Daily Bread

Division of the Land West of the Jordan

14 Now these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance^(A) in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar^(B) the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel^(C) allotted^(D) to them.^{(E) 2} Their inheritances were assigned by lot^(F) to the nine and a half tribes,^(G) as the Lord had commanded through Moses. ³ Moses had granted the two and a half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan^(H) but had not granted the Levites an inheritance among the rest,^{(I) 4} for Joseph’s descendants had become two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim.^(J) The Levites received no share of the land but only towns to live in, with pasturelands for their flocks and herds.^{(K) 5} So the Israelites divided the land, just as the Lord had commanded Moses.^(L)

Allotment for Caleb

⁶ Now the people of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal,^(M) and Caleb son of Jephunneh^(N) the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God^(O) at Kadesh Barnea^(P) about you and me.^{(Q) 7} I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea^(R) to explore the land.^(S) And I brought him back a report according to my convictions,^{(T) 8} but my fellow Israelites who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt in fear.^(U) I, however, followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.^{(V) 9} So on that day Moses swore to me, ‘The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance^(W) and that of your children^(X) forever, because you have followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly.’^[a]

¹⁰ “Now then, just as the Lord promised,^(Y) he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved^(Z) about in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old!^{(AA) 11} I am still as strong^(AB) today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous^(AC) to go out to battle now as I was then. ¹² Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day.^(AD) You yourself heard then that the Anakites^(AE) were there and their cities were large and fortified,^(AF) but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as he said.”

¹³ Then Joshua blessed^(AG) Caleb son of Jephunneh^(AH) and gave him Hebron^(AI) as his inheritance.^{(AJ) 14} So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly.^{(AK) 15} (Hebron used to be called Kiriath Arba^(AL) after Arba,^(AM) who was the greatest man among the Anakites.)

Then the land had rest^(AN) from war.