Study Desk

That has never happened at any time before that day or since. That was the day the Lord listened to a human being. Truly the Lord was fighting for Israel!

When they brought the five kings out to Joshua, he called for all his men. He said to the commanders of his army, "Come here! Put your feet on the necks of these kings." So they came close and put their feet on their necks.

He captured all these cities and their kings on one trip, because the Lord , the God of Israel, was fighting for Israel.

The people of Israel kept for themselves everything they found in the cities, including all the animals. But they killed all the people there; they left no one alive.

He fought against them for many years.

When Joshua was very old, the Lord said to him, "Joshua, you have grown old, but there is still much land for you to take.

But Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi because the Lord , the God of Israel, promised that he himself would be the gift for the Levites.

The sons of Joseph had divided into two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. The tribe of Levi was not given any land. It was given only some towns in which to live and pastures for its animals.

"Now then, the Lord has kept his promise. He has kept me alive for forty-five years from the time he said this to Moses during the time we all wandered in the desert. Now here I am, eighty-five years old.

(In the past it was called Kiriath Arba, named for Arba, the greatest man among the Anakites.) After this there was peace in the land.

When Acsah came to Othniel, she told him to ask her father for a field. So Acsah went to her father. When she got down from her donkey, Caleb asked her, "What do you want?"

which belonged to Manasseh, except for the town of Tappuah. It was along the border of Manasseh's land and belonged to the sons of Ephraim.

When the Israelites grew strong, they forced the Canaanites to work for them, although they did not force them to leave the land.

And Joshua answered them, "If you have too many people, go up to the forest and make a place for yourselves to live there in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaites. The mountain country of Ephraim is too small for you."

The people of Joseph said, "It is true. The mountain country of Ephraim is not enough for us, but the land where the Canaanites live is dangerous. They are skilled fighters. They have powerful weapons in Beth Shan and all the small towns in that area, and they are also in the Valley of Jezreel."

The first part of the land was given to the tribe of Benjamin. Each family group received some land between the land of Judah and the land of Joseph. This is the land chosen for Benjamin:

They gave Joshua the town he asked for, Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim, just as the Lord commanded. He built up the town and lived there.

At Shiloh in the land of Canaan, the heads of the Levite families said to them, "The Lord commanded Moses that you give us towns where we may live and pastures for our animals."

So the Israelites obeyed this command of the Lord and gave the Levite people these towns and pastures for their own land:

For a long time you have supported the other Israelites. You have been careful to obey the commands the Lord your God gave you.