Manasseh’s Land

17 The lot was drawn for the tribe of Manasseh, because Manasseh was Joseph’s firstborn. Machir, Manasseh’s firstborn, the ancestor of the people living in Gilead, had received Gilead and Bashan because he was a soldier. ² The land was given to the rest of the families descended from Manasseh, to the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the male descendants of Joseph’s son Manasseh listed by their families.

³ Zelophehad, son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, and great-grandson of Machir, whose father was Manasseh, had no sons—only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They came to the priest Eleazar, Joshua (son of Nun), and the leaders. They said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us some land as an inheritance among our male relatives.” So they gave them an inheritance among their father’s relatives as the Lord had required. ⁵ Ten portions of land went to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan River. ⁶ These portions were distributed because Manasseh’s daughters were given an inheritance along with his sons, while Gilead belonged to Manasseh’s other descendants.

⁷ Manasseh’s border extends from Asher to Michmethath, which faces Shechem. Then the border goes south toward the people who live in En Tappuah. ⁸ (The land of Tappuah belongs to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself, on the border of Manasseh, belongs to Ephraim.) ⁹ The border then descends southward to the Kanah River. These cities belong to Ephraim, although they are among Manasseh’s cities. Manasseh’s ⌞southern⌟ border is the river, which ends at the Mediterranean Sea. ¹⁰ What is south ⌞of the river⌟ belongs to Ephraim, and what is north ⌞of it⌟ belongs to Manasseh. So the Mediterranean Sea ⌞is its western border⌟, Asher its northern border, and Issachar its eastern border. ¹¹ In Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed Beth Shean and Ibleam with their villages and the people living in Dor, En Dor, Taanach, and Megiddo and their villages. The last three are on mountain ridges.

¹² But Manasseh was not able to take possession of these cities since the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land. ¹³ When the Israelites became strong enough, they made the Canaanites do forced labor, since they didn’t force all of them out.

¹⁴ Joseph’s descendants asked Joshua, “Why did you give us only one region for an inheritance? We have a lot of people because the Lord has blessed us.”

¹⁵ Joshua replied, “If there are so many of you, go into the forest! Clear ground for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaim if the mountains of Ephraim are too confining for you.”

¹⁶ Joseph’s descendants responded, “The mountains are not enough for us either. Besides, all the Canaanites living in the valley, in Beth Shean and its villages, and in the valley of Jezreel have chariots made of iron.”

¹⁷ Then Joshua said to the descendants of Joseph, ⌞the tribes of⌟ Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are an important and very powerful people. One region is really not enough for you. ¹⁸ The mountain region will be yours as well. It is a forest, so you will have to clear it. All of it will be yours. But you must force out the Canaanites, even though they are strong and have chariots made of iron.”

The Second Stage in Dividing the Land

18 The whole congregation of Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there. The land was under their control.

² There were still seven tribes in Israel who had not yet received any land as their inheritance. ³ So Joshua asked the Israelites, “How long are you going to waste time conquering the land which the Lord God of your ancestors has given you? ⁴ Choose three men from each tribe, and I will send them out. They will survey the land and write a description of it which shows ⌞the borders of⌟ their inheritance. Then they will come back to me. ⁵ They will divide the land into seven parts. Judah will stay within its territory in the south, and Joseph’s descendants will stay within their territory in the north. ⁶ You must describe the seven parts of the land and report to me here. I will draw lots for you here in the presence of the Lord our God. ⁷ Levi’s tribe has no separate region among you, because their inheritance is to serve the Lord as priests. The tribes of Gad and Reuben and half of the tribe of Manasseh have received the inheritance that the Lord’s servant Moses gave them on the east side of the Jordan River.”

⁸ As the men got ready to go, Joshua ordered them to write a description of the land. He said, “Go survey the land. Write a description of it, and return to me. Then I will draw lots for you in the presence of the Lord here in Shiloh.”

⁹ The men surveyed the land. They described it in a book. The land was divided into seven parts according to its cities. Then they returned to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰ So Joshua drew lots for them in the presence of the Lord in Shiloh. There Joshua divided the land among the tribes of Israel.

Benjamin’s Land

¹¹ The lot was drawn for the families of the tribe of Benjamin. Their territory lies between Judah’s and Joseph’s. ¹² Their northern border starts at the Jordan, goes up the slope north of Jericho, west through the mountains, and ends at the desert of Beth Aven. ¹³ From there the border goes to the south slope of Luz (now called Bethel). Then the border goes down to Ataroth Addar over the mountains south of Lower Beth Horon. ¹⁴ The border turns and goes around on the west side, south of the mountain that faces Beth Horon, and ends at Kiriath Baal (now called Kiriath Jearim), a city of Judah. ¹⁵ The southern border begins just outside Kiriath Jearim and goes west, to the springs of Nephtoah. ¹⁶ Then the border descends to the foot of the mountain that overlooks the valley of Ben Hinnom, in the north end of the valley of Rephaim. It descends to the valley of Hinnom, to the south slope of the city of Jebus, and down to En Rogel. ¹⁷ Then it turns north and goes to En Shemesh and from there to the region opposite the Adummim Pass. It descends to the Rock of Bohan, son of Reuben. ¹⁸ Then it continues on to the north side of the slope facing the plains and down into the plains. ¹⁹ The border continues to the north slope of Beth Hoglah and ends at the northern bay of the Dead Sea at the south end of the Jordan River. This is its southern border. ²⁰ The Jordan River is its eastern border. These are the borders surrounding the inheritance given to Benjamin for its families.

²¹ These are the 12 cities with their villages that belong to the tribe of Benjamin for its families: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, ²² Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, ²³ Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, ²⁴ Chephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba. ²⁵ There were 14 other cities with their villages: Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, ²⁶ Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, ²⁷ Rekem, Ir Peel, Taralah, ²⁸ Zela, Eleph, Jebus (now called Jerusalem), Gibeath, and Kiriath. This is Benjamin’s inheritance for its families.