The Berean Pursuit
Now these are the portions that the Israelites inherited in the land of Canaan, as distributed by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the tribes of Israel. Their inheritance was assigned by lot for the nine and a half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses. For Moses had given the inheritance east of the Jordan to the other two and a half tribes. But he granted no inheritance among them to the Levites.
The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion of the land was given to the Levites, except for cities in which to live, along with pasturelands for their flocks and herds.
So the Israelites did as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they divided the land.
Then the sons of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, "You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh-barnea about you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back to him an honest report.
Although my brothers who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear, I remained loyal to the LORD my God. On that day Moses swore to me, saying, 'Surely the land on which you have set foot will be an inheritance to you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.'
Now behold, as the LORD promised, He has kept me alive these forty-five years since He spoke this word to Moses, while Israel wandered in the wilderness. So here I am today, eighty-five years old, still as strong today as I was the day Moses sent me out. As my strength was then, so it is now for war, for going out, and for coming in.
Now therefore give me this hill country that the LORD promised me on that day, for you yourself heard then that the Anakim were there, with great and fortified cities. Perhaps with the LORD's help I will drive them out, as the LORD has spoken."
Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. Therefore Hebron belongs to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite as an inheritance to this day, because he wholly followed the LORD, the God of Israel. (Hebron used to be called Kiriath-arba, after Arba, the greatest man among the Anakim.)
Then the land had rest from war.
Now the allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah extended to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin at the extreme southern boundary:
Their southern border started at the bay on the southern tip of the Salt Sea, proceeded south of the Ascent of Akrabbim, continued on to Zin, went over to the south of Kadesh-barnea, ran past Hezron up to Addar, and curved toward Karka. It proceeded to Azmon, joined the Brook of Egypt, and ended at the Sea. This was their southern border.
The eastern border was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan.
The northern border started from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan, went up to Beth-hoglah, proceeded north of Beth-arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. Then the border went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, turning north to Gilgal, which faces the Ascent of Adummim south of the ravine. It continued along the waters of En-shemesh and came out at En-rogel. From there the border went up the Valley of Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusites (that is, Jerusalem) and ascended to the top of the hill that faces the Valley of Hinnom on the west, at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. From the hilltop the border curved to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, and then bent around toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). The border curled westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, and crossed to Timnah. Then it went out to the northern slope of Ekron, curved toward Shikkeron, proceeded to Mount Baalah, went on to Jabneel, and ended at the Sea.
And the western border was the coastline of the Great Sea.
These are the boundaries around the clans of the descendants of Judah.
According to the LORD's command to him, Joshua gave Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah-Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak-the descendants of Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.
From there he marched against the inhabitants of Debir (formerly known as Kiriath-sepher). And Caleb said, "To the man who strikes down Kiriath-sepher and captures it, I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage." So Othniel son of Caleb's brother Kenaz captured the city, and Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.
One day Acsah came to Othniel and urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, "What do you desire?"
"Give me a blessing," she answered. "Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me springs of water as well."
So Caleb gave her both the upper and lower springs.
This is the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Judah. These were the southernmost cities of the tribe of Judah in the Negev toward the border of Edom:
Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, Hazor-hadattah, Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor), Amam, Shema, Moladah, Hazar-gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-pelet, Hazar-shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, Baalah, Iim, Ezem, Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon-twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages.
These were in the foothills:
Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, Zanoah, En-gannim, Tappuah, Enam, Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim)-fourteen cities, along with their villages.
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad, Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel, Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish, Gederoth, Beth-dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah-sixteen cities, along with their villages.
Libnah, Ether, Ashan, Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah-nine cities, along with their villages.
Ekron, with its towns and villages; from Ekron to the sea, all the cities near Ashdod, along with their villages; Ashdod, with its towns and villages; Gaza, with its towns and villages, as far as the Brook of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea.
These were in the hill country:
Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is, Debir), Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, Goshen, Holon, and Giloh-eleven cities, along with their villages.
Arab, Dumah, Eshan, Janim, Beth-tappuah, Aphekah, Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior-nine cities, along with their villages.
Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah-ten cities, along with their villages.
Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon-six cities, along with their villages.
Kiriath-baal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), and Rabbah-two cities, along with their villages.
These were in the wilderness:
Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-gedi-six cities, along with their villages.
But the descendants of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. So to this day the Jebusites live there among the descendants of Judah.
The allotment for the descendants of Joseph extended from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east, through the wilderness that goes up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel. It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz) and proceeded to the border of the Archites in Ataroth. Then it descended westward to the border of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth-horon and on to Gezer, and it ended at the Sea.
So Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, received their inheritance. This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans:
The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar in the east to Upper Beth-horon and out toward the Sea. From Michmethath on the north it turned eastward toward Taanath-shiloh and passed by it to Janoah on the east. From Janoah it went down to Ataroth and Naarah, and then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. From Tappuah the border went westward to the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Sea.
This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, along with all the cities and villages set apart for the descendants of Ephraim within the inheritance of Manasseh. But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.
Now this was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph's firstborn son, namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because Machir was a man of war. So this allotment was for the rest of the descendants of Manasseh-the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph.
But Zelophehad son of Hepher (the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh) had no sons but only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, and said, "The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers."
So Joshua gave them an inheritance among their father's brothers, in keeping with the command of the LORD. Thus ten shares fell to Manasseh, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond the Jordan, because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.
Now the border of Manasseh went from Asher to Michmethath near Shechem, then southward to include the inhabitants of En-tappuah. The region of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself, on the border of Manasseh, belonged to Ephraim. From there the border continued southward to the Brook of Kanah. There were cities belonging to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh, but the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook and ended at the Sea. Ephraim's territory was to the south, and Manasseh's was to the north, having the Sea as its border and adjoining Asher on the north and Issachar on the east.
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh was assigned Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphath), Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.
But the descendants of Manasseh were unable to occupy these cities, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land. However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they put the Canaanites to forced labor; but they failed to drive them out completely.
Then the sons of Joseph said to Joshua, "Why have you given us only one portion as an inheritance? We have many people, because the LORD has blessed us abundantly."
Joshua answered them, "If you have so many people that the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go to the forest and clear for yourself an area in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim."
"The hill country is not enough for us," they replied, "and all the Canaanites who live in the valley have iron chariots, both in Beth-shean with its towns and in the Valley of Jezreel."
So Joshua said to the house of Joseph-to Ephraim and Manasseh-"You have many people and great strength. You shall not have just one allotment, because the hill country will be yours as well. It is a forest; clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours. Although the Canaanites have iron chariots and although they are strong, you can drive them out."
Jesus said to His disciples, "It is inevitable that stumbling blocks will come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
And the Lord answered, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.
Which of you whose servant comes in from plowing or shepherding in the field will say to him, 'Come at once and sit down to eat'? Instead, won't he tell him, 'Prepare my meal and dress yourself to serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink'? Does he thank the servant because he did what he was told? So you also, when you have done everything commanded of you, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'?"
While Jesus was on His way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee. As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance and raised their voices, shouting, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
When Jesus saw them, He said, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And as they were on their way, they were cleansed.
When one of them saw that he was healed, he came back, praising God in a loud voice. He fell facedown at Jesus' feet in thanksgiving to Him-and he was a Samaritan.
"Were not all ten cleansed?" Jesus asked. "Where then are the other nine? Was no one found except this foreigner to return and give glory to God?"
Then Jesus said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well!"
When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs. Nor will people say, 'Look, here it is,' or 'There it is.' For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst."
Then He said to the disciples, "The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. People will tell you, 'Look, there He is!' or 'Look, here He is!' Do not go out or chase after them. For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man: People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.
It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But on the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
It will be just like that on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind. Remember Lot's wife! Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed: One will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together: One will be taken and the other left."
"Where, Lord?" they asked.
Jesus answered, "Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather."