Joshua 14

Here is a description of the areas where the Israelites settled in the land of Canaan. Eleazar the high priest, Joshua, and the family leaders of the Israelite tribes divided the land among them. \*

They decided what land to give to each of the remaining nine and one-half tribes by casting lots. God had told Moses to tell them to do it that way, and so they did.

Moses had given land as a permanent possession to two and a half tribes before Israel crossed over the Jordan River. Moses did not give any land to the tribe of Levi. (Rather than give them part of the land, Moses gave them cities to live in. He also gave them pastureland around those cities for their livestock so they could sustain their families.) Even so, there were nine and a half of the twelve Israelite tribes that still needed land, because the descendants of Joseph had become two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim.

The people of Israel did just what God commanded Moses. They gave out portions of the land as permanent possessions. \*

Some men from the tribe of Judah went to Joshua while he and all the Israelites were at Gilgal. Among those men was Jephunneh’s son Caleb. He said to Joshua, “I am sure that you remember what God said to the prophet Moses concerning you and me when we were at Kadesh Barnea.

I was 40 years old at that time. Moses sent me from Kadesh Barnea with you and some other men to explore this land. When we returned, I gave to Moses an accurate report about what we had seen. \*

The other Israelites who went with us gave a report that caused the people to be afraid. But I did everything that God my God wanted me to do. {I encouraged the people to conquer the land.}

That day Moses promised me, ‘The land that you walked on will become yours as your permanent possession. It will always belong to you and your descendants. I promise that it will be yours because you did everything that God, my God, wanted you to do.’ \*

Now God has done for me what he promised he would do. It has been 45 years since Moses made that promise to me during the time when we Israelites were still in the wilderness. But just as God promised, he has kept me alive and well all during that time. Look at me! I am now 85 years old.

But I am still as strong today as I was on the day that Moses sent me to explore this land. I have the same strength now that I had as a young man. I can still fight wars as a soldier or as a commander. \*

So please give me the hill country that God promised to give to me on that day long ago. At that time, you heard me say that the Anakim lived there. You heard me say that their cities were large and that they had walls around them to protect them. {And that is still true today.} But I hope that God will help me to force the people there to leave, just as God promised.” \*

Then Joshua asked God to bless Caleb the son of Jephunneh. Joshua gave Caleb the city of Hebron as his possession.

In this way, Hebron became the permanent possession and the home of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite. To this day his descendants live there because Caleb did everything that God, the God of Israel, wanted him to do.

(Now people used to call Hebron Kiriath Arba. Arba had been a very famous Anakite.) No enemies were attacking the Israelites at this time{, so they were able to divide up the land peacefully}. \*