Joshua 13–15; Luke 1:57–80

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Joshua 13–15

Land Still to Be Conquered

Now Joshua twas old and advanced in years, and the Lord said to him, You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land uto possess. vThis is the land that yet remains: all the wregions of the Philistines, and all those of the Geshurites (from the xShihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is counted as Canaanite; ythere are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), and those of zthe Avvim, in the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the boundary of athe Amorites, and the land of the bGebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from cBaal-gad below Mount Hermon to dLebo-hamath, all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to eMisrephoth-maim, even all the Sidonians. I myself will drive fthem out from before the people of Israel. Only gallot the land to Israel hfor an inheritance, as I have commanded you. Now therefore idivide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.

The Inheritance East of the Jordan

With the other half of the tribe of Manasseh1 the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, jwhich Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the Lord gave them: kfrom Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and lall the tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon; 10 mand all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the boundary of the Ammonites; 11 and Gilead, and the nregion of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and nall Bashan to Salecah; 12 nall the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of nthe remnant of the Rephaim); othese Moses had struck and driven out. 13 pYet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day.

14 qTo the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him.

15 And Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the people of Reuben according to their clans. 16 So their territory was from Aroer, rwhich is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland by sMedeba; 17 with Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the tableland; sDibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon, 18 tand Jahaz, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, 19 and uKiriathaim, and uSibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, 20 and vBeth-peor, and wthe slopes of Pisgah, and wBeth-jeshimoth, 21 that is, xall the cities of the tableland, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, ywhom Moses defeated with zthe leaders of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land. 22 zBalaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain. 23 And the border of the people of Reuben was the Jordan as a boundary. This was the inheritance of the people of Reuben, according to their clans with their cities and villages.

24 Moses gave an inheritance also to the tribe of Gad, to the people of Gad, according to their clans. 25 aTheir territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites, to Aroer, which is east of bRabbah, 26 and from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from cMahanaim to the territory of Debir,2 27 and in the valley Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, dSuccoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, having the Jordan as a boundary, to the lower end of the Sea of eChinnereth, eastward beyond the Jordan. 28 This is the inheritance of the people of Gad according to their clans, with their cities and villages.

29 And Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh. It was allotted to the half-tribe of the people of Manasseh according to their clans. 30 Their region extended from fMahanaim, through all Bashan, the whole kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all gthe towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities, 31 and half Gilead, and hAshtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. These were allotted to the people of iMachir the son of Manasseh for the half of the people of Machir according to their clans.

32 These are the inheritances that Moses distributed jin the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho. 33 kBut to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, kjust as he said to them.

The Inheritance West of the Jordan

These are the inheritances that the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which lEleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel gave them to inherit. Their inheritance was mby lot, just as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine and one-half tribes. nFor Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan, obut to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. For pthe people of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their substance. The people of Israel did qas the Lord commanded Moses; they allotted the land.

Caleb’s Request and Inheritance

Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the rKenizzite said to him, You know swhat the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord tsent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But umy brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, vSurely the land won which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God. 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, xjust as he said, these yforty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day yeighty-five years old. 11 zI am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and afor going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the bAnakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the Lord said.

13 Then Joshua cblessed him, and he gave dHebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for an inheritance. 14 Therefore Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, ebecause he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 fNow the name of Hebron formerly was Kiriath-arba.3 (Arba4 was the greatest man among the Anakim.) gAnd the land had rest from war.

The Allotment for Judah

The allotment for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached southward hto the boundary of Edom, to ithe wilderness of Zin at the farthest south. And their south boundary ran from the end of the hSalt Sea, from the bay that faces southward. It goes out southward of jthe ascent of Akrabbim, passes along to Zin, and goes up south of Kadesh-barnea, along by Hezron, up to Addar, turns about to Karka, passes along to Azmon, goes out by kthe Brook of Egypt, and comes to its end at the sea. This shall be your south boundary. And the east boundary is the hSalt Sea, to the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary goes up to lBeth-hoglah and passes along north of mBeth-arabah. And the boundary goes up to nthe stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. And the boundary goes up to Debir from othe Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite pthe ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley. And the boundary passes along to the waters of pEn-shemesh and ends at qEn-rogel. Then the boundary goes up by rthe Valley of the Son of Hinnom at the southern shoulder of the Jebusite (sthat is, Jerusalem). And the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the Valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the Valley tof Rephaim. Then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain uto the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and from there to the cities of Mount Ephron. Then the boundary bends around to Baalah (vthat is, Kiriath-jearim). 10 And the boundary circles west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passes along to the northern shoulder of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), and goes down to wBeth-shemesh and passes along by xTimnah. 11 The boundary goes out yto the shoulder of the hill north of Ekron, then the boundary bends around to Shikkeron and passes along to Mount zBaalah and goes out to Jabneel. Then the boundary comes to an end at the sea. 12 And the west boundary was athe Great Sea with its coastline. This is the boundary around the people of Judah according to their clans.

13 According to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, he gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the people of Judah, bKiriath-arba, that is, bHebron (Arba was the father of Anak). 14 And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, cSheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the descendants of Anak. 15 And he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir. dNow the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher. 16 And Caleb said, Whoever strikes Kiriath-sepher and captures it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife. 17 eAnd Othniel the son of Kenaz, fthe brother of Caleb, captured it. And he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. 18 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field. And she got off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, What do you want? 19 She said to him, Give me a blessing. Since you have given me the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans. 21 The cities belonging to the tribe of the people of Judah in the extreme south, toward the boundary of Edom, were Kabzeel, gEder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 hZiph, Telem, Bealoth, 25 Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, 28 Hazar-shual, iBeersheba, Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 30 Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, 31 jZiklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon: in all, twenty-nine cities with their villages.

33 And in the lowland, kEshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 lJarmuth, mAdullam, nSocoh, nAzekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, Gederothaim: fourteen cities with their villages.

37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, 38 Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel, 39 oLachish, Bozkath, pEglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and qMakkedah: sixteen cities with their villages.

42 rLibnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 sKeilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities with their villages.

45 tEkron, with its towns and its villages; 46 from Ekron to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages.

47 tAshdod, its towns and its villages; tGaza, its towns and its villages; to uthe Brook of Egypt, and vthe Great Sea with its coastline.

48 And in the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (wthat is, Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 xGoshen, Holon, and yGiloh: eleven cities with their villages.

52 Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53 Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, zKiriath-arba (that is, zHebron), and Zior: nine cities with their villages.

55 aMaon, aCarmel, bZiph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and cTimnah: ten cities with their villages.

58 Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon: six cities with their villages.

60 dKiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah: two cities with their villages.

61 In the wilderness, eBeth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and fEngedi: six cities with their villages.

63 But the gJebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, hthe people of Judah could not drive out, hso the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.


Luke 1:57–80

The Birth of John the Baptist

57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord shad shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And ton the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, No; uhe shall be called John. 61 And they said to her, None of your relatives is called by this name. 62 And vthey made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for wa writing tablet and wrote, uHis name is John. And they all wondered. 64 xAnd immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue yloosed, and he spoke, zblessing God. 65 And afear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all bthe hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them claid them up in their hearts, saying, What then will this child be? For dthe hand of the Lord was with him.

Zechariah’s Prophecy

67 And his father Zechariah ewas filled with the Holy Spirit and fprophesied, saying,

68  gBlessed be the Lord hGod of Israel,

for he has ivisited and jredeemed his people

69  and khas raised up la horn of salvation for us

min the house of his servant David,

70  nas ohe spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,

71  pthat we should be saved from our enemies

and from the hand of all who hate us;

72  qto show the mercy promised to our fathers

and rto remember his holy scovenant,

73  tthe oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us

74  that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,

might serve him uwithout fear,

75  vin holiness and righteousness before him wall our days.

76  And you, child, will be called xthe prophet of ythe Most High;

for zyou will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,

77  to give knowledge of salvation to his people

ain the forgiveness of their sins,

78  because of the btender mercy of our God,

whereby cthe sunrise shall dvisit us1 efrom on high

79  to fgive light to gthose who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into hthe way of ipeace.

80 jAnd the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was kin the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel.