Joshua 15 · WEB
Territory Allotted to Judah
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The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south.
2Their south border was from the uttermost part of the Salt Sea, from the bay that looks southward;
3and it went out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and went up by the south of Kadesh Barnea, and passed along by Hezron, went up to Addar, and turned about to Karka;
4and it passed along to Azmon, went out at the brook of Egypt; and the border ended at the sea. This shall be your south border.
5The east border was the Salt Sea, even to the end of the Jordan. The border on the north side was from the bay of the sea at the end of the Jordan.
6The border went up to Beth Hoglah, and passed along by the north of Beth Arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben.
7The border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is over against the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the river. The border passed along to the waters of En Shemesh, and ended at En Rogel.
8The border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom to the side of the Jebusite southward (the same is Jerusalem). The border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the farthest part of the valley of the Rephaim northward.
9The border extended from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron. The border extended to Baalah (the same is Kiriath Jearim).
10The border turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and passed along to the side of Mount Jearim on the north (the same is Chesalon), and went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed along by Timnah.
11The border went out to the side of Ekron northward, and the border extended to Shikkeron, and passed along to Mount Baalah, and went out at Jabneel; and the border ended at the sea.
12The west border was the great sea and its coastline. This is the border of the children of Judah around their families.
13To Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of Yahweh to Joshua, even Kiriath Arba, named after the father of Anak (the same is Hebron).
14Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.
15He went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir. Now the name of Debir used to be Kiriath Sepher.
16Caleb said, "Whoever strikes Kiriath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife."
17Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.
18When she came, she had him ask her father for a field. She got off her donkey, and Caleb said to her, "What do you want?"
19She said, "Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water." So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
20This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.
21The cities at the farthest part of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the South were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur,
22Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah,
23Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan,
24Ziph, Telem, Bealoth,
25Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (the same is Hazor),
26Amam, Shema, Moladah,
27Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet,
28Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah,
29Baalah, Iim, Ezem,
30Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah,
31Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,
32Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon. All the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages.
33In the lowland: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah,
34Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam,
35Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,
36Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages.
37Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad,
38Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel,
39Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon,
40Cabbon, Lahmas, Chitlish,
41Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.
42Libnah, Ether, Ashan,
43Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib,
44Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.
45Ekron, with its towns and its villages;
46from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages;
47Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages, to the brook of Egypt, and the great sea with its coastline.
48In the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh,
49Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (the same is Debir),
50Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim,
51Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.
52Arab, Dumah, Eshan,
53Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah,
54Humtah, Kiriath Arba (the same is Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.
55Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,
56Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
57Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.
58Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor,
59Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages.
60Kiriath Baal (the same is Kiriath Jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.
61In the wilderness: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah,
62Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi; six cities with their villages.
63As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah couldn't drive them out; but the Jebusites lived with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.
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Summary
The tribe of Judah receives the first and largest territory allotment in Canaan, covering the entire southern region from the Salt Sea and the Negev desert up to the borders of Benjamin and the Mediterranean coast. Within this allotment, Caleb fulfills his bold faith by driving out the Anakim giants from Hebron and capturing Debir, where his daughter Achsah wisely asks for and receives springs of water to sustain life in the dry southern land. The chapter then catalogs Judah's many cities in exhaustive detail, showing the real and tangible nature of the inheritance God promised. One notable exception closes the chapter: Jerusalem's Jebusite inhabitants could not be expelled, a foothold that would remain until David's reign centuries later.
Themes
- The faithfulness of God to give Judah the promised southern inheritance
- Caleb's courageous follow-through in claiming and clearing his territory
- The wisdom of Achsah — asking well and making the most of an inheritance
- Incomplete obedience and its long-term consequences (Jerusalem's Jebusites)
Key verses
- Josh 15:14 — “Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.”
- Josh 15:16 — “Whoever strikes Kiriath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife.”
- Josh 15:19 — “Give me a blessing. Since you have set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water.”
- Josh 15:63 — “As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah couldn't drive them out.”
Context & background
Judah's territory corresponds to modern southern Israel and the southern West Bank, stretching from the Negev desert in the south to the outskirts of Jerusalem in the north, and from the Dead Sea (the Salt Sea) in the east to the Mediterranean coast in the west. Hebron, about 19 miles south of Jerusalem, is located in the modern West Bank highlands and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on earth. Debir (Kiriath Sepher) is believed to be in the hills southwest of Hebron. The Negev cities like Beersheba and Ziklag are in modern Israel's southern desert region. The Jebusite holdout at Jerusalem would not be resolved until King David captured the city around 1000 BC (2 Samuel 5:6–9).
Cross-references
- 2 Samuel 5:6–7 — David finally captures Jerusalem from the Jebusites generations later
- Joshua 14:12–14 — Caleb requests Hebron as his inheritance, claiming God's forty-five-year-old promise
- Judges 1:11–15 — A parallel account of Caleb, Othniel, and Achsah's request for springs
- Judges 1:20–21 — Judah takes Hebron but Benjamin cannot drive out the Jebusites from Jerusalem
- Numbers 13:22 — Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai of Anak are first encountered at Hebron when the spies enter the land