May
20
Joshua
21, 22
Jos
21:1 Then the heads of fathers' houses of the Levites came near to
Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of
fathers' houses of the tribes of the children of Israel.
Jos
21:2 They spoke to them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying,
"Yahweh commanded Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with
their suburbs for our livestock."
Jos
21:3 The children of Israel gave to the Levites out of their
inheritance, according to the commandment of Yahweh, these cities
with their suburbs.
Jos
21:4 The lot came out for the families of the Kohathites. The
children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had thirteen
cities by lot out of the tribe of Judah, out of the tribe of the
Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin.
Jos
21:5 The rest of the children of Kohath had ten cities by lot out of
the families of the tribe of Ephraim, out of the tribe of Dan, and
out of the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Jos
21:6 The children of Gershon had thirteen cities by lot out of the
families of the tribe of Issachar, out of the tribe of Asher, out of
the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half-tribe of Manasseh in
Bashan.
Jos
21:7 The children of Merari according to their families had twelve
cities out of the tribe of Reuben, out of the tribe of Gad, and out
of the tribe of Zebulun.
Jos
21:8 The children of Israel gave these cities with their suburbs by
lot to the Levites, as Yahweh commanded by Moses.
Jos
21:9 They gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of
the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are mentioned
by name:
Jos
21:10 and they were for the children of Aaron, of the families of
the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi; for theirs was the
first lot.
Jos
21:11 They gave them Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak
(the same is Hebron), in the hill country of Judah, with its suburbs
around it.
Jos
21:12 But they gave the fields of the city and its villages to Caleb
the son of Jephunneh for his possession.
Jos
21:13 To the children of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron with its
suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, Libnah with its
suburbs,
Jos
21:14 Jattir with its suburbs, Eshtemoa with its suburbs,
Jos
21:15 Holon with its suburbs, Debir with its suburbs,
Jos
21:16 Ain with its suburbs, Juttah with its suburbs, and Beth
Shemesh with its suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.
Jos
21:17 Out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with its suburbs, Geba
with its suburbs,
Jos
21:18 Anathoth with its suburbs, and Almon with its suburbs; four
cities.
Jos
21:19 All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were
thirteen cities with their suburbs.
Jos
21:20 The families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the
rest of the children of Kohath, had the cities of their lot out of
the tribe of Ephraim.
Jos
21:21 They gave them Shechem with its suburbs in the hill country of
Ephraim, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Gezer with its
suburbs,
Jos
21:22 Kibzaim with its suburbs, and Beth Horon with its suburbs;
four cities.
Jos
21:23 Out of the tribe of Dan, Elteke with its suburbs, Gibbethon
with its suburbs,
Jos
21:24 Aijalon with its suburbs, Gath Rimmon with its suburbs; four
cities.
Jos
21:25 Out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, Taanach with its suburbs,
and Gath Rimmon with its suburbs; two cities.
Jos
21:26 All the cities of the families of the rest of the children of
Kohath were ten with their suburbs.
Jos
21:27 They gave to the children of Gershon, of the families of the
Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh Golan in Bashan with its
suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Be Eshterah with
its suburbs; two cities.
Jos
21:28 Out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishion with its suburbs,
Daberath with its suburbs,
Jos
21:29 Jarmuth with its suburbs, En Gannim with its suburbs; four
cities.
Jos
21:30 Out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with its suburbs, Abdon with
its suburbs,
Jos
21:31 Helkath with its suburbs, and Rehob with its suburbs; four
cities.
Jos
21:32 Out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with its
suburbs, the city of refuge for the manslayer, Hammothdor with its
suburbs, and Kartan with its suburbs; three cities.
Jos
21:33 All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families
were thirteen cities with their suburbs.
Jos
21:34 To the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the
Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its suburbs,
Kartah with its suburbs,
Jos
21:35 Dimnah with its suburbs, and Nahalal with its suburbs; four
cities.
Jos
21:36 Out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its suburbs, Jahaz with
its suburbs,
Jos
21:37 Kedemoth with its suburbs, and Mephaath with its suburbs; four
cities.
Jos
21:38 Out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its suburbs,
the city of refuge for the manslayer, and Mahanaim with its suburbs,
Jos
21:39 Heshbon with its suburbs, Jazer with its suburbs; four cities
in all.
Jos
21:40 All these were the cities of the children of Merari according
to their families, even the rest of the families of the Levites.
Their lot was twelve cities.
Jos
21:41 All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession
of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their suburbs.
Jos
21:42 Each of these cities included their suburbs around them. It
was this way with all these cities.
Jos
21:43 So Yahweh gave to Israel all the land which he swore to give
to their fathers. They possessed it, and lived in it.
Jos
21:44 Yahweh gave them rest all around, according to all that he
swore to their fathers. Not a man of all their enemies stood before
them. Yahweh delivered all their enemies into their hand.
Jos
21:45 Nothing failed of any good thing which Yahweh had spoken to
the house of Israel. All came to pass.
Jos
22:1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the
half-tribe of Manasseh,
Jos
22:2 and said to them, "You have kept all that Moses the
servant of Yahweh commanded you, and have listened to my voice in all
that I commanded you.
Jos
22:3 You have not left your brothers these many days to this day,
but have performed the duty of the commandment of Yahweh your God.
Jos
22:4 Now Yahweh your God has given rest to your brothers, as he
spoke to them. Therefore now return and go to your tents, to the land
of your possession, which Moses the servant of Yahweh gave you beyond
the Jordan.
Jos
22:5 Only take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which
Moses the servant of Yahweh commanded you, to love Yahweh your God,
to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to hold fast to
him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."
Jos
22:6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away; and they went to
their tents.
Jos
22:7 Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given
inheritance in Bashan; but to the other half gave Joshua among their
brothers beyond the Jordan westward. Moreover when Joshua sent them
away to their tents, he blessed them,
Jos
22:8 and spoke to them, saying, "Return with much wealth to
your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with
brass, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of
your enemies with your brothers."
Jos
22:9 The children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the
half-tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of
Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the
land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they owned,
according to the commandment of Yahweh by Moses.
Jos
22:10 When they came to the region about the Jordan, that is in the
land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and
the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, a
great altar to look at.
Jos
22:11 The children of Israel heard this, "Behold, the children
of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have
built an altar in the forefront of the land of Canaan, in the region
about the Jordan, on the side that pertains to the children of
Israel."
Jos
22:12 When the children of Israel heard of it, the whole
congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together
at Shiloh, to go up against them to war.
Jos
22:13 The children of Israel sent to the children of Reuben, and to
the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land
of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,
Jos
22:14 and with him ten princes, one prince of a fathers' house for
each of the tribes of Israel; and they were everyone of them head of
their fathers' houses among the thousands of Israel.
Jos
22:15 They came to the children of Reuben, and to the children of
Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and
they spoke with them, saying,
Jos
22:16 "Thus says the whole congregation of Yahweh, 'What
trespass is this that you have committed against the God of Israel,
to turn away this day from following Yahweh, in that you have built
you an altar, to rebel this day against Yahweh?
Jos
22:17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have
not cleansed ourselves to this day, although there came a plague on
the congregation of Yahweh,
Jos
22:18 that you must turn away this day from following Yahweh? It
will be, seeing that you rebel today against Yahweh, that tomorrow he
will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.
Jos
22:19 However, if the land of your possession is unclean, then pass
over to the land of the possession of Yahweh, in which Yahweh's
tabernacle dwells, and take possession among us; but don't rebel
against Yahweh, nor rebel against us, in building an altar other than
the altar of Yahweh our God.
Jos
22:20 Didn't Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the devoted
thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? That man
didn't perish alone in his iniquity.' "
Jos
22:21 Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the
half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke to the heads of the
thousands of Israel,
Jos
22:22 "The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, the Mighty One, God,
Yahweh, he knows; and Israel shall know: if it was in rebellion, or
if in trespass against Yahweh (don't save us this day),
Jos
22:23 that we have built us an altar to turn away from following
Yahweh; or if to offer burnt offering or meal offering, or if to
offer sacrifices of peace offerings, let Yahweh himself require it.
Jos
22:24 If we have not out of concern done this, and for a reason,
saying, 'In time to come your children might speak to our children,
saying, "What have you to do with Yahweh, the God of Israel?
Jos
22:25 For Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you,
you children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no portion in
Yahweh." ' So your children might make our children cease from
fearing Yahweh.
Jos
22:26 Therefore we said, 'Let's now prepare to build ourselves an
altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice;
Jos
22:27 but it will be a witness between us and you, and between our
generations after us, that we may perform the service of Yahweh
before him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with
our peace offerings;' that your children may not tell our children in
time to come, 'You have no portion in Yahweh.'
Jos
22:28 Therefore we said, 'It shall be, when they tell us or our
generations this in time to come, that we shall say, "Behold the
pattern of the altar of Yahweh, which our fathers made, not for burnt
offering, nor for sacrifice; but it is a witness between us and you."
'
Jos
22:29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against Yahweh, and
turn away this day from following Yahweh, to build an altar for burnt
offering, for meal offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of
Yahweh our God that is before his tabernacle!"
Jos
22:30 When Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation,
even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard
the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the
children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them well.
Jos
22:31 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of
Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh,
"Today we know that Yahweh is in the midst of us, because you
have not committed this trespass against Yahweh. Now you have
delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Yahweh."
Jos
22:32 Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes,
returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad,
out of the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the children of
Israel, and brought them word again.
Jos
22:33 The thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of
Israel blessed God, and spoke no more of going up against them to
war, to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the
children of Gad lived.
Jos
22:34 The children of Reuben and the children of Gad named the altar
"A Witness Between Us that Yahweh is God."
