Joshua 13

1 Now Joshua [a leader in Israel] was old [advanced in years, grown old] and well along in years [entering into days], and the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God] said to him, “You are old [stricken in years, full of years] and well along in years [grown old], but very much [exceedingly, greatly] of the land [the earth, a country] remains [is left, to be spared] to be possessed [taken control of, occupied]. word study 2 This [the remaining territory] is the land [region, territory, or country] that remains [is left, still to be taken]: All [every part of] the territory [borders, regions] of the Philistines [inhabitants of Philistia] and the Geshurites [people of Geshur], word study 3 from the Shihor [Nile, a river in Egypt] east of Egypt to the territory [border, land] of Ekron [a major Philistine city] on the north [Zaphon, a direction] (considered to be Canaanite [belonging to the land of Canaan] territory)—that of the five [a specific number, a small group] Philistine [from the region of Philistia] rulers [lords, leaders] of Gaza [a city], Ashdod [Ashdodite, a city], Ashkelon [Ashkelonite, a city], Gath [Gittite, a city], and Ekron [Ekronite, a city], as well as that of the Avvites [native people of Avvah, perverters]; word study 4 to the south [toward the southern direction, from the south], all the land [territory, region] of the Canaanites [people of Canaan, merchants and traders], from Mearah [cave, area near Sidon] of the Sidonians [people from the city of Sidon] to Aphek [enclosure, city in Palestine], as far as [until, to the point of] the border [boundary, limit] of the Amorites [Canaanite tribe, descended from Canaan]; word study 5 the land [territory, region] of the Gebalites [inhabitants of Gebal, a Phoenician town]; and all [every part of] Lebanon [a mountain range in Israel, named for its white snow or limestone peaks] to the east [toward the sunrise, the direction of the rising sun], from Baal-gad [lord of fortune, a place in Syria] below [underneath, in a lower position] Mount Hermon [a sanctuary, a sacred mountain] to Lebo-hamath [the entrance to Hamath, a city in Syria]. word study 6 All [every single one, the entirety of] the inhabitants of the hill country [mountainous region, highlands] from Lebanon [the white mountain range] to Misrephoth-maim [a place of burning waters, possibly a site of spiritual purification]—all [every single one, the entirety of] the Sidonians [people from the city of Sidon, a major Phoenician city]—I [the Lord, the one true God] Myself will drive out [dispossess, expel] before the Israelites [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people]. Be sure to divide it [the land, the inheritance] by lot [a method of distribution, often used to determine God’s will] as an inheritance [a gift, a legacy] to Israel [the people of God, the descendants of Jacob], as I have commanded [given orders, instructed] you. word study 7 Now [at this time] therefore divide [apportion, allocate] this land [the territory, region] as an inheritance [a possession, heritage] to the nine [a quantity of nine] tribes [clans, families] and the half-tribe [a portion of a tribe, a divided people] of Manasseh [a descendant of Jacob, a son of Joseph].” word study 8 The other half of Manasseh [a tribe of Israel], along with the Reubenites [descendants of Reuben] and Gadites [descendants of Gad], had received the inheritance [a gift of land, a legacy] Moses [the servant of God] had given them beyond the Jordan [the river, a boundary] to the east [the direction of sunrise], just as Moses [the leader, a prophet] the servant [one who serves, a bondservant] of the LORD [Yehovah] had assigned [given, allotted] to them: word study 9 The area from Aroer [on the edge of the valley] on the rim [lip, border] of the Arnon [river, brook] Valley, along with the city [town, settlement] in the middle [midst, center] of the valley, the whole [all, entire] plateau [plain, level area] of Medeba [a town in ancient Moab] as far as [till, up to] Dibon [a town in Moab, Dibon-gad], word study 10 and all [every single one] the cities [towns, urban settlements] of Sihon [the Amorite king] king [ruler, monarch] of the Amorites [a Canaanite tribe] who reigned [ruled, was in power] in Heshbon [a city east of the Jordan], as far as [up to, until] the border [boundary, limit] of the Ammonites [descendants of Lot, a neighboring nation]; word study 11 also Gilead [a mountainous region east of the Jordan] and the territory [border, land] of the Geshurites [people of Geshur, a nearby land] and Maacathites [inhabitants of Maakah, a city], all [everything, the whole] of Mount Hermon [a sanctuary, a high point], and all [every part] Bashan [a fertile region, a fruitful land] as far as [till, unto] Salecah [a town, a city east of the Jordan]— word study 12 the whole [entire, all-inclusive] kingdom [domain, reign] of Og [a powerful king, one of the last giants] in Bashan [a fertile region, east of the Jordan], who had reigned [ruled, exercised authority] in Ashtaroth [a place of idol worship, a city] and Edrei [a chief city, a stronghold] and had remained [been left, survived] as a remnant [a small part, a leftover] of the Rephaim [giants, powerful beings]. Moses [the leader, prophet] had struck them down [defeated, overthrown] and dispossessed them [taken their land, driven them out], word study 13 but the Israelites [the descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen people] did not drive out [expel, dispossess] the Geshurites [inhabitants of Geshur, a district in Syria] or the Maacathites [residents of Maacah, a place of oppression]. So Geshur [a land in north Transjordania] and Maacath [a region of pressure] dwell [reside, remain] among [in the midst of, as part of] the Israelites [the people of God, the symbolic name of Jacob] to [until, as far as] this day [the present time, the current era]. word study 14 To the tribe [clan or family group] of Levi, however, Moses had given no inheritance [possession or heritage]. The offerings [sacrifices, gifts] made by fire [burnt offerings] to the LORD [Yehovah], the God [Elohim, the supreme Being] of Israel [the descendants of Jacob], are their inheritance [heritage, legacy], just as He had promised [spoken, communicated] them. word study 15 This is what Moses [the Israelite leader, who received the law from God] had given [allotted, assigned] to the clans [families, tribes] of the tribe [ancestral group] of Reuben [the firstborn son of Jacob and Leah]: word study 16 The territory [their land, domain] from Aroer [a city of ruins] on the rim [edge, bank] of the Arnon Valley [brook, river], along with the city [town, settlement] in the middle [midst, center] of the valley [plain, lowland], to the whole [all, entire] plateau [plain, table-land] beyond [on the other side of] Medeba [a place of water, a town in Moab], word study 17 to Heshbon [the capital of the Amorites] and all [every one of] its cities [towns, settlements] on the plateau [plain, level area], including Dibon [a town in Moab], Bamoth-baal [high places of idol worship], Beth-baal-meon [house of Meon, a city in Reuben’s territory], word study 18 Jahaz [a place of triumph, east of the Jordan], Kedemoth [eastern, a city of Levites], Mephaath [a city near Moab, a place of judgment], word study 19 Kiriathaim [two cities, a dual town], Sibmah [a fragrant town], Zereth-shahar [splendour of the dawn] on the hill [mountain, a high point] in the valley [lowland area, a place of humility], word study 20 Beth-peor [house of Peor, a place east of the Jordan], the slopes [or Ashdoth, natural formations like springs] of Pisgah [a mountain in Moab], and Beth-jeshimoth [house of desolation, a town east of the Jordan]— word study 21 all the cities [towns, urban centers] of the plateau [plain, level area] and all the kingdom [domain, reign] of Sihon [the Amorite king] king of the Amorites [a Canaanite tribe], who reigned [ruled, governed] in Heshbon [the capital city] until Moses [the Israelite leader] killed [struck down, defeated] him and the chiefs [leaders, princes] of Midian [a desert tribe] (Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba), the princes [rulers, nobles] of Sihon [the Amorite king] who lived [dwelt, resided] in the land [the territory, the earth]. word study 22 The Israelites [children of God, descendants of Jacob] also killed [slayed, put to death] the diviner [soothsayer, prophet] Balaam [a Mesopotamian prophet] son of Beor [father of Balaam, an Edomite king’s father] along with the others [rest of their slain, those they defeated] they put to the sword [killed with a cutting instrument, destroyed with a weapon]. word study 23 And the border [boundary, limit] of the Reubenites [sons of Reuben, descendants of Jacob’s firstborn] was the bank [edge, riverbank] of the Jordan [a key location, a river running from Lebanon to the Dead Sea]. This was the inheritance [possession, heritage, something passed down] of the clans [families, tribes] of the Reubenites, including the cities [towns, populated areas] and villages [small settlements, unwalled places]. word study 24 This is what Moses [the Israelite leader] had given [allotted, assigned] to the clans [tribes, families] of the tribe [nation, people] of Gad [the seventh son of Jacob]: word study 25 The territory [border, region] of Jazer [a city east of the Jordan], all [every, the whole of] the cities [towns, settlements] of Gilead [a mountainous region], and half [a part, a division] the land [earth, territory] of the Ammonites [descendants of Lot] as far as [until, up to] Aroer [a place of ruins], near [before, in front of] Rabbah [a great city]; word study 26 the territory [stretching, from Heshbon city] from Heshbon [a city east of the Jordan River] to Ramath-mizpeh [high place of the watch tower, Ramoth-Gilead] and Betonim [pistachio tree city, a place in Palestine], and from Mahanaim [two camps, a place of angelic encounter] to the border [boundary, limit] of Debir [an Amoritish king’s town, a place in Manasseh’s territory]; word study 27 and in the valley [lowland area, region of the Jordan], Beth-haram [place of the height], Beth-nimrah [house of the leopard], Succoth [place of booths], and Zaphon [city in the north], with the rest [remainder, what is left] of the kingdom [dominion, royal authority] of Sihon [Amorite king] king of Heshbon [capital city of the Amorites] (the territory [land, region] on the east side [direction of sunrise] of the Jordan [river, border] up to the edge [border, brink] of the Sea of Chinnereth [sea, large body of water, also known as Galilee] ). word study 28 This [specific territory, allotted land] was the inheritance [property passed down, family heirloom] of the clans [families, tribes] of the Gadites [descendants of Gad, seventh son of Jacob], including [with, along with] the cities [walled towns, settlements] and villages [small settlements, unwalled places]. word study 29 This is what Moses [the Israelite leader, lawgiver] had given to the clans [family groups, tribes] of the half-tribe [a division, a part] of Manasseh, that is, to half [a portion, a share] the tribe [a large group, a nation] of the descendants [sons, offspring] of Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob, an ancestor]: word study 30 The territory [border, boundary] from Mahanaim [a place of two camps, a city east of the Jordan River] through all [the entire region of] Bashan [a fertile area, a land of abundance]—all [the whole kingdom, every part of] the kingdom [domain, reign] of Og [a powerful king, a giant] king of Bashan [the ruler of the Bashan region], including [comprising, consisting of] all [every one of] the towns [villages, cities] of Jair [a judge of Israel, one who enlightens] that are [located, situated] in Bashan [the Bashan region], sixty [a large number, numerous] cities [towns, communities]; word study 31 half [a division, a part] of Gilead [a rocky region]; and Ashtaroth [a place of star worship] and Edrei [a city of goodly pasture], the royal [kingly, sovereign] cities of Og [a powerful giant] in Bashan [a fertile land]. All this was for the clans [families, tribes] of the descendants [sons, offspring] of Machir [a leader, a guide] son of Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob], that is, half [a portion, a share] of the descendants [children, heirs] of Machir. word study 32 These [specific tribes, the inheritors] were the portions [allocations, heritages] Moses [the Israelite leader] had given them [to inherit, to take possession] on the plains [the Arabah, a desert region] of Moab [the land of Lot’s descendants] beyond [on the other side of] the Jordan [the key river in Israel], east [toward the sunrise] of Jericho [the first conquered city]. word study 33 To the tribe [a clan] of Levi [a son of Jacob and Leah], however, Moses [the Israelite leader, born to Amram and Jochebed] had given no inheritance [something passed down, like property or a family heirloom]. The LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], the God [Elohim, the supreme Being] of Israel [the symbolic name of Jacob, referring to his descendants], is their inheritance [a possession, a heritage], just as He had promised [spoken, communicated] them. word study