Joshua 14

1 And these are the heritages which the children of Israel took in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, gave out to them;

Eleazar the Supreme Priest, Joshua, and the leaders of the [twelve] tribes repeated what land would be allotted to each of the Israeli tribes in Canaan.

2 Their heritage by the Lord's decision, as he gave orders by Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe.

Yahweh had told Moses many years previously in what way he wanted the division of the land to be decided. Moses had already declared that two and a half tribes would be allotted land on the east side of the Jordan [River]. Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. [Half of the tribe descended from Manasseh was allotted land on the east side of the Jordan, along with the tribes of Reuben and Gad]. The people belonging to the nine and a half other tribes [on the west side of the Jordan River] threw (lots/stones that had been marked) to decide which land each tribe would receive. The tribe of Levi was not allotted any land. They received only towns [that already existed], towns in which to live, and (pastures/fields of grass) for their animals.

3 For Moses had given their heritage to the two tribes and the half-tribe on the other side of Jordan, but to the Levites he gave no heritage among them.

4 Because the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim; and they gave the Levites no part in the land, only towns for their living-places, with the grass-lands for their cattle and for their property.

5 As the Lord had given orders to Moses, so the people of Israel did, and they made division of the land.

6 Then the children of Judah went to Joshua in Gilgal; and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, said to him, You have knowledge of what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about me and about you in Kadesh-barnea.

One day some men from the tribe of Judah went to Joshua while he and all the Israelis were at Gilgal. Among those men was Jephunneh’s son Caleb. He said to Joshua, “[I am sure that] you remember what Yahweh said to the prophet Moses about you and me when we were at Kadesh-Barnea.

7 I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to make a search through the land; and the account which I gave him was in keeping with his desire.

I was 40 years old at that time. Moses sent me [and you and some other men] to explore this land. When we returned, I gave to Moses a true report [IDM] about what we had seen.

8 My brothers, however, who went up with me, made the heart of the people like water: but I was true to the Lord with all my heart.

The other men who went with us [gave a report that] caused the people to be afraid [IDM]. But I fully/completely believed [that] Yahweh [would enable us to take the land from the people who lived there].

9 And on that day Moses took an oath, saying, Truly the land where your feet have been placed will become a heritage for you and your children for ever, because you have been true to the Lord your God with all your heart.

So on that day, Moses solemnly promised me, ‘[Some of] the land on which you walked will become yours. It will belong to your descendants forever. I am giving it to you because you fully trusted in Yahweh, my God.’

10 And now, as you see, the Lord has kept me safe these forty-five years, from the time when the Lord said this to Moses, while Israel was wandering in the waste land: and now I am eighty-five years old.

“Now Yahweh has done for me what he promised. Forty-five years have passed since Moses said that to me during the time that we were wandering around in the desert. And just like Yahweh promised, he has kept me alive and well all during that time. Now I am eighty-five years old.

11 And still, I am as strong today as I was when Moses sent me out: as my strength was then, so is it now, for war and for all the business of life.

I am as strong today as I was on the day that Moses sent me [to explore this land]. I am as ready to fight now as I was then.

12 So now, give me this hill-country named by the Lord at that time; for you had an account of it then, how the Anakim were there, and great walled towns: it may be that the Lord will be with me, and I will be able to take their land, as the Lord said.

So please give me the hilly area that Yahweh promised to give to me at that time long ago. At that time, you heard [me say] that the Amalek people-group lived there. You heard me say that their cities were large, and they had walls around them [to protect them from attacks by their enemies]. But now, Yahweh will help me, and as a result I will force them to leave, just like Yahweh said would happen.”

13 And Joshua gave him his blessing; and he gave Hebron to Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, for his heritage.

So Joshua [asked God to] bless Caleb, and he gave to Caleb [the city of] Hebron.

14 So Hebron became the heritage of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, to this day, because with all his heart he was true to the Lord, the God of Israel.

Previously that city was called Kiriath-Arba, because Arba was the greatest man among the Amalek people-group. Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb, because Caleb completely/fully trusted in Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], and obeyed him. After that happened, there was (peace/no battles) in [Canaan] land [for many years].

15 In earlier times the name of Hebron had been Kiriath-arba, named after Arba, the greatest of the Anakim. And the land had rest from war.