Joshua 18–19: Shiloh, the Seven Tribes, and the Portion Taken Last

Then the whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. And though the land was subdued before them, there were still seven tribes of Israel who had not yet received their inheritance.

So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you put off entering and possessing the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you? Appoint three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to survey the land and map it out, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me and divide the land into seven portions. Judah shall remain in their territory in the south, and the house of Joseph shall remain in their territory in the north. When you have mapped out the seven portions of land and brought it to me, I will cast lots for you here in the presence of the LORD our God.

The Levites, however, have no portion among you, because their inheritance is the priesthood of the LORD. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received the inheritance that Moses the servant of the LORD gave them beyond the Jordan to the east.”

As the men got up to go out, Joshua commanded them to map out the land, saying, “Go and survey the land, map it out, and return to me. Then I will cast lots for you here in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD.”

So the men departed and went throughout the land, mapping it city by city into seven portions. Then they returned with the document to Joshua at the camp in Shiloh.

And Joshua cast lots for them in the presence of the LORD at Shiloh, where he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their divisions.

The first lot came up for the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:

On the north side their border began at the Jordan, went up past the northern slope of Jericho, headed west through the hill country, and came out at the wilderness of Beth-aven. From there the border crossed over to the southern slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth-addar on the hill south of Lower Beth-horon.
On the west side the border curved southward from the hill facing Beth-horon on the south and came out at Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the western side.
On the south side the border began at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim and extended westward to the spring at the Waters of Nephtoah. Then it went down to the foot of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim and ran down the Valley of Hinnom toward the southern slope of the Jebusites and downward to En-rogel. From there it curved northward and proceeded to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth facing the Ascent of Adummim, and continued down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. Then it went on to the northern slope of Beth-arabah and went down into the valley. The border continued to the northern slope of Beth-hoglah and came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the mouth of the Jordan. This was the southern border.
On the east side the border was the Jordan.

These were the borders around the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.

These were the cities of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin:

Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve cities, along with their villages.
Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath-jearim —fourteen cities, along with their villages.

This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Benjamin.

The second lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Simeon:

Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah and included Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah, Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen cities, along with their villages.
Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities, along with their villages, and all the villages surrounding these cities as far as Baalath-beer (Ramah of the Negev).

This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Simeon. The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the territory of Judah, because the share for Judah’s descendants was too large for them. So the Simeonites received an inheritance within Judah’s portion.

The third lot came up for the clans of the tribe of Zebulun:

The border of their inheritance stretched as far as Sarid. It went up westward to Maralah, reached Dabbesheth, and met the brook east of Jokneam. From Sarid it turned eastward along the border of Chisloth-tabor and went on to Daberath and up to Japhia. From there it crossed eastward to Gath-hepher and to Eth-kazin; it extended to Rimmon and curved around toward Neah. Then the border circled around the north side of Neah to Hannathon and ended at the Valley of Iphtah-el. It also included Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem. There were twelve cities, along with their villages.

This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Zebulun, including these cities and their villages.

The fourth lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Issachar:

Their territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, and Beth-pazzez. The border reached Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-shemesh, and ended at the Jordan. There were sixteen cities, along with their villages.

This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Issachar, including these cities and their villages.

The fifth lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Asher:

Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal. On the west the border touched Carmel and Shihor-libnath, then turned eastward toward Beth-dagon, touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah-el, and went north to Beth-emek and Neiel, passing Cabul on the left. It went on to Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. The border then turned back toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Achzib, Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob. There were twenty-two cities, along with their villages.

This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Asher, including these cities and their villages.

The sixth lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Naphtali:

Their border started at Heleph and the great tree of Zaanannim, passing Adami-nekeb and Jabneel as far as Lakkum and ending at the Jordan. Then the border turned westward to Aznoth-tabor and ran from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun on the south side, Asher on the west, and Judah at the Jordan on the east. The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, Iron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh. There were nineteen cities, along with their villages.

This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Naphtali, including these cities and their villages.

The seventh lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Dan:

The territory of their inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, Elon, Timnah, Ekron, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, me-jarkon, and Rakkon, including the territory across from Joppa.

(Later, when the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and fought against Leshem, captured it, and put it to the sword. So they took possession of Leshem, settled there, and renamed it after their father Dan.)

This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Dan, including these cities and their villages.

When they had finished distributing the land into its territories, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, as the LORD had commanded. They gave him the city of Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim, as he requested. He rebuilt the city and settled in it.

These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families distributed by lot to the tribes of Israel at Shiloh before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing up the land.