12 Now these are the kings of the land whom the Israelites defeated and drove from their land[a] on the east side of the Jordan,[b] from the Arnon Valley to Mount Hermon, including all the eastern rift valley:[c]
2 King Sihon of the Amorites who lived[d] in Heshbon and ruled from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley)—including the city in the middle of the valley[e] and half of Gilead—all the way to the Jabbok Valley bordering Ammonite territory. 3 His kingdom included[f] the eastern rift valley from the Sea of Kinnereth[g] to the sea of the rift valley (the Salt Sea),[h] including the route to Beth Jeshimoth and the area southward below the slopes of Pisgah.[i]
4 The territory of King Og of Bashan, one of the few remaining Rephaites,[j] who lived[k] in Ashtaroth and Edrei 5 and ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all Bashan to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and half of Gilead as far as the border of King Sihon of Heshbon.
6 Moses the Lord’s servant and the Israelites defeated them and Moses the Lord’s servant assigned their land[l] to Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
7 These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal Gad in the Lebanon Valley to Mount Halak up to Seir. Joshua assigned this territory to the Israelite tribes,[m] 8 including the hill country, the foothills,[n] the rift valley,[o] the slopes,[p] the wilderness, and the Negev[q]—the land of[r] the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites:
9 the king of Jericho (one),
the king of Ai—located near Bethel—(one),
10 the king of Jerusalem (one),
the king of Hebron (one),
11 the king of Jarmuth (one),
the king of Lachish (one),
12 the king of Eglon (one),
the king of Gezer (one),
13 the king of Debir (one),
the king of Geder (one),
14 the king of Hormah (one),
the king of Arad (one),
15 the king of Libnah (one),
the king of Adullam (one),
16 the king of Makkedah (one),
the king of Bethel (one),
17 the king of Tappuah (one),
the king of Hepher (one),
18 the king of Aphek (one),
the king of Lasharon (one),
19 the king of Madon (one),
the king of Hazor (one),
20 the king of Shimron Meron (one),
the king of Acshaph (one),
21 the king of Taanach (one),
the king of Megiddo (one),
22 the king of Kedesh (one),
the king of Jokneam near Carmel (one),
23 the king of Dor—near Naphath Dor—(one),
the king of Goyim—near Gilgal—(one),
24 the king of Tirzah (one),
a total of thirty-one kings.
Footnotes
- Joshua 12:1 tn Heb “and took possession of their land.”
- Joshua 12:1 tn Heb “beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun.”
- Joshua 12:1 sn The rift valley is a geographic feature that extends from Mt. Hermon to the Gulf of Aqaba and includes the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea. The section described here extends from the border of Moab, the Arnon which runs into the middle of the Dead Sea, northward up the entire Jordan valley and beyond Galilee to Mt. Hermon at the border of Lebanon.
- Joshua 12:2 tn Or perhaps, “reigned.”
- Joshua 12:2 tc The MT reads here “and the middle of the valley,” but the reading “the city in the middle of valley” can be reconstructed on the basis of Josh 13:9, 16.
- Joshua 12:3 tn The words “his kingdom included” are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Joshua 12:3 sn The Sea of Kinnereth is another name for the Sea of Galilee. See the note on the word “Kinnereth” in 11:2.
- Joshua 12:3 sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea.
- Joshua 12:3 sn The slopes of Pisgah lie east of the northern tip of the Dead Sea.
- Joshua 12:4 tn Heb “from the remnant of the Rephaites.”sn The Rephaites were apparently an extremely tall ethnic group. See Deut 2:10-11, 20; 3:11.
- Joshua 12:4 tn Or perhaps “who reigned.”
- Joshua 12:6 tn Heb “gave it for a possession.”
- Joshua 12:7 tn Heb “Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their allotted portions.”
- Joshua 12:8 sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the transition region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain. These are areas of eocene limestone with a distinct pattern of erosion, soil, and vegetation cover.
- Joshua 12:8 sn The rift valley (עֲרָבָה, ʿaravah) is a geographic feature extending from Galilee to the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Here it probably refers to the Jordan valley and an area extending south of the Dead Sea by the Negev.
- Joshua 12:8 sn The slopes (אֲשֵׁדוֹת, ʾashedot) refer to the ascent from the rift valley up to the hill country and to the flatlands (or wilderness) south of the hill country.
- Joshua 12:8 sn The Negev is the area of central southern Judah, south of the hill country and west of the rift valley. As a geographic feature it is a depression extending south to the Gulf of Aqaba, but the biblical reference is probably to the northern portion of the region.
- Joshua 12:8 tn The words “the land of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.