1And the second lot fell out for Simeon, for the tribe of the Simeonites according to their clans, and their estate was within the estate of the Judahites. 2And they had in their estate Beersheba and Sheba and Moladah, 3and Hazar-Shual and Belah and Ezem, 4and Eltolad and Bethul and Hormah, 5and Ziklag and Beth-Marcaboth and Hazar-Susah, 6and Beth-Lebaoth and Sharuhen—thirteen towns and their pasturelands. 7Ayin, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan—four towns and their pasturelands, 8and all the pasturelands that are around these towns as far as Baalath-Beer, Ramath-Negeb—this is the estate of the tribe of the Simeonites according to their clans. 9The estate of the Simeonites was from the territory of the Judahites, for the share of the Judahites was too large for them, and the Simeonites took an estate within their estate. 10And the third lot fell out for the Zebulunites according to their clans, and the boundary of their estate was as far as Sarid. 11And their boundary went up westward to Maralah and touched Dabbesheth and touched the wadi which is opposite Jokneam. 12And it turned back from Sarid eastward where the sun rises to the boundary of Cisloth-Tabor, and it went out to Dabereth and went up to Japhia. 13And from there it passed on eastward, toward the sunrise, to Gath-Hepher, Ittah, Kazin, and it went out and swung round to Neah. 14And the boundary on the north turned round to Hannathon, and its far reaches were the Vale of Iphtah-El, 15and Kattath and Nahalal and Shimron and Idalah and Bethlehem—twelve towns and their pasturelands. 16This is the estate of the Zebulunites according to their clans, these towns and their pasturelands. 17The fourth lot fell out for Issachar, for the Issacharites according to their clans. 18And their boundary was to Jezreel and Chesulloth and Shunem, 19and Hapharaim and Shion and Anaharath, 20and Rabbith and Kishon and Ebez, 21and Remeth and Ein-Gannim and Ein-Haddah and Beth-Pazzez. 22And the boundary touched Tabor and Shahazimah and Beth-Shemesh, and the far reaches of their boundary were at the Jordan—sixteen towns and their pasturelands. 23This is the estate of the Issacharites according to their clans, and the towns and their enclosures. 24And the fifth lot fell out to the tribe of the Asherites according to their clans. 25And their boundary was Helkath and Hali and Beten and Akshaph, 26and Alammelech and Amad and Mishal. And it touched Carmel on the west and Shihor-Libnath. 27And it turned back to Beth-Dagon where the sun rises and touched Zebulun and the Vale of Iphtah-El on the north, Beth-Emek and Neiel, and the boundary came out to Cabul on the north, 28and Ebron and Rehob and Hammon and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. 29And the boundary turned back to Ramah and as far as the fortress city of Tyre, and its far reaches, and the boundary turned back to Hosah, and its far reaches were the Sea, Mehebel, to Achzib, 30and Ummah and Aphek and Rehob—twenty-two towns and their pasturelands. 31This is the estate of the tribe of Asherites according to their clans—these towns and their pasturelands. 32For the Naphtalites the sixth lot came out, for the Naphtalites according to their clans. 33And their boundary was from Heleph, from Elon-in-Zaananim and Adami-Nekeb and Jabneel as far as Kum, and its far reaches were at the Jordan. 34And the boundary turned back westward to Aznoth-Tabor and went from there to Hukok and touched Zebulun from the south and touched Asher from the west and Judah at the Jordan where the sun rises. 35And the fortress towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hamath, Rakkath, and Chinnereth, 36and Adamah and Ramah and Hazor, 37and Kedesh and Edrei and Ein-Hazor, 38and Iron and Migdal-El, Horam, Beth-Anath and Beth-Shemesh—nineteen towns and their pasturelands. 39This is the estate of the tribe of the Naphtalites according to their clans, the towns and their pasturelands. 40For the tribe of the Danites according to their clans the seventh lot came out. 41And the territory of their estate was Zorah and Eshtaol and Ir-Shemesh, 42and Shaalbim and Ajalon and Ithlah, 43and Elon and Timnathah and Ekron, 44and Eltekeh and Gibthon and Baalath, 45and Jehud and Benei Brak and Gath-Rimmon, 46and the Jarkon Waters and Rakkon by the boundary over against Joppa. 47And the territory of the Danites fell from their hands. And the Danites went up and did battle with Leshem and took it. And they struck it with the edge of the sword and took hold of it and dwelled in it. And they called Leshem Dan, like the name of Dan their forefather. 48This is the estate of the tribe of the Danites according to their clans—these towns and their pasturelands.
49And they finished taking possession of the land according to its boundaries, and the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an estate in their midst. 50At the behest of the LORD they gave him the town that he had asked for, Timnath-Serah in the high country of Ephraim, and he rebuilt the town and dwelled in it. 51These are the estates that Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the Israelite tribes conferred by lot in Shiloh before the LORD at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. And they finished sharing out the land.
CHAPTER 19 NOTES
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1. their estate was within the estate of the Judahites. Unlike the other tribes, Simeon did not have a territory with clear-cut boundaries but rather enclaves within the territory of Judah. This situation is reflected in the curse Jacob pronounces on Simeon and Levi: “I will divide them in Jacob, / disperse them in Israel” (Genesis 49:7). (Levi’s dispersal was manifested in its having no tribal territory, only levitical towns.) The anomaly of the portion assigned to Simeon is explained in verse 9.
27. the Vale of Iphtah-El. The Masoretic Text here reads “the sons of Iphtah-El,” a noun that doesn’t make sense as the object of the verb “touched.” This translation reflects the reading of the Septuagint.
28. as far as Greater Sidon. The territory of Asher could not have included Sidon, a Phoenician city, but perhaps the qualifier “greater” is meant to suggest something like the far southern reach of the region controlled by Sidon.
47. And the territory of the Danites fell from their hands. More literally: “went out from them.” Their original territory was in the southwestern region bordering on Philistine country—a location reflected in the stories about Samson, who was a Danite. At some relatively early point, perhaps as early as the twelfth century B.C.E., the Danites were forced out of their original tribal territory and migrated to the far north of the country, where they conquered a new area for settlement. This northern location is reflected in the story of Micah’s idol in Judges 18. The reading of this verse in the Septuagint shows a report that might be the original version or might be an explanatory gloss: “The Danites did not dispossess the Amorites, who forced them into the high country. The Amorites did not let them come down into the plain, and their territory was too confining for them.”
Leshem. Elsewhere, this town is called Layish.
49. the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an estate in their midst. One infers that Joshua waited until all the tribes had been allocated their territories before he took his own estate. As Shmuel Ahituv notes, his portion was a special assignment of territory to the commander in chief.
50. rebuilt. The Hebrew verb ordinarily means “to build,” but in contexts where the object is in ruins, as may be the case here because of conquest, it can mean “rebuild.”