1The whole community of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there. The land had been brought under their control.
2But among the children of Israel there were still seven tribes that had not yet received their inheritance.
3So Joshua said to the children of Israel, "How long will you put off going in to take the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you?"
4"Choose three men from each tribe. I will send them out. They are to go through the land and write down a description of it, marking out the inheritance for each tribe. Then they are to come back to me."
5"They shall divide it into seven parts. Judah shall stay in their territory in the south, and the house of Joseph shall stay in their territory in the north."
6"So write down a description of the land in seven parts, and bring the description here to me. Then I will cast lots for you here before the LORD our God."
7"But the Levites have no share among you, because the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance. And Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them."
8So the men got up and went away. Joshua gave orders to those who went to describe the land. He said, "Go and walk through the land, and write down a description of it, and come back to me. Then I will cast lots for you here before the LORD in Shiloh."
9The men went and passed through the land. They wrote a description of it in a book, city by city, in seven parts. Then they came back to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh.
10Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD. There Joshua divided the land among the children of Israel, giving each group their share.
11The lot for the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up, family by family. The territory given to them by lot lay between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
12Their border on the north side began at the Jordan. The border went up to the slope of Jericho on the north, then up westward through the hill country, and it ended at the wilderness of Bethaven.
13From there the border crossed over toward Luz, to the slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) on the south. Then the border went down to Atarothadar, near the hill that lies on the south side of Lower Bethhoron.
14From there the border turned and bent round on the west side, going south from the hill that lies in front of Bethhoron on the south. It ended at Kirjathbaal (that is, Kirjathjearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the western side.
15The southern side began at the edge of Kirjathjearim, and the border went out to the west, and came out at the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.
16Then the border went down to the edge of the hill that lies in front of the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the valley of the giants on the north. It went down the valley of Hinnom, to the slope of Jebusi on the south, and down to Enrogel.
17It turned from the north and went out to Enshemesh, and went out toward Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim, and went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.
18It passed along the slope opposite Arabah on the north, and went down to Arabah.
19The border passed along to the slope of Bethhoglah on the north, and it ended at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan. This was the southern border.
20The Jordan was the border on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, with its borders all around, family by family.
21Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin, family by family, were Jericho, and Bethhoglah, and the valley of Keziz,
22and Betharabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel,
23and Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah,
24and Chepharhaammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba: twelve cities with their villages.
26and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
27and Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah,