Joshua 18 — FBV

18Verse 1The land had been subdued⁺and lay before them. The Israelites gathered together at Shiloh⁺and set up the Tent of Meeting.^{+Verse 2}However, seven of the Israelite tribes had not received their land allocations.^{+Verse 3}So Joshua asked the Israelites, “How long will you go on being reluctant to go and take possession of the land that the Lord gave your forefathers?^{Verse 4}Choose three men from each tribe and I will send them out to explore the land. Then they can write a description regarding the land allocations and bring it to me.^{Verse 5}They are to divide the land into seven parts, up to the boundary of Judah's land in the south and Joseph's⁺land in the north.^{Verse 6}Once you have written the description about the land, divided into seven parts, you will bring it to me here and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord our God.^{Verse 7}But the Levites do not receive a share, for their role as priests of the Lord is their allocation. Also, Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their allocation that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave them on the east side of the Jordan.”^{Verse 8}As the men started out on their way to explore the land. Joshua told them, “Go throughout the land and write a description of what you find. Then return to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord here in Shiloh.”^{Verse 9}So the men went and explored the land and wrote down on a scroll a description of the seven parts, recording the towns in each part. Then they returned to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh^{Verse 10}where Joshua cast lots for them in the presence of the Lord. There Joshua divided the land up and allotted the different parts to the remaining⁺Israelite tribes.^{Verse 11}The first lot cast went to the tribe of Benjamin, by families. The land allotted lay between that of the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Joseph.^{Verse 12}Their boundary began at the Jordan, and went north of the slope of Jericho, west through the hill country, coming out at the wilderness of Beth-aven.^{Verse 13}Then the boundary went south to Luz (or Bethel) and on down to Ataroth-addar on the mountain south of Lower Beth-horon.^{Verse 14}Here the boundary turned south along the western side of the mountain facing Beth-horon, finishing at Kiriath-baal (or Kiriath-jearim), a town of the tribe of Judah. This was the western boundary.^{Verse 15}The southern boundary began at the edge of Kiriath-jearim. It ran⁺to the spring at Nephtoah,^{Verse 16}and then down to the foot of the mountain that faces the valley of Ben-hinnom, at the north end of the valley of Rephaim. Then it went down the valley of Hinnom, along the slope near the Jebusite town,⁺south towards En-rogel.^{Verse 17}From there it headed north to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth, opposite the heights of Adummim, and then on down to the Stone of Bohan (Reuben's son).^{Verse 18}Then it went along the ridge opposite the Jordan Valley to the north, and then down into the Jordan Valley itself.^{Verse 19}From there it ran along the north slope of Beth-hoglah, ending at the north bay of the Salt Sea, the southern end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundary.^{Verse 20}The eastern boundary was the Jordan. These were the boundaries around the land of the tribe of Benjamin, by families.^{Verse 21}These were the towns of the tribe of Benjamin, according to families: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz,^{Verse 22}Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,^{Verse 23}Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,^{Verse 24}Kephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve towns with their associated villages.^{Verse 25}In addition: Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,^{Verse 26}Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah,^{Verse 27}Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,^{Verse 28}Zela, Haeleph, Jebus (or Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim—fourteen towns with their associated villages. This was the land allotted to the tribe of Benjamin, by families.