Chapter 19
- 1
- The second lot fell to Simeon. The heritage of the clans of the tribe of Simeonites lay within that of the Judahites.
- 2
- For their heritage they received Beer-sheba, Shema, Moladah,
- 3
- Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem,
- 4
- Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah,
- 5
- Ziklag, Bethmar-caboth, Hazar-susah,
- 6
- Beth-lebaoth and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages.
- 7
- Also En-rimmon, Ether and Ashan; four cities and their villages,
- 8
- besides all the villages around these cities as far as Baalath-beer (that is, Ramoth-negeb). This was the heritage of the clans of the tribe of the Simeonites.
- 9
- This heritage of the Simeonites was within the confines of the Judahites; for since the portion of the latter was too large for them, the Simeonites obtained their heritage within it.
- 10
- 1 The third lot fell to the clans of the Zebulunites. The limit of their heritage was at Sarid.
- 11
- Their boundary went up west. . . and through Mareal, reaching Dabbesheth and the wadi that is near Jokneam.
- 12
- From Sarid eastward it ran to the district of Chisloth-tabor, on to Daberath, and up to Japhia.
- 13
- From there it continued eastward to Gath-hepher and to Eth-kazin, extended to Rimmon, and turned to Neah.
- 14
- Skirting north of Hannathon, the boundary ended at the valley of Iphtahel.
- 15
- Thus, with Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem, there were twelve cities and their villages
- 16
- to comprise the heritage of the clans of the Zebulunites.
- 17
- 2 The fourth lot fell to Issachar. The territory of the clans of the Issacharites
- 18
- included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem,
- 19
- Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath,
- 20
- Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez,
- 21
- Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah and Beth-pazzez.
- 22
- The boundary reached Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth-shemesh, ending at the Jordan. These sixteen cities and their villages
- 23
- were the heritage of the clans of the Issacharites.
- 24
- 3 The fifth lot fell to the clans of the tribe of the Asherites.
- 25
- Their territory included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph,
- 26
- Allammelech, Amad and Mishal, and reached Carmel on the west, and Shihor-libnath.
- 27
- In the other direction, it ran eastward of Beth-dagon, reached Zebulun and the valley of Iphtahel; then north of Beth-emek and Neiel, it extended to Cabul,
- 28
- Mishal, Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah, near Greater Sidon.
- 29
- Then the boundary turned back to Ramah and to the fortress city of Tyre; thence it cut back to Hosah and ended at the sea. Thus, with Mahalab, Achzib,
- 30
- Ummah, Acco, Aphek and Rehob, there were twenty-two cities and their villages
- 31
- to comprise the heritage of the clans of the tribe of the Asherites.
- 32
- 4 The sixth lot fell to the Naphtalites. The boundary of the clans of the Naphtalites
- 33
- extended from Heleph, from the oak at Zaanannim to Lakkum, including Adami-nekeb and Jabneel, and ended at the Jordan.
- 34
- In the opposite direction, westerly, it ran through Aznoth-tabor and from there extended to Hukkok; it touched Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and the Jordan on the east.
- 35
- The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth,
- 36
- Adamah, Ramah, Hazor,
- 37
- Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor,
- 38
- Yiron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath and Beth-shemesh; nineteen cities and their villages,
- 39
- to comprise the heritage of the clans of the tribe of the Naphtalites.
- 40
- 5 The seventh lot fell to the clans of the tribe of Danites.
- 41
- Their heritage was the territory of Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh,
- 42
- Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah,
- 43
- Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
- 44
- Eltekoh, Gibbethon, Baalath,
- 45
- Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon,
- 46
- Me-jarkon and Rakkon, with the coast at Joppa.
- 47
- 6 But the territory of the Danites was too small for them; so the Danites marched up and attacked Leshem, which they captured and put to the sword. Once they had taken possession of Leshem, they renamed the settlement after their ancestor Dan.
- 48
- These cities and their villages were the heritage of the clans of the tribe of the Danites.
- 49
- When the last of them had received the portions of the land they were to inherit, the Israelites assigned a heritage in their midst to Joshua, son of Nun.
- 50
- In obedience to the command of the LORD, they gave him the city which he requested, Timnah-serah in the mountain region of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and made it his home.
- 51
- These are the final portions into which Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of families in the tribes of the Israelites divided the land by lot in the presence of the LORD, at the door of the meeting tent in Shiloh.
Previous Chapter Next ChapterFootnotes
1 [10-16] Zebulun's territory was in the central section of the Plain of Esdraelon and of southern Galilee; it was bounded on the south by Manasseh, on the southeast by Issachar, on the northeast and north by Naphtali, and on the west by Asher. The site of the later city of Nazareth was within its borders. Bethlehem of Zebulun was, of course, distinct from the city of the same name in Judah. Twelve cities: apparently seven of the names are missing from Joshua 19:15 unless some of the places mentioned in Joshua 19:12-14 are to be included in the number.
2 [17-23] Issachar's land was on the eastern watershed of the Plain of Esdraelon, but also included the southeastern end of the Galilean mountains. It was surrounded by Manasseh on the south and east, by Naphtali on the north, and by Zebulun on the west. Jezreel (Joshua 19:18) dominated the plain to which it gave its name, the later form of which was Esdraelon.
3 [24-31] Asher inherited the western slope of the Galilean hills as far as the sea, with Manasseh to the south, Zebulun and Naphtali to the east, and Phoenicia to the north.
4 [32-39] Naphtali received eastern Galilee; Asher was to the west and Zebulun and Issachar were to the south, while the upper Jordan and Mount Hermon formed the eastern border. Part of the tribe of Dan later on occupied the northern extremity of Naphtali's lands, at the sources of the Jordan (Joshua 19:47).
5 [40-46] The original territory of Dan was a small enclave between Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and the Philistines.
6 [47] Leshem: called Laish in Jdgs 18 where the story of the migration of the Danites is told at greater length.
New American Bible Copyright © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
New American Bible Home Page__________________________________
New American Bible
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 (202) 541-3000