIBEONITES

A coalition against Israel

9Hearing these things, all the kings on this side of the Jordan, in the highlands and in the lowlands, all along the coast of the Great Sea towards the Lebanon, Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, with one consent ²formed a fighting alliance against Joshua and Israel.

The ruse of the Gibeonites

3When the inhabitants of Gibeon learned how Joshua had treated Jericho and Ai, for their part, ⁴they had recourse to a ruse. They provided themselves with supplies, and loaded their donkeys with old sacks and with old wineskins which had burst and been sewn up again. ⁵They put on patched old sandals and worn*out clothes. The only bread they took with them to eat was dried up and crumbling. ⁶They came to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, and to him and the men of Israel they said, *We come from a distant country, so make a treaty with us.* ⁷The Israelites answered these Hivites, *For all we know, you may live right among us. How then could we make a treaty with you?* ⁸They said to Joshua, *We are your servants.* *But who are you?* Joshua asked them, *and where do you come from?* ⁹They said, *Your servants have come from a country very far away, because of the fame of Yahweh your God; for we have heard of him and of all that he did in Egypt, ¹⁰and of all that he did to the two Amorite kings who used to live on the other side of the Jordan: Sihon king of Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who used to live at Ashtaroth. ¹¹Because of which, our elders and all the people of our country said to us, "Take provisions with you for the journey; go and meet them and say to them: We are your servants; so make a treaty with us." ¹²Here is our bread; it was warm when we took it from home to provide for our journey the day we set out to come to you, and now, you can see, it is dried up and crumbling. ¹³These wineskins were new when we filled them; you can see, they have burst; and these clothes and sandals of ours are worn out from travelling such a long way.* ¹⁴The leaders sampled some of the food they offered, but they did not ask Yahweh's orders. ¹⁵Joshua made peace with them, and struck a treaty with them guaranteeing their lives, and the leaders of the community ratified it by oath. ¹⁶Now it so happened that three days after the treaty had been made, it became known that they were a neighbouring people, living in Israel's region. ¹⁷The Israelites set out from camp, arriving in their towns three days later. Their towns were Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath*Jearim. ¹⁸The Israelites did not attack them, since the leaders of the community had sworn to them by Yahweh, God of Israel, but the whole community muttered against the leaders.

The Gibeonites* place in the community

19The leaders, however, all said to the whole community, *Since we have sworn an oath to them by Yahweh, God of Israel, we cannot touch them now. ²⁰This is what we shall do with them: let them live, rather than bring retribution down on ourselves on account of the oath which we have sworn to them.* ²¹And the leaders went on, *Let them live, but let them be wood*cutters and water*carriers for the whole community.* Thus spoke the leaders. ²²Joshua sent for the Gibeonites and asked them, *Why did you deceive us by saying, "We live very far away," when in fact you live right among us? ²³From now on, you are accursed and will for ever be serfs, as wood*cutters and water*carriers in the house of my God.* ²⁴Their answer to Joshua was, *We did it because your servants had been rightly told that Yahweh your God had ordered his servant Moses to give you the whole of this country and destroy all its inhabitants before you; also because, as you advanced on us, we feared very greatly for our lives. That was why we did this. ²⁵Now, as you see, we are at your mercy; do to us whatever you think good and right.* ²⁶What he did with them was this: he saved them from the hand of the Israelites, who did not kill them. ²⁷But that very day Joshua made them wood*cutters and water*carriers for the community and for the altar of Yahweh, at the place which he would eventually choose; and so they are today.

G: COALITION OF FIVE AMORITE KINGS
CONQUEST OF SOUTHERN PALESTINE

Five kings make war on Gibeon

10Now, it happened that Adoni*Zedek king of Jerusalem, learned that Joshua had conquered Ai and put the town under the curse of destruction, treating Ai and its king as he had already treated Jericho and its king; and also that the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living with them. ²There was consternation at this, since Gibeon was as important a town as any of the royal towns themselves (it was larger than Ai), while all its citizens were fighting men. ³Consequently, Adoni*Zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, ⁴*Join me up here and help me to conquer Gibeon, since it has made peace with Joshua and the Israelites.* ⁵The five Amorite kings joined forces and went up there, that is, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish and the king of Eglon, they and all their armies; laying siege to Gibeon, they attacked it.

Joshua comes to the rescue of Gibeon

6The men of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal, *Do not desert your servants; come up here quickly to save us and help us, since all the Amorite kings living in the highlands have allied themselves against us.* ⁷Joshua came up from Gilgal, he, all the fighting men and all the bravest of his army. ⁸Yahweh said to Joshua, *Do not be afraid of these people; I have put them at your mercy; not one of them will put up any resistance.* ⁹Having marched from Gilgal throughout the night, Joshua caught them unawares.

Aid from on high

10Yahweh threw them into disorder at the sight of Israel, defeating them completely at Gibeon; furthermore, he pursued them by way of the Descent of Beth*Horon and harassed them as far as Azekah (and as far as Makkedah). ¹¹And as they fled from Israel down the Descent of Beth*Horon, Yahweh hurled huge hailstones from heaven on them all the way to Azekah, and they died. More of them died under the hailstones than under the swords of the Israelites. ¹²Joshua then spoke to Yahweh, the day Yahweh delivered the Amorites to the Israelites. In the presence of Israel, Joshua said: Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and, moon, you too, over the Vale of Aijalon! ¹³And the sun stood still, and the moon halted, until the people had taken vengeance on their enemies. Is this not written in the Book of the Just? The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting for almost a whole day. ¹⁴There was never a day like that before or since, when Yahweh obeyed the voice of a man*for Yahweh was fighting for Israel. ¹⁵Joshua, and all Israel with him, then went back to the camp at Gilgal.

The five kings in the cave at Makkedah

16As regards the five kings, these had fled and hidden in the cave of Makkedah, ¹⁷and news of this was brought to Joshua. *The five kings have been found hiding in the cave at Makkedah.* ¹⁸Joshua said, *Roll great stones over the mouth of the cave and post men there to keep guard. ¹⁹You yourselves, do not stay there doing nothing; pursue the enemy, cut off their line of retreat and do not let them enter their towns, for Yahweh your God has put them at your mercy.* ²⁰When Joshua and the Israelites had finished inflicting a very great defeat on them, to the point of destroying them, those who had escaped alive took refuge in their fortresses. ²¹The people came back to Joshua's camp at Makkedah; they were all safe and sound, and no one dared to attempt anything against the Israelites. ²²Joshua then said, *Clear the mouth of the cave and bring the five kings out to me.* ²³They did so, and brought the five kings out of the cave to take them to him: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish and the king of Eglon. ²⁴When these kings had been brought out, Joshua assembled all the men of Israel and said to the chiefs of the warriors who had fought with him, *Come forward and put your feet on the necks of these kings!* They came forward and put their feet on their necks. ²⁵*Be fearless and undaunted,* Joshua went on, *be strong and stand firm, for this is how Yahweh will deal with all the enemies you fight.* ²⁶With this, Joshua struck and killed them and had them hanged on five trees; they hung there till evening. ²⁷At the hour of sunset, on Joshua's orders, they were taken down from the trees and thrown into the cave where they had been hiding. Great stones were laid over the mouth of the cave, and these are still there to this very day.

The conquest of the southern towns of Canaan

28The same day Joshua captured Makkedah, putting it and its king to the sword; he delivered them over to the curse of destruction, with every living creature there, and let no one escape, and he treated the king of Makkedah as he had treated the king of Jericho. ²⁹Joshua, and all Israel with him, went on from Makkedah to Libnah and attacked it ³⁰and Yahweh put this, too, and its king at Israel's mercy; and Israel put every living creature there to the sword, and left none alive, and treated its king like the king of Jericho. ³¹Joshua, and all Israel with him, went on from Libnah to Lachish and besieged it and attacked it. ³²Yahweh put Lachish at Israel's mercy, and Israel took it on the second day and put it and every living creature in it to the sword, as they had treated Libnah. ³³Horam king of Gezer then marched up to help Lachish, but Joshua beat him and his people until not one was left alive. ³⁴Joshua, and all Israel with him, went on from Lachish to Eglon. They besieged it and attacked it. ³⁵The same day they took it and put it to the sword. That day he delivered over to the curse of destruction every living creature there, treating it as he had treated Lachish. ³⁶Joshua, and all Israel with him, went on up from Eglon to Hebron. They attacked it, ³⁷took it and put it to the sword, with its king, its dependencies and every living creature in it. As he had treated Eglon, so here, he left no one alive. He delivered it over to the curse of destruction, with every living creature in it. ³⁸Joshua, and all Israel with him, then turned back on Debir and attacked it. ³⁹He took it and its king and all the places belonging to it; they put them to the sword, and every living creature there they delivered over to the curse of destruction. He left no one alive. As he had treated Hebron, as he had treated Libnah and its king, so he treated Debir and its king.

The southern conquests recapitulated

40Thus Joshua subjugated the whole country: the highlands, the Negeb, the lowlands and watered foothills, and all their kings. He left not one survivor and put every living thing under the curse of destruction, as Yahweh, God of Israel, had commanded. ⁴¹Joshua conquered them from Kadesh*Barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon. ⁴²All these kings and their territory Joshua captured in a single campaign, because Yahweh, God of Israel, fought for Israel. ⁴³And then Joshua, and all Israel with him, went back to the camp at Gilgal.

H: THE CONQUEST OF THE NORTH

11When Jabin king of Hazor heard about this, he sent word to Jobab king of Merom, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph ²and to the kings in the northern highlands, in the plain south of Chinneroth, and those in the lowlands and on the slopes of Dor to the west. ³To eastward and to westward lived the Canaanites: in the highlands, the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites and Jebusites; the Hivites, at the foot of Hermon in the area of Mizpah. ⁴They set out with all their troops, a people as numerous as the sands of the sea, with a huge number of horses and chariots.

The victory at Merom

5These kings, having all agreed on a meeting place, came and set up camp together at the Waters of Merom, to fight Israel. ⁶Yahweh then said to Joshua, *Do not be afraid of them, for by this time tomorrow I shall hand them all over, cut to pieces, to Israel; you will hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.* ⁷With all his warriors Joshua caught them unawares near the Waters of Merom and fell on them. ⁸Yahweh put them at Israel's mercy and they defeated them and pursued them as far as Sidon the Great, and as far as Misrephoth to the west, and as far as the Vale of Mizpah to the east; they harried them until not one of them was left alive. ⁹Joshua treated them as Yahweh had told him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots.

The capture of Hazor and of the other northern towns

10Joshua then turned back and captured Hazor, putting its king to the sword. Hazor in olden days was the capital of all these kingdoms. ¹¹In compliance with the curse of destruction, they put every living creature there to the sword. Not a living soul was left, and Hazor was burnt to the ground. ¹²All these royal cities and all their kings Joshua put to the sword in compliance with the curse of destruction, as Moses, servant of Yahweh, had ordered. ¹³Yet of all these towns standing on their mounds, Israel burned none, apart from Hazor, burnt by Joshua. ¹⁴All the spoils of these towns, including the livestock, the Israelites took as booty for themselves. But they put all the human beings to the sword till they had destroyed them completely; they did not leave a living soul.

The orders of Moses carried out by Joshua

15What Yahweh had ordered his servant Moses, Moses in turn had ordered Joshua, and Joshua carried it out, leaving nothing undone of what Yahweh had ordered Moses. ¹⁶In consequence, Joshua captured this entire country: the highlands, the whole Negeb and the whole of Goshen, the lowlands, the Arabah, the highlands and lowlands of Israel. ¹⁷From Mount Halak, which rises towards Seir, to Baal*Gad in the Vale of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon, he captured all their kings, struck them down and put them to death. ¹⁸For many a day Joshua made war on all these kings; ¹⁹no city had made peace with the Israelites except the Hivites who lived at Gibeon; all the rest had been captured in battle. ²⁰For Yahweh had decided to harden the hearts of these men, so that they would engage Israel in battle and thus come under the curse of destruction and so receive no quarter but be exterminated, as Yahweh had ordered Moses.

Extermination of the Anakim

21Joshua then went and wiped out the Anakim of the highlands, of Hebron, of Debir, of Anab, of all the highlands of Judah and of all the highlands of Israel; he delivered them and their towns over to the curse of destruction. ²²No Anakim were left in the territory of the Israelites, except at Gaza, Gath and Ashdod. ²³Joshua captured the entire country, just as Yahweh had told Moses, and he gave it as heritage to Israel, to be shared out between their tribes. And the country had rest from warfare.

I: RECAPITULATION

The kings conquered east of the Jordan

12The kings of the country, whom the Israelites conquered and whose territory they took, on the further, eastern side of the Jordan, from the Wadi Arnon to Mount Hermon, with the entire Arabah to the east, were as follows: ²Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon, ruled from Aroer which is on the edge of the Arnon Valley, including the bottom of the valley, half Gilead and as far as the Jabbok, the river forming the frontier with the Ammonites; ³the eastern Arabah up to the Sea of Chinneroth, and as far as the Sea of the Arabah, or Salt Sea, on the eastern side, in the direction of Beth*Jeshimoth, and, in the south, the watered foothills of Mount Pisgah. ⁴Og king of Bashan, one of the last of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei, ⁵ruled over Mount Hermon and Salecah, the whole of Bashan to the frontier of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and half Gilead to the frontier of Sihon king of Heshbon. ⁶Moses, servant of Yahweh, and the Israelites conquered these, and Moses, servant of Yahweh, conferred their territory on the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half*tribe of Manasseh.

The kings conquered west of the Jordan

7The kings of the country whom Joshua and the Israelites conquered on the nearer, western side of the Jordan, from Baal*Gad in the Vale of Lebanon to Mount Halak rising towards Seir, and whose heritage Joshua distributed to the tribes of Israel, dividing it up between them, were as follows: ⁸In the highlands and the lowlands, in the Arabah and in the watered foothills, in the desert and in the Negeb, belonging to the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites: ⁹the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai near Bethel, one; ¹⁰the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; ¹¹the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; ¹²the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; ¹³the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; ¹⁴the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; ¹⁵the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; ¹⁶the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one; ¹⁷the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; ¹⁸the king of Aphek, one; the king of Sharon, one; ¹⁹the king of Merom, one; the king of Hazor, one; ²⁰the king of Shimron Meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; ²¹the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; ²²the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; ²³the king of Dor, on the Slopes of Dor, one; the king of the nations in Galilee, one; ²⁴the king of Tirzah, one; Total number of all these kings: thirty*one.

II: DISTRIBUTION OF THE COUNTRY AMONG THE TRIBES

Lands remaining unconquered

13Now Joshua had grown old and advanced in years. Yahweh said to him, *You are now old and advanced in years, yet there is still a great deal of territory left to be taken possession of. ²This is all the territory left: *All the districts of the Philistines and the whole country of the Geshurites; ³from the Shihor, facing Egypt, to the frontier of Ekron in the north, is reckoned as Canaanite territory. The five rulers of the Philistines have their seats at Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron, respectively; the Avvites are in ⁴the south. The entire territory of the Canaanites, and Mearah which belongs to the Sidonians, as far as Aphekah and as far as the frontier of the Amorites; ⁵and then the country of the Gebalites with the entire Lebanon eastwards from Baal*Gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to the Pass of Hamath. ⁶*All who live in the highlands from the Lebanon to Misrephoth in the west*all the Sidonians*I myself shall dispossess before the Israelites. All you have to do is to distribute the territory as a heritage for the Israelites as I have ordered you. ⁷The time has come to divide this territory as a heritage between the nine tribes and the half*tribe of Manasseh: from the Jordan as far as the Great Sea in the west, you must give it them; the Great Sea will be their limit.*

A: DESCRIPTION OF THE TRANSJORDANIAN TRIBES

A general survey

8As regards the other half*tribe of Manasseh, this and the Reubenites and Gadites had already received their heritage, given them by Moses on the further, eastern side of the Jordan, the one which Moses, servant of Yahweh, had already given them: ⁹The country onwards from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley, with the town in the bottom of the valley and the entire tableland from Medeba to Dibon; ¹⁰all the towns of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had reigned in Heshbon, to the frontier of the Ammonites; ¹¹then Gilead and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites with the whole Hermon range and the whole of Bashan as far as Salecah; ¹²and in Bashan, the whole kingdom of Og, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei, and was the last of the survivors of the Rephaim. Moses had conquered and dispossessed these two kings. ¹³The Israelites did not, however, dispossess either the Geshurites or the Maacathites, hence Geshur and Maacah survive inside Israel even today. ¹⁴To the tribe of Levi alone no heritage was given; Yahweh, God of Israel, was his heritage, as he had told him.

The tribe of Reuben

15Moses had given the tribe of the sons of Reuben a share by clans. ¹⁶Thus, their territory was the entire tableland from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley, with the town in the bottom of the valley, as far as Medeba, ¹⁷Heshbon with all the towns on the tableland: Dibon, Bamoth*Baal, Beth*Baal*Meon, ¹⁸Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ¹⁹Kiriathaim, Sibmah and, in the highlands of the Arabah, Zereth*Shahar; ²⁰Beth*Peor, the watered foothills of Mount Pisgah, Beth*ha*Jeshimoth, ²¹all the towns on the tableland and the entire kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had reigned in Heshbon; he had been defeated by Moses, and with him the princes of Midian, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba, vassals of Sihon, formerly living in the country. ²²As regards Balaam son of Beor, the soothsayer, the Israelites had put him to the sword with those whom they had killed. ²³The boundary of the Reubenites was the Jordan and its territory. Such was the heritage of the sons of Reuben, by clans, with the towns and villages belonging to them.

The tribe of Gad

24Moses had given the tribe of Gad, the sons of Gad, a share by clans. ²⁵Their territory was Jazer, all the towns of Gilead, half the country of the Ammonites as far as Aroer facing Rabbah, ²⁶and from Heshbon to Ramath*Mizpeh and Betonim; from Mahanaim as far as the territory of Lo*Debar, ²⁷and in the valley: Beth*Haram, Beth*Nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon*the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon*the Jordan and the territory running to the tip of the Sea of Chinneroth, on the further, eastern side of the Jordan. ²⁸Such was the heritage of the sons of Gad, by clans, with their towns and villages belonging to them.

The half*tribe of Manasseh

29Moses had given the half*tribe of Manasseh a share by clans. ³⁰Their territory, starting from Mahanaim, was the whole of Bashan, the entire kingdom of Og king of Bashan, all the Encampments of Jair in Bashan: sixty towns. ³¹Half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the royal cities of Og in Bashan, were allotted to the sons of Machir son of Manasseh, to half of the sons of Machir, by clans. ³²This was what Moses had conferred in heritage on the Plains of Moab on the further, eastern side of the Jordan opposite Jericho. ³³To the tribe of Levi, however, Moses gave no heritage; Yahweh, God of Israel, was his heritage, as he had told him.

B: DESCRIPTION OF THE THREE LARGE TRIBES TO THE WEST OF THE JORDAN

Introduction

14This was what the Israelites received as their heritage in Canaan, which was given them as their heritage by the priest, Eleazar, and by Joshua son of Nun, with the heads of families of the tribes of Israel. ²They received their heritage by lot, as Yahweh had ordered through Moses, as regards the nine tribes and the half*tribe. ³For Moses himself had given the two*and*a*half tribes their heritage on the further side of the Jordan, although to the Levites he had given no heritage with them. ⁴Since the sons of Joseph formed two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, no share in the country was given to the Levites, apart from some towns to live in, with their pasture lands for their livestock and their possessions. ⁵The Israelites did as Yahweh had ordered Moses, and shared out the country.

Caleb's share

6Some sons of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, *You know what Yahweh said to Moses, man of God, at Kadesh*Barnea concerning you and me. ⁷I was forty years old when Moses, servant of Yahweh, sent me from Kadesh*Barnea to reconnoitre this country, and I made him a completely honest report. ⁸The brothers, however, who had gone up with me discouraged the people, whereas I myself scrupulously obeyed Yahweh my God. ⁹That day Moses swore this oath, "Be sure of this, that the country your foot has trodden will be a heritage for you and your children for ever, since you have scrupulously obeyed Yahweh my God." ¹⁰From then till now, Yahweh has kept me alive in observance of his promise. It is forty*five years since Yahweh said this to Moses*Israel was then going through the desert*and now I am eighty*five years old. ¹¹Today I am still as strong as the day when Moses sent me out on that errand; for fighting, for going and coming, I am as strong now as then. ¹²It is time you gave me the highlands, of which Yahweh spoke to me that day. You heard that day that there were Anakim and large, fortified towns there; but if Yahweh is with me, I shall drive them out, as Yahweh has said.* ¹³Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as heritage. ¹⁴And hence Hebron down to the present day has remained the heritage of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, since he had scrupulously obeyed Yahweh, God of Israel. ¹⁵Hebron in olden days was called Kiriath*Arba. Arba had been the greatest of the Anakim. And the country had rest from warfare.

The tribe of Judah

15The portion falling to the tribe of the sons of Judah, by clans, was near the frontier of Edom, from the desert of Zin southwards to Kadesh in the south. ²Their southern frontier began at the tip of the Salt Sea, at the southerly bay; ³it proceeded south of the Ascent of Scorpions, crossed Zin and came up to Kadesh*Barnea from the south; past Hezron, it went on to Addar and turned towards Karka; ⁴the frontier then went on to Azmon, came out at the Torrent of Egypt and reached as far as the sea. This is to be your southern frontier. ⁵The eastern frontier was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan. ⁶The northern boundary began at the bay at the mouth of the Jordan. The boundary went up to Beth*Hoglah, passed north of Beth*ha*Arabah and went on to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. ⁷The boundary then went on to Debir from the Vale of Achor and turned north towards the stone circle opposite the Ascent of Adummim, which is south of the Torrent; the boundary went on to the Waters of En*Shemesh and came out at En*Rogel. ⁸It then went back up the Valley of Hinnom, coming from the south to the flank of the Jebusite*that is, Jerusalem*and climbed to the crest of the mountain barring the Valley of Hinnom to the west, at the northern end of the Valley of the Rephaim. ⁹From the mountain top, the boundary curved round to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, went on to the towns of Mount Ephron and then turned towards Baalah*that is, Kiriath*Jearim. ¹⁰From Baalah, the boundary curved westwards to the highlands of Seir, skirted the northern slope of Mount Jearim*that is, Chesalon*went down to Beth*Shemesh and through Timnah, ¹¹came out on the northern flank of Ekron, turned towards Shikkeron and, passing through the highlands of Baalah, came out at Jabneel, and reached as far as the sea. ¹²The western boundary was the Great Sea itself. Such was the frontier surrounding the sons of Judah, by clans.

The Calebites occupy the territory of Hebron

13Caleb son of Jephunneh was given a share within that of the sons of Judah, in accordance with Yahweh's order to Joshua: Kiriath*Arba, the town of the father of Anak*that is, Hebron. ¹⁴Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai, descended from Anak. ¹⁵From there he marched on the inhabitants of Debir; Debir in olden days was called Kiriath*Sepher. ¹⁶Caleb then said, *To the man who attacks and takes Kiriath*Sepher, I shall give my daughter Achsah as wife.* ¹⁷The man who captured it was Othniel son of Kenaz, brother of Caleb, who gave him his daughter Achsah as wife. ¹⁸When she arrived, he urged her to ask her father for arable land, but when she alighted from the donkey and Caleb asked her, *What is the matter?* ¹⁹she said to him, *Grant me a blessing! As the land you have given me is the Negeb, give me springs of water too!* So Caleb gave her what she wanted, the upper springs and the lower springs. ²⁰Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Judah, by clans.

Names of places owned by Judah

21Towns at the extremity of the tribe of the sons of Judah, near the frontier of Edom in the Negeb: Kabzeel, Arad, Jagur, ²²Kinah, Dimon, Aroer, ²³Kedesh, Hazor*Ithnan, ²⁴Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, ²⁵Hazor*Hadattah, Kiriath*Hezron*that is, Hazor* ²⁶Amam, Shema, Moladah, ²⁷Hazar*Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth*Pelet, ²⁸Hazar*Shual, Beersheba and its dependencies, ²⁹Baalah, Iim, Ezem, ³⁰Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, ³¹Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, ³²Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon: in all, twenty*nine towns with their villages. ³³In the lowlands: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, ³⁴Zanoah, En*Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, ³⁵Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, ³⁶Shaaraim, Aditaim, Ha*Gederah and Gederothaim: fourteen towns with their villages. ³⁷Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal*Gad, ³⁸Dilean, Ha*Mizpeh, Jokteel, ³⁹Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, ⁴⁰Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish, ⁴¹Gederoth, Beth*Dagon, Naamah and Makkedah: sixteen towns with their villages. ⁴²Libna, Ether, Asham, ⁴³Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, ⁴⁴Keilah, Achzib and Mareshah: nine towns with their villages. ⁴⁵Ekron with its dependencies and its villages. ⁴⁶From Ekron to the sea, everything to the side of Ashdod, with its villages. ⁴⁷Ashdod with its dependencies and its villages; Gaza with its dependencies and its villages as far as the Torrent of Egypt, the Great Sea forming the boundary. ⁴⁸In the highlands: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, ⁴⁹Dannah, Kiriath*Sepher, now Debir, ⁵⁰Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, ⁵¹Goshen, Holon and Giloh: eleven towns with their villages. ⁵²Arab, Dumah, Eshan, ⁵³Janum, Beth*Tappuah, Aphekah, ⁵⁴Humtah, Kiriath*Arba, now Hebron, and Zior: nine towns with their villages. ⁵⁵Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, ⁵⁶Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, ⁵⁷Ha*Kain, Gibeah and Timnah: ten towns with their villages. ⁵⁸Halhul, Beth*Zur, Gedor, ⁵⁹Maarath, Beth*Anoth and Eltekon: six towns with their villages. Tekoa, Ephrathah, now Bethlehem, Peor, Etam, Kulon, Tatam, Sores, Carem, Gallim, Bether and Manach: eleven towns with their villages. ⁶⁰Kiriath*Baal, that is Kiriath*Jearim, and Rabbah: two towns with their villages. ⁶¹In the desert: Beth*Arabah, Middin, Secacah, ⁶²Nibshan, Salt Town and En*Gedi: six towns with their villages. ⁶³The Jebusites, however, who lived in Jerusalem, the sons of Judah were unable to dispossess, and the Jebusites still live in Jerusalem today, side by side with the sons of Judah.

The tribe of Ephraim

16The portion of the sons of Joseph started on the east at the Jordan opposite Jericho (the Waters of Jericho) through the desert rising from Jericho into the highlands of Bethel; ²from Bethel it went to Luz, and on towards the frontier of the Archites at Ataroth; ³then passed downwards and westwards to the frontier of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth*Horon and on to Gezer, and reached as far as the sea. ⁴Such was the heritage of the sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim. ⁵As regards the territory of the sons of Ephraim, by clans, the frontier of their heritage ran from Ataroth*Arach to Upper Beth*Horon; ⁶the frontier then reached as far as the sea . . . the Michmethath in the north, and the frontier turned east to Tanaath*Shiloh which it crossed in an easterly direction to Janoah; ⁷it ran down to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho and ended at the Jordan. ⁸From Tappuah, the frontier ran westwards to the Torrent of Kanah and reached as far as the sea. Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim, by clans, ⁹apart from the towns reserved for the sons of Ephraim inside the heritage of the sons of Manasseh, all these towns and their villages. ¹⁰The Canaanites living in Gezer were not driven out; they have remained in Ephraim to the present day but are obliged to do forced labour.

The tribe of Manasseh

17The portion of the tribe of Manasseh, who was in fact Joseph's first*born*went to Machir, Manasseh's first*born, father of Gilead, for he was a warrior; he had Gilead and Bashan. ²The other sons of Manasseh had theirs, by clans: for the sons of Abiezer, for the sons of Helek, for the sons of Asriel, for the sons of Shechem, for the sons of Hepher, and for the sons of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh son of Joseph, by clans. ³Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters, whose names were these: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. ⁴These approached the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun and the leaders, and said, *Yahweh ordered Moses to give us a heritage among our brothers.* In compliance with Yahweh's order, therefore, they were given a heritage among their father's brothers. ⁵In this way ten portions fell to Manasseh, apart from Gilead and Bashan lying on the further side of the Jordan, ⁶since Manasseh's daughters received a heritage as well as his sons. Gilead itself belonged to Manasseh's other sons. ⁷On the side of Asher, the frontier of Manasseh was the Michmethath, which is opposite Shechem, and thence continued to the right to Jashib, which is at the spring of Tappuah. ⁸The territory of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah on Manasseh's border belonged to the sons of Ephraim. ⁹The boundary went down to the Torrent of Kanah; south of the Torrent were the towns of Ephraim, excluding those owned by Ephraim among the towns of Manasseh; the boundary of Manasseh was north of the Torrent and reached as far as the sea. ¹⁰The south belonged to Ephraim and the north to Manasseh and reached as far as the sea; they touched Asher to the north and Issachar to the east. ¹¹With Issachar and Asher, Manasseh shared Beth*Shean and its dependent towns, Ibleam and its dependent towns, the inhabitants of Dor and of its dependent towns, the inhabitants of Taanach and Megiddo and of their dependent towns: the Three of the Slopes. ¹²But because the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these towns, the Canaanites managed to live on in that territory. ¹³When, however, the Israelites became stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labour, though they never dispossessed them.

Land reclamation by the sons of Joseph

14The sons of Joseph spoke as follows to Joshua, *Why have you given me only one share, only one portion, as heritage, when I am a numerous people, since Yahweh has so blessed me?* ¹⁵Joshua replied, *If your people are so many, go up to the wooded area and clear space for yourselves in the area belonging to the Perizzites and Rephaim, since the highlands of Ephraim are too small for you.* ¹⁶The sons of Joseph replied, *The highlands are not enough for us, and what is more, all the Canaanites living on the land of the plain have iron chariots, so do those in Beth*Shean and its dependent towns, and those in the plain of Jezreel.* ¹⁷Joshua said to the House of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, *You are a numerous people and your strength is great; you will not only have one share, ¹⁸but a mountain will be yours as well; even if it is a forest, you can clear it and its territories will be yours. And you will dispossess the Canaanites, although they have iron chariots and although they are strong.*

C: DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVEN OTHER TRIBES

The land survey for these seven tribes

18The whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh, and the Tent of Meeting was set up there; the whole country had been subdued for them. ²But among the Israelites there were still seven tribes left who had not received their heritage. ³Joshua then said to the Israelites, *How much more time are you going to waste before you go and take possession of the country which Yahweh, God of your ancestors, has given to you? ⁴Choose three men from each tribe for me to send all over the country so that they can make a survey with a view to their inheritances and then come back to me. ⁵They will divide the country into seven portions. Judah will remain in his territory in the south, and those of the House of Joseph will remain in their territory in the north. ⁶You must survey the country in seven sections and bring your findings to me here, so that I can cast lots for you here, in the presence of Yahweh our God. ⁷The Levites, however, will have no portion with the rest of you; the priesthood of Yahweh will be their heritage. As regards Gad and Reuben and the half*tribe of Manasseh, they have received their heritage on the further, eastern side of the Jordan, the one given them by Moses, servant of Yahweh.* ⁸The men stood up and set off. To those who were to survey the country Joshua gave this order, *Start out, then, go all over the country, survey it, and then come back to me; and I shall cast lots for you here, in the presence of Yahweh, at Shiloh.* ⁹The men left, went all over the country and surveyed it by towns, in seven sections, writing down their findings in a book, and then went back to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰Joshua cast lots for them in Yahweh's presence at Shiloh, and there Joshua divided the country between the Israelites, share by share.

The tribe of Benjamin

11A portion fell first to the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, by clans: the territory of their portion lay between the sons of Judah and the sons of Joseph. ¹²Their northern frontier began at the Jordan, went up the flank of Jericho to the north, climbed westwards through the highlands and came out at the desert of Beth*Aven. ¹³Thence, the frontier went on to Luz, on the southern flank of Luz*now Bethel*and then down to Ataroth*Arach, on the mountain south of Lower Beth*Horon. ¹⁴At this westerly point, the frontier curved round and turned south, from the mountain facing Beth*Horon from the south and came out at Kiriath*Baal, now Kiriath*Jearim, a town of the sons of Judah. That was the western side. ¹⁵This was the south side: from the tip of Kiriath*Jearim, the frontier went to Gasin and came out near the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, ¹⁶it then went down to the edge of the mountain facing the Valley of Hinnom, in the Valley of the Rephaim to the north; it then went down into the Valley of Hinnom, past the southerly flank of the Jebusite, and went down to En*Rogel. ¹⁷It then curved northwards, coming out at En*Shemesh, and came out at the stone circle opposite the Ascent of Adummim, then went down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. ¹⁸It then went on to Cheteph on the flank of Beth*ha*Arabah northwards, and went down into the Arabah; ¹⁹the frontier then passed round the northern flank of Beth*Hoglah, and the frontier came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the southern end of the Jordan. Such was the southern frontier. ²⁰The Jordan itself formed the frontier on the east. Such was the heritage of the sons of Benjamin as defined by their frontier, by clans.

The towns of Benjamin

21The towns of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin, by clans, were: ²²Jericho, Beth*Hoglah, Emek*Keziz; ²³Beth*Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel; Avvim, Parah, Ophrah; ²⁴Chephar*Ammoni, Ophni, Geba: twelve towns and their villages. ²⁵Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth; ²⁶Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah; ²⁷Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah; ²⁸Zela*ha*Eleph, the Jebusite*that is, Jerusalem*Gibeah and Kiriath: fourteen towns with their villages. Such was the heritage of the sons of Benjamin, by clans.

The tribe of Simeon

19The second lot to come out was for Simeon, for the tribe of the sons of Simeon, by clans; their heritage was within the heritage of the sons of Judah. ²As heritage, they received: ³Beersheba, Shema, Moladah, ⁴Hazar*Shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, ⁵Ziklag, Beth*ha*Marcaboth, Hazar*Susa, ⁶Beth*Lebaoth and Sharuhen: thirteen towns and their villages. ⁷Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan: four towns and their villages, ⁸with all the villages situated near these towns as far as Baalath*Beer and Ramah of the Negeb. Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Simeon, by clans. ⁹The heritage of the sons of Simeon was taken out of the portion of the sons of Judah, because the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; hence, the sons of Simeon received their heritage within the heritage of the sons of Judah.

The tribe of Zebulun

10The third lot fell to the sons of Zebulun, by clans; the territory of their heritage stretched as far as Sadud; ¹¹their frontier climbed westwards to Maraalah, touching Dabbesheth and the torrent facing Jokneam. ¹²From Sadud, the frontier turned east, towards the rising sun, as far as the frontier of Chisloth*Tabor; it came out at Dobrath and went up to Japhia. ¹³Thence, it went east, towards the sunrise, to Gath*Hepher and Ittah*Kazin, came out at Rimmon and turned towards Neah. ¹⁴The northern frontier turned towards Hannathon and came to an end in the Valley of Iphtah*El; ¹⁵with Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Iralah and Bethlehem: twelve towns with their villages. ¹⁶Such was the heritage of the sons of Zebulun, by clans: these towns with their villages.

The tribe of Issachar

17The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the sons of Issachar, by clans. ¹⁸Their territory stretched towards Jezreel and included Chesulloth, Shunem, ¹⁹Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, ²⁰Dobrath, Kishion, Ebez, ²¹Remeth, En*Gannim, En*Haddah and Beth*Pazzez. ²²Their frontier touched Tabor, Shahazimah and Beth*Shemesh, and the frontier came to an end at the Jordan: sixteen towns with their villages. ²³Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Issachar, by clans: the towns and their villages.

The tribe of Asher

24The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the sons of Asher, by clans. ²⁵Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, ²⁶Alammelech, Amad and Mishal. ²⁷On the west, it touched Carmel and the course of the Libnath. On the side of the rising sun, it went as far as Beth*Dagon, touched Zebulun, the Valley of Iphtah*El on the north side, Beth*ha*Emek and Neiel, coming out with Cabul on the left, ²⁸with Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah as far as Sidon the Great. The frontier then turned towards Ramah, as far as the fortress*town of Tyre; ²⁹the frontier then went to Hosah and reached as far as the sea at Mahalab and Achzib, ³⁰with Acco, Aphek and Rehob: twenty*two towns with their villages. ³¹Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Asher, by clans; these towns and their villages.

The tribe of Naphtali

32To the sons of Naphtali fell the sixth portion, to the sons of Naphtali, by clans. ³³Their frontier went from Heleph and the Oak of Zanaannim, with Adami*ha*Negeb and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum, and ended at the Jordan. ³⁴The westward boundary ran to Aznoth*Tabor and thence came out at Hukkok, marching with Zebulun in the south, Asher in the west and the Jordan in the east. ³⁵The fortified towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, ³⁶Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, ³⁷Kedesh, Edrei, En*Hazor, ³⁸Jiron, Migdal*El, Horem, Beth*Anath and Beth*Shemesh: nineteen towns and their villages. ³⁹Such was the heritage of the sons of Naphtali, by clans: the towns and their villages.

The tribe of Dan

40To the tribe of the sons of Dan, by clans, fell the seventh portion. ⁴¹The territory of their heritage comprised: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir*Shemesh, ⁴²Shaalbim, Aijalon, Silatha, ⁴³Elon, Timnah, Ekron, ⁴⁴Eltekeh, Gibbethon, ⁴⁵Baalath, Azor, Bene*Berak and Gath*Rimmon; ⁴⁶and, by the sea, Jerakon with the territory facing Jaffa. ⁴⁷The territory of the sons of Dan eluded them, however, and the sons of Dan consequently went up and attacked Leshem, captured it and put it to the sword. Having gained possession of it, they settled there and called Leshem, Dan, after Dan their ancestor. ⁴⁸Such was the heritage of the tribe of the sons of Dan, by clans: these towns and their villages. ⁴⁹Having finished dividing the country, frontier by frontier, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun a heritage among themselves; ⁵⁰at Yahweh's command, they gave him the town which he had asked for, Timnath*Serah in the highlands of Ephraim; he rebuilt the town and settled there. ⁵¹Such are the heritages which the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of each family apportioned by lot between the tribes of Israel at Shiloh, in Yahweh's presence, at the door of the Tent of Meeting; and thus the apportioning of the country was completed.

D: PRIVILEGED TOWNS

The cities of refuge

20Yahweh said to Joshua, ²*Speak to the Israelites and say to them, "Choose yourselves the cities of refuge of which I spoke to you through Moses, ³to which anyone who has accidentally (unintentionally) killed someone else may flee, and which will serve you as refuge from the avenger of blood. ⁴(The killer must flee to one of these towns. He will stop at the entrance to the town gate and explain his case to the town elders. These will admit him to their town and assign him a place to live among them. ⁵If the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not hand the killer over to him, since he has killed his fellow unintentionally and was not motivated by long'standing hatred for him. ⁶He must stay in this town) until he is brought to trial before the community (until the death of the high priest then in office. Only then may the killer go back to his own town and to his own house in the town from which he has fled)."

7For this purpose they designated Kedesh in Galilee, in the highlands of Naphtali, Shechem in the highlands of Ephraim, and Kiriath*Arba*now Hebron*in the highlands of Judah. ⁸On the other, eastern, side of the Jordan opposite Jericho, in the desert of the tableland, they chose Bezer of the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan of the tribe of Manasseh. ⁹Such were the towns designated for all the Israelites and for foreigners living among them, so that anyone who had accidentally killed someone could flee there and might escape the hand of the avenger of blood, until brought to trial before the community.

The levitical cities

21The heads of families of the Levites then came to the priest, Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of families of the tribes of Israel* ²they were then at Shiloh in Canaan. They said to them, *Through Moses, Yahweh ordered us to be given towns to live in, with their pasture lands for our livestock.* ³In compliance with Yahweh's order, the Israelites consequently and from their own heritage gave the Levites the following towns with their pasture lands: ⁴Lots were cast for the clans of the Kohathites: to those Levites who were sons of Aaron the priest, fell thirteen towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin; ⁵to the other sons of Kohath, by clans, ⁶fell ten towns from the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and the half*tribe of Manasseh. To the sons of Gershon, by clans, fell thirteen towns from the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half*tribe of Manasseh in Bashan. ⁷To the sons of Merari, by clans, fell twelve towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun. ⁸The Israelites assigned these towns and their pasture lands to the Levites by lot, as Yahweh had ordered through Moses.

The portion of the Kohathites

9From the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Simeon, they gave the towns named below. ¹⁰The first portion was for the sons of Aaron, belonging to the clans of the Kohathites, to the sons of Levi, since the first lot was theirs. ¹¹They gave them Kiriath*Arba, Anak's father's town*now Hebron*in the highlands of Judah, with its surrounding pasture lands. ¹²The fields and villages of this town, however, they gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his property. ¹³To the sons of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, as well as Libnah with its pasture lands, ¹⁴Jattir with its pasture lands, Eshtemoa with its pasture lands, ¹⁵Holon with its pasture lands, Debir with its pasture lands, ¹⁶Ashan with its pasture lands, Juttah with its pasture lands, and Beth*Shemesh with its pasture lands: nine towns taken from these two tribes; ¹⁷and, from the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its pasture lands, Geba with its pasture lands, ¹⁸Anathoth with its pasture lands and Almon with its pasture lands: four towns. ¹⁹Total number of towns for the priests, the sons of Aaron: thirteen towns with their pasture lands. ²⁰As regards the clans of the sons of Kohath, those Levites still left of the sons of Kohath, the towns of their lot were taken from the tribe of Ephraim. ²¹They were given Shechem, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, in the highlands of Ephraim, as well as Gezer with its pasture lands, ²²Kibzaim with its pasture lands, and Beth*Horon with its pasture lands: four towns; ²³from the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its pasture lands, Gibbethon with its pasture lands, ²⁴Aijalon with its pasture lands and Gath*Rimmon with its pasture lands: four towns; ²⁵and, from the half*tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its pasture lands and Jibleam with its pasture lands: two towns. ²⁶In all: ten towns with their pasture lands for the remaining clans of the sons of Kohath.

The portion of the sons of Gershon

27To the sons of Gershon, of the levitical clans, were given: from the half*tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, and Ashtaroth with its pasture lands*two towns; ²⁸from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its pasture lands, Dobrath with its pasture lands, ²⁹Jarmuth with its pasture lands and En*Gannim with its pasture lands*four towns; ³⁰from the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its pasture lands, Abdon with its pasture lands, ³¹Helkath with its pasture lands and Rehob with its pasture lands*four towns; ³²and, from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, Hammoth*Dor with its pasture lands and Kartan with its pasture lands*three towns. ³³Total number of towns of the Gershonites, by clans: thirteen towns with their pasture lands.

The portion of the sons of Merari

34To the clans of the sons of Merari, the remainder of the Levites, fell: from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its pasture lands, Kartah with its pasture lands, ³⁵Rimmon with its pasture lands and Nahalal with its pasture lands*four towns; ³⁶on the other side of the Jordan opposite Jericho, from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer in the desert, on the tableland, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, Jahaz with its pasture lands, ³⁷Kedemoth with its pasture lands and Mephaath with its pasture lands*four towns; ³⁸and, from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead, a city of refuge for those who had killed, with its pasture lands, Mahanaim with its pasture lands, ³⁹Heshbon with its pasture lands and Jazer with its pasture lands*four towns. ⁴⁰Total number of towns forming the lot of the sons of Merari by clans, of the remaining levitical clans: twelve towns. ⁴¹The total number of towns for the Levites in Israelite territory was forty*eight towns with their pasture lands. ⁴²These towns consisted in each case of the town itself and the pasture land round it. This was the case with all the towns.

End of the distribution

43This was how Yahweh gave the Israelites the entire country which he had sworn to give to their ancestors. They took possession of it and settled in it. ⁴⁴Yahweh granted them tranquillity on all their frontiers just as he had sworn to their ancestors and, of all their enemies, not one succeeded in resisting them. Yahweh put all their enemies at their mercy. ⁴⁵Of all the promises that Yahweh had made to the House of Israel, not one failed; all were fulfilled.

III: THE CLOSE OF JOSHUA*S CAREER

A: THE RETURN OF THE EASTERN TRIBES
THE QUESTION OF THEIR ALTAR

The Transjordanian tribes are sent home

22Joshua then summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half*tribe of Manasseh ²and said to them, *You have observed everything that Moses, servant of Yahweh, ordered you, and whenever I have given you an order you have listened to me. ³You have not deserted your brothers, from long ago until today, keeping the observance of the commandment of Yahweh your God. ⁴Now that Yahweh your God has granted your brothers the rest that he promised them, go back to your tents, to the country belonging to you which Moses, servant of Yahweh, gave you on the other side of the Jordan. ⁵But take great care to practise the commandments and the Law which Moses, servant of Yahweh, has given you: to love Yahweh your God, always to follow his paths, to keep his commandments, to be loyal to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.* ⁶Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went home to their tents. ⁷To one half of the tribe of Manasseh, Moses had given a territory in Bashan; to the other half, Joshua gave another among their brothers on the west bank of the Jordan. As Joshua sent them home to their tents, he blessed them ⁸and said to them, *You are going back to your tents with great wealth, with a great deal of livestock, with silver and gold, bronze and iron and great quantities of clothing; share the spoils of your enemies with your brothers.*

An altar is built beside the Jordan

9The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half*tribe of Manasseh returned home, leaving the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan, and made for Gilead, the territory which belonged to them as a result of Yahweh's order given through Moses. ¹⁰When they came to the stone circle by the Jordan, in Canaanite territory, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half*tribe of Manasseh built an altar there beside the Jordan, a large, imposing altar. ¹¹This came to the ears of the Israelites. *Look,* the word went round, *the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half*tribe of Manasseh have built this altar on the Canaanite side, near the stone circle by the Jordan, on the Israelites* bank.* ¹²At this news, the whole community of the Israelites mustered at Shiloh, to march against them and make war on them.

Reproaches addressed to the eastern tribes

13The Israelites sent the priest Phinehas son of Eleazar to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half*tribe of Manasseh, in Gilead, ¹⁴and with him ten leading men, one man from a leading family from each of the tribes of Israel, each of them being head of his family in the clans of Israel. ¹⁵Having reached the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half*tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, they said this: ¹⁶*The whole community of Israel says as follows, "What do you mean by this infidelity, which you have committed against the God of Israel by now repudiating your allegiance to Yahweh, and by building yourselves an altar with the intention now of rebelling against Yahweh? ¹⁷"Was the crime which we committed at Peor so slight*although we have not managed to purify ourselves from that even now, in spite of the plague which has ravaged the community of Yahweh* ¹⁸that you must now repudiate your allegiance to Yahweh? For since you are in rebellion against him today, tomorrow his anger will be aroused against the whole community of Israel. ¹⁹"Is the country in which you have settled unclean? Then cross over into the country where Yahweh has settled, there where Yahweh's Dwelling now stands, and settle among us. But do not rebel against Yahweh or involve us in your rebellion by building a rival altar to the altar of Yahweh our God. ²⁰When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful to the curse of destruction, did not the retribution come down on the whole community of Israel, although he was only one man? Did he not have to die for his crime?" *

The Transjordanian tribes justify their action

21The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half*tribe of Manasseh spoke in their turn and answered the heads of the clans of Israel: ²²*The God of gods, Yahweh, the God of gods, Yahweh well knows, and let Israel know it too: if there has been rebellion or infidelity to Yahweh on our part, may he refuse to save us today! ²³And if we have built ourselves an altar with the intention of repudiating our allegiance to Yahweh and of presenting burnt offering and oblation or of offering communion sacrifices on it, may Yahweh himself call us to account for it! ²⁴The truth is, we have done this as a precaution: in the future, your descendants might say to ours, "What connection do you have with Yahweh, God of Israel? ²⁵Has not Yahweh set the frontier of the Jordan between us and you, you Reubenites and Gadites? You have no share in Yahweh." Thus, your descendants would be the cause of stopping ours from fearing Yahweh. ²⁶*So we said to each other, "Let us build this altar, not for burnt offerings or other sacrifices ²⁷but as a witness between us and you and between our descendants after us, attesting that we too have the right to worship Yahweh, in his presence, with our burnt offerings, our victims and our communion sacrifices. And so, in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours: You have no share in Yahweh." ²⁸And we furthermore said, "If ever it were to happen that they did say this either to us or to our descendants in the future, we should reply: Look at this structure, Yahweh's altar, made by our ancestors not for burnt offerings or other sacrifices but as a witness between us and you." ²⁹Far be it from us to rebel against Yahweh or now to repudiate our allegiance to Yahweh by building an altar for burnt offerings or oblations or sacrifices, in rivalry with the altar of Yahweh our God that stands before his Dwelling!*

Peace restored

30When the priest Phinehas, the leaders of the community and the heads of the clans of Israel who were with him, heard the words spoken by the Gadites, the Reubenites and the Manassehites, they approved of them. ³¹The priest Phinehas son of Eleazar then said to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the Manassehites, *Today, we can see that Yahweh is among us, since you have not been unfaithful to Yahweh in this matter; this means that you have spared the Israelites from Yahweh's avenging hand.* ³²The priest Phinehas son of Eleazar and the leaders left the Reubenites and the Gadites and went back from Gilead to Canaan and the Israelites, to whom they reported the answer. ³³The Israelites were pleased to hear this; the Israelites gave thanks to God and spoke no more of marching against them to make war on them and to ravage the country inhabited by the Reubenites and the Gadites. ³⁴The Reubenites and the Gadites called the altar . . . , *Because*, they said, *it will be a witness between us that Yahweh is God.*

B: LAST DISCOURSE OF JOSHUA

Joshua sums up his work

23Now long after Yahweh had given Israel rest from all the enemies surrounding them*Joshua was old now, far advanced in years* ²Joshua summoned all Israel, their elders, leaders, judges and officials, and said to them, *I myself am old, far advanced in years; ³you for your part have witnessed all that Yahweh your God has done to all these nations for your sake; Yahweh your God himself has fought for you. ⁴Look, these nations still remaining, and all the nations which I have exterminated from the Jordan all the way to the Great Sea in the west, I have allotted to you as the heritage for your tribes. ⁵Yahweh your God will himself drive them out before you; he will dispossess them before you and you will take possession of their country, as Yahweh your God has promised you.

Rules of conduct when living among foreigners

6*So be very firm about keeping and doing everything written in the Book of the Law of Moses, not swerving from that either to right or to left. ⁷Never mix with the peoples who are still left beside you. Do not utter the names of their gods, do not swear by them, do not serve them and do not bow down to them. ⁸On the contrary, you must be loyal to Yahweh your God as you have been till now. ⁹Yahweh has dispossessed great and powerful nations before you, and no one so far has been able to resist you. ¹⁰One man of you was able to rout a thousand of them, since Yahweh your God was himself fighting for you, as he had promised you. ¹¹Be very careful, as you value your life, to love Yahweh your God. ¹²*But should you in any way relapse, if you make friends with the remnant of these nations still living beside you, if you intermarry with them, if you mix with them and they with you, ¹³then know for certain that Yahweh your God will stop dispossessing these nations before you, and for you they will be a snare, a pitfall, thorns in your sides and thistles in your eyes, until you vanish from this fine country given you by Yahweh your God. ¹⁴*Today, you see, I am going the way of all the earth. Acknowledge with all your heart and soul that of all the promises made to you by Yahweh your God, not one has failed: all have been fulfilled*not one has failed. ¹⁵*As every promise made to you by Yahweh your God has been fulfilled for you, by the same token Yahweh will fulfil all his threats against you, even to exterminating you from this fine country given you by Yahweh your God. ¹⁶*For if you violate the covenant which Yahweh your God has imposed on you, if you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then Yahweh's anger will be roused against you and you will quickly vanish from the fine country which he has given you.*

C: THE GREAT ASSEMBLY AT SHECHEM

24Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; he then summoned all the elders of Israel, its leaders, judges and officials, and they presented themselves in God's presence. ²Joshua then said to all the people: *Yahweh, the God of Israel, says this, "From time immemorial, your ancestors, Terah, father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the River, and served other gods. ³I then brought your ancestor Abraham from beyond the River and led him through the length and breadth of Canaan. I increased his descendants and I gave him Isaac. ⁴To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. To Esau I gave possession of the mountainous country of Seir. Jacob and his sons went down into Egypt. ⁵I then sent Moses and Aaron, and plagued Egypt with the wonders that I worked there; finally I brought you out. ⁶I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and you came to the Sea; the Egyptians pursued your ancestors with chariots and horsemen, to the Sea of Reeds. ⁷They then called to Yahweh, and he spread a thick fog between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea go back on them and cover them. You saw with your own eyes what I did in Egypt. Then, for a long while, you lived in the desert. ⁸I then brought you into the country of the Amorites, who used to live on the further side of the Jordan; they made war on you and I put them at your mercy; after which, you took possession of their country, since I destroyed them before you. ⁹Next, Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, rose to make war on Israel, and sent for Balaam son of Beor to come and curse you. ¹⁰But I would not listen to Balaam; instead, he had to bless you, and I saved you from his power. ¹¹"You then crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho, but the inhabitants of Jericho made war on you: Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, and I put them all at your mercy. ¹²I sent hornets ahead of you, which drove out the two Amorite kings before you; this was not the work of your sword or of your bow. ¹³And now I have given you a country for which you have not toiled, towns you have not built, although you live in them, vineyards and olive groves you have not planted, although you eat their fruit."

Israel chooses Yahweh

14*So now, fear Yahweh and serve him truly and sincerely; banish the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. ¹⁵But if serving Yahweh seems a bad thing to you, today you must make up your minds whom you do mean to serve, whether the gods whom your ancestors served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now living. As regards my family and me, we shall serve Yahweh.* ¹⁶The people replied, *Far be it from us to desert Yahweh and to serve other gods! ¹⁷Yahweh our God was the one who brought us and our ancestors here from Egypt, from the place of slave*labour, who worked those great wonders before our eyes and who kept us safe all along