Category: Joshua

[19:40] The seventh assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Dan.

[19:41] Its area included Zorah, Eshtaol, Irshemesh,

[19:42] Shaalbim, Aijalon, Ithlah,

[19:43] Elon, Timnah, Ekron,

[19:44] Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath,

[19:45] Jehud, Beneberak, Gathrimmon,

[19:46] Mejarkon, and Rakkon, as well as the territory around Joppa.

[19:47] When the people of Dan lost their land, they went to Laish and attacked it. They captured it, killed its people, and claimed it for themselves. They settled there and changed the name of the city from Laish to Dan, naming it after their ancestor Dan.

[19:48] These cities and their towns were in the land which the families of the tribe of Dan received as their possession.

[19:49] When the people of Israel finished dividing up the land, they gave Joshua son of Nun a part of the land as his own.

[19:50] As the Lord had commanded, they gave him the city he asked for: Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and settled there.

[19:51] Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the families of the tribes of Israel assigned these parts of the land by drawing lots to consult the Lord at Shiloh, at the entrance of the Tent of the Lord's presence. In this way they finished dividing the land.

[20:1] Then the Lord told Joshua

[20:2] to say to the people of Israel, “Choose the cities of refuge that I had Moses tell you about.

[20:3] If any of you accidentally kills someone, you can go there and escape the one who is looking for revenge.

[20:4] You can run away to one of these cities, go to the place of judgment at the entrance to the city, and explain to the leaders what happened. Then they will let you into the city and give you a place to live in, so that you can stay there.

[20:5] If the one looking for revenge follows you there, the people of the city must not hand you over to that one. They must protect you because you killed the person accidentally and not out of anger.

[20:6] You may stay in the city until you have received a public trial and until the death of the man who is then the High Priest. Then you may go back home to your own town, from which you had run away.”

[20:7] So, on the west side of the Jordan they set aside Kedesh in Galilee, in the hill country of Naphtali; Shechem, in the hill country of Ephraim; and Hebron, in the hill country of Judah.

[20:8] East of the Jordan, on the desert plateau east of Jericho, they chose Bezer in the territory of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead, in the territory of Gad; and Golan in Bashan, in the territory of Manasseh.

[20:9] These were the cities of refuge chosen for all the people of Israel and for any foreigner living among them. Any who killed a person accidentally could find protection there from the one looking for revenge; they could not be killed unless they had first received a public trial.

[21:1] The leaders of the Levite families went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and to the heads of the families of all the tribes of Israel.

[21:2] There at Shiloh in the land of Canaan they said to them, “The Lord commanded through Moses that we were to be given cities to live in, as well as pasture land around them for our livestock.”

[21:3] So in accordance with the Lord's command the people of Israel gave the Levites certain cities and pasture lands out of their own territories.

[21:4] The families of the Levite clan of Kohath were the first to be assigned cities. The families who were descended from Aaron the priest were assigned thirteen cities from the territories of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin.

[21:5] The rest of the clan of Kohath was assigned ten cities from the territories of Ephraim, Dan, and West Manasseh.

[21:6] The clan of Gershon was assigned thirteen cities from the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and East Manasseh.

[21:7] The families of the clan of Merari were assigned twelve cities from the territories of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.

[21:8] By drawing lots, the people of Israel assigned these cities and their pasture lands to the Levites, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.

[21:9] These are the names of the cities from the territories of Judah and Simeon which were given

[21:10] to the descendants of Aaron who were of the clan of Kohath, which was descended from Levi. Their assignment was the first to be made.

[21:11] They were given the city of Arba (Arba was Anak's father), now called Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, along with the pasture land surrounding it.

[21:12] However, the fields of the city, as well as its towns, had already been given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.

[21:13] In addition to Hebron (one of the cities of refuge), the following cities were assigned to the descendants of Aaron the priest: Libnah,

[21:14] Jattir, Eshtemoa,

[21:15] Holon, Debir,

[21:16] Ain, Juttah, and Beth Shemesh, with their pasture lands: nine cities from the tribes of Judah and Simeon.

[21:17] From the territory of Benjamin they were given four cities: Gibeon, Geba,

[21:18] Anathoth, and Almon, with their pasture lands.

[21:19] Thirteen cities in all, with their pasture lands, were given to the priests, the descendants of Aaron.

[21:20] The other families of the Levite clan of Kohath were assigned some cities from the territory of Ephraim.

[21:21] They were given four cities: Shechem and its pasture lands in the hill country of Ephraim (one of the cities of refuge), Gezer,

[21:22] Kibzaim, and Beth Horon, with their pasture lands.

[21:23] From the territory of Dan they were given four cities: Eltekeh, Gibbethon,

[21:24] Aijalon, and Gathrimmon, with their pasture lands.

[21:25] From the territory of West Manasseh they were given two cities: Taanach and Gathrimmon, with their pasture lands.

[21:26] These families of the clan of Kohath received ten cities in all, with their pasture lands.

[21:27] Another group of Levites, the clan of Gershon, received from the territory of East Manasseh two cities: Golan in Bashan (one of the cities of refuge) and Beeshterah, with their pasture lands.

[21:28] From the territory of Issachar they received four cities: Kishion, Daberath,

[21:29] Jarmuth, and Engannim, with their pasture lands.

[21:30] From the territory of Asher they received four cities: Mishal, Abdon,

[21:31] Helkath, and Rehob, with their pasture lands.

[21:32] From the territory of Naphtali they received three cities: Kedesh in Galilee, with its pasture lands (one of the cities of refuge), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, with their pasture lands.

[21:33] The various families of the clan of Gershon received a total of thirteen cities with their pasture lands.

[21:34] The rest of the Levites, the clan of Merari, received from the territory of Zebulun four cities: Jokneam, Kartah,

[21:35] Dimnah, and Nahalal, with their pasture lands.

[21:36] From the territory of Reuben they received four cities: Bezer, Jahaz,

[21:37] Kedemoth, and Mephaath, with their pasture lands.

[21:38] From the tribe of Gad they received four cities: Ramoth in Gilead, with its pasture lands (one of the cities of refuge), Mahanaim,

[21:39] Heshbon, and Jazer, with their pasture lands.

[21:40] So the clan of Merari was assigned a total of twelve cities.

[21:43] So the Lord gave to Israel all the land that he had solemnly promised their ancestors he would give them. When they had taken possession of it, they settled down there.

[21:44] The Lord gave them peace throughout the land, just as he had promised their ancestors. Not one of all their enemies had been able to stand against them, because the Lord gave the Israelites the victory over all their enemies.

[21:45] The Lord kept every one of the promises that he had made to the people of Israel.

[22:1] Then Joshua called together the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh.

[22:2] He said to them, “You have done everything that Moses the Lord's servant ordered you to do, and you have obeyed all my commands.

[22:3] All this time you have never once deserted the other Israelites. You have been careful to obey the commands of the Lord your God.

[22:4] Now, as he promised, the Lord your God has given the other Israelites peace. So go back home to the land which you claimed for your own, the land on the east side of the Jordan, that Moses, the Lord's servant, gave you.

[22:5] Make sure you obey the law that Moses commanded you: love the Lord your God, do his will, obey his commandments, be faithful to him, and serve him with all your heart and soul.” Moses had given land east of the Jordan to one half of the tribe of Manasseh, but to the other half Joshua had given land west of the Jordan, along with the other tribes.

[22:9] So the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh went back home. They left the rest of the people of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and started out for their own land, the land of Gilead, which they had taken as the Lord had commanded them through Moses.

[22:10] When the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh arrived at Geliloth, still on the west side of the Jordan, they built a large, impressive altar there by the river.

[22:11] The rest of the people of Israel were told, “Listen! The people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh have built an altar at Geliloth, on our side of the Jordan!”

[22:12] When the people of Israel heard this, the whole community came together at Shiloh to go to war against the eastern tribes.

[22:13] Then the people of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh in the land of Gilead.

[22:14] Ten leading men went with Phinehas, one from each of the western tribes and each one the head of a family among the clans.

[22:15] They came to the land of Gilead, to the people of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh,

[22:16] and speaking for the whole community of the Lord, they said to them, “Why have you done this evil thing against the God of Israel? You have rebelled against the Lord by building this altar for yourselves! You are no longer following him!

[22:17] Remember our sin at Peor, when the Lord punished his own people with an epidemic? We are still suffering because of that. Wasn't that sin enough?

[22:18] Are you going to refuse to follow him now? If you rebel against the Lord today, he will be angry with everyone in Israel tomorrow.

[22:19] Now then, if your land is not fit to worship in, come over into the Lord's land, where his Tent is. Claim some land among us. But don't rebel against the Lord or make rebels out of us by building an altar in addition to the altar of the Lord our God.

[22:20] Remember how Achan son of Zerah refused to obey the command about the things condemned to destruction; the whole community of Israel was punished for that. Achan was not the only one who died because of his sin.”

[22:21] The people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh answered the heads of the families of the western tribes:

[22:22] “The Mighty One is God! He is the Lord! The Mighty One is God! He is the Lord! He knows why we did this, and we want you to know too! If we rebelled and did not keep faith with the Lord, do not let us live any longer!

[22:23] If we disobeyed the Lord and built our own altar to burn sacrifices on or to use for grain offerings or fellowship offerings, let the Lord himself punish us.

[22:24] No! We did it because we were afraid that in the future your descendants would say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel?

[22:25] He made the Jordan a boundary between us and you people of Reuben and Gad. You have nothing to do with the Lord.’ Then your descendants might make our descendants stop worshiping the Lord.

[22:26] So we built an altar, not to burn sacrifices or make offerings,

[22:27] but instead, as a sign for our people and yours, and for the generations after us, that we do indeed worship the Lord before his sacred Tent with our offerings to be burned and with sacrifices and fellowship offerings. This was to keep your descendants from saying that ours have nothing to do with the Lord.

[22:28] It was our idea that, if this should ever happen, our descendants could say, ‘Look! Our ancestors made an altar just like the Lord's altar. It was not for burning offerings or for sacrifice, but as a sign for our people and yours.’

[22:29] We would certainly not rebel against the Lord or stop following him now by building an altar to burn offerings on or for grain offerings or sacrifices. We would not build any other altar than the altar of the Lord our God that stands in front of the Tent of his presence.”

[22:30] Phinehas the priest and the ten leading men of the community who were with him, the heads of families of the western tribes, heard what the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh had to say, and they were satisfied.

[22:31] Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said to them, “Now we know that the Lord is with us. You have not rebelled against him, and so you have saved the people of Israel from the Lord's punishment.”

[22:32] Then Phinehas and the leaders left the people of Reuben and Gad in the land of Gilead and went back to Canaan, to the people of Israel, and reported to them.

[22:33] The Israelites were satisfied and praised God. They no longer talked about going to war to devastate the land where the people of Reuben and Gad had settled.

[22:34] The people of Reuben and Gad said, “This altar is a witness to all of us that the Lord is God.” And so they named it “Witness.”

[23:1] Much later the Lord gave Israel security from their enemies around them. By that time Joshua was very old,

[23:2] so he called all Israel, the elders, leaders, judges, and officers of the people, and said, “I am very old now.

[23:3] You have seen everything that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you. The Lord your God has been fighting for you.

[23:4] I have assigned as the possession of your tribes the land of the nations that are still left, as well as of all the nations that I have already conquered, from the Jordan River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west.

[23:5] The Lord your God will make them retreat from you, and he will drive them away as you advance. You shall have their land, as the Lord your God has promised you.

[23:6] So be careful to obey and do everything that is written in the book of the Law of Moses. Do not neglect any part of it,

[23:7] and then you will not associate with these peoples left among you or speak the names of their gods or use those names in taking vows or worship those gods or bow down to them.

[23:8] Instead, be faithful to the Lord, as you have been till now.

[23:9] The Lord has driven great and powerful nations out as you advanced, and no one has ever been able to stand against you.

[23:10] Any one of you can make a thousand men run away, because the Lord your God is fighting for you, just as he promised.

[23:11] Be careful, then, to love the Lord your God.

[23:12] If you are disloyal and join with the nations that are still left among you and intermarry with them,

[23:13] you may be sure that the Lord your God will no longer drive these nations out as you advance. Rather, they will be as dangerous for you as a trap or a pit and as painful as a whip on your back or thorns in your eyes. And this will last until none of you are left in this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

[23:14] “Now my time has come to die. Every one of you knows in his heart and soul that the Lord your God has given you all the good things that he promised. Every promise he made has been kept; not one has failed.

[23:15] But just as he kept every promise that he made to you, so he will carry out every threat.

[23:16] If you do not keep the covenant which the Lord your God commanded you to keep and if you serve and worship other gods, then in his anger he will punish you, and soon none of you will be left in this good land that he has given you.”

[24:1] Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem. He called the elders, the leaders, the judges, and the officers of Israel, and they came into the presence of God.

[24:2] Joshua said to all the people, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has to say: ‘Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. One of those ancestors was Terah, the father of Abraham and Nahor.

[24:3] Then I took Abraham, your ancestor, from the land across the Euphrates and led him through the whole land of Canaan. I gave him many descendants. I gave him Isaac,

[24:4] and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Edom as his possession, but your ancestor Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

[24:5] Later I sent Moses and Aaron, and I brought great trouble on Egypt. But I led you out;

[24:6] I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and cavalry. But when your ancestors got to the Red Sea

[24:7] they cried out to me for help, and I put darkness between them and the Egyptians. I made the sea come rolling over the Egyptians and drown them. You know what I did to Egypt. “‘You lived in the desert a long time.

[24:8] Then I brought you to the land of the Amorites, who lived on the east side of the Jordan. They fought you, but I gave you victory over them. You took their land, and I destroyed them as you advanced.

[24:9] Then the king of Moab, Balak son of Zippor, fought against you. He sent word to Balaam son of Beor and asked him to put a curse on you.

[24:10] But I would not listen to Balaam, so he blessed you, and in this way I rescued you from Balak.

[24:11] You crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The men of Jericho fought you, as did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I gave you victory over them all.

[24:12] As you advanced, I threw them into panic in order to drive out the two Amorite kings. Your swords and bows had nothing to do with it.

[24:13] I gave you a land that you had never worked and cities that you had not built. Now you are living there and eating grapes from vines that you did not plant, and olives from trees that you did not plant.’

[24:14] “Now then,” Joshua continued, “honor the Lord and serve him sincerely and faithfully. Get rid of the gods which your ancestors used to worship in Mesopotamia and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord.

[24:15] If you are not willing to serve him, decide today whom you will serve, the gods your ancestors worshiped in Mesopotamia or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are now living. As for my family and me, we will serve the Lord.”

[24:16] The people replied, “We would never leave the Lord to serve other gods!

[24:17] The Lord our God brought our fathers and us out of slavery in Egypt, and we saw the miracles that he performed. He kept us safe wherever we went among all the nations through which we passed.

[24:18] As we advanced into this land, the Lord drove out all the Amorites who lived here. So we also will serve the Lord; he is our God.”

[24:19] Joshua said to the people, “But you may not be able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God and will not forgive your sins. He will tolerate no rivals,

[24:20] and if you leave him to serve foreign gods, he will turn against you and punish you. He will destroy you, even though he was good to you before.”

[24:21] The people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”

[24:22] Joshua told them, “You are your own witnesses to the fact that you have chosen to serve the Lord.” “Yes,” they said, “we are witnesses.”

[24:23] “Then get rid of those foreign gods that you have,” he demanded, “and pledge your loyalty to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

[24:24] The people then said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God. We will obey his commands.”

[24:25] So Joshua made a covenant for the people that day, and there at Shechem he gave them laws and rules to follow.

[24:26] Joshua wrote these commands in the book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up under the oak tree in the Lord's sanctuary.

[24:27] He said to all the people, “This stone will be our witness. It has heard all the words that the Lord has spoken to us. So it will be a witness against you, to keep you from rebelling against your God.”

[24:28] Then Joshua sent the people away, and everyone returned to their own part of the land.

[24:29] After that, the Lord's servant Joshua son of Nun died at the age of a hundred and ten.

[24:30] They buried him on his own land at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash.

[24:31] As long as Joshua lived, the people of Israel served the Lord, and after his death they continued to do so as long as those leaders were alive who had seen for themselves everything that the Lord had done for Israel.

[24:32] The body of Joseph, which the people of Israel had brought from Egypt, was buried at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver. This land was inherited by Joseph's descendants.

[24:33] Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, the town in the hill country of Ephraim which had been given to his son Phinehas.