Bible Reading Plan
March 4
Joshua 16-18
Chapter 16
Territory of Ephraim
1 Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the
waters of Jericho on the east into the wilderness, going up from Jericho through
the hill country to Bethel.
2 It went from Bethel to Luz, and continued to the border of the Archites at
Ataroth.
3 It went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory
of lower Beth-horon even to Gezer, and it ended at the sea.
4 The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.
5 Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families:
the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper
Beth-horon.
6 Then the border went westward at Michmethath on the north, and the border
turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of
Janoah.
7 It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, then reached Jericho and
came out at the Jordan.
8 From Tappuah the border continued westward to the brook of Kanah, and it
ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim
according to their families,
9 together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the
midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.
10 But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the
Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.
Chapter 17
Territory of Manasseh
1 Now this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn
of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were
allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war.
2 So the lot was made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their
families: for the sons of Abiezer and for the sons of Helek and for the sons
of Asriel and for the sons of Shechem and for the sons of Hepher and for the
sons of Shemida; these were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph
according to their families.
3 However, Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir,
the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of
his daughters: Mahlah and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah.
4 They came near before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun
and before the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance
among our brothers.” So according to the command of the Lord he gave
them an inheritance among their father’s brothers.
5 Thus there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and
Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan,
6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons.
And the land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.
7 The border of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of
Shechem; then the border went southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah.
8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah on the border of
Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim.
9 The border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook
(these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border
of Manasseh
was on the north side of the brook and it ended at the sea.
10 The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the
sea was their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar
on the east.
11 In Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam
and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants
of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and
the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, the third is Napheth.
12 But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because
the Canaanites persisted in living in that land.
13 It came about when the sons of Israel became strong, they put the Canaanites
to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.
14 Then the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given
me only one lot and one portion for an inheritance, since I am a numerous people
whom the Lord has thus far blessed?”
15 Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest
and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the
Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.”
16 The sons of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us, and
all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have chariots of iron, both
those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the valley of
Jezreel.”
17 Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “You
are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only,
18 but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall
clear it, and to its farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall
drive out the Canaanites, even though they have chariots of iron and though
they
are strong.”
Chapter 18
Rest of the Land Divided
1 Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled themselves
at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued
before them.
2 There remained among the sons of Israel seven tribes who had not divided
their inheritance.
3 So Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “How long will you put off entering
to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given
you?
4 “Provide for yourselves three men from each tribe that I may send them,
and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of
it according to their inheritance; then they shall return to me.
5 “They shall divide it into seven portions; Judah shall stay in its
territory on the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their territory
on the north.
6 “You shall describe the land in seven divisions, and bring the description
here to me. I will cast lots for you here before the Lord our God.
7 “For the Levites have no portion among you, because the priesthood
of the Lord is their inheritance. Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh
also have received their inheritance eastward beyond the Jordan, which Moses
the servant of the Lord gave them.”
8 Then the men arose and went, and Joshua commanded those who went to describe
the land, saying, “Go and walk through the land and describe it, and return
to me; then I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.”
9 So the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities in
seven divisions in a book; and they came to Joshua to the camp at Shiloh.
10 And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua
divided the land to the sons of Israel according to their divisions.
The Territory of Benjamin
11 Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin came up according to their
families, and the territory of their lot lay between the sons of Judah and
the sons of Joseph.
12 Their border on the north side was from the Jordan, then the border went
up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill country
westward, and it ended at the wilderness of Beth-aven.
13 From there the border continued to Luz, to the side of Luz (that is, Bethel)
southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, near the hill which lies
on the south of lower Beth-horon.
14 The border extended from there and turned round on the west side southward,
from the hill which lies before Beth-horon southward; and it ended at Kiriath-baal
(that is, Kiriath-jearim), a city of the sons of Judah. This was the west side.
15 Then the south side was from the edge of Kiriath-jearim, and the border
went westward and went to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah.
16 The border went down to the edge of the hill which is in the valley of
Ben-hinnom, which is in the valley of Rephaim northward; and it went down to
the valley of
Hinnom, to the slope of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel.
17 It extended northward and went to En-shemesh and went to Geliloth, which
is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and it went down to the stone of Bohan
the
son of Reuben.
18 It continued to the side in front of the Arabah northward and went down
to the Arabah.
19 The border continued to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the border
ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This
was the south border.
20 Moreover, the Jordan was its border on the east side. This was the inheritance
of the sons of Benjamin, according to their families and according to its borders
all around.
21 Now the cities of the tribe of the sons of Benjamin according to their families
were Jericho and Beth-hoglah and Emek-keziz,
22 and Beth-arabah and Zemaraim and Bethel,
23 and Avvim and Parah and Ophrah,
24 and Chephar-ammoni and Ophni and Geba; twelve cities with their villages.
25 Gibeon and Ramah and Beeroth,
26 and Mizpeh and Chephirah and Mozah,
27 and Rekem and Irpeel and Taralah,
28 and Zelah, Haeleph and the Jebusite (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, Kiriath;
fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the sons
of Benjamin according to their families.
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)