Study Desk

They replied, "The hill country is not big enough for us, but the Canaanites in the plains have iron chariots, both those who live in Beth Shan and its surrounding towns and those who live in Jezreel Valley."

The hill country will be yours. Even though it is a forest, you will clear it and take possession of it from one end to the other. As for the Canaanites, you will drive them out, even though they do have iron chariots and are a strong people."

Write down a description of these seven divisions and bring it to me. Then I will draw lots to consult the Lord our God for you.

The men went on their way to map out the land after Joshua had given them these instructions: "Go all over the land and map it out, and come back to me. And then here in Shiloh I will consult the Lord for you by drawing lots."

Joshua drew lots to consult the Lord for them, and assigned each of the remaining tribes of Israel a certain part of the land.

The second assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Simeon. Its territory extended into the land assigned to the tribe of Judah.

The third assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Zebulun. The land which they received reached as far as Sarid.

The fourth assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Issachar.

The fifth assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Asher.

The sixth assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Naphtali.

The seventh assignment made was for the families of the tribe of Dan.

When the people of Dan lost their land, they went to Laish and attacked it. They captured it, killed its people, and claimed it for themselves. They settled there and changed the name of the city from Laish to Dan, naming it after their ancestor Dan.

As the Lord had commanded, they gave him the city he asked for: Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and settled there.

If any of you accidentally kills someone, you can go there and escape the one who is looking for revenge.

If the one looking for revenge follows you there, the people of the city must not hand you over to that one. They must protect you because you killed the person accidentally and not out of anger.

These were the cities of refuge chosen for all the people of Israel and for any foreigner living among them. Any who killed a person accidentally could find protection there from the one looking for revenge; they could not be killed unless they had first received a public trial.

There at Shiloh in the land of Canaan they said to them, "The Lord commanded through Moses that we were to be given cities to live in, as well as pasture land around them for our livestock."

Now, as he promised, the Lord your God has given the other Israelites peace. So go back home to the land which you claimed for your own, the land on the east side of the Jordan, that Moses, the Lord 's servant, gave you.

Joshua sent them home with his blessing and with these words: "You are going back home very rich, with a lot of livestock, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and many clothes. Share with your fellow tribesmen what you took from your enemies." Then they left for home. Moses had given land east of the Jordan to one half of the tribe of Manasseh, but to the other half Joshua had given land west of the Jordan, along with the other tribes.

So the people of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh went back home. They left the rest of the people of Israel at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and started out for their own land, the land of Gilead, which they had taken as the Lord had commanded them through Moses.