Joshua Chapter 13 to 14 : Easy-to-Read Version  | SearchSearch | Next Version | Previous Page | Next Page |

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Land Not Yet Taken

13 When Joshua was very old, the Lord said to him, “Joshua you have grown old, but there is still much land for you to take control of. 2You have not yet taken the land of Geshur or the land of the Philistines. 3You have not yet taken the area from the Shihor River* at Egypt to the border of Ekron and the land further north. That land still belongs to the Canaanite people. You must still defeat the five Philistine leaders at Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. You must also defeat the Avvite people 4who live south of the Canaanite land. 5You have not yet defeated the area of the Gebalites. And also there is the area of Lebanon east of Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath. 6“People of Sidon are living in the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth Maim. But I will force out all of these people for the people of Israel. Be sure to remember this land when you divide the land among the people of Israel. Do this like I told you. 7Now, divide the land among the nine family groups and half of the family group of Manasseh.”

Dividing the Land

8The family groups of Reuben, Gad, and the other half of Manasseh had already taken all of their land. The Lord’s servant, Moses gave them the land east of the Jordan River. 9Their land started at Aroer by the Arnon Ravine and continued to the town in the middle of the ravine. And it included the whole plain from Medeba to Dibon. 10All the towns that Sihon the king of the Amorite people ruled were in that land. That king ruled in the city of Heshbon. The land continued to the area where the Amorite people lived. 11Also the town of Gilead was in that land. And the area where the people of Geshur and Maacah lived was in that land. All of Mount Hermon and all of Bashan as far as Salecah was in that land. 12All the kingdom of King Og was in that land. King Og ruled in Bashan. In the past he ruled in Ashtaroth and Edrei. Og was from the Rephaite people. In the past Moses had defeated those people and had taken their land. 13The people of Israel did not force out the people of Geshur and Maacah. Those people still live among the people of Israel today. 14The family group of Levi is the only family group that did not get any land. Instead, the people of Levi get all the animals that are offered made by fire to the Lord God of Israel. That is what the Lord promised them. 15Moses had given each family group from the family group of Reuben some land. This is the land they received: 16It was the land from Aroer near the Arnon Ravine to the town of Medeba. This included the whole plain and the town in the middle of the ravine. 17The land continued to Heshbon. It included all the towns on the plain. Those towns were Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, 18Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley, 20Beth Peor, the hills of Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth. 21So that land included all the towns on the plain and all the area that Sihon the king of the Amorite people had ruled. That king ruled at the town of Heshbon. But Moses had defeated him and the leaders of the Midianite people. Those leaders were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. (All these leaders fought together with  Sihon.) All these leaders lived in that country. 22The people of Israel defeated Balaam son of Beor. (Balaam tried to use magic to tell the future.) The people of Israel killed many people during the fighting. 23The land that was given to Reuben stopped at the shore of the Jordan River. So the land that was given to the family groups of Reuben included all these towns and their fields that were listed. 24This is the land Moses gave to the family group of Gad. Moses gave this land to each family group: 25The land of Jazer and all the towns of Gilead. Moses also gave them half of the land of the Ammonite people as far as Aroer near Rabbah. 26That land included the area from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim. That land included the area from Mahanaim to the land of Debir. 27That land included the valley of Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth and Zaphon. All the other land that Sihon, the king of Heshbon, had ruled was included in this land. This is the land on the east side of the Jordan River. The land continued to the end of Lake Galilee. 28All this land is the land Moses gave the family group of Gad. That land included all the towns that were listed. Moses gave that land to each family group. 29This is the land Moses gave to half of the family group of Manasseh. Half of all the families in the family group of Manasseh got this land: 30The land started at Mahanaim. The land included all of Bashan, all the land ruled by Og, king of Bashan, all the towns of Jair in Bashan. (In all, there were 60 cities.) 31The land also included half of Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei. (Gilead, Ashtaroth, and Edrei were the cities where king Og had lived.) All this land was given to the family of Makir son of Manasseh. Half of all those sons got this land. 32Moses gave all this land to these family groups. Moses did this while the people were camped on the plains of Moab. This was across the Jordan River, east of Jericho. 33Moses did not give any land to the family group of Levi. The Lord, God of Israel, promised that he himself would be the gift for the family group of Levi.

Shihor River Probably one of the eastern branches of the Nile River. 


14 Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of all the family groups of Israel decided what land to give to the people. 2The Lord had commanded Moses long ago the way he wanted the people to choose their land. The people of the nine and a half family groups threw lots* to decide which land they would get. 3Moses had already given the two and a half family groups their land east of the Jordan River. But the family group of Levi was not given any land like the other people. 4{The twelve family groups were given their own land.} The sons of Joseph had divided into two family groups—Manasseh and Ephraim. {And each family group received some land. But} the people from the family group of Levi were not given any land. They were given only some towns to live in. {And these towns were in every family group’s land.} They were also given fields for their animals. 5The Lord had told Moses how to divide the land among the family groups of Israel. The people of Israel divided the land the way the Lord had commanded.

Caleb Gets His Land

6One day some people from the family group of Judah went to Joshua at Gilgal. One of those people was Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. Caleb said to Joshua, “You remember the things the Lord said at Kadesh Barnea. The Lord was speaking to Moses, his servant.* The Lord was talking about you and me. 7Moses, the Lord’s servant, sent me to look at the land where we were going. I was 40 years old at that time. When I came back I told Moses what I thought about the land. 8The other men that went with me told the people things that made them afraid. But I truly believed that the Lord would allow us to take that land. 9So that day Moses made a promise to me. He said, ‘That land where you went will become your land. Your children will own that land forever. I will give you that land because you truly believed in the Lord, my God.’  10“Now, the Lord has kept me alive 45 years—like he said he would do. During that time we all wandered in the desert. Now, here I am, 85 years old. 11I am still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. I am as ready to fight as I was then. 12So now, give me the hill country that the Lord promised me that day long ago. At that time, you heard that the strong Anakite people* lived there. And the cities were very big and well protected. But now, maybe the Lord will be with me, and I will take that land like the Lord said.” 13Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh. Joshua gave him the city of Hebron as his own. 14And that city still belongs to the family of Caleb son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite. That land still belongs to his people because he trusted and obeyed the Lord, God of Israel. 15In the past that city was called Kiriath Arba. That city was named for the greatest man among the Anakite people—a man named Arba. After this, there was peace in that land.

lots Sticks, stones, or pieces of bone used like dice for making decisions. See Proverbs 16:33. his servant Literally, “the man of God.” Anakite people Descendants of Anak. They were a family famous for tall and powerful fighting men. See Num. 13:33.

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