It was after the death of Moses, servant of the Lord, that the Lord said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ attendant, his first direct prophecy, saying:

Moses My servant is dead; now you, and this entire people, arise, cross this Jordan River, to the land that I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.

After Joshua is commanded regarding his role, he is given a promise: Every place upon which your foot will tread, I have given it to you, as I spoke to Moses. Although the Land of Israel has defined borders, as delineated in the next verse, God assures Joshua: If you conquer areas that lie beyond its borders, they shall belong to Israel.

These are the borders of the land designated for you: From the Syrian-Arabian wilderness in the east, and the wilderness of the Sinai Peninsula in the south, which includes the wildernesses of Paran, Tzin, and Shur, and until this well-known area of Lebanon in the northwest. Perhaps the phrase “this Lebanon” indicates that Joshua could see this location from where he stood. The borders continue to the great river, which is the Euphrates River, the northeastern border of the Land of Israel at its most expansive. This includes the entire land of the Hitites, a large country that stretched from northern Syria into Asia Minor. At the time, it was a large kingdom that served as a political counterweight to Egypt. This area, to the Great Sea, the Mediterranean, which is toward the place of the setting sun, in the west, will be your borders.

No man will stand against you, as you will be a successful military leader all the days of your life; just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. No one ever attained the closeness to God experienced by Moses, whom He often helped to overcome difficulties and threats immediately, in a miraculous manner, for all to see. By contrast, Joshua’s victories would generally be achieved by natural means. Nevertheless, God assures him that as Moses’ successor, he will always be accompanied by divine providence and he will merit witnessing His miracles and wonders: I will not neglect you and I will not forsake you.

Be strong and courageous. I will strengthen you upon your acceptance of this mission, as you will bequeath to this people the land that I took an oath to their fathers to give them. Unlike other historical processes involving one nation overtaking the land of another, which typically span several generations, you will merit completing the main part of your mission.

Having given Joshua an emboldening promise, God also warns him: Just be very strong and courageous, to take care to act in accordance with the entire Torah that Moses My servant commanded you. Cling to the Torah in its entirety, both the Written Torah and the verbal instructions you have received. Do not deviate from it, the Torah, or the legacy of Moses, right or left so that you will succeed wherever you will go.

Yet another directive is given, which also contains some advice: This book of the Torah shall not depart from your mouth, and you shall ponder it, or speak about it, day and night. You must cleave to the Torah always, so that you will take care to act in accordance with everything that is written in it, as then your way will prosper, and then you will understand what course of action you must take, and you will succeed.

Did I not command you: Be strong and courageous, do not break down and do not be alarmed? Along with the words of general encouragement in the previous verses regarding Joshua’s mission and Torah observance, God now urges Joshua specifically to be strong on his new path, which will undoubtedly feature challenges. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you will go. You are assured that you will not fail.

Joshua commanded the officers of the people, who were responsible for order and discipline among the people, saying:

Pass through the midst of the camp, and command the people, saying: Prepare for yourselves provisions. This may refer to the manna that they still received, or to other foods and items they had obtained. The officers are to command the people: Complete all your logistical preparations; pack your things and be ready for travel, for in three more days you are crossing this Jordan, to go and to take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving you to take possession of it.

Joshua now attends to another matter: To the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, those tribes that requested to inherit their portion on the eastern side of the Jordan rather than in the land of Canaan on the western side of the Jordan, Joshua said, stating:

Remember the matter that Moses servant of the Lord commanded you, saying: The Lord your God is granting you repose, and He has given you this land on the eastern side of the Jordan.

Therefore, your wives, your children, and your livestock will inhabit the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, on the eastern side. The lands on the eastern side of the Jordan, which are suitable for pasture, were not originally designated for you by God but were given to you by Moses as per your request, after you promised that you would not settle there immediately. But you shall cross, armed, before your brethren, all the mighty warriors among you, apart from a small guard of men that will remain behind to look after your families and property. Do not abandon the other tribes; you shall cross over the Jordan with them, and you shall help them by serving as an independent unit in all their battles,

until the Lord grants your brethren repose, like you, just as you sit tranquilly in your land, and they too take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them, and only then will you return to the land of your possession, and take possession of it, become rooted in the land, which was given to you by Moses the servant of the Lord, across the Jordan, toward the rising sun, that is, to the east, where the sun rises.

They, these tribes, answered Joshua, saying: Everything that you commanded us we will do, and to wherever you send us we will go. We are under your command and will obey your instructions.

Just as we always heeded Moses, so we will heed you. The tribes even bless Joshua that he should have powers similar to those of Moses: Only, may the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses.

Any man who disobeys you, and does not heed your words in everything that you command him, will be put to death. We accept your leadership and your orders unconditionally. Just be strong and courageous to command the people and insist that your commands are fulfilled.

Joshua son of Nun sent two men from Shitim near the Jordan, where the people were encamped, as spies, covertly, saying: Go see the land, and in particular Jericho. Joshua thereby hinted to the spies that Israel’s first objective upon entry into the land would be to conquer the city of Jericho. Several places near Jericho are referred to as the fords of the Jordan, and any one of these could have been used to cross the Jordan River. There were no fortified cities in the vicinity of these fords aside from the city of Jericho, which was exceptional in its strong fortification. They went and they came to the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahav, and they lodged there.

It was said to the king of Jericho, saying: Behold, men came here tonight from the children of Israel to spy the land. Perhaps the spies tried to dress like the locals, but even so they were recognized as foreigners. Since Jericho was not a large city, they were soon spotted, and it was even known where they were lodging.

The king of Jericho sent to Rahav, saying: Bring out to us the men who came to you, who came to your house, as they came to reconnoiter the land.

Rahav could have invited the king’s messengers inside and surrendered the spies, but she chose the opposite course of action: The woman took the two men, and hid him. The singular form indicates that she hid each spy in a different place, so that they would not be easily discovered. She said to the king’s messengers: Yes, the men whom you seek came to me, but I did not know from where they were. I am not supposed to know the identities of the men who enter this place.

Nevertheless, I have information regarding their whereabouts: It was when the city gate was about to close, at dark, which is not the usual time for entering and exiting the city, that the men departed. I do not know where the men went; chase quickly after them, for you will overtake them. Rahav misled the king’s messengers, convincing them to leave quickly in search of the spies outside the city.

But she took them up to the roof. In many Middle Eastern lands, houses were constructed with flat roofs, which were used during part of the year for sleeping and various other needs. This episode occurred at the beginning of spring: And she hid them in the stalks of flax that were arranged for her on the roof for drying, after having been harvested.

The men who were searching for the spies chased after them toward the Jordan, to the fords of the Jordan River. These men made the logical assumption that the spies were headed for the Israelite encampment beyond the Jordan River, and that the spies would therefore need to find a place where they could cross the river, which was surging at that time of year. Presumably, the two spies were traveling on foot, while the king’s men were in pursuit on horses. They therefore had high hopes of catching the spies. And they shut the city gate after them when the pursuers departed after them, to prevent the spies from leaving the city in the event that they were still inside.

As for them, the spies, before they had gone to sleep, she, Rahav, went up to them on the roof to speak with them.

She said to the men, whose identity and purpose she now knew: I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that dread of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have melted from before you. Morale in Jericho was very low.

For we have heard how the Lord dried the waters of the Red Sea for you upon your exodus from Egypt. The splitting of the Red Sea, which had occurred some forty years earlier, was such a dramatic event that news of it had spread as far as Jericho. And we have also heard that which you did to the two kings of the Emorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed. Although the inhabitants of Canaan had not yet encountered the Israelites, news of the miraculous splitting of the Red Sea, along with Israel’s recent military victories against two powerful kings just east of the Jordan, were enough to strike fear in them. These reports created the impression that Israel was an exceedingly mighty nation. Moreover, the inhabitants of Jericho could see from a distance the size of the Israelite army.

We heard and our hearts melted in fear, and a fighting spirit did not remain in any man because of you. Our courage and valor have disappeared entirely, because I am sure that the Lord your God, He is God in the heavens above and on earth below.

Rahav was aware that when the city was conquered, the lives of all its inhabitants would be endangered. She therefore asked for something in exchange for saving the spies: Now please take an oath to me by the Lord, since I have done kindness to you, you too will do kindness to my father’s house; provide me with a reliable sign that you will comply with my request,

that you will keep alive my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters, and everything that is theirs. It is possible that as a prostitute, Rahav had neither a husband nor children; she sought to rescue the other members of her family who were living in the city. And you will deliver our lives from death.

The men, the spies, said to her: Our lives are instead of yours to die. We will bear responsibility for the lives of all those you mentioned, if you and your family do not tell of these matters of ours; it shall be, when the Lord gives us the land, we will act with kindness and truth to you. We will ensure your safety, just as you ensured ours.

Rahav did not want the men to remain in her house any longer, as she feared that the king’s messengers might return upon failing to find them outside the city. Since the city gates were locked, she lowered them with a rope through the window, as her house was at the side of the wall, and she lived in the wall.

She said to them, before they departed: Go to the highlands, lest the pursuers encounter you. The area near the Jordan is exposed; it is not densely wooded and lacks sufficient hiding places. If you try to move toward it now, you will likely be captured by your pursuers, who may be quite numerous. You should therefore travel in the opposite direction, to the hills west of Jericho, and hide there three days, until the pursuers’ return to the city, and then go on your way to your camp, as by that time your pursuers will have abandoned their search.

The men said to her: We are absolved of this oath of yours that you administered to us. We will not be required to fulfill the terms of our oath to you if you do not follow these instructions:

Behold, when we come into the land, you will tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you have lowered us. A cord dyed bright red, with a dye extracted from scale insects, will mark your house prominently. And your father, your mother, your brothers, and your father’s entire household, only the members of your family, you will gather to you, into the house. They will be granted protection in your merit.

It shall be that anyone who will exit from the doors of your house outside, his blood shall be on his head, he shall bear responsibility for causing his own death, and we will be absolved. If you wish to protect the members of your family from harm, you must insist that they remain inside the house, as that will be the only guaranteed place of refuge. Anyone who ventures outside will be exposed to the dangers of war. But anyone who will be with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if a hand will be upon him to harm him. We accept upon ourselves responsibility for the safety of all your family members who remain inside your house.

But if you tell of these matters of ours, that your house will be a place of refuge, we will be absolved of your oath that you administered to us.

She said: In accordance with your words, so it is. I accept your terms. She sent them and they went on their way, and she immediately tied the scarlet cord in the window. She left the cord hanging in the window from that day onward, as she couldn’t know when the army of Israel would reach the gates of Jericho.

They went and came to the highlands, the hilly region west of the city, as per Rahav’s advice, and they stayed there three days, until the pursuers returned; the pursuers sought them along the entire way from Jericho eastward to the Jordan, back and forth, but they did not find them.

The two men sent by Joshua returned, and descended from the highlands, and crossed the Jordan, and came to Joshua son of Nun. They told him all that had befallen them, including their promise to Rahav, which obligated Joshua as well, as they had spoken in his name.

They said to Joshua: For it is clear that the Lord has given the entire land into our hands, and also, all the inhabitants of the land have melted before us.

Joshua arose early in the morning, and they traveled from Shitim, the place of their encampment; he and all the children of Israel came to the edge of the Jordan, and they stayed the night there before they would cross the river. It appears that this trip took less than a day.

It was at the end of three days, during which Joshua had commanded the people to prepare themselves (1:11), and on the third day, the officers, who transmitted Joshua’s orders, passed through the midst of the camp.

They, the officers, commanded the people, saying: When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, containing the Tablets of the Covenant, and when you see the priests, the Levites carrying it, then you shall travel, uproot yourselves, from your place and follow it.

However, there shall be a distance of a measure of two thousand cubits, roughly 1 km, between you and it; do not approach it, as that would be disrespectful, and doing so may endanger you. The ark will lead you, so that you will know the way that you should go, and you will not wander in different directions, for you have not passed on the way previously. This path is entirely new to you. Some explain that the phrase “so that you will know the way” is an explanation for the prohibition against coming close to the ark.

Joshua said to the people: Prepare yourselves, or purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will perform wonders in your midst.

Joshua said to the priests, saying: Pick up the Ark of the Covenant, and pass before the people. Until now, the ark had been located inside the camp; now it will be transferred to the front. They, the priests, picked up the Ark of the Covenant, and they went before the people.

The Lord said to Joshua: This day I will begin exalting you in the eyes of all Israel. A great sign and wonder will be performed today, and although it will come about for the sake of the nation, your name will be exalted through it. This miracle will be performed so that they, all Israel, may know that as I was with Moses, I will be with you. It will be like the marvels that occurred in the days of Moses, the impact of which is still felt to this day, even though some of them took place forty years ago.

You shall command the priests, bearers of the Ark of the Covenant, saying: Upon your coming to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, when you have left the area of Geon HaYarden, the lowest step of the Jordan Valley, where reeds and bulrushes sprout, you shall stand still in the Jordan.

Joshua said to the children of Israel: Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God. This is the first time Joshua delivers explicit words of prophecy in the name of God.

Joshua said: With this you will know that the living God is in your midst, and that He will dispossess from before you the Canaanites, and the Hitites, and the Hivites, and the Perizites, and the Girgashites, and the Emorites, and the Yevusites, the seven Canaanite nations.

Behold, the Ark of the Covenant of the Master of the entire earth is passing before you in the Jordan.

Now take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe. Each tribe shall select a representative for a task that will be explained to them at a later stage. The timing of this command indicates that the role of these twelve men will somehow be connected to the position of the ark.

It will be, when the feet of the priests, bearers of the Ark of the Lord, Master of the entire earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off; the waters that come down from upstream will stand in one mound, like a raised mound or a wall. The waters flowing down the river will pile up to a great height, as though an invisible wall is blocking their path.

It was when the people traveled from their tents, the place of their encampment, to cross the Jordan, and the priests, the bearers of the Ark of the Covenant, were traveling before the people, as Joshua had commanded,

and when the bearers of the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests, bearers of the ark, were immersed in the edge of the water, and the Jordan was overflowing all its banks all the days of harvest, after the winter, when the waters of the river are at their peak,

that the waters descending from upstream stood; they rose in one mound. However, this mound was not near the spot where the people crossed the river; rather, it was very far from Adam, the city that is near Tzaretan, another settlement adjacent to the Jordan; and that water, which went down to the sea of the plain, which is the Dead Sea, ceased, was cut off. Since the waters of the river stopped and piled up at a point to the north, all water ceased to flow into the Dead Sea. And the people crossed opposite Jericho, south of Adam.

The priests, bearers of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, and all Israel were crossing on dry ground, after the water had ceased to flow, until the entire nation had completed crossing the Jordan.

It was when the entire nation had completed crossing the Jordan that the Lord said to Joshua, saying:

Earlier (3:12), the selection of twelve men was mentioned without defining their purpose. Now the verses mention their selection as well as the function for which they were chosen: Take twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe,

and command them, saying: Pick up for yourselves from here, from the middle of the Jordan, from the place the feet of the priests stand firm, twelve stones, one stone for each man, and bring them across with you, and place them in the lodging place where you will stay the night, your first rest stop.

Joshua summoned the twelve men whom he had earlier prepared from the children of Israel, one man from a tribe,

and Joshua said to them: Pass on until you are before the Ark of the Lord your God, into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you lift one stone onto his shoulder, so that the number of stones shall be corresponding to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel,

so that this raising of stones will be a sign in your midst, when your children ask tomorrow, when they see a pile of twelve large stones, saying: What are these stones to you? According to tradition, the twelve selected men were very strong and lifted the largest stones they could carry.

You shall say to them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord in its crossing the Jordan; the waters of the Jordan were cut off and these stones will be as a remembrance to the children of Israel forever.

The children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and they picked up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, as the Lord spoke to Joshua, corresponding to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and they brought them across with them to the lodging place, and placed them there.

And Joshua also established another set of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, not necessarily set up by those same twelve men, beneath the place of the feet of the priests, bearers of the Ark of the Covenant. These stones were arranged in a pile on the dry riverbed. And they are there, under the flowing river, to this day. Some explain that Joshua set up these twelve stones of his own accord, one on top of the other, so that they should protrude above the water to mark the spot of the miracle.

The priests, bearers of the ark, stood in the middle of the Jordan with the ark on their shoulders until the completion of everything that the Lord had commanded Joshua to speak to the people, namely, the task of taking the stones. Some explain that the verse refers to Joshua’s instructions regarding the forthcoming inheritance of the land, or the people’s mutual responsibility to observe the commandments in the land, in accordance with everything that Moses had commanded Joshua, as the verse states: “It shall be on the day that you will cross the Jordan…you shall erect great stones….” Meanwhile, the people quickly crossed. Perhaps they went quickly because they feared that the water might overtake them, or they wished to fulfill the commandment of entering the land as soon as possible, or out of respect to the ark, that it should not have to wait so long in the Jordan for the people to pass.

It was when the entire people had finished crossing the Jordan, and the Ark of the Lord and the priests, who emerged last from the river, had passed before the people, according to Joshua’s command,

that the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. The other tribes advanced slowly, as they were traveling with their children, livestock, property, and tents. By contrast, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh left their families and possessions on the eastern side of the Jordan River and would therefore serve as the vanguard in the meantime.

From these two and a half tribes, some forty thousand mobilized soldiers passed before the Lord to war, to the plains [arvot] of Jericho, a wide expanse that was unsettled and uncultivated. In the Bible, the Arava refers to the Jordan Valley, the area between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The plains of Jericho form one section of this area, probably the region of the western bank of the Jordan opposite the plains of Moav.

On that day, the Lord exalted Joshua in the eyes of all Israel. The people could easily have crossed the Jordan via one of its fords. The significance of their crossing lies in the miracle that was performed before the entire nation. And they revered him, as they had revered Moses, all the days of his, Joshua’s, life.

The verses now go on to provide a detailed description of Israel’s ascent from the Jordan River, which was previously mentioned in a general manner. The Lord said to Joshua, saying:

Command the priests, bearers of the Ark of the Testimony, that they shall come up from the Jordan.

Joshua commanded the priests, saying: Come up from the Jordan.

It was with the priests, bearers of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, coming up from the middle of the Jordan, when they received the order to ascend, some time after standing there for the duration of the people’s passage through the river, as the feet of the priests moved to the dry ground, that the waters of the Jordan immediately returned to their place, flowing on all its banks, and the Jordan was filled again as previously. The waters that had piled up started flowing again in their usual manner, leaving no sign of the miracle that just took place.

The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth of the first month. The verse notes the date of Israel’s entry into the land, even though they had not yet performed any extraordinary action or engaged in war. This date also recalls Moses and the exodus from Egypt, as it was on the tenth day of the first month that Israel began preparing for their redemption from Egypt by setting aside a lamb for the paschal offering, as commanded by Moses. And they encamped in Gilgal, on the eastern edge of Jericho, in the area between Jericho and the Jordan River.

Joshua erected those twelve stones that they took from the Jordan in Gilgal, the place of their first encampment in the Land of Israel.

He said to the children of Israel, saying: When your children will ask their fathers tomorrow, saying: What are these stones? The question would be asked because this is not simply a pile of rocks; the arrangement of a specific number of large stones is clearly a monument.

You shall inform your children, saying: Israel crossed this Jordan on dry land,

as the Lord your God dried the waters of Jordan from before you until you had crossed, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea that He dried before us, until we had crossed. By and large, the generation that crossed the Jordan was not present at the splitting of the Red Sea. Thus, Joshua is referring to himself and the previous generation that left Egypt, who witnessed that great miracle. The stopping of the Jordan’s waters is similar to the splitting of the Red Sea, as in both cases God performed a great miracle on the earth and its waters.

This is a precious memory for our nation, and moreover, this miracle took place so that all the peoples of the earth know the hand of the Lord, for it is mighty. This wondrous event was not for the sake of Israel alone; all who saw the rising tower of water witnessed the mighty hand of God intervening in the world. Furthermore, this miracle took place so that you will fear the Lord your God all the days.

A summation of Israel’s crossing of the Jordan: It was when all the kings of the Emorites, specifically those who were beyond the Jordan westward, as Israel had already conquered all the Emorite territory east of the Jordan, and all the kings of the Canaanites, who were by the sea, heard of the great and wondrous miracle, that the Lord had dried the water of the Jordan from before the children of Israel until they had crossed, that their heart melted, and there was no more spirit in them before the children of Israel. The kings of the land of Canaan were already deeply concerned about Israel’s approaching campaign of conquest. When they saw the supernatural signs and marvels that accompanied the nation, they lost all confidence.

At that time, the Lord said to Joshua: Make flint [tzurim] knives for yourself. Some commentaries explain that tzurim means sharp. And use them to circumcise the children of Israel again, a second time. The first occasion was when their fathers were circumcised in Egypt, before they set out for the wilderness.

Joshua made flint knives to be used for circumcision, for himself, though not specifically for his own use, and circumcised, he commanded circumcision for, the children of Israel at the Hill of the Foreskins. The place was named for the event that occurred there. Perhaps there was such an accumulation of foreskins there that they formed a small mound.

After describing the episode in brief, the chapter provides a more detailed explanation: This is the explanation, or the background, of why Joshua performed circumcision: The entire people that came out of Egypt, the males, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way, after their exodus from Egypt, as stated in the Torah. Those who entered the land of Canaan, their children, were either born in the wilderness or were very young when they came out of Egypt.

All the people who came out were circumcised, but all the people who were born in the wilderness on the way, after their exodus from Egypt, were not circumcised. Even if some of the people had not been circumcised while living in Egypt, Moses had instructed them before the exodus that only the circumcised were permitted to partake of the paschal lamb, and therefore all the males had circumcised themselves at that time. However, those born in the wilderness were uncircumcised, either due to the desert climate or the difficulties of the journey.

For it was forty years that the children of Israel walked in the wilderness, until the demise of the entire nation, namely, the men of war who came out of Egypt, who did not heed the voice of the Lord in the incident of the spies; it was to them that the Lord swore not to show the land that the Lord had sworn to their forefathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey, as related in the Torah.

But He established their children in their stead; it was them that Joshua circumcised, as they were uncircumcised, because they were not circumcised on the way.

When the entire nation had completed being circumcised, they remained in their places in the camp until their recovery. Circumcision is a more painful procedure for adults than children, and therefore they remained in one place and refrained from unnecessary movement until the wounds were healed.

The Lord said to Joshua: Today I have removed [galoti] the disgrace of Egypt, the foreskin, from upon you. He called the name of that place Gilgal, to this day. Although it was already mentioned above that twelve stones were erected in Gilgal, it is possible that it began to be called by that name only now. Alternatively, that place was named Gilgal due to the heap [gal] of stones, whereas the Gilgal where the Israelites were circumcised is a different place.

The children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and they performed the paschal offering at the proper time, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, on the plains of Jericho, the vacant area between Jericho and the Jordan.

They ate from the produce of the land on the day after the paschal offering, unleavened bread and roasted grain, on that very day, the day on which they were commanded to eat it.

The Israelites partook of the manna for only a few days after they entered Canaan. The manna ceased on the following day, while they ate from the produce of the land; there was no more manna for the children of Israel, from that day forward, and they ate from the grain of the land of Canaan that year. They arrived in the land at a time when the produce sown by the Canaanites had ripened, and they were therefore able to reap and eat it.

It was when Joshua was in Jericho that he raised his eyes. This does not mean that he was actually in Jericho, but rather that he was near the city. It is possible that Joshua ventured out alone to take a strategic tour of the area. And he saw, and behold, the image of an unfamiliar man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him: Are you with us or with our enemies? Since you are a stranger bearing a sword on contested land, tell me whose side you are on.

He said: No, I am not a human, and I do not belong to one of these armies, for I am captain of the host of the Lord, an angel of heaven; now I have come to talk to you, as a sign from God. Joshua fell on his face to the ground and prostrated himself in subservience, and he said to him: What does my lord speak to his servant?

The captain of the host of the Lord said to Joshua: Remove your shoe from upon your foot, for the place on which you stand is sacred; and Joshua did so.

Jericho was closed and sealed against the children of Israel, with no one departing and no one entering. Jericho was a fortified city and therefore difficult to conquer. It had closed in upon itself due to the nearby Israelite army.

The Lord said to Joshua, perhaps through the agency of the aforementioned angel, as angels often speak to people in God’s name, in the first person: See, I have delivered Jericho into your hand, and its king. You will emerge victorious in this battle, as you will conquer the city and defeat its king and his men, its mighty warriors.

You shall circle the city; all the men of war, the soldiers alone, shall circle the city once each day, while the rest of the nation will remain encamped in their place. So you shall do six days.

Seven priests shall carry seven rams’ shofars before the ark, which shall also be brought for these encirclements; and on the seventh day you shall circle the city seven times, and the priests shall sound the shofars as you encircle the city.

It shall be that when they sound the ram’s horn, when they make a blast, or upon the extended last blast, or at the end of all the blasts, when you, the entire nation, hear the sound of the shofar, this will be the sign that all the people shall cry a great cry, and the wall of the city will collapse beneath itself, and the people shall go, each man straight ahead. All those standing opposite the wall will be able to enter the city directly from their spots.

Joshua son of Nun summoned the priests and said to them: Take up the Ark of the Covenant, and let seven priests take up seven rams’ shofars before the Ark of the Lord.

He said to the people: Go forth and circle the city, and the vanguard, the members of the tribes who inherited their portion on the eastern side of the Jordan River, namely, Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, shall go forth before the Ark of the Lord.

It was, as Joshua spoke this order to the people, that the seven priests carrying the seven rams’ shofars before the Lord went forth before the ark, and they sounded the shofars, and the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord went after them.

The vanguard went before the priests, sounders of the shofars, and the rear guard went after the ark, continually sounding the shofars. This translation assumes that in addition to the priests, the rear guard also sounded the shofars. However, many commentaries interpret the verse to mean that the rear guard went after the ark and the priests, who were continually sounding the shofars. The same two possible interpretations apply to verse 13.

Meanwhile, Joshua issued another order. He commanded the people, saying: Do not cry out, and do not sound your voice, and nothing shall issue from your mouth. The procession around the city must be performed in silence, until the day I say to you: Cry out; then you shall cry out.

The Ark of the Lord circled the city on the first day, going around once. All the men of war marched around in a quiet procession, with the armed men of the two and a half tribes going before the ark. Only the sounds of the rams’ horns were heard. And they came to the camp and stayed the night in the camp.

Joshua arose early in the following morning, and the priests took up the Ark of the Lord.

The seven priests carrying the seven rams’ shofars before the Ark of the Lord went steadily, and they sounded the shofars; the vanguard went before them, and the rear guard went after the Ark of the Lord, steadily sounding the shofars.

They circled the city on the second day one time, and they returned to the camp; so they did for six days.

It was on the seventh day, and they rose early at dawn, and circled the city in the same manner seven times. The verse reemphasizes that only on that day did they circle the city seven times. Some commentaries explain that the first part of the verse is referring to the initial encompassing of the city on the seventh day, which was the last encirclement necessary to bring the number of encirclements to seven, one per day, while the second part of the verse adds that on that same day they performed another six encirclements, for a total of seven on that day.

It was at the seventh time that the priests sounded the shofars that Joshua said an order to the people: Cry out, as the Lord has given you the city.

Joshua further instructed all of Israel, and especially the officers: The city shall be proscribed; it and everything that is in it is for the Lord. Anything that can be taken as plunder shall be consecrated to God, while all the people and animals are to be killed. Only Rahav the prostitute shall live, she and everyone who is with her in the house, because she hid the messengers whom we sent. She alone is entitled to protection. You must respect the sign that distinguishes her house, and you are prohibited from harming anyone inside.

As for you, beware of that which is proscribed, make sure that neither you nor anyone else takes from it, lest you plunder and take from the proscribed spoils, and set a proscription against the camp of Israel, tainting or defiling it. The term “tainting” is important for the continuation of the story (see 7:25).

All silver and gold, and bronze and iron vessels, are sacred to the Lord. You may throw away worthless items, but you are not permitted to take any valuable article for yourselves. Although objects of these kinds are generally plundered by soldiers, they shall come to the treasury of the Lord.

The people cried out spontaneously. When they heard Joshua’s instructions, including his assurance of victory, the silence of their procession was broken as they erupted with enthusiastic shouts. And they, the priests, sounded the shofars. It was when the people heard the sound of the shofar that the people cried out a great cry, not a hurrah like the previous cry, and then the wall collapsed beneath itself, and the people went up into the city, each man straight ahead of him, and they captured the city.

They destroyed everything that was in the city, both man and woman, both youth and old man, and ox, sheep, and donkey, by the sword.

To the two men who spied the land, Joshua said: Go to the house of the prostitute and take the woman and all that is hers from there, for you took an oath to her. Since you accepted upon yourselves the responsibility of protecting her, you must now take the necessary steps to ensure that your oath is fulfilled.

The young men, the spies, went and took out Rahav, her father, her mother, and her brothers, and all that was hers; they took out all her families. She had apparently brought her extended family into her house. And they set them in a safe place outside the camp of Israel.

They burned the city with fire, and everything that was in it; only the silver, the gold, and the bronze and iron vessels they gave to the treasury of the House of the Lord.

But Rahav the prostitute, her father’s household, and all that was hers, Joshua kept alive, and she resided in the midst of Israel to this day because she hid the messengers whom Joshua sent to spy Jericho.

Joshua administered an oath to the people at that time, saying: Cursed is the man before the Lord who will arise and build this city, Jericho; with his firstborn he will lay its foundation, and with his youngest he will erect its gates. Besides the prohibition against taking the property of the city at that time, Joshua wanted Jericho to remain a ruin forever. He therefore added an explicit curse upon anyone who would attempt to reestablish the city: All his sons would die. His firstborn would perish when he laid its foundation, and when he finished building its walls and sought to set up the city gates, his youngest son would also pass away.

The Lord was with Joshua; his fame was in the entire land. The miracle of the conquest of Jericho affected the people of Canaan far more than the earlier wonders that were performed for Israel upon their entry into the land.

Despite the spectacular miracles they witnessed, not all the people obeyed Joshua’s command that nothing from the property of Jericho might be taken for personal use: The children of Israel committed a trespass concerning the proscribed spoils; Akhan, son of Karmi, son of Zavdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took from the proscribed spoils, and the wrath of the Lord was enflamed against the children of Israel. This is the background for the story that follows.

Joshua sent men from Jericho to the city of the Ai, which is adjacent to Beit Aven, east of Beit El. The spies set out in the direction of the mountain ridge, the main area of settlement in Canaan, turning toward an area that would later become the border between the inheritances of Judah and Benjamin (see 8:12). And he said to them, stating: Go up and reconnoiter the land. This was a simple mission, to examine the size of the town, access roads, and the like. Although the Ai was not a major city, Joshua wanted to be sure that he would not leave behind him hostile inhabitants when the people embarked on their next campaigns. And the men went up and reconnoitered the Ai.

They returned to Joshua, and they said to him: The entire people should not go up to wage war upon the Ai; two thousand or three thousand men should go up and smite the Ai; do not weary the entire people there, as they, the inhabitants of the Ai, are few.

Some three thousand men went up to there, and yet when the fighting began they fled before the men of the Ai. Despite their clear numerical superiority, Israel suffered a reversal in this battle.

The men of the Ai smote some thirty-six of their men, and they, the men of the Ai, pursued them from before the gate to Shevarim, a place perhaps named after this episode. The word shevarim means broken or fractured, and the place was named because the people were broken there, or perhaps as a reference to the crevices in the mountains. And they smote them on the descent. The Israelites initially climbed toward the Ai; now they fled, and the men of the Ai chased them and caught them on their way down. As a result, the heart of the people melted and became like water.

Joshua rent his garments, fell on his face to the ground before the Ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel, and they put dust on their heads as a sign of mourning. They were not mourning the defeat itself, but what it signified.

Joshua said: Alas, Lord God, why did You bring this people across the Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Emorites, to cause us to perish? If only we had undertaken to settle beyond the Jordan. We could have remained on the eastern side of the Jordan rather than attempting to conquer this land, but You ordered us to enter Canaan.

Please, my Lord, what can I say after Israel has turned tail and fled from before their enemies?

The Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and realize how easily we can be defeated, and they will gather a large army, surround us, and eliminate our name from the earth. What will You do for Your great name? This is not our problem alone, as Your name is linked to our fate.

The Lord said to Joshua: Arise from the ground; why are you falling on your face?

Israel has sinned and have also breached My covenant that I commanded them; they have also taken from the proscribed spoils, also stolen, also denied, and also placed it in their vessels. This military defeat is a direct consequence of Israel’s own actions.

The children of Israel will be unable to stand in war before their enemies; rather, they will turn tail before their enemies, because they, Israel, have become proscribed; I will not continue to be with you if you do not destroy the proscribed spoils, the prohibited items and those who contracted the curse by taking them, from among you. The proscribed objects contaminate those who touch them, rendering them, too, accursed and estranged from God. Note that Akhan was sentenced to burning (verse 15) after he was stoned (verse 25), like the proscribed articles found in his possession.

Arise, prepare the people, and say: Prepare yourselves for tomorrow, repent, for so said the Lord, God of Israel: There are proscribed spoils in your midst, Israel, and they poison your existence; you will not be able to stand before your enemies until you remove the proscribed spoils from your midst.

You shall approach in the morning according to your tribes, to draw lots, and the lot will select the guilty tribe. It shall be that the tribe that the Lord will single out shall approach by families, the next category after that of the tribe is the extended family; and the family that the Lord will single out shall approach by households; and the household that the Lord will single out shall approach man by man. One of the men in that household is the sinner.

It shall be that he who is singled out with the proscribed spoils will be burned in fire, he and all that is his, because he breached the covenant of the Lord, by transgressing the prohibition, and because he committed a despicable act in Israel, to commit a crime for the petty cause of greed.

Joshua arose early in the morning, and had Israel approach for the lottery, tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was singled out.

He had the entire family of Judah approach; and he singled out the family of the Zerahites. He had the family of the Zerahites approach, man by man, the heads of households, and the house of Zavdi was singled out.

He brought his household near, by man; and in the final lot, Akhan, son of Karmi, son of Zavdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was singled out.

Although there is no indication of any prior acquaintance between them, Joshua addressed Akhan with affection, calling him “son”: Joshua said to Akhan: My son, please give glory to the Lord, God of Israel, and confess to Him your sins; tell me now what you did; do not withhold from me. It seems that even if Akhan had denied the charge, his sentence would have been the same, but a confession served to justify the result of the lot.

Akhan answered Joshua, and he said: Indeed, I have sinned against the Lord, God of Israel; thus and thus I have done. The double mention of “thus and thus” served to emphasize: I have indeed done it. Alternatively, Akhan was admitting that this was not the first time he had committed such a crime.

I saw among the spoils a fine mantle from Shinar, a cloak from Babylonia, which was valuable in Canaan, and items weighing two hundred shekels of silver, and one wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels; I coveted them, all these items, and took them; they are hidden in the ground inside my tent, and the silver is located beneath it, the mantle.

Joshua immediately sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and behold, it, the mantle, was hidden in his tent, and the silver was beneath it, as Akhan had claimed.

They took them from inside the tent, and brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and they put them down before the Lord. Some interpret the latter clause to mean that they threw them down; alternatively, they untied the mantle and thereby released the gold and silver that was hidden inside it.

Joshua took Akhan, son of the family of Zerah, the silver, the mantle, the wedge of gold, his sons, his daughters, his ox, his donkey, his sheep, his tent, and all that was his, and they took them up from the camp at Jericho to the Valley of Akhor. This was not the original name of the place, as it was named for the episode of Akhan.

Joshua said: How you have tainted us! Just as you defiled us and brought disaster upon us, so too may the Lord taint you on this day. All Israel cast upon him stones, and they burned them, his property and the consecrated property he stole, with fire, and they stoned them, his animals, with stones.

They established over him, over Akhan’s corpse, a great mound of stones, which remains to this day, and the Lord withdrew from His enflamed wrath. Therefore, the name of that place was called the Valley of Taint [Akhor], to this day. The mound was left as a memorial, and the place was given its name from Joshua’s statement, in which he said: “How you have tainted us [akhartanu].” Akhor is also an alliteration of Akhan. Elsewhere, Akhan is called “Akhar, he who tainted [okher] Israel, who committed a trespass with the proscribed spoils.”

The Lord said to Joshua: Do not fear and do not be frightened; do not lose confidence. This time, take all the people of war with you, the entire army, and arise, go up to the Ai. Unlike the previous attack, this time you yourself must lead the forces into battle, as befits the leader of Israel. See, I have given into your hand the king of the Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land.

You shall do to the Ai and its king as you did to Jericho and its king. You must destroy the city entirely, only the difference between this case and Jericho is that its spoils and its animals you shall plunder for yourselves. You may treat the city as any conquering army would, by taking its plunder for yourselves. But first, set for yourselves an ambush on the city, behind it, in a spot hidden from the sight of the city residents.

Joshua and all the people of wararose to go up to the Ai; Joshua chose thirty thousand men, the mighty warriors, for an ambush, despite the earlier estimation of his spies that three thousand soldiers would be enough to conquer the small city (7:3). And he sent them at night.

He commanded them, saying: See, you will be lying in ambush for the city from behind the city. Do not go very far from the city, and all of you be ready. Keep a certain distance, so that you will not be noticed, but stay within eyesight of the unfolding events, so that you can approach the city quickly.

I, and all the people who are with me, the rest of the army, will approach the city, to besiege it again; it shall be that when they, the men of the Ai, come out toward us, like the first time, and we will pretend to flee before them as we fled on the previous occasion,

they will come out after us, until we have separated them from the city. For they will say: They are fleeing before us like the first time. They will think that they again have the upper hand, and we will flee even more from before them, to take them far from the city.

You shall get up from the place of the ambush, and you shall take possession of the city. Alternatively, this means you shall weaken or smash the city. When the men of the Ai emerge from it to chase us, the city will be left unprotected, and you will be able to attack it, as the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.

It shall be that when you seize, conquer, the city, you shall set the city on fire, to destroy it and also give us a sign; you shall act in accordance with the word of the Lord; see, I have commanded you.

Joshua sent them, and they went to the ambush, and situated themselves between Beit El and the Ai, west of the Ai, closer to the Ai than Beit El, and Joshua stayed that night among the people, together with the warriors, as he wanted to be with them during the preparations for the battle.

Joshua arose early in the morning, and he counted the people. Alternatively, this means that he supervised or commanded the people. And he and the elders of Israel went up before the people to the Ai.

All the men of war who were with him went up, approached, and came across from the city; they encamped north of the Ai, without reaching the city. And the valley was situated between them and the Ai.

He took some five thousand men, and he set them in another ambush, perhaps closer to the city than the other camp, between Beit El and the Ai, west of the city.

The people arrayed the entire camp that was north of the city, and its rear, the ambush, west of the city, and Joshua went that night into the valley to supervise his men from up close.

It was that when the king of the Ai saw the army in the north, the men of the city hastened, in their overconfidence and complacency, and came out early toward Israel to war, he and all his people, at the appointed time established beforehand, facing the Arava, the road that leads to the plains of Jericho; and he did not know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.

Joshua and all Israel were assailed by them. They acted as though they were being overpowered by the men of the Ai. And they fled eastward, toward the wilderness.

All the people who were in the Ai were mobilized by the alarm sounded by the crier, to pursue them; they pursued Joshua and were separated from the city. When they heard that Israel was hurt and fleeing again, all the residents of the city joined the chase in order to finish them off and share the spoils.

Not a man remained in the Ai or Beit El, who did not come out after Israel; they left the city open, and pursued Israel. The inhabitants of nearby Beit El also participated in the chase.

The Lord said to Joshua: Extend the javelin that is in your hand toward the Ai, as I will give it into your hand. This was a prearranged sign for the men lying in ambush to attack, which also served as a symbolic act. Joshua extended the javelin that was in his hand toward the city.

When they saw the sign of Joshua’s long weapon directed toward the Ai, the ambushers rose quickly from their place, and ran when he extended his hand, which was an order from afar that the time had come for them to leave their hiding place, and they entered the city, captured it, and quickly set the city on fire.

The men of the Ai, who discerned the commotion behind them, turned around, and saw: Behold, the smoke of the city was rising to the heavens. They did not have the ability to flee here or there, as they were surrounded by a huge number of fighters on all sides. And the people who had supposedly fled to the wilderness now turned back on the pursuers. Alternatively, this means that they turned back and themselves became the pursuers.

Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city rose, and they came back, changed direction or returned to their original spot, and smote the men of the Ai.

These, the other men of the Ai, or those waiting in ambush, came out from the city toward them, and they were in the midst of Israel, these on this side and those on that. The men of the Ai were surrounded on both sides by Israelite soldiers, with no way out. And they, the Israelites, smote them, not leaving of them a remnant or survivor.

They apprehended the king of the Ai, who had either remained in the city and was captured there, or had gone into battle with his men; they took him alive and brought him to Joshua.

It was when Israel finished slaying all the inhabitants of the Ai in the field, in the wilderness where they had pursued them, and they had all fallen by the sword until their annihilation, that all Israel returned to the Ai and smote it by the sword.

All the fallen on that day, both men and women, were twelve thousand, all the people of the Ai.

Joshua did not withdraw his hand with which he extended the javelin, but left it outstretched until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of the Ai. Since the raising of the javelin signaled the start of the attack, as long as it remained in place the soldiers understood that they were to continue their advance.

Only the animals and the spoils, the property, of that city, did Israel plunder for themselves, in accordance with the word of the Lord that He had commanded Joshua, that they must kill all the people but may take the spoils for themselves.

Joshua burned the Ai, and he rendered it an eternal mound, a desolation, to this day.

He hanged the king of the Ai on a tree until evening time; with the setting of the sun, Joshua commanded, and they lowered his corpse from the tree, cast it at the entrance of the city gate, and established over him a great heap of stones, to this day.

Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, God of Israel, on Mount Eival, in central Israel. In order to arrive there, Joshua first had to fight the inhabitants of the Ai and Beit El, who stood in his way.

Joshua did so, as Moses servant of the Lord had commanded the children of Israel to construct an altar on Mount Eival, with details on how it should be built and what should be done there, as it is written in the book of the Torah of Moses; so it was an altar of whole stones, on which no one had wielded iron; they offered up burnt offerings on it to the Lord, and they slaughtered peace offerings.

He wrote there on the stones a copy of the Torah of Moses, that he, Moses, had written before the children of Israel. This is referring to a summary of the commandments of the Torah. Others explain that this is referring to the entire Torah, or to the book of Deuteronomy. Joshua did this so that the other nations would know what is written in the Torah.

All of Israel, and its elders, its officers, and its judges, stood on either side of the ark facing the priests, the Levites, bearers of the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, stranger like native, half of them, the people, opposite Mount Gerizim or on its slope, and the other half of them opposite Mount Eival. Alternatively, some translate this to mean that half the people were at the foot of Mount Gerizim and half were at the foot of Mount Eival. Everything was carried out as Moses servant of the Lord had commanded to bless the people of Israel originally. All the details of this ceremony of the blessings and curses are written in the Torah, which Joshua followed to the letter.

Thereafter, he read all the words of the Torah, the blessing and the curse, in accordance with everything that is written in the book of the Torah. There is a list in the Torah of commandments that were to be read out loud to all of Israel on this occasion.

There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded that Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, and the women, the children, and the stranger who walked in their midst.

It was when all the kings who were beyond the Jordan to the west, in the highlands, in the lowlands, and on the entire shore of the Great Sea at the foot of Lebanon, namely the kings of the Hitites, and the Emorites, the Canaanites, the Perizites, the Hivites, and the Yevusites, heard of all the previous events,

that they gathered together in order to make war with Joshua and with Israel, as a unified front.

The inhabitants of Givon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to the Ai,

and they too acted with cunning, namely, they devised a defensive strategy. Unlike the other kings, who prepared for war, they, the inhabitants of Givon, went and disguised themselves; they took worn sacks for their donkeys and worn, split, and retied wineskins, retied many times due to excessive use.

Also, worn and patched shoes were on their feet, and worn garments, long gowns, were on them, and all the bread of their provisions was dry and crumbled [nikkudim]. Some explain that nikkudim is related to the term nekkudot, spots, and means that the bread was moldy.

They went to Joshua, to the camp at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel: We have come from a distant land, as you can see. We heard that you are a new power to recently arrive in the region; now, establish a covenant with us.

The men of Israel spontaneously said to the Givonites, who were from the Hivites: Perhaps you live in our midst; how can I establish a covenant with you? The men of Israel doubted the veracity of the story told by the Givonites; they suspected that they were not messengers from a distant land but local inhabitants.

When the Hivites saw that the people were reluctant to accept their claims, they turned to Joshua: They said to Joshua submissively: We are your servants, and we wish to speak with you. Joshua said to them: Who are you and from where do you come?

They said to him: Your servants have come from a very distant land because of the renown of the Lord your God, as we have heard of His fame and everything that He did in Egypt, as reports of the plagues in Egypt and the wonders that accompanied the exodus caused a great commotion even in distant lands,

and everything that He did to the two kings of the Emorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon king of Heshbon, and to Og king of the Bashan, who was in Ashtarot.

After hearing these reports, our elders and all the inhabitants of our land said to us, stating: Take in your hands provisions for the journey; go to meet them, and say to them: We are your servants, and now establish a covenant with us. Although we have no connection to you, we have heard of your greatness and seek to make a covenant with you, as you are great and powerful newcomers to the region and are only growing stronger. We wish to submit to your command and to share your fate.

This is our bread that you see; we packed it hot and fresh from our houses on the day of our departure to go to you, but now, behold, it is dry, and has become crumbled, because much time has passed.

These are the wineskins that we filled new; behold, they are split. These are our garments and our shoes; they are worn from the very long journey. This proves that we have traveled a great distance to arrive here.

The men of Israel who were present, although not necessarily Joshua or the other leaders, took from their provisions. They dined with the Givonites and exchanged gifts, as is common with guests. The Israelites were not interested in global conquest; they wanted only to capture the land of Canaan. Therefore, they saw nothing wrong in befriending people who had arrived from distant lands. But they did not ask for the directive of the Lord.

Joshua made a peace agreement with them, and established a more formal, official, and ceremonious covenant with them to sustain them. The covenant included a commitment to their well-being. Presumably, the Givonites requested some sort of guarantee. Therefore, the princes of Israel joined in the covenant: And the princes of the congregation took an oath to them that they would abide by the covenant.

It was at the end of three days after they established a covenant with them that they, the Israelites, heard that they, these messengers, were their neighbors, and that they live among them. They discovered that the Givonites inhabited the region south of Mount Eival.

The children of Israel traveled, and they came to their cities on the third day. Their cities were Givon, the main city of the region, the Kefira, Be’erot, and Kiryat Ye’arim, which were smaller cities. When the people of Israel approached the Givonites, they encountered no resistance. The Givonites claimed that they were protected by their covenant with Israel.

Although Israel could have attacked the Givonite cities, the children of Israel did not smite them because the princes of the congregation took an oath to them by the Lord, God of Israel, but the entire congregation complained against the princes: How could you relinquish our rights for no benefit?

All the princes said to the entire congregation: We took an oath to them by the Lord, God of Israel; now, we may not touch them to cause them harm.

This we will do to them: we will uphold the oath and let them live, and there will be no anger against us from God because of the oath that we took to them. If we kill them, God will be angry with us because this would mean that we swore falsely in His name. Even though we took the oath under mistaken assumptions, the name of Heaven would nevertheless be profaned in the eyes of the nations.

After further discussion and deliberation, the princes said to them: Let them live. However, we should not consider them our equals; rather, we must subjugate and humiliate them. They, the Givonites, therefore became hewers of wood and drawers of water to the entire congregation, as the princes had spoken to them. Those who perform such tasks are the poorest folk, who cannot find a better source of income. It should be noted that the verse does not actually mention the suggestion of the princes; instead, it merely states what ultimately became of the Givonites. Perhaps this is because the princes spoke covertly and in vague terms.

After internal deliberations within Israel, Joshua summoned them, the representatives of the Givonites, and he spoke to them, saying: Why did you deceive us, saying: We are very distant from you, though in actual fact you live amidst us?

Now you are cursed, because you deceived Israel and caused them to act improperly. Consequently, servants, hewers of wood, and drawers of water for the House of my God will never be eliminated from among you. You will perform these forms of manual labor, which require no special training and which are needed by the community. When the House of God is constructed, you shall perform these thankless tasks.

They answered Joshua and said: Because it was told to your servants that the Lord your God commanded His servant Moses to give you the entire land, and to destroy all the inhabitants of the land from before you, we were very afraid for our lives due to you, as we knew that we would not be able to fight you, and we therefore did this thing.

Now, here we are in your hand; do to us as it is good and right in your eyes to do. We have abandoned the option of waging war against you, and we have submitted to you. Our lives now depend on you; all we can do is rely upon our covenant with you and upon your kindness.

He, Joshua, did so to them, and he delivered them from the hand of the children of Israel, that they did not kill them. There was presumably much turmoil among the Israelites when they realized that their leaders had been deceived and that they had lost the chance to conquer a portion of the land from the Canaanites. Much of the blame and anger was no doubt directed at the Givonites, which is why Joshua had to protect them.

Joshua rendered them that day hewers of wood and drawers of water for the congregation, and for the altar of the Lord, to this day, that they should toil in the place that He would choose. The Givonites were not fixed to a particular location but were servants assigned to the needs of the altar and the House of God.

It was when Adoni Tzedek king of Jerusalem heard that Joshua had captured the Ai and had destroyed it, the city, and killed its inhabitants – as he had done to Jericho and its king, so he did to the Ai and its king – and Adoni Tzedek also heard how the inhabitants of Givon made peace with Israel, and that they were now in their midst, under Israel’s protection,

they, the inhabitants of the land, feared greatly. For Givon was a great city, and its strength was recognized even beyond its own district, like one of the large royal cities, and unlike the other Givonite cities, namely Kefira, Be’erot, and Kiryat Ye’arim. And they feared because it, Givon, was greater than the Ai. All its men were valiant.

Adoni Tzedek king of Jerusalem sent to Hoham king of Hebron, and to Piram king of Yarmut, and to Yafia king of Lakhish, and to Devir king of Eglon. Each of these cities had its own king and government, and no city was subservient to the other, although there were undoubtedly differences in status among the kings. Adoni Tzedek sent to these kings, saying:

Come up to me, and help me, and let us smite Givon, because it made peace with Joshua and with the children of Israel. Perhaps Adoni Tzedek sought to punish the Givonites for their surrender to Israel rather than attack Israel directly because he did not think that he could defeat them. It is also possible that by forging a covenant with Israel, the Givonites had breached earlier agreements of cooperation against invading armies.

The five kings of the Emorites, namely the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Yarmut, the king of Lakhish, and the king of Eglon, they and all their camps gathered together, and went up. They encamped against Givon, laid siege to it, and they made war against it.

In their distress, the men of Givon sent to Joshua, to the camp, to Gilgal, saying: Do not relax your hands from your servants. Do not abandon us. Come up to us quickly, and save us and help us, as all the kings of the Emorites who inhabit the highlands, these five kings, whose cities are all in the Judean hills, have gathered together against us.

Joshua went up from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and all the mighty warriors. Joshua responded to their request and set out with a large army. It is likely that he did not take all his soldiers with him, but left some behind to guard the camp of Israel.

The Lord said to Joshua: Do not fear them, as I have delivered them into your hand; not a man of them will stand against you.

Joshua came upon them suddenly; he had come up all night from Gilgal, until he reached Givon.

The Lord confounded them before Israel, He wrought great confusion among them, and he, Joshua and his army, smote them with a great blow at Givon. The kings were routed at Givon. When the beaten Emorite army fled, he pursued them via the ascent of Beit Horon, which is in the same area, and he smote them until Azeka and until Makeda. Joshua and his soldiers continued to strike the defeated Emorites as they fled.

Joshua had chased the enemy along the ascent of Beit Horon, where they were unable or unwilling to fight back. They therefore continued their flight to a lower area, in the direction of the coast. It was as they fled from before Israel, while they were on the descent of Beit Horon, that the Lord cast great stones from the heavens upon them, the Emorites, as they fled until Azeka, and they died; those who died from the hailstones were more than those whom the children of Israel killed with the sword.

The battle, which began in the morning, lasted many hours. Then Joshua spoke to the Lord on the day that the Lord delivered the Emorites before the children of Israel, as it was clear by that time that this would be a great victory for Israel; he said, before the eyes of Israel: Sun, stand still at Givon; and Moon, in the Valley of Ayalon. The Valley of Ayalon is south of Givon. Joshua expressed his request of God in the context of a song of thanks and as though directly commanding the sun and moon to remain in place.

The sun stood still, and the moon stopped. It was as though the heavenly bodies froze, as time stopped until the nation of Israel took full vengeance against their enemies. Had night fallen, the locals would have gained an advantage over Israel, as the camp of Israel was larger and thus less agile, and its soldiers were less familiar with the region. Under cover of night, the enemy would likely have escaped. Isn’t it, this song of Joshua and the miraculous stoppage of time, written in the book of Yashar? The book of Yashar was a collection of epics and songs of Israel from over the generations, which has since been lost. The sun stood in the middle of the heavens, and did not move to set for a whole day. The day was prolonged a great many hours.

There was nothing like that day before it or after it, when the Lord heeded the voice of a man, when he requested that the heavenly bodies stand still; and the reason for all this was that the Lord made war for Israel and performed miracles on their behalf.

After the enemy’s army was crushed, Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp, to Gilgal.

The text now describes the chain of events in detail: These five kings fled, after their soldiers had scattered, and, fearing for their lives, they hid themselves in the cave in Makeda.

It was told to Joshua, saying: The five kings were found, hiding in the cave in Makeda.

Joshua said: Roll great stones to the mouth of the cave to seal it, and appoint men by it to guard them, to ensure that the kings do not escape.

But you, the rest of the people, do not stand, do not linger around the kings; pursue your enemies, and attack their rear, those at the rear of their camp, to diminish their number. Do not allow them to come into their fortified or walled cities, for the Lord your God has delivered them into your hand. To besiege a city into submission is a far more complex operation than to capture soldiers fleeing from battle.

It was when Joshua and the children of Israel had finished smiting them a very great blow, until their virtual annihilation, that the sparse remnant that remained from them, which did manage to escape, came into the fortified cities.

All the people returned to the camp, to Joshua, near the cave in which the kings were hiding at Makeda, in peace. No one sharpened [h·] his tongue against any man of the children of Israel. None of the surviving enemy soldiers or anyone else so much as opened their mouths to stick out a tongue in protest or as a threat. A parallel expression, “A dog will not extend [yeĥeratz] its tongue,” refers to the opening of a dog’s mouth and the exposure of its tongue as it barks.

Joshua said: Open the mouth of the cave, and take out to me those five kings from the cave.

They did so, and they took out to him those five kings from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Yarmut, the king of Lakhish, the king of Eglon.

It was when they took those kings to Joshua that Joshua summoned all the men of Israel to gather near, and said to the officers of the men of war, the senior men of his army, who had gone with him: Approach, place your feet on the necks of these kings, a ceremonial act that symbolized the kings’ total submission. They approached and placed their feet on their necks.

Joshua said to them, his men: Do not fear and do not be dismayed; be strong and courageous, for so will the Lord do to all your enemies against whom you are making war.

Joshua smote them thereafter; he killed them and hanged them on five trees, and they were hanging on the trees until the evening.

It was at the time of the setting of the sun, and Joshua commanded, and they lowered them from on the trees, and he cast them into the cave where they had hid themselves. Just as Joshua did with the body of the king of the Ai, he did not leave the bodies of the Emorite kings hanging all night. And they placed large stones at the mouth of the cave, to this very day.

The killing of the five kings was merely one stage of a campaign that had yet to reach its end: Joshua captured Makeda on that day, and he smote it by the sword, with its king; he utterly destroyed them and every soul that was in it, not leaving a remnant, and he did to the king of Makeda as he had done to the king of Jericho. He destroyed the local leadership in Makeda. It was there that the five kings who hid were killed, and where the senior command of Israel’s army were now gathered.

Joshua and all Israel with him passed from Makeda to Livna, an important city near Makeda, and made war against Livna.

The Lord delivered it, too, and its king, into the hand of Israel; they smote it by the sword, and every soul that was in it, not leaving a remnant; they did to its king as they had done to the king of Jericho.

Joshua and all Israel with him passed from Livna to Lakhish, one of the cities of the Emorite alliance, and encamped against it, and made war against it.

The Lord delivered Lakhish into the hand of Israel, and they captured it on the second day, and smote it by the sword, with every soul that was in it, like all they had done to Livna.

Then, when Joshua reached Lakhish, Horam king of Gezer went up to help Lakhish, and Joshua smote him and his people, not leaving of them a remnant.

Joshua and all Israel with him passed from Lakhish to Eglon, which was also part of the alliance of the five kings; they encamped against it and made war against it.

They captured it on that day and smote it by the sword; every soul that was in it, he utterly destroyed on that day, like all he had done to Lakhish. As in the case of Lakhish, the verse does not mention that they killed its king, since he had already been executed by Joshua.

Joshua and all Israel with him went up to Hebron, another member of the alliance, and they made war against it.

They captured it and smote it by the sword, its king, who apparently had been crowned after his predecessor was killed by Joshua, and all its cities, and all the souls therein, not leaving a remnant, like all he had done to Eglon; he utterly destroyed it, and all the souls therein.

Joshua and all Israel with him returned to Devir, and he made war against it.

He captured it, and its king, and all its cities; he smote them by the sword, and utterly destroyed every soul therein, not leaving a remnant; just as he did to Hebron, so he did to Devir and to its king, and like he did to Livna and to its king.

Joshua smote the entire land, the highlands, the south, the lowlands, and the slopes, the estuaries, and all their kings, not leaving a remnant; everyone with a breath he utterly destroyed, as the Lord, God of Israel, had commanded.

Joshua smote them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza, and likewise the entire land of Goshen, until Givon.

Joshua captured all these kings and their land at one time, because the Lord, God of Israel, made war for Israel.

Joshua and all Israel with him returned to the camp, to Gilgal.

It was when Yavin king of Hatzor heard about the Israelites’ ongoing conquest that he sent a call to arms to Yovav king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Akhshaf,

and to the kings who were to the north of the land: in the highlands, in the Arava, south of Kinerot, the Sea of Galilee, in the lowlands, and in the districts of Dor to the west, on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

Residents of these areas were from the following nations: the Canaanites from the east and from the west, and the Emorites, the Hitites, the Perizites, and the Yevusites, who lived in the highlands, and the Hivites below Hermon in the land of the Mitzpa.

They came out, they and all their camps with them, a numerous people, like the sand that is on the seashore, and very many horses and chariots. Their army was more organized that that of the kings of the south.

All these kings convened; they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to make war with Israel.

The Lord said to Joshua: Do not fear them, as tomorrow, at this time, I will render them all corpses before Israel; you shall hamstring their horses, damage them so that they can no longer run, and you shall burn their chariots in fire, so that the enemy cannot use them against you; the people of Israel were unskilled in the use of horses and chariots.

Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them suddenly, by the waters of Merom, and fell upon them.

The Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, and they smote them, and they pursued them to great Sidon, and to Misrefot Mayim, and to the Valley of Mitzpe eastward. They smote them until they left no remnant of them.

Joshua did to them as the Lord had said to him; he hamstrung their horses, and burned their chariots in fire.

At that time, Joshua returned and captured Hatzor, and smote its king with the sword, as Hatzor, in the north of the Land of Israel, was previously the head of all those kingdoms.

They smote every soul that was in it by the sword, utterly destroying them; no one with breath remained, and he burned Hatzor with fire.

Joshua captured all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, and he smote them by the sword, utterly destroying them, as Moses servant of the Lord had commanded.

But all the cities that stood intact, which were not destroyed in the war, Israel did not burn them; Joshua burned only Hatzor alone, since Hatzor initiated the war, and because it was a central, fortified city.

All the spoils of those cities, and the animals, the children of Israel looted for themselves, as was the general practice in war, but all the people they smote by the sword, until they destroyed them; they did not leave anyone with breath.

As the Lord had commanded Moses, His servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He did not omit anything of all that the Lord had commanded Moses. They killed all the men because this was what they were commanded to do; they were not motivated by military considerations.

Joshua took that entire land: the southern highlands, and the entire south, and the entire land of Goshen, on the inner plains, and the lowlands, and the Arava, and the highlands of Israel, the mountains further north that would later be part of the territory of the Kingdom of Israel, and its lowlands,

from the bare mountain, which was perhaps called by that name because little vegetation grew there, or because its paths were smooth, that goes up to Se’ir, which was probably located south of the Dead Sea, and which served as the southern endpoint, to Baal Gad in the Valley of the Lebanon below Mount Hermon, which was the northern endpoint; and he, Joshua, captured all their kings, and smote them, and killed them.

Although the chapter summarizes the battles in brief, they actually went on for a long time: For many years, Joshua made war with all those kings. It can be inferred from another verse (14:10) that the conquest took around seven years, as the Sages state in various places. The Sages further note that the phrase yamim rabim, “for many years,” indicates that this was a period of suffering.

There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except for the Hivites, inhabitants of Givon; they, the Israelites, took everything, all the rest, by warfare, in accordance with God’s command to Joshua through Moses. However, some Canaanites remained.

For it was from the Lord, to harden their hearts toward the war against Israel in order to utterly destroy them, so that they would have no reprieve, or pardon, in order to destroy them, as the Lord had commanded Moses.

At that time, during his campaigns of conquest, Joshua went and eliminated the remaining giants from the highlands, from Hebron, from Devir, from Anav, and from the entire highlands of Judah, as it would later be called, and from the entire highlands of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities.

No giants remained in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gat, and in Ashdod.

Joshua took the entire land, in accordance with everything that the Lord spoke to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel, in accordance with their divisions, to their tribes. And the land was quiet from war.

These are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel smote; they took possession of their land beyond the Jordan toward the rising sun, on the eastern side of the Jordan, from the Arnon Stream to Mount Hermon, and the entire Arava to the east:

Sihon king of the Emorites, who lived in Heshbon, was the ruler from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Arnon Stream, and he also ruled over the territory located within the stream that was fit for human habitation, and half the Gilad, to the Yabok Stream, which is the border of the children of Amon,

and the Arava to the east of the sea of Kinerot, the southeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, which includes the Jordan Valley, and to the east of the sea of the plain, the Dead Sea, the northeastern edge of the Dead Sea, via Beit HaYeshimot, and from the south of the Dead Sea, under the slopes of the Peak, which is mentioned in the Torah as well;

and the border, the territory that was under the rule of Og king of the Bashan, who was from the remnant of the Refaim, who live at Ashtarot and at Edre’i,

who was formerly the ruler of Mount Hermon, and of Salkha, and of all the Bashan, the northern section of the region on the eastern side of the Jordan, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maakhatites (see 13:13), small states located northeast of the land of Canaan, and half the Gilad, which reached the border of Sihon king of Heshbon, as stated above.

Moses servant of the Lord and the children of Israel smote them, all the nations of this region, and Moses servant of the Lord gave it, their land, as a possession to the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh. This concludes the summary of the conquests on the eastern side of the Jordan, the kings that were defeated there and the tribes that settled there in their place.

These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the children of Israel smote beyond the Jordan westward, from Baal Gad, in the Valley of the Lebanon, to the bare mountain that goes up to Se’ir; Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession in accordance with their later divisions of the land,

in the highlands, in the lowlands, in the Arava, on the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the south, the areas formerly inhabited by the Hitites, the Emorites, the Canaanites, the Perizites, the Hivites, and the Yevusites:

Here the chapter provides a list of the defeated kings, some of whom were important rulers while others were minor leaders. Most of them ruled over a single city and the surrounding area. They are listed individually as a tribute to Joshua, generally in accordance with the chronological order of the conquest. The verse here notes the location of the Ai either because it was a small town, or in order to distinguish it from a different Ai, as the list of the inheritance of Judah below includes a city, or perhaps a group of towns, called Iyim (15:29): The king of Jericho, one; the king of the Ai, which is beside Beit El, one;

the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;

the king of Yarmut, one; the king of Lakhish, one;

the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;

the king of Devir, one; the king of Geder, one;

the king of Horma, one; the king of Arad, one;

the king of Livna, one; the king of Adulam, one;

the king of Makeda, one; the king of Beit El, one;

the king of Tapuah, one; the king of Hefer, one;

the king of Afek, one; the king of the Sharon, which apparently refers to a particular location rather than the entire Sharon region, one;

the king of Madon, one; the king of Hatzor, one;

the king of Shimron Meron, one. Meron is perhaps another name for Shimron, added in order to differentiate it from a different Shimron. Alternatively, it is a different city entirely, perhaps related to the waters of Merom (11:5), and the word “and” is omitted here, as sometimes occurs. In any case, the king of Shimron Meron was also one of the kings of the north. The king of Akhshaf, one;

the king of Taanakh, one; the king of Megiddo, one;

the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Yokne’am in the region of the Carmel, one;

the king of Dor in the region of Dor, one; the king of Goyim in Gilgal, one. It is possible that this is referring to a nation or group of nations [goyim] that settled in Gilgal. There are various suggestions with regard to the identity of this particular Gilgal.

The king of Tirtza, one. All the kings who reigned in the land of Canaan before Joshua smashed their alignment and conquered their cities, were a total of thirty-one.

Joshua was old, advanced in years. Even at the start of the wars, Joshua was not a young man. His colleague Caleb, who was probably about the same age, testifies with regard to himself that he was already old when the people entered the land. Since then, several stressful years had passed. And the Lord said to him: You are old and you have advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be taken possession of. The borders of the land designated for those who came out of Egypt had already been defined in the Torah, and at this point only a portion of that land, mainly the hilly area in the center of Canaan, had been conquered.

This is the land that remains, which was not conquered, whether for political or military reasons: all the districts of the Philistines, on the coast, and all that of the Geshurites;

from the Shihor, the Nile, or its eastern branch, which is before Egypt, northward to the border of Ekron that is considered land of the Canaanites, and it is currently ruled by the five governors of the Philistines: the Gazites, and the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gitites, and the Ekronites; and in addition to those five, there were also the Avites, probably the remnants of a nation that dwelled in the area before the arrival of the Philistines. The Ramban cites proof that the Avites were Hivites, among the descendants of Canaan.

From the south: all the land of the Canaanites, the areas where the Canaanite nations dwelled, some of which had been conquered, and likewise the Me’ara that belongs to the Sidonians, to Afeka, and from there up to the border of the Emorites in the north;

and the land of the Gevalites, located on the coast, in the region of Sidon, and all the Lebanon, toward the rising sun, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Levo Hamat, a very large area that covers a considerable portion of modern Syria;

all the inhabitants of the highlands, from the Lebanon to Misrefot Mayim (see 11:8), all of this region, which currently belongs to the Sidonians; I will eventually dispossess them from before the children of Israel. Only allot it to Israel as an inheritance, as I have commanded you.

Now divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh, the tribes who will receive their inheritance on the western side of the Jordan.

With it, the other half-tribe of Manasseh, the Reubenites, and the Gadites received their inheritance that Moses gave them beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses servant of the Lord gave them. Although these tribes did not settle in their inheritance until after Joshua had dispersed his army, their portions on the eastern side of the Jordan were already marked out and had been given to them, and there could be no objections to that division.

From Aroer, which is on the edge of the Arnon Stream, and including the city that is within the stream, presumably on an elevated location where there was no water, and the entire plain from Medeva to Divon;

and all the cities of Sihon king of the Emorites, who reigned in Heshbon, to the border of the children of Amon;

and the Gilad, and the border of the Geshurites and Maakhatites, as although Geshur and Maakha were not conquered at the time, Moses nevertheless apportioned their territory, and all Mount Hermon, and all the Bashan to Salkha;

all the kingdom of Og in the Bashan, who reigned in Ashtarot and in Edre’i; he remained from the remnant of the Refaim, a nation of giants, some of whom still lived in the land, and Moses smote them and dispossessed them.

But the children of Israel did not dispossess the Geshurites and the Maakhatites, and Geshur and Maakhat live in the midst of Israel to this day.

Only to the tribe of Levi did he not give an inheritance, as the fire offerings and service of the Lord, the God of Israel, are its inheritance, as He spoke to it. As servants of God, the Levites did not receive an inheritance of land, although they were given residential cities even on the eastern side of the Jordan (see chap. 20). Furthermore, the members of this tribe were entitled to regular gifts from offerings and tithes, as stated in the Torah.

Moses gave to the tribe of the children of Reuben their inheritance, according to their families.

Their border was from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Arnon Stream, and the city that is within the stream, and all the plain to Medeva;

Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the plain; Divon, and Bamot Baal, and Beit Baal Meon;

and Yahatz, and Kedemot, and Mefaat;

and Kiryatayim, and Sivma, and Tzeret HaShahar, on the highlands of the valley;

and Beit Peor, and the slopes of the Peak, and Beit HaYeshimot;

and all the cities of the plain, and the entire kingdom of Sihon king of the Emorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote along with the princes of Midyan: Evi, Rekem, Tzur, Hur, and Reva, who were the vassals of Sihon, inhabitants of the land, under Sihon’s patronage, as he was in control of a large proportion of the land east of the Jordan. These kings were killed in a different war from the one waged against Sihon, a war that also changed the political situation of the region.

The verse parenthetically notes that the children of Israel slayed Bilam son of Beor, the diviner, who had arrived in Midyan, by the sword, with [el] their slain. The unusual term el here, which can mean “for,” alludes to the idea that they killed Bilam because of all the Israelites who were slain due to his advice. His killing was in revenge for his attempts to harm Israel.

The border of the children of Reuben was the Jordan and its borderland, including the area near the banks of the river. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their surrounding areas, small settlements around the large cities.

Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad, and divided it according to their families.

Their border was Yazer, and all the cities of Gilad, and half the land of the children of Amon, which was conquered by Sihon, and which contained important cities, to Aroer, which is before Raba;

and from Heshbon to Ramat Mitzpe, and Betonim; and from Mahanayim to the border of Lidvir;

in the valley, Beit Haram, and Beit Nimra, and Sukot, and Tzafon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, the Jordan and its border, to the edge of the Sea of Galilee beyond the Jordan eastward. The Sea of Galilee was not within the borders of the tribe of Gad; rather, it belonged to the tribes that settled on its western side. The division between the tribes who settled on the eastern side of the Jordan did not run in straight lines. Some of the portions, but not all of them, sprawled westward to the Jordan. To a great extent, the inheritances of Gad and Reuben were intermingled.

This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and their surrounding areas.

Moses gave an inheritance also to half the tribe of Manasseh, and it was for half the tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families.

Their border was from Mahanayim, the entire Bashan, the entire kingdom of Og king of the Bashan, and all of Havot Ya’ir in the Bashan, sixty cities;

and half of northern Gilad, and Ashtarot, and Edre’i, the cities of the kingdom of Og in the Bashan, for the children of Makhir son of Manasseh, for the half of the children of Makhir who settled on the eastern side of the Jordan, according to their families.

All these are what Moses bequeathed from the plains of Moav, across the Jordan from Jericho, eastward.

The verse repeats something already stated in the previous section (verse 14), which will be reiterated on several further occasions: But Moses did not give an inheritance to the tribe of Levi, even after he had given demarcated portions to the two and a half tribes; the Lord, God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He spoke to them: “I am your portion and your inheritance among the children of Israel.”

These are what the children of Israel took possession of in the land of Canaan, on the western side of the Jordan, that Elazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the patrilineal heads of the tribes of the children of Israel bequeathed to them

by lottery for their inheritance, as the Lord commanded at the hand of Moses, for the nine and a half tribes who received their inheritance through the lot.

The verse now explains why the lot did not apply to all the tribes. For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh in the land of the Emorite kings that he had conquered beyond the Jordan, but he did not give an inheritance among them to the Levites. The Levites were not included in the division of inheritances to the tribes.

In contrast to the tribe of Levi, which did not receive an inheritance, the tribe of Joseph was granted two portions: For already in the days of Moses the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, and therefore they were entitled to a double inheritance, in place of the tribe of Levi, which did not receive an inheritance. The portion of Manasseh itself was split up by Moses, as previously stated. And they did not give a portion to the Levites in the land, only cities for settlement. The Levites were not given an inheritance of land at all. Instead, the other tribes allocated specific cities for the Levites from their portions, and their perimeter fields for their livestock and for their possessions. The Levites received open lands of roughly a square kilometer around each of their cities, which its residents could use for their animals and property.

In summary, as the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land. The division executed by Joshua, Moses’ attendant who faithfully carried out his commands, was performed in accordance with Moses’ instructions.

The children of Judah, who had not yet been mentioned as a distinct group, despite the fact that they were the lead tribe in regard to several matters, such as traveling in the wilderness, the inauguration of the altar, and the conquest and inheritance of the land, approached Joshua in Gilgal, and Caleb son of Yefuneh the Kenizite said to him, speaking for the entire tribe: You know the matter that the Lord spoke to Moses man of God concerning me and concerning you when we were in Kadesh Barnea. Caleb was an old friend of Joshua’s, as they were the only spies who survived after God swore that the generation that sinned would be punished. It is possible that Caleb is called a Kenizite because Kenaz was the head of the family, or because he was Caleb’s stepfather.

I was forty years old when Moses servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to reconnoiter the land. The people who were sent as spies were not young men but important individuals, as in addition to the espionage mission itself, they were also official representatives of their tribes. I returned word to him as it was in my heart, in accordance with my beliefs and understanding.

My brethren who went up with me, the other spies, melted the heart of the people, as they frightened and dissuaded them from coming to the land of Canaan, but in my honest report I followed the will of the Lord my God wholeheartedly.

Moses took an oath on that day, saying: Surely [im lo], the land on which your foot trod will be an inheritance for you and for your children forever, because you followed the Lord my God wholeheartedly. The words im lo literally mean, “if not,” which is an expression used as an oath, as though one is saying: If I do not do this, let a curse befall me.

Now behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He spoke, these forty-five years since the Lord spoke of this matter to Moses, the years while Israel walked in the wilderness; now, after the conquest of the main portions of Canaan, which took approximately seven years, behold, today I am eighty-five years old.

And yet I am as strong today as I was on the day that Moses sent me. Although decades have passed since then, nevertheless, as my strength for battle was then, so is my strength now, for war, and to go out and to come in, to lead an army.

Now, give me as an inheritance this mountain, Mount Hebron, of which the Lord spoke on that day, to give me the land on which I trod, for you heard on that day, through the report we delivered, that giants were there, and cities great and fortified. Perhaps the Lord will be with me, and I will dispossess them, as the Lord spoke. With regard to Caleb’s visit to Hebron, the verses state: “They ascended in the South, and he came until Hebron; and Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, children of the giant, were there. Hebron was built seven years before Tzo’an of Egypt.” “And the cities are fortified, very great; we also saw the children of the giant there.” “A people greater and taller than we; cities great and fortified to the heavens; and we have also seen the sons of the giants there.”

Joshua blessed him. When they had set out as spies, their status was similar, but now Joshua has become the leader, and can grant Caleb his blessing and acquiescence. And he gave Hebron to Caleb son of Yefuneh as an inheritance. This was the plot of land that Caleb had requested.

Therefore, Hebron was an inheritance to this day for Caleb son of Yefuneh the Kenizite because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord, God of Israel.

The chapter concludes with the following note: The name of Hebron was formerly Kiryat Arba, after the individual who was the greatest man among the giants. After the conquest of Hebron the land rested from war. This act concluded Joshua’s years of conquest before the division of the land to the tribes.

After Hebron, the first inheritance allocated of the land was given to the leaders of Judah to apportion among the rest of the tribe. The allotment for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was at the border of Edom, the wilderness of Tzin in the Negev, the southern [teiman] edge of the land. Some interpret this to mean that the border reached the portion of the family of Teman, one of Esau’s descendants who inherited the land of Edom.

Their southern border of the tribe of Judah was the edge of the Dead Sea, from the inlet facing south.

It, the border, went south to Maaleh Akrabim, passed toward Tzin, went up, via inclines of hills and mountains, south of Kadesh Barnea, passed Hetzron, went up to Adar, and turned to a place called Karka. When a verse states that a border went up, it generally means that it literally ascended hills and peaks. However, it can also mean that the border turned northward.

It, the border, passed to Atzmon, and came out to the Ravine of Egypt. In light of the distances involved and the size of the tribal inheritances, this is probably Wadi el-Arish, rather than a branch of the Nile. The terminus of the border was the sea, as the border continued along the Ravine of Egypt until the Mediterranean Sea. The verse summarizes: This shall be the line of your southern border, which begins south of the Dead Sea and winds its way to the Mediterranean. The wording of the verse indicates that the members of the tribe of Judah were still standing before Joshua, as the lot directed the word of God to the inheritors. It is also possible that the description of the border here echoes a verse in Numbers (34:3) with regard to the southern border of the land of Canaan.

The eastern border was the Dead Sea, to the southern end of the Jordan. The border on the northern side of the tribe of Judah, from the east, was from the inlet of the sea at the end of the Jordan, the point of intersection between the Dead Sea and the Jordan;

the border went up to Beit Hogla, and passed north of Beit Arava; the border went up to the stone of Bohan, son of Reuben. This place may have received its name due to its shape of a thumb [bohen]. Alternatively, it may be named after the name of its owner or conqueror, like the Valley of the Son of Hinom.

The border went up to Devir from the Valley of Akhor, and northward of Devir, turning to the Gilgal, that is opposite Maaleh Adumim, which is south of the well-known ravine in that region; and the border passed to the waters of Ein Shemesh, and its terminus was at Ein Rogel, meaning it passed through Ein Rogel, a spring just south of Jerusalem. Some maintain that Ein Rogel is “the launderer’s field,” which was across from the walls of Jerusalem. In any case, this is not the Shilo’ah.

The border went further up in the Valley of the Son of Hinom, which is known by that name to this day, on the southern shoulder of the Yevusites, which is Jerusalem. Until the days of King David, Jerusalem was a Yevusite city. The border went up to the top of the highlands that were on the western side of the Valley of Hinom, which is at the northern edge of the Valley of Refaim. This is an intricate border, which runs over slopes and hills before joining the northern edge of the Valley of Refaim at a point that is known nowadays as well.

The border curved in an arched line from the top of the highlands westward, following the mountain routes to the spring of the waters of Nefto’ah, and it came out to the cities of Mount Efron; the border curved to Baala, which is Kiryat Ye’arim.

The border turned westward from Baala to Mount Se’ir, and passed by the shoulder of Mount Ye’arim from the north, which is Kesalon, and the border descended to Beit Shemesh, and passed Timna.

The border came out north of the shoulder of Ekron, and the border curved to Shikeron, passed Mount Baala, and came out to Yavne’el, near modern-day Yavne, and the terminus of the border was at the sea. The northern border of the territory of Judah passed along a winding route near Jerusalem, passing north of Jerusalem and extending to the Mediterranean Sea.

The western border was the Great Sea, the Mediterranean, and its borderland. The area allocated to the tribe of Judah included a strip of the Mediterranean coast and perhaps also nearby islands and shoals. The western border of the tribe of Judah stretched along the Mediterranean Sea, from the Ravine of Egypt, Wadi el-Arish, to the estuary of the Sorek Ravine near modern-day Palmachim. This is the border of the children of Judah all around, according to their families.

After describing the borders of the territory of Judah, the chapter details its cities. It begins by reviewing a matter that was already related above: To Caleb son of Yefuneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah, according to the directive of the Lord to Joshua: Kiryat Arba, or city of Arba, father of the giant, the largest of the giants. Arba was perhaps the father of the three giants mentioned below; alternatively, he was the father of Anak, who was the father of the three giants. It is possible that Kiryat Arba, which is Hebron, was so called because of the four [arba] giants, Anak and his three sons.

Caleb dispossessed from there the three sons of the giant, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, who were the offspring of the giant.

He, Caleb, went up from there to the inhabitants of Devir, a city near Hebron, perhaps to its northwest; the name of Devir was formerly Kiryat Sefer.

Caleb said: To whomever smites Kiryat Sefer and captures it, I will give Akhsa my daughter to him as a wife. Kiryat Sefer was not a large city, but it was apparently an important one. It is possible that at this stage Caleb was unable to organize his army himself.

Otniel son of Kenaz, who was the brother of Caleb, captured it; and indeed he, Caleb, gave Akhsa his daughter to him as a wife.

The following incident is related parenthetically: It was when she, Akhsa, arrived and saw Otniel, her new husband, that she urged him to request a field from her father. She thought that it was improper for her to ask her father of her own accord, or solely in her own merit. Perhaps Otniel felt that he was not entitled to a field, as he had already been granted Caleb’s daughter for a wife, and possibly some other portion as well. Consequently, when they visited Caleb, the head of the family, Akhsa took the initiative: She alighted from the donkey and kneeled on the ground: and Caleb said to her: What do you want? What is your desire? Clearly, you have come to ask me for something.

She said: Give me an extra blessing: As you have given me the southern land, a dry region that lacks water, give me springs, or sources of water. He gave her the upper springs and the lower springs in the Hebron region.

This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families. This is a list of the cities of the tribe of Judah, divided by region and blocs of settled areas. Some of these cities are mentioned elsewhere as being inhabited by Israel, such as Zif.

The cities at the edge of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the south were Kabtze’el, Eder, and Yagur;

and Kina, Dimona, and Adada;

and Kedesh, Hatzor, and Yitnan;

Zif, Telem, and Be’alot;

and Hatzor, Hadata; perhaps Hadata means new, which is the meaning of the word in Aramaic, and if so, the verse can be read as referring to Hatzor Hadata, New Hatzor, as opposed to Old Hatzor. And Keriyot, and Hetzron, mentioned above in the description of the borders of Judah (verse 3), which is Hatzor;

Amam, Shema, and Molada;

and Hatzar Gada, Heshmon, and Beit Pelet;

and Hatzar Shual, Beersheba, and Bizyotya;

Baala, Iyim, and Etzem;

and Eltolad, Kesil, and Horma; perhaps the same place as the one mentioned in the days of Moses;

and Tziklag, Madmana, and Sansana;

and Levaot, Shilhim, Ayin, and Rimon; all the cities in this list, with the omission of those that would be given to the tribe of Simeon, were twenty-nine, and included their surrounding areas. These surrounding areas were small, unfortified settlements; alternatively, this term refers to the agricultural fields around the cities. These are the cities located in the southern portion of Judah.

In the lowlands, the lower, western portion of the territory of Judah: The cities of Eshtaol, Tzora, and Ashna;

and Zano’ah, Ein Ganim, Tapuah, and Einam;

Yarmut, Adulam, Sokho, and Azeka. Most of these place names appear only here, although some of them, such as Adulam and Azeka, existed for many generations.

And Shaarayim, Aditayim, the Gedera, and Gederotayim; fourteen cities and their surrounding areas. This is one bloc of cities in the Judean lowlands.

Another group of cities is now listed: Tzenan, Hadasha, presumably the same Hadasha as the one recorded in the Mishna as the paradigmatic minimum-sized city, and Migdal Gad;

and Dilan, Mitzpe, and Yokte’el;

Lakhish, Botzkat, and Eglon;

and Kabon, Lahmas, and Kitlish. It is possible that these names are not of Semitic, Hurrian, or Philistine origin. However, some maintain that Kabon is named after Makhbena, a man from the family of Caleb. Alternatively, that it may stem from the root kaf-beit-beit, which means roasting in Semitic languages. With regard to Lahmas, some maintain that it is a corruption of Lahmam, “their bread.” The suffix “ish” in Kitlish is from the Hurrian term for king, although it is possible that this form of name was adopted by the Philistines, as in the names Akhish, who was the king of Gat, and Lakhish.

And there was also Gederot Beit Dagon, Naama, and Makeda; sixteen cities and their surrounding areas.

Another group of cities is now listed: Livna, Eter, and Ashan;

and Yiftah, Ashna, and Netziv;

and Ke’ila, an important city, and Akhziv, and Maresha, which appears in other books in the Bible. It is also mentioned in various inscriptions and is known for the excavations performed there. These amount to a total of nine cities and their surrounding areas.

Another group of cities is listed: Ekron, its surrounding towns, and its surrounding areas;

from Ekron to the sea, all that were next to Ashdod, and their surrounding areas;

Ashdod, its towns, and its surrounding areas; Gaza, its towns, and its surrounding areas up to the Ravine of Egypt, the Great Sea and its borderland. The border reached the Mediterranean Sea and included the area adjacent to the sea.

The chapter turns from the previous list of cities in the coastal lowlands to the cities of the hills. In the highlands: Shamir, Yatir, and Sokho;

and Dana, and Kiryat Sana, which is Devir, which is possibly the same Devir mentioned above (verse 15), formerly called Kiryat Sefer;

and Anav, Eshtemo, and Anim;

and Goshen, Holon; this is not the modern-day Holon; and Gilo, whose residents, the Gilonites, will feature later in the Bible, including Ahitofel the Gilonite, David’s counselor. These are eleven cities and their surrounding areas.

Arav, Ruma, and Eshan;

and Yanum, Beit Tapuah, and Afeka;

and Humta, and Kiryat Arba, which is Hebron, and Tzior; nine cities and their surrounding areas.

Maon, Karmel, Zif, and Yuta;

and Yizre’el, a city in the land of Judah and not the northern city of Yizre’el, and Yokde’am, and Zano’ah;

Kayin, Giva, and Timna; ten cities and their surrounding areas.

Halhul, Beit Tzur, which is also mentioned generations later with regard to the Hasmonean wars, and Gedor;

and Maarat, Beit Anot, and Eltekon; six cities and their surrounding areas.

Kiryat Baal, which is Kiryat Ye’arim. Perhaps the name of this city was changed, so that it should not be called after the god Baal. And the large city of Raba; two cities and their surrounding areas.

In the wilderness, the area of the Judean desert near the Dead Sea: Beit Arava, Midin, and Sekhakha;

and Nivshan, and the City of Salt, perhaps called by this name due to its proximity to Sodom, and Ein Gedi, which is mentioned on numerous occasions. The modern-day Ein Gedi is probably located in the same oasis, not far from the Dead Sea; these were six cities and their surrounding areas.

But the Yevusites, who were the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah were unable to dispossess; and the Yevusites resided with the children of Judah in Jerusalem, to this day, the time of King David. Jerusalem remained a Yevusite city that had not entirely surrendered to Israel throughout the period of the Judges.

The second territory whose borders were demarcated by lot was the portion of the children of Joseph. The allotment for the children of Joseph came out to be from the portion of the Jordan River at, adjacent to, Jericho, to the waters, the spring of Jericho, on the east of the inheritance. From this area the border moved westward, going up through the wilderness from Jericho to the highlands, to Beit El.

It came out from Beit El to Luz. Beit El and Luz were consequently not the same place, but two adjacent cities. According to many commentaries, there were two or three places that had previously been called Beit El. Some contend that the Beit El mentioned here is the name of a mountain rather than a city. And the border passed to the border of the family of the Arkites, to Atarot.

It descended westward to the border of the Yafeletite, to the border of Lower Beit Horon, to Gezer, and its terminus was at the sea. The border continued to the sea, which marked the end of the southern border line of the children of Joseph.

The children of Joseph, namely Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance in two adjacent portions.

The border of the children of Ephraim was according to their families. The line of the border of their inheritance eastward was from Atrot Adar to Upper Beit Horon, in the northeast.

From there the border came out westward; the Mikhmetat was on the north, and the border turned eastward to, or encircled, Taanat Shilo, and passed it, Taanat Shilo, east of Yano’ah.

It descended from Yano’ah to Atarot and to Naara, also called Naaran, and reached Jericho, and came out again to the Jordan. This is the extent of the border of Ephraim to the east.

The tribe of Ephraim also received a portion in the west: From Tapuah, a city on the border of Manasseh which belonged to Ephraim, south of Mikhmetat, the border went westward to the Kana Ravine, and its terminus, the edge of the western border, was at the Mediterranean Sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families.

There were isolated cities of the children of Ephraim within the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities and their surrounding areas. There was no clear border between the inheritances of Manasseh and Ephraim, as several cities of Ephraim were situated in the territory given to the children of Manasseh.

But they, the children of Ephraim, did not dispossess the Canaanites who resided in Gezer, an important fortified city that was not conquered by Israel. The Canaanites resided in the midst of Ephraim, to this day, and became tributary servants. The Canaanite residents of Gezer were made to perform forced labor by Ephraim in order to continue living there.

This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh, which had also received a portion east of the Jordan, and who was Joseph’s firstborn. Since Manasseh was the firstborn, the entire inheritance of the children of Joseph is associated with him, rather than Ephraim. The chieftainship of Gilad, east of the Jordan, was to Makhir, firstborn of Manasseh, because he was a man of war; Gilad and the Bashan were his.

There was for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: for the children of Aviezer, for the children of Helek, for the children of Asriel, for the children of Shekhem, for the children of Hefer, and for the children of Shemida. These were the male children of Manasseh son of Joseph according to their families, meaning that each of them was the head of a family.

But Tzelofhad, son of Hefer, son of Gilad, son of Makhir, son of Manasseh, did not have sons, only daughters; these are the names of his daughters: Mahla and Noa, Hogla, Milka, and Tirtzah.

They approached before Elazar the priest, before Joshua son of Nun, and before the princes, saying: The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. The term brethren refers to the members of their tribe, or to their father’s brothers. The daughters of Tzelofhad received the inheritance that would have gone to their father, who died in the wilderness. However, they were instructed to marry only men from their own tribe, so that their inheritance would remain within the tribe of Manasseh, and they indeed married their cousins. Tzelofhad’s daughters at this time come to demand the portion of their father, in addition to the inheritance received by their husbands. So he, Joshua, gave them an inheritance among their father’s brethren according to the directive of the Lord.

Ten portions of land fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilad and the Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan,

because the daughters of Tzelofhad from the tribe of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. Therefore, four tracts of land were added to the six portions of the other families of Manasseh. The land of Gilad belonged to the remaining sons of Manasseh from those families, as the families were split between the land of Gilad and the Land of Israel proper. Alternatively, some explain that “the remaining sons of Manasseh” refers to the children of Makhir, as they are considered secondary in this verse when compared with the majority of families of the tribe.

The border of Manasseh in the land of Canaan was from the border of Asher to Mikhmetat, which is before Shekhem, and the border went to the right, to the inhabitants of Ein Tapuah.

The land surrounding the city of Tapuah belonged to Manasseh; but Tapuah itself, which was on the border of Manasseh, belonged to the children of Ephraim. As stated above, since the children of Manasseh and Ephraim came from the same tribe, Joseph, their inheritances were intermingled to a certain degree.

The border descended to the Kana Ravine; south of the ravine were those cities belonging to Ephraim which were separated from the rest of the portion of Ephraim and situated among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was north of the ravine, and its terminus was at the sea. Some explain the verse as follows: The border of Manasseh was south of the ravine. However, certain known cities there, located within a group of cities of Manasseh, belonged to Ephraim, while the primary border of Manasseh was north of the ravine.

Therefore the Kana Ravine demarcated the border: Southward, it belonged to Ephraim and northward it belonged to Manasseh, and the sea was its, Manasseh’s, border; they, the children of Manasseh, reached the inheritance of Asher to the north, and Issachar to the east.

In the territory of Issachar and in the territory of Asher, Manasseh had the following cities: Beit She’an and its environs, Yivle’am and its environs, the inhabitants of Dor and its environs, the inhabitants of Ein Dor and its environs, the inhabitants of Taanakh and its environs, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its environs, the three regions.

But the children of Manasseh were unable to dispossess the inhabitants of those fortified cities, and the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. Alternatively, the verse may be translated: The Canaanites decided to dwell in the land.

It was, that when the children of Israel later grew strong, they subjected the Canaanites to tribute, but they did not dispossess them. Rather, the Canaanites remained in the territory of Manasseh for many generations.

The children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying: Why did you give me an inheritance of one lot and one portion? The portions of Manasseh and Ephraim were distributed by the same lot, and essentially formed a single region, with no clear dividing line between them. Some explain that the children of Manasseh were complaining that had their inheritance with Ephraim been divided by two lots they might not have received an area that was so difficult to conquer and settle, and their inheritance might have suited their large population. And they added: The current arrangement is unfair, as I am a numerous people, as the Lord has blessed me up to now. The territory is not large enough for us.

Joshua said to them: If you are a numerous people, and you are strong enough, go up to the forest and clear an area in the forest for yourself there in the land of the Perizites and the Refaim, as the highlands of Ephraim are crowded [atz] for you. Some interpret the latter clause as follows: If the forested area of the highlands of Ephraim is vital [atz] for you. Alternatively, the word atz is related to me’itz, to urge: If your people are pressuring you to obtain inhabitable land. There is enough available territory for you. If you are so numerous that you require more agricultural land, cut down the forest and prepare a suitable area for yourselves.

The children of Joseph said: The highlands of Ephraim will not be sufficient for us, and as for the nearby plains, there are iron chariots among all the Canaanites who live in the valley lands, those who are in Beit She’an and its environs, and those who are in the Yizre’el Valley. Those areas are populated by Canaanites who possess iron chariots, with which we cannot cope.

Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying: You are a numerous people, and you have great strength; you will not have but one small allotment.

For you can extend it, as the mountain shall be yours, as it is a forest; you shall clear it, and its extent will be yours; you will receive its borders; for, moreover, you will dispossess the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they are strong. Since you are a large group of people that controls the mountains, you will eventually overcome the Canaanites and conquer those regions, despite their chariots of iron. Consequently, there is no reason for you to receive another portion. Some explain the verse as follows: Since they have chariots of iron, you must strengthen yourselves and drive them out so that they will not harm you, and the task is placed specifically upon you, as you are a great people.

The entire congregation of the children of Israel assembled at Shilo. The central camp of Israel moved from Gilgal to Shilo, and they erected the Tent of Meeting there. Apparently, the tent in Shilo was surrounded by a walled structure of stone, and covered by the Tabernacle curtains. The Tabernacle remained there until the end of the period of the Judges. And the land was conquered before them. Although not all the land had actually been conquered, and there was a lengthy truce between Israel and some of the remaining Canaanites who lived alongside them, the conquest had effectively ended, as there was no one left who could confront the Israelites.

There remained seven tribes among the children of Israel that had not received their inheritance.

Joshua said to the children of Israel: Until when will you be irresolute about coming to take possession of the land that the Lord, God of your fathers, has given you? Seven tribes have not yet settled in their portions; consequently, many places have not yet been conquered.

Get for you three men for each tribe; I will send them, and they will arise and walk through the land; they will write of it according to their needs in determining and dividing their inheritance, and they will come to me to report their findings.

Divide it into seven portions: Judah will remain at his border to the south. It is likely that Judah received this territory on account of Caleb, who had already taken his portion in the south of the land. And the house of Joseph will remain at their border to the north of the tribe of Judah, although there was a vacant area between them.

You will write of the land and divide it in seven portions, and you will bring it, the written description, here to me; and I will cast lots for you here in Shilo, before the Lord our God, so that each tribe can receive its inheritance.

Only seven portions are mentioned, for the Levites do not have a portion in your midst, as the service of the Lord is their inheritance over the generations, and they will receive no portion of land. In addition, Gad and Reuben and half the tribe of Manasseh took their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses servant of the Lord gave them. Since Judah and the remainder of Joseph have already taken their portions, seven tribes are left.

The men rose and went. Joshua commanded those who went to write of the land, in accordance with his previous statement to the Israelites, saying: Go, and walk through the land, and write of it, and come back to me, and I will cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shilo.

The men went and passed through the land, and they wrote of it according to the cities. They prepared a list of cities by names, and presumably noted their sizes as well. Based on this rudimentary list, they divided the land in seven portions, in a scroll, and they came to Joshua, to the central camp at Shilo.

Joshua cast lots for them in Shilo before the Lord, in front of the Tabernacle (see 19:51); and Joshua apportioned the land to the children of Israel according to their portions, as divided into sections by the messengers.

The lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up first according to their families; the border of their allotment came out in the vacant area between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.

Their border on the north side was from the Jordan in the east, and the border went up to the shoulder, the edge, of Jericho on the north of the city, and the border also went up through the highlands westward, and its terminus, the perimeter, was at the wilderness of Beit Aven.

The border passed from there to Luz, to the shoulder of Luz on the south, the south side of the tip of Luz, which is Beit El. Luz and Beit El were apparently located very close to one another, although they were not the same place (see 16:2). And the border descended to Atrot Adar, and from there, it went to the mountain that is south of Lower Beit Horon.

The border curved and turned, and it continued to the west side, southward from the mountain that faces Beit Horon on the south, and its terminus was at Kiryat Baal, which is Kiryat Ye’arim, a city of the children of Judah. This was the west side. On its south side, the portion of Benjamin bordered Judah, with the northern cities of Judah marking its boundary.

The south side was from the edge of Kiryat Ye’arim; the border came out westward [yamma] from Kiryat Ye’arim, or alternatively, toward a body of water [yam], and came out to the spring of the waters of Nefto’ah.

The border descended to the edge of the ridge that faces the Valley of the Son of Hinom, which is to the north of the Valley of Refaim, and it descended to the Valley of Hinom, to the shoulder of the Yevusites, which is probably the place known nowadays as Mount Zion, southward, and descended to Ein Rogel. Thus, the tribe of Benjamin received part of Mount Moriah.

It curved to the north, and came out to Ein Shemesh, and came out to Gelilot, which is Gilgal mentioned above, which faces Maaleh Adumim, and it descended to the place called the stone of Bohan son of Reuben.

It passed to the shoulder opposite the Arava northward, and descended to the Arava.

The border passed to the northern side of the shoulder of Beit Hogla, and the terminus of the border was at the northern inlet of the Dead Sea, at the southern edge of the Jordan. This was the southern border of the tribe of Benjamin.

The Jordan bordered it, the tribe of Benjamin, on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, according to its borders all around, according to their families.

The cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beit Hogla, and Emek Ketzitz;

and Beit Arava, Tzemarayim, and Beit El;

and Avim, Para, and Ofra;

and Kefar HaAmona, Ofni, and Geva; a total of twelve cities and their surrounding areas.

Likewise, Givon, Rama, and Be’erot became cities of the tribe of Benjamin. Givon was already populated, but its residents became subjugated to Israel. Be’erot was also mentioned as a Givonite settlement (9:17), but Israelites settled there over time.

And Mitzpe, Kefira, and Motza, perhaps the same place as modern-day Motza;

and Rekem, Yirpe’el, and Tarala;

and Tzela, where King Saul, his son Yonatan, and his father Kish were buried; HaElef, a high place, perhaps the Ofel; and the Yevusites, which is Jerusalem, and also Givat, and Kiryat; all these were fourteen cities and their surrounding areas. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

The second lot of the seven that Joshua cast in Shilo came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the children of Simeon, which was divided according to their families; and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah.

They had for their inheritance the cities of Beersheba, which was a well-known, important city, Sheva, and Molada;

and Hatzar Shual, Bala, and Etzem;

and Eltolad, Betul, and Horma;

and Tziklag, which later passed from Philistine control to the control of the kings of Judah, Beit Markavot, and Hatzar Susa;

and Beit Levaot, and Sharuhen; a total of thirteen cities in the region, with their surrounding areas.

In addition, there were Ayin, Rimon, Eter, and Ashan; four cities and their surrounding areas;

and all the small, unwalled areas that surrounded these mostly fortified cities, up to Baalat Be’er and Ramat Negev. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.

The inheritance of the children of Simeon was from the portion of the children of Judah, as the portion of the children of Judah was too great for them; it was very large relative to the size of their population; and the children of Simeon received their inheritance within their inheritance. However, Simeon remained an independent tribe, albeit neither a large nor an important one, and resided in the region of Beersheba and further southward.

The remaining tribal inheritances discussed in the chapter are located in the north of Canaan, with the exception of the final one. The third lot arose for the children of Zebulun according to their families, and the border of their inheritance was up to a place called Sarid.

Their border went up to a place called Yama, or to a lake [yam], and to Marala, and reached Dabeshet; it reached the ravine that is facing Yokne’am. All of these locations are in the Galilee.

It, the border, went back from Sarid eastward, toward the rising sun, on the border of Kislot Tavor, which is close to Mount Tavor, or on the slopes of the mountain; and it came out to Dovrat, and went up to Yafia.

From there it passed eastward to Gat Hefer, to Et Katzin, and it came out at Rimon that surrounds [meto’ar] the Ne’a. Alternatively, the word meto’ar means that the border turned out to the Ne’a. Some maintain that the verse is describing the city of Rimon itself as meto’ar, as it protruded and was surrounded by the border.

The border turned around it, the territory of Ne’a, at the north of Hanaton, and its terminus was at the valley of Yiftah El, one of the valleys north of Samaria, in the direction of the Yizre’el Valley. These are the cities which demarcated the border;

and there were other cities in the portion of Zebulun: Katat, Nahalal, Shimron, Yidala, and the Galilean Bethlehem, not the Bethlehem in Judah, which is mentioned in Judges (17:7) and Ruth (1:1); a total of twelve cities and their surrounding areas.

This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their surrounding areas.

The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the children of Issachar according to their families.

Their border was Yizre’el, near the Yizre’el Valley, Kesulot, and Shunem;

and Hafarayim, Shion, and Anaharat;

and the Rabit, Kishyon, and Evetz;

and Remet, Ein Ganim, Ein Hada, and Beit Patzetz.

The border reached Tavor, apparently from the north, and Shahatzima, and Beit Shemesh, which is not the same city as the Beit Shemesh mentioned above (15:10), which was further south; the terminus, the edge of their border was at the Jordan River; a total of sixteen cities and their surrounding areas.

This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities and their surrounding areas. Their portion was located northeast of the border of the children of Manasseh (see 17:10).

The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families.

Their border was Helkat, Hali, Beten, and Akhshaf;

and Alamelekh, Amad, and Mishal; it reached Carmel to the west. The western border of Asher extended as far as Carmel, which was adjacent to the sea, and Shihor Livnat, probably a stream that leads to the Mediterranean Sea.

It returned toward the rising sun to Beit Dagon, and reached Zebulun and the Valley of Yiftah El to the north of Beit Emek and Ne’iel; it, the border, went out to Kabul on the left,

and Evron, Rehov, Hamon, and Kana, to Greater Sidon, in the kingdom of Sidon. Theoretically, the border of the inheritance intended for Asher extended far to the north, but in practice those northern portions were never inhabited by them.

The border returned to Rama, and to the fortified city of Tyre, which was in the same region; the border returned to Hosa, and its terminus was at the sea from Hevel to Akhziv, on the coast in the Upper Galilee;

and Uma, and Afek, and Rehov; twenty-two cities and their surrounding areas.

This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities and their surrounding areas. Asher’s portion was situated along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the northern part of the Land of Israel.

The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali; for the children of Naphtali according to their families.

Their border was from Helef, from Elon Betzaananim, which is mentioned in the book of Judges (4:11), and Adami HaNekev, and Yavne’el, not the Yavne’el in the inheritance of Judah (15:11); the modern-day Yavne’el is perhaps in the same area as this one, to Lakum, and its terminus was at the Jordan.

The border returned westward to Aznot Tavor. Mount Tavor serves as a meeting point for several of the tribes’ portions. And the border came out from there to Hukok. It reached Zebulun on the south. The northern border of Zebulun meets the southern border of Naphtali. And it reached Asher on the west, and Judah of the Jordan on the east toward the rising sun.

The fortified cities were HaTzidim Tzer, Hamat, named for its hot [ĥam] springs, Rakat, and Kineret, near the Sea of Galilee. The precise identity of these cities is uncertain;

and Adama, Rama, and Hatzor, which was perhaps not under the tribe’s control;

and Kedesh, also known as Kedesh Naftali, an important city on a national level. It is not the Kedesh in Judah or the Kedesh in the inheritance of Issachar; and Edre’i, and Ein Hatzor;

and Yiron, Migdal El, Horem, Beit Anat, and Beit Shemesh, the third city mentioned with that name; a total of nineteen cities and their surrounding areas.

This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities and their surrounding areas. One of the boundaries of the tribe of Naphtali reached the Sea of Galilee, while its main territory was further northwest, in the eastern Upper Galilee.

The seventh and final lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families.

The border of their inheritance was Tzora and Eshtaol, which are also mentioned in the book of Judges (13:25), and Ir Shemesh. The cities of Tzora and Eshtaol were listed previously among the cities of Judah (15:33), as the border of the portion of Dan ran alongside them;

and Shaalabin, Ayalon, and Yitla;

and Eilon, Timna, and Ekron;

and Eltekeh, Gibeton, and Baalat;

and Yehud, perhaps not far from modern-day Yehud; Benei Berak, which was not located in the exact spot of the modern-day city of that name, but was also in the region of the hills and valleys in the inheritance of Dan, northwest of the portion of Judah; and Gat Rimon;

Dan’s border included the waters of the Yarkon, the same small river called by that name today, and Rakon, with the border, a coastal strip, opposite Yafo. The tribe of Dan dwelled northwest of Judah and west of Benjamin.

The border of the children of Dan was beyond them, as they failed to conquer all of their inheritance. Here the verse mentions an incident that occurred much later: And the children of Dan went up and made war against Leshem, also called Layish, located near the northern edge of Israel, and originally inhabited by Sidonians. They captured it and smote it by the sword, and they took possession of it, and dwelled in it. Since large areas inland were inhabited by other tribes, while the Philistines lived on the coast, the tribe of Dan traveled far in search of another portion, until it found a quiet place that they were powerful enough to conquer and settle. They called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their ancestor. From that point onward the city was called Dan, and served as a northern landmark of the Land of Israel.

This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities and their surrounding areas.

They finished apportioning the land according to its borders, and the children of Israel gave a special inheritance to Joshua son of Nun in their midst, for all his accomplishments.

According to the directive of the Lord, through the Urim and the Tumim or a prophet, they gave him the city that he requested, Timnat Serah in the highlands of Ephraim. Since he was from the tribe of Ephraim, he chose a small city in the inheritance of his tribe; he built the city, and he settled in it with his family.

In summary: These are the inheritances that Elazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the patrilineal houses of the tribes of the children of Israel apportioned by lot as an inheritance in Shilo before the Lord, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. This basic division of the land to the tribes was performed according to the word of God, as transmitted through the lot. They finished dividing the land.

The Lord spoke to Joshua, saying:

Speak to the children of Israel, saying: Provide for yourselves the cities of refuge, of which I spoke to you at the hand of Moses;

these cities of refuge are the places where a murderer who takes a life unwittingly, without intention, may flee, and they, these cities, shall be a refuge for you from the blood redeemer, who is typically a relative of the victim, seeking revenge for his death.

The chapter provides details of this process that do not appear in the Torah: He, the unwitting murderer, shall flee to one of those cities, stand at the entrance of the gate of the city, and state his case into the ears of the elders of that city; he informs them of what he has done and requests refuge. They shall gather him to them into the city, and provide him a place, and he shall live with them.

If the blood redeemer pursues him, they shall not deliver the murderer into his hand. This is the legal significance of the cities of refuge; that as long as an unwitting murderer is in the city he remains protected and he may not be harmed, because he smote his neighbor without intent, and he did not hate him previously.

He shall live in that city, until he stands before the representatives of the congregation for judgment. The murderer contends that he killed by accident, but he must still stand trial. He receives temporary sanctuary, as the trial may substantiate his claim or refute it. If the testimony issued at the trial establishes that he indeed acted unwittingly, he returns to the city and remains there until the death of the High Priest who will be in those days. There is no fixed duration for his stay in the city of refuge. The death of the High Priest is the sign that his period of exile has come to an end, and then the murderer may return, and come to his own city, and to his own house, to the city from which he fled.

They designated as cities of refuge Kedesh in the Galilee in the highlands of Naphtali, and Shekhem in the highlands of Ephraim, and Kiryat Arba, which is Hebron, in the highlands of Judah. These three cities are spaced so that they divide the land into three approximately equal parts.

Beyond the Jordan of Jericho to the east, already in the days of Moses they had assigned Betzer in the wilderness, in the plain, from the portion of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramot in Gilad, from the tribe of Gad, and Golan in the Bashan, from the tribe of Manasseh.

These were the appointed cities for all the children of Israel. Alternatively, this may be translated: These were the cities to which people would be directed, for all the children of Israel. And these cities will serve equally for the stranger who resides among them, as there is no difference between a native-born Israelite and a stranger in this regard, for anyone who takes a life unwittingly to flee there and not die at the hand of the blood redeemer, until he stands before the congregation for trial.

The heads of the patrilineal houses of the Levites approached Elazar the priest, and Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the patrilineal houses of the tribes of the children of Israel;

they, the representatives of the Levites, spoke to them, the leaders of the people, in Shilo, in the land of Canaan, saying: Although we are not entitled to a share in the land, the Lord commanded at the hand of Moses to give us cities in which to settle, and their perimeter fields for our animals. We therefore request that this command be fulfilled at this time.

The children of Israel gave these cities and their perimeter fields to the Levites from their inheritance, according to the directive of the Lord.

The lot came out for the families of the Kehatites, one of the three major Levite families: for the children of Aaron the priest, of the Levites: Portions from the tribe of Judah, from the tribe of the Simeonites, and from the tribe of Benjamin by lot, thirteen cities;

for the remaining children of Kehat, those who were not the children of Aaron: Portions from the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and from the tribe of Dan, and from half the tribe of Manasseh that received territory in the land of Canaan, by lot, a total of ten cities.

For the children of Gershon, the second major family of the Levites: Portions from the families of the tribe of Issachar, from the tribe of Asher, from the tribe of Naphtali, and from half the tribe of Manasseh that was in the Bashan, east of the Jordan, by lot, a total of thirteen cities.

The children of Merari, the third major family of the Levites, received according to their families: Portions from the tribe of Reuben, from the tribe of Gad, and from the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.

The children of Israel gave the Levites these cities with their perimeter fields as the Lord had commanded at the hand of Moses, by the determination of the lot.

The general description of the division of the Levite families to the territory of various tribes is followed by a detailed list of the specific cities allocated for this purpose: They gave from the tribe of the children of Judah and from the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities that will be mentioned by name.

They were for the children of Aaron, from the families of the Kehatites from the children of Levi, as theirs was the first lot. Since they were the most distinguished Levites, the lot for their cities was cast first.

They gave them Kiryat Arba, literally, “city of Arba,” father of the giant (see 15:13), which is Hebron, in the highlands of Judah, and its perimeter fields around it. The priests, children of Aaron, received the city of Hebron;

but the fields of the city, the fields in Hebron, and its surrounding settled areas, they gave to Caleb son of Yefuneh, as his portion, as stated above (14:12–15). The portion of Hebron designated as a refuge for unwitting murderers and as living quarters for priests was only the city itself. The fields of the city and the surrounding areas remained in the possession of the family of Caleb.

To the children of Aaron the priest they gave the city of refuge for the murderer, Hebron and its perimeter fields, and in addition to Hebron, they gave Livna and its perimeter fields;

Yatir and its perimeter fields, and Eshtemoa and its perimeter fields;

Holon and its perimeter fields, and Devir and its perimeter fields;

Ayin and its perimeter fields, Yuta and its perimeter fields, and the Beit Shemesh located in the territory of Judah and its perimeter fields; a total of nine cities from those two tribes, Judah and Simeon.

From the tribe of Benjamin, the cities given to the priests were Givon and its perimeter fields, Geva and its perimeter fields,

Anatot, where the prophet Jeremiah the priest would one day live, and its perimeter fields, and Almon and its perimeter fields; a total of four cities.

The sum of all the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities and their perimeter fields.

The families of the children of Kehat, the Levites who remained from the children of Kehat, who were not priests, the cities of their lot were from the tribe of Ephraim.

They gave them the city of refuge for the murderer, Shekhem, and its perimeter fields, in the highlands of Ephraim, and also the city of Gezer and its perimeter fields. In practice, however, Gezer was not conquered by the Israelites, and the Canaanites continued to reside there (see 16:10);

Kivtzayim and its perimeter fields, and Beit Horon and its perimeter fields; in total, four cities.

From the tribe of Dan, the children of Kehat received Eltekeh and its perimeter fields, Gibeton and its perimeter fields,

Ayalon and its perimeter fields, Gat Rimon and its perimeter fields; four cities.

From half the tribe of Manasseh, Taanakh and its perimeter fields, and Gat Rimon and its perimeter fields; two cities.

All the cities were ten, and their perimeter fields, for the remaining families of the children of Kehat. As stated above, the cities were given in accordance with their size and the size of the tribe in whose portion they were situated.

For the children of Gershon, from the families of the Levites: from half the tribe of Manasseh, the city of refuge for the murderer, Golan in the Bashan and its perimeter fields and likewise Be’eshtera and its perimeter fields, two cities.

From the tribe of Issachar: Kishyon and its perimeter fields, Dovrat and its perimeter fields,

Yarmut and its perimeter fields, Ein Ganim and its perimeter fields; four cities.

From the tribe of Asher: Mishal and its perimeter fields, Avdon and its perimeter fields,

Helkat and its perimeter fields and Rehov and its perimeter fields; four cities.

From the tribe of Naphtali: the city of refuge for the murderer, Kedesh in the Galilee and its perimeter fields, as well as Hamot Dor and its perimeter fields and Kartan and its perimeter fields; three cities.

All the cities of the Gershonite according to their families were thirteen cities and their perimeter fields.

For the families of the children of Merari, the remaining Levites: from the tribe of Zebulun, Yokne’am and its perimeter fields and Karta and its perimeter fields,

Dimna and its perimeter fields, Nahalal and its perimeter fields; four cities.

From the tribe of Gad: the city of refuge for the murderer, Ramot in Gilad and its perimeter fields, and Mahanayim and its perimeter fields,

Heshbon and its perimeter fields, Yazer and its perimeter fields; all the cities were four.

These are all the cities for the children of Merari according to their families, who remained from the last of the families of the Levites; their lot was twelve cities. The verses above mention only eight cities, four from the tribe of Zebulun and four from Gad. The remaining four are listed in I Chronicles; four cities from Reuben: Betzer, Yahatz, Kedemot, and Mefaat, and their perimeter fields. There are versions of the text that include those cities here.

The chapter provides an overall summary: All the cities of the Levites within the portion of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities and their perimeter fields.

These are the cities, each and every city and their surrounding perimeter fields; so shall it be for all of these cities.

The Lord gave to Israel all the land about which He took an oath to give to their forefathers; they took possession of it and settled in it.

The Lord granted them respite all around, in accordance with everything about which He took an oath to their forefathers; there was no man from all their enemies who stood against them. None of them were able to withstand Israel, as the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand, although there were places that the tribes themselves neglected to conquer.

Nothing of all the good things that the Lord spoke to the house of Israel was lacking; everything came about.

Then Joshua summoned the Reubenite, and the Gadite, and half the tribe of Manasseh, which until now had functioned as an independent military unit that had joined forces with the rest of the tribes to help them conquer the land,