Joshua 18

1 Then the whole [entire, complete] congregation [gathering, assembly] of Israel [descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] assembled [gathered, came together] at Shiloh [place of rest, city of the Tabernacle] and set up [pitched, established] the Tent [tabernacle, dwelling place] of Meeting [appointed time, sacred season] there [in that place, at that location]. And though the land [earth, territory] was subdued [conquered, brought under control] before them [in their presence, under their authority], word study 2 there were still [remaining, left behind] seven tribes [clans, families] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, referring to his descendants] who had not yet [at this point in time, until now] received [obtained, taken possession of, or been given] their inheritance [a possession or property passed down, namely their land allocations]. word study 3 So Joshua [the leader] said to the Israelites [the descendants of Jacob], “How long will you put off [delay, procrastinate] entering and possessing [taking control of, inheriting] the land [the promised territory, Canaan] that the LORD [Yehovah, the God of covenant], the God [Elohim, the supreme deity] of your fathers [ancestors, patriarchs], has given [bestowed, allocated] you [as an inheritance]? word study 4 Appoint [select, choose] three men [leaders, representatives] from each tribe [family group, clan], and I will send [dispatch, commission] them out to survey [explore, map out] the land [territory, region] and map it out [describe, distribute], according to the inheritance [portion, heritage] of each. Then they will return [come back, report] to me word study 5 and divide [into seven parts, apportion] the land into seven portions [sections, inheritances]. Judah [the tribe descended from Judah] shall remain [dwell, stay] in their territory [border, boundary] in the south [Negeb, southern district], and the house [family, household] of Joseph [Jehovah has added] shall remain [stand, abide] in their territory [border, limit] in the north [Zaphon, northern region]. word study 6 When you [as representatives of the tribes] have mapped out [described, surveyed] the seven portions [inheritances, divisions] of land [territory, region] and brought it [the description, report] to me, I will cast [throw, determine] lots [allotted parts, decisions] for you here [in this place, before me] in the presence [face, before] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] our God [Elohim, the supreme Creator]. word study 7 The Levites, however, have no portion [no inheritance, no land] among you, because their inheritance [divine allotment, spiritual heritage] is the priesthood [sacred office, holy service] of the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God]. And Gad, Reuben, and half [a divided part, a shared territory] the tribe of Manasseh have already received [taken possession, been given] the inheritance [allocated land, promised territory] that Moses [the servant of God, the leader of Israel] the servant of the LORD gave them beyond [on the east side, across] the Jordan [the river, the border] to the east [the direction of sunrise, the region of dawn].” word study 8 As the men [the leaders, representatives] got up to go out, Joshua [God is salvation] commanded them to map out [to survey, describe] the land, saying, “Go [walk, journey] and survey [explore, investigate] the land, map [describe, write down] it out, and return [come back, turn back] to me. Then I will cast [throw, allot] lots [a decision-making process] for you here [in this place] in Shiloh [the place of rest, a city of worship] in the presence [before the face, in the sight] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God].” word study 9 So the men [as representatives, leaders] departed and went throughout the land [the earthly territory, region], mapping it city by city [describing each town, recording every detail] into seven portions [divisions, allotments]. Then they returned with the document [a written record, scroll] to Joshua [the leader, commander] at the camp [a gathering of people, encampment] in Shiloh [a place of rest, tranquility]. word study 10 And Joshua [the leader] cast lots [threw marked stones, made decisions by chance] for them in the presence [face, before] of the LORD [Yehovah, the covenant God] at Shiloh [the place of rest], where he distributed [divided, allotted] the land [the territory, the earth] to the Israelites [the descendants of Jacob] according to their divisions [tribal sections, groups]. word study 11 The first lot [cast by God’s sovereignty] came up for the clans [families, tribes] of the tribe [descendants, nation] of Benjamin [son of the right hand]. Their allotted territory [portion, inheritance] lay between [in the midst of, surrounded by] the tribes [descendants, families] of Judah [praise, thanksgiving] and Joseph [Jehovah has added, God will increase]: word study 12 On the north [Zaphon, northern direction] side their border [boundary, territorial limit] began at the Jordan, went up past the northern [Zaphon, towards the north] slope of Jericho [a city in Palestine, the first conquered by the Israelites], headed west [towards the sea, in a westerly direction] through the hill country [mountainous region], and came out at the wilderness [desert, open field, a place of testing] of Beth-aven [house of vanity, a city east of Bethel]. word study 13 From there [at that point, thence] the border [boundary, territorial limit] crossed over [passed along, transitioned] to the southern [Negeb, southward] slope of Luz [the same as Bethel, house of God] (that is, Bethel) and went down [descended, fell] to Ataroth-addar [crowns of glory, a town in Benjamin] on the hill [mountain, elevated land] south of Lower [nether, lowermost] Beth-horon. word study 14 On the west [western side, toward the Mediterranean] side the border [boundary, territorial limit] curved southward from the hill [mountain, elevated land] facing [in front of, opposite] Beth-horon [house of hollowness] on the south and came out at Kiriath-baal [city of Baal, Kiriath-jearim, city of forests] (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city [town, urban settlement] of the sons [descendants, people] of Judah [the tribe of Judah, a region in Palestine]. This was the western [westward, toward the sea] side [corner, region]. word study 15 On the south [south quarter, southern district] side [corner or region] the border [boundary, limit] began at the outskirts [end, edge] of Kiriath-jearim [city of forests, a place in Palestine] and extended [went out, came out] westward [towards the sea, in a westerly direction] to the spring [fountain, source of water] at the Waters [source, fountain] of Nephtoah [a place in Palestine with a spring or source of water]. word study 16 Then it went down [to descend, to go lower] to the foot of the hill [mountain, elevated area] that faces [is before, is in front of] the Valley of Hinnom [valley of lamentation, deep gorge] at the northern [northward, Zaphon] end of the Valley of Rephaim [valley of the giants, lowland area] and ran down [went down, descended] the Valley of Hinnom toward the southern [southward, Negeb] slope [side, shoulder] of the Jebusites [Jebusite town, people of Jebus] and downward [down, to go lower] to En-rogel [fount of the fuller, source of the pool of Siloam]. word study 17 From there it curved [extended, went out] northward [toward the Zaphon, to the north] and proceeded to En-shemesh [fountain of the sun, a spring on Judah’s southern border] and on to Geliloth [Gilgal, a place of boundary] facing [before, opposite] the Ascent [upward movement, climbing] of Adummim [a pass in Palestine, ruddy one], and continued down [went down, descended] to the Stone [a rock, a boundary marker] of Bohan [thumb, a Reubenite] son of Reuben [the firstborn son of Jacob and Leah, ancestor of the tribe]. word study 18 Then it went on [passed along, extended] to the northern [Zaphon, towards the north] slope [side, shoulder] of Beth-arabah [the house of the desert plain] and went down [descended, came down] into the valley [the plain, Arabah, a desert region near the Jordan River]. word study 19 The border [boundary, territorial limit] continued to the northern [Zaphon, towards the north] slope of Beth-hoglah [house of the partridge, a place in Benjamin] and came out at the northern [Zaphon, towards the north] bay of the Salt [seasoning, preserving] Sea, at the mouth [outlet, source] of the Jordan [a key location, a river]. This was the southern [Negeb, south country] border [boundary, territorial limit]. word study 20 On the east [front, or eastern direction] side the border [boundary, or limit] was the Jordan [the Jordan River, a key location]. These were the borders [boundaries, or coasts] around the inheritance [possession, or heritage] of the clans [families, or tribes] of the tribe [nation, or people] of Benjamin [son of the right hand, the youngest son of Jacob]. word study 21 These were the cities [towns, settlements] of the clans [families, tribes] of the tribe [nation, people] of Benjamin [son of the right hand]: Jericho [its moon, a city in Palestine], Beth-hoglah [house of the partridge, a place in Benjamin], Emek-keziz [valley of Keziz, a lowland area], word study 22 Beth-arabah [house of the desert valley], Zemaraim [double fleece of wool], Bethel [house of God, sacred place], word study 23 Avvim [the Avvites, a group of people], Parah [heifer-town, a place in Benjamin], Ophrah [a city, a place of dust or fawn-colored], word study 24 Chephar-ammoni [village of the Ammonites], Ophni [a town in Benjamin], and Geba [a city near Jerusalem]—twelve [a dozen] cities [towns, settlements], along with their [surrounding, associated] villages [small settlements, unwalled places]. word study 25 Gibeon [a Levitical city], Ramah [a city of battle], Beeroth [meaning ‘wells’, a Gibeonite city], word study 26 Mizpeh [a watchtower, lookout point], Chephirah [a city, town], Mozah [fountain, spring], word study 27 Rekem [a place of healing], Irpeel [God will heal], Taralah [reeling, a city in Benjamin], word study 28 Zelah, Haeleph, Jebus [the early name for Jerusalem, a city of peace] (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah [a hill or elevated place], and Kiriath-jearim [city of forests] —fourteen [a combination of ten and four] cities, along with their villages [small settlements surrounded by walls]. This [specifically referring to the inheritance] was the inheritance [a possession passed down, a family heirloom] of the clans [families or tribes] of the tribe of Benjamin [son of the right hand, the youngest son of Jacob]. word study