Inheritance of Judah
15 Now the allotment for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was as far as the border of Edom, southward to the wilderness of Zin at the extreme south. 2 Their southern border was from the lower end of the Salt Sea, from the bay projecting southward. 3 Then it proceeded south of the Ascent of Akrabbim and passed on to Zin, and then went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea and passed on to Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned toward Karka. 4 It passed along to Azmon and went on to the Wadi of Egypt, where the border ended at the sea—this will be your southern border.
5 The eastern border is the Salt Sea to the end of the Jordan. The border on the northern side was from the bay of the sea at the end of the Jordan. 6 It then went up to Beth-hoglah and passed north of Beth-arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. 7 The border then went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal, facing the Ascent of Adummim, which is south of the wadi. Next the border passed along to the waters of En-shemesh and ended at En-rogel. 8 Then the border went up the Valley of Ben-hinnom to the southern flank of the Jebusites—that is, Jerusalem—and went up to the top of the mountain that flanks the Hinnom Valley to the west, which is at the northern end of the Rephaim Valley. 9 From the top of the mountain the border curved to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and went out to the towns of Mount Ephron, then curved to Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).
10 From Baalah the border turned westward to Mount Seir, passed along to the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon) and went down to Beth-shemesh, then passed Timnah. 11 Next the border went out to the slope north of Ekron, then went out to Shikkeron, passed along to Mount Baalah, went on to Jabneel, and the border ended at the sea.
12 The western border was the Great Sea and its coastline. These were the borders around the children of Judah according to their clans.
13 Now to Caleb son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah, at the command of Adonai to Joshua—Kiriath-arba, which is Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). 14 So Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak—Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai, children of Anak. 15 Then he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir (now the name of Debir formerly was Kiriath-sepher).
16 Caleb said, “I will give my daughter Achsah as a wife to the one who attacks Kiriath-sepher and captures it.” 17 So Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb’s kinsman, captured it, so he gave him his daughter Achsah as a wife. 18 Now it came about when she came to him, that she persuaded Othniel to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her: “What do you need?”
19 “Give me a blessing,” she said. “For you have given me land in the Negev[a], you should also give me springs of water.” So he gave her the Upper Springs and the Lower Springs.
20 This is the portion of the tribe of the children of Judah by their clans: 21 the towns at the end of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the south were Kavzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 25 Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 27 Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, 28 Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, 29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 30 El-tolad, Chesil, Hormah, 31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 32 Lebaot, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon—a total of 29 towns, with their villages.
33 In the lowland: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoach, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah and Gederothaim—14 towns with their villages. 37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, 38 Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel, 39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmas, Chithlish, 41 Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah and Makkedah—16 towns with their villages. 42 Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Keilah, Achzib and Mareshah—9 towns with their villages. 45 Ekron with its towns and villages; 46 from Ekron to the sea, all that were under Ashdod’s hand, with their villages, 47 Ashdod, its dependencies and its villages; Gaza, its dependencies and its villages, all the way to the Wadi of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea.
48 In the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon and Giloh—11 towns with their villages. 52 Arab, Rumah, Eshan, 53 Janum, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior—9 towns with their villages. 55 Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kayin, Gibeah and Timnah—10 towns with their villages; 58 Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon—6 towns with their villages. 60 Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah—2 towns with their villages.
61 In the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt and En-gedi—6 towns with their villages.
63 As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out. So the Jebusites continue to live among the children of Judah in Jerusalem to this day.
Footnotes
- Joshua 15:19 i.e., south country, a desert.