18:1 The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The country was brought under their control,
18:2 but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.
18:3 So Joshua said to the Israelites: “How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?
18:4 Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me.
18:5 You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph in its territory on the north.
18:6 After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the LORD our God.
18:7 The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the LORD is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the LORD gave it to them.”
18:8 As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, “Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it. Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of the LORD.”
18:9 So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh.
18:10 Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions.
18:11 The lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:
18:12 On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan, passed the northern slope of Jericho and headed west into the hill country, coming out at the desert of Beth Aven.
18:13 From there it crossed to the south slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth Addar on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.
18:14 From the hill facing Beth Horon on the south the boundary turned south along the western side and came out at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a town of the people of Judah. This was the western side.
18:15 The southern side began at the outskirts of Kiriath Jearim on the west, and the boundary came out at the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.
18:16 The boundary went down to the foot of the hill facing the Valley of Ben Hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim. It continued down the Hinnom Valley along the southern slope of the Jebusite city and so to En Rogel.
18:17 It then curved north, went to En Shemesh, continued to Geliloth, which faces the Pass of Adummim, and ran down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.
18:18 It continued to the northern slope of Beth Arabah and on down into the Arabah.
18:19 It then went to the northern slope of Beth Hoglah and came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the mouth of the Jordan in the south. This was the southern boundary.
18:20 The Jordan formed the boundary on the eastern side. These were the boundaries that marked out the inheritance of the clans of Benjamin on all sides.
18:21 The tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, had the following cities: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz,
18:22 Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
18:23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,
18:24 Kephar Ammoni, Ophni and Geba–twelve towns and their villages.
18:25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,
18:26 Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,
18:27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,
18:28 Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah and Kiriath–fourteen towns and their villages. This was the inheritance of Benjamin for its clans.
18:1 And the whole assembly of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh, and they set up the Tent of Meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.
18:2 And among the children of Israel there remained seven tribes whose inheritance had not been divided to them.
18:3 And Joshua said to the children of Israel, How long will you be slack about going to take possession of the land that Jehovah, the God of your fathers, has given you?
18:4 Appoint three men for each tribe, and I will send them out. And they shall rise up and go through the land, and write a description of it with a view to its being their inheritance; and they shall come to me.
18:5 And they shall divide it into seven portions: Judah shall stay at his border on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay at their border on the north.
18:6 And you shall describe the land in seven portions and bring the description here to me; then I will cast lots for you here before Jehovah our God.
18:7 But the Levites shall have no portion among you, for the priesthood of Jehovah is their inheritance. And Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh received their inheritance across the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of Jehovah had given to them.
18:8 And the men rose up and went; and Joshua commanded those who went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it; then return to me, and I will cast lots for you before Jehovah here in Shiloh.
18:9 So the men went, and they passed through the land and described it by cities into seven portions in a book. Then they came to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh.
18:10 And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before Jehovah. And there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.
18:11 And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came out, according to their families. And the border of their lot went between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
18:12 And their border on the northern side was from the Jordan, and the border went up alongside Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country westward, and its end was at the wilderness of Beth-aven.
18:13 And from there the border passed to Luz, on the southern side of Luz (this is Bethel); and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, at the mountain which is south of Lower Beth-horon.
18:14 And the border turned from there and went around the west side southward, from the mountain that is to the south of Beth-horon; and its end was at Kiriath-baal (this is Kiriath-jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west side.
18:15 The south side was from the limit of Kiriath-jearim, and the border went from the west and went to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah;
18:16 And the border went down to the limit of the mountain that is before the Valley of Ben-hinnom, which is north of the valley of the Rephaim; and it went down into the Valley of Hinnom, to the southern side of the Jebusite slope, and went down to En-rogel,
18:17 And turned north, and went to En-shemesh, and went to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim; and it went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben;
18:18 And it passed by the side before the Arabah northward, and went down to the Arabah;
18:19 And the border passed by the northern side of Beth-hoglah, and the end of the border was at the northern bay of the Salt Sea at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.
18:20 And the Jordan borders it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families, according to its borders all around.
18:21 And the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho and Beth-hoglah and Emek-keziz
18:22 And Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Bethel
18:23 And Avvim and Parah and Ophrah
18:24 And Chephar-ammoni and Ophni and Geba: twelve cities with their villages.
18:25 Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth
18:26 And Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah
18:27 And Rekem and Irpeel and Taralah
18:28 And Zelah, Haeleph, and that of the Jebusite (this is Jerusalem), Gibeath, Kiriath: fourteen cities with their villages. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.