ARKCODEX
Joshua
Ch. 12–14
The Kings Defeated by Moses
1The people of Israel had already conquered and occupied the land east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley up the Jordan Valley and as far north as Mount Hermon. They defeated two kings.
2One was Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled at Heshbon. His kingdom included half of Gilead: from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and from the city in the middle of that valley, as far as the Jabbok River, the border of Ammon;
3it included the Jordan Valley from Lake Galilee south to Beth Jeshimoth (east of the Dead Sea) and on toward the foot of Mount Pisgah.
4They also defeated King Og of Bashan, who was one of the last of the Rephaim; he ruled at Ashtaroth and Edrei.
5His kingdom included Mount Hermon, Salecah, and all of Bashan as far as the boundaries of Geshur and Maacah, as well as half of Gilead, as far as the territory of King Sihon of Heshbon.
6These two kings were defeated by Moses and the people of Israel. Moses, the Lord's servant, gave their land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to be their possession.
The Kings Defeated by Joshua
7Joshua and the people of Israel defeated all the kings in the territory west of the Jordan, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak in the south near Edom. Joshua divided this land among the tribes and gave it to them as a permanent possession.
8This portion included the hill country, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley and its foothills, the eastern slopes, and the dry country in the south. This land had been the home of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9The people of Israel defeated the kings of the following cities: Jericho, Ai (near Bethel),
10Jerusalem, Hebron,
11Jarmuth, Lachish,
12Eglon, Gezer,
13Debir, Geder,
14Hormah, Arad,
15Libnah, Adullam,
16Makkedah, Bethel,
17Tappuah, Hepher,
18Aphek, Lasharon,
19Madon, Hazor,
20Shimron Meron, Achshaph,
21Taanach, Megiddo,
22Kedesh, Jokneam (in Carmel),
23Dor (on the coast), Goiim (in Galilee),
24and Tirzah—thirty-one kings in all.
Joshua 13
The Land Still to Be Taken
1Joshua was now very old. The Lord said to him, “You are very old, but there is still much land to be taken:
2all the territory of Philistia and Geshur,
3as well as all the territory of the Avvim to the south. (The land from the stream Shihor, at the Egyptian border, as far north as the border of Ekron was considered Canaanite; the kings of the Philistines lived at Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.)
4There is still all the Canaanite country, and Mearah (which belonged to the Sidonians), as far as Aphek, at the Amorite border;
5the land of the Gebalites; all of Lebanon to the east, from Baalgad, which is south of Mount Hermon, to Hamath Pass.
6This includes all the territory of the Sidonians, who live in the hill country between the Lebanon Mountains and Misrephoth Maim. I will drive all these peoples out as the people of Israel advance. You must divide the land among the Israelites, just as I have commanded you to do.
7Now then, divide this land among the other nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh, for them to possess as their own.”
The Division of the Territory East of the Jordan
8The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh had already received the land that Moses, the Lord's servant, had given them; it was on the east side of the Jordan River.
9Their territory extended to Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and the city in the middle of that valley and included all of the plateau from Medeba to Dibon.
10It went as far as the border of Ammon and included all the cities that had been ruled by the Amorite king Sihon, who had ruled at Heshbon.
11It included Gilead, the regions of Geshur and Maacah, all of Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah.
12It included the kingdom of Og, the last of the Rephaim, who had ruled at Ashtaroth and Edrei. Moses had defeated these people and driven them out.
13However, the Israelites did not drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah; they still live in Israel.
14Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi. As the Lord had told Moses, they were to receive as their possession a share of the sacrifices burned on the altar to the Lord God of Israel.
The Territory Assigned to Reuben
15Moses had given a part of the land to the families of the tribe of Reuben as their possession.
16Their territory extended to Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and the city in the middle of that valley and included all the plateau around Medeba.
17It included Heshbon and all the cities on the plateau: Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baalmeon,
18Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,
19Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley,
20Bethpeor, the slopes of Mount Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth.
21It included all the cities of the plateau and the whole kingdom of the Amorite king Sihon, who had ruled at Heshbon. Moses defeated him, as well as the rulers of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. All of them had ruled the land for King Sihon.
22Among those whom the people of Israel killed was the fortune teller Balaam son of Beor.
23The Jordan was the western border of the tribe of Reuben. These were the cities and towns given to the families of the tribe of Reuben as their possession.
The Territory Assigned to Gad
24Moses had also given a part of the land to the families of the tribe of Gad as their possession.
25Their territory included Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, half the land of Ammon as far as Aroer, which is east of Rabbah;
26their land extended from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpeh and Betonim, from Mahanaim to the border of Lodebar.
27In the Jordan Valley it included Beth Haram, Bethnimrah, Sukkoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon. Their western border was the Jordan River as far north as Lake Galilee.
28These were the cities and towns given to the families of the tribe of Gad as their possession.
The Territory Assigned to East Manasseh
29Moses had given a part of the land to the families of half the tribe of Manasseh as their possession.
30Their territory extended to Mahanaim and included all of Bashan—the whole kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, as well as all sixty of the villages of Jair in Bashan.
31It included half of Gilead, as well as Ashtaroth and Edrei, the capital cities of Og's kingdom in Bashan. All this was given to half the families descended from Machir son of Manasseh.
32This is how Moses divided the land east of Jericho and the Jordan when he was in the plains of Moab.
33But Moses did not assign any land to the tribe of Levi. He told them that their possession was to be a share of the offerings to the Lord God of Israel.
Joshua 14
The Division of the Territory West of the Jordan
1What follows is an account of how the land of Canaan west of the Jordan was divided among the people of Israel. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the families of the Israelite tribes divided it among the population.
2As the Lord had commanded Moses, the territories of the nine and one-half tribes west of the Jordan were determined by drawing lots.
3-4Moses had already assigned the land east of the Jordan to the other two and one-half tribes. (The descendants of Joseph were divided into two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim.) However, Moses gave the Levites no portion of the territory. Instead, they received cities to live in, with fields for their cattle and flocks.
5The people of Israel divided the land as the Lord had commanded Moses.
Hebron Is Given to Caleb
6One day some people from the tribe of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. One of them, Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, said to him, “You know what the Lord said in Kadesh Barnea about you and me to Moses, the man of God.
7I was forty years old when the Lord's servant Moses sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out this land. I brought an honest report back to him.
8The men who went with me, however, made our people afraid. But I faithfully obeyed the Lord my God.
9Because I did, Moses promised me that my children and I would certainly receive as our possession the land which I walked over.
10But now, look. It has been forty-five years since the Lord said that to Moses. That was when Israel was going through the desert, and the Lord, as he promised, has kept me alive ever since. Look at me! I am eighty-five years old
11and am just as strong today as I was when Moses sent me out. I am still strong enough for war or for anything else.
12Now then, give me the hill country that the Lord promised me on that day when my men and I reported. We told you then that the race of giants called the Anakim were there in large walled cities. Maybe the Lord will be with me, and I will drive them out, just as the Lord said.”
13Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him the city of Hebron as his possession.
14Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, because he faithfully obeyed the Lord, the God of Israel.
15Before this, Hebron was called the city of Arba. (Arba had been the greatest of the Anakim.) There was now peace in the land.
Psalms
Ch. 129
A Prayer against Israel's Enemies
1Israel, tell us how your enemies have persecuted you ever since you were young.
2“Ever since I was young, my enemies have persecuted me cruelly, but they have not overcome me.
3They cut deep wounds in my back and made it like a plowed field.
4But the Lord, the righteous one, has freed me from slavery.”
5May everyone who hates Zion be defeated and driven back.
6May they all be like grass growing on the housetops, which dries up before it can grow;
7no one gathers it up or carries it away in bundles.
8No one who passes by will say, “May the Lord bless you! We bless you in the name of the Lord.”