Joshua 18
1 The whole community of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh, and there they set up the Tent of Meeting. The land lay subdued before them.
2 But seven tribes still remained among the Israelites who had not yet received their inheritance.
3 Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you be negligent about taking possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you?
4 Choose three men from each tribe, and I will send them out. They will go through the land, make a written description of it according to each tribe’s inheritance, and return to me.
5 They will divide it into seven parts. Judah will remain in its territory in the south, and the house of Joseph will remain in its territory in the north.
6 You are to describe the land in seven parts and bring the description here to me. Then I will cast lots for you here before the LORD our God.
7 The Levites, however, have no share among you, because the LORD’s priesthood is their inheritance. Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance east of the Jordan, which Moses, the servant of the LORD, gave them.”
8 The men set out, and Joshua instructed those who were going to describe the land: “Go, travel through the land, make a description of it, and return to me. Here at Shiloh I will cast lots for you before the LORD.”
9 The men went and traveled through the land, describing it in a book, city by city, in seven parts. Then they returned to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh.
10 Joshua cast lots for them at Shiloh before the LORD, and there he allotted the land to the Israelites according to their divisions.
11 The lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan. The territory allotted to them lay between the descendants of Judah and the descendants of Joseph.
12 Their northern boundary began at the Jordan. The boundary went up to the northern slope of Jericho, then up through the hill country westward, and ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven.
13 From there the boundary passed to Luz, to the southern slope of Luz—that is, Bethel. Then the boundary went down to Ataroth-addar, by the mountain south of Lower Beth-horon.
14 The boundary then turned and curved southward on the west, from the mountain south of Beth-horon that faces it, and ended at Kiriath-baal—that is, Kiriath-jearim, a town of the descendants of Judah. This was the western side.
15 The southern side began at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. The boundary went west and reached the spring at the waters of Nephtoah.
16 The boundary went down to the foot of the mountain facing the Valley of Ben-hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim. It went down through the Valley of Hinnom to the southern slope of the Jebusites, then down to En-rogel.
17 It turned north, reached En-shemesh, reached Geliloth opposite the ascent of Adummim, and went down to the stone of Bohan son of Reuben.
18 It passed to the northern slope facing the Arabah, then went down into the Arabah.
19 The boundary passed to the northern slope of Beth-hoglah and ended at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the southern end of the Jordan. This was the southern boundary.
20 The Jordan formed their eastern boundary. This was the inheritance of the Benjamites, with its boundaries all around, according to their clans.
21 The towns of the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, were: Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz,
22 Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
23 Avvim, Parah, Ophrah,
24 Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve towns with their villages.
25 Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth,
26 Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah,
27 Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah,
28 Zelah, Eleph, the Jebusite town—that is, Jerusalem—Gibeah, and Kiriath: fourteen towns with their villages. This was the inheritance of the Benjamites, clan by clan.
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