Joshua

They approached El'azar the cohen, Y'hoshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, "ADONAI ordered Moshe to give us an inheritance together with our kinsmen." Therefore, in keeping with ADONAI's order, he gave them an inheritance together with the kinsmen of their father.

Then the descendants of Yosef spoke to Y'hoshua; they said, "Why have you given me only one lot and only one portion to inherit? After all, I am a great people, since ADONAI has blessed me so."

Y'hoshua answered them, "If you are a great people, go up to the forest, and clear land for yourself there in the territory of the P'rizi and the Refa'im - since the hills of Efrayim don't give you enough space."

Then Y'hoshua said to the house of Yosef, to both Efrayim and M'nasheh, "You are a great people with much power; you will not have only one lot,

Y'hoshua said to the people of Isra'el, "How long will you delay going in to take possession of the land which ADONAI the God of your ancestors has given you?

So the men got up and went. Y'hoshua gave them this commission as they left to describe the land: "Go; walk through the land; and describe it; then come back to me, and I will cast lots for you here before ADONAI in Shiloh."

The men went and passed through the land, surveying it by cities, dividing it into seven regions and writing the results on a scroll. Then they came to Y'hoshua in the camp at Shiloh.

Y'hoshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before ADONAI, and there Y'hoshua divided the land among the people of Isra'el according to their regions.

When they had finished distributing the land for inheritance according to its borders, the people of Isra'el gave an inheritance within their territory to Y'hoshua the son of Nun.

These are the inheritances which El'azar the cohen, Y'hoshua the son of Nun and the leaders of the ancestral clans of the tribes of the people of Isra'el distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh before ADONAI at the door of the tent of meeting. Thus they finished dividing up the land.

ADONAI said to Y'hoshua,

Then the leaders of the ancestral clans of the L'vi'im approached El'azar the cohen, Y'hoshua the son of Nun and the leaders of the ancestral clans of the tribes of the people of Isra'el.

Then Y'hoshua called the Re'uveni, the Gadi and the half-tribe of M'nasheh,

Then Y'hoshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

(To the one half-tribe of M'nasheh, Moshe had given an inheritance in Bashan; but to the other half, Y'hoshua gave one among their kinsmen on the west side of the Yarden.) When Y'hoshua sent them away to their tents he blessed them,

A long time afterwards, when ADONAI had given Isra'el rest from all their surrounding enemies, and Y'hoshua was old, with age taking its toll,

Y'hoshua summoned all Isra'el - their leaders, heads, judges and officials - and said to them, "I am old; age is taking its toll.

Y'hoshua gathered all the tribes of Isra'el to Sh'khem; he summoned the leaders, heads, judges and officials of Isra'el; and they presented themselves before God.

Y'hoshua said to all the people, "This is what ADONAI the God of Isra'el says: 'In antiquity your ancestors lived on the other side of the [Euphrates] River-Terach the father of Avraham and Nachor-and they served other gods.

Y'hoshua said to the people, "You can't serve ADONAI; because he is a holy God, a jealous God, and he will not forgive your crimes and sins.

But the people said to Y'hoshua, "No, but we will serve ADONAI."

Y'hoshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen ADONAI, to serve him." They answered, "We are witnesses."

The people answered Y'hoshua, "We will serve ADONAI our God; we will pay attention to what he says."

So Y'hoshua made a covenant with the people that day, laying down for them laws and rulings there in Sh'khem.

Y'hoshua wrote these words in the book of the Torah of God. Then he took a big stone and set it up there under the oak next to the sanctuary of ADONAI.