Josh 15.1-63 gives us the borders of the tribe of Judah; Caleb drives out the Anakim from Hebron; Caleb’s brother drives out the inhabitants of Debir; his daughter given in marriage to whoever captures Kiriath-sepher (Debir).
v 1…Now the lot of the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families reached the border of Edom, southward to the wilderness of Zin (thiorny) at the extreme south.
v 2…And their south border was from the lower end of the Salt Sea , from the bay that turns to the south.
v 3…Then it proceeded southward to the ascent of Akrabbim (scorpions) and continued to Zin, then went up by the south to Kadesh Barnea (holy desert of wandering) and continued to Hezron (enclosed), and wnt up to Addar (exceeding glorious), and turned about to Karka (bottom floor).
v 4…It continued to Azmon and proceeded to the brook of Egypt and the biorder ended at the sea. This shall be your southern border.
v 5…And the east border was the salt Sea, as far as the mouth of the Jordan. And the border of the north side was from the bay of the sea at the south of the Jordan.
v 6…Then the border went up to Beth-hoglah (house of the partridge) and continued on the north of Beth-arabah (house of the desert) and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben (a Reubenite, possibly erected to commemorate some deed of valor in the wars of Joshua; nothing is known about who Bohan was).
v 7…And the border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and turned northward toward Gilgal, which is opposute the ascent of Adummim (red ones), which is on the south of the valley; and the border continued to the waters of En-shemesh (fountain of the sun) and it ended at En-rogel (fountain of the fuller and source of the pool of Siloam).
v 8…Then the border went up the valley of Ben-hinnom to the slope of the Jebusite on the south, that is, Jerusalem, and the birder went up to the top of the mountain (Moriah) which is before the valley of Hinnom to the west, which is at the end of the valley Rephaim toward the north (the border between Judah and Benjamin went right through where the Temple would be on Mount Moriah; see the comments at the end of Josh 14 for a possible explanation how this verse helped David find the place for the Temple and the altar on Moriah).
v 9…And from the top of the mountain the borer curved to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah and proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, then the borer curved to Baalah, that is KIriath-jearim.
v 10…And the borer turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir (not the one in Edom), and continued to the slope of Mount Jearim on the north, that is Chesalon, and went down to Beth Shemesh and continued to Timnah.
v 11…And the border proceeded to the side of Ekron northward. Then the border curved to Shikkeron (uprooting) and continued to Mount Baalah and proceeded to Jabneel, and the biorder ended at the sea.
v 12…And the west border was at the Great Sea, even its coastline. This is the border around the sons of Judah according to their families.
v 13…Now he gave Caleb the son of Jephunneh a portion among the sons of Judah, according to the command of the Lord to Joshua, formerly KIriath-arba, Arba being the father of Anak, that is, Hebron.
v 14…And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman (brother of who) and Talmai, the children of Anak.
v 15…Then he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir, now the name of Debir formerly was KIriath-sepher.
v 16…And Caleb said, “The one who attacks KIriath-sepher and captures it, I will give him Achsah (anklet, adorned) my daughter as a wife.”
v 17…And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother (kinsman and uncle) of Caleb, captured it (cousins).
v 18…And it came about that when she came to him, she persuaded him to ask of her father for a field. So she alighted from the donkey, and Caleb said to her, ‘What do you want?”
v 19…Then she said, “Give me a blessing, since you have given me the land of the Negev (a dry land), give me also springs of water (land where there was water). So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
v 20…This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families.
v 21…Now the cities of the extremity (outward part), the southern border of it) of the tribe of the sons of Judah toward the border of Edom in the south were Kabzeel and Eder (flock) and Jagur,
v 22…and Kinah (lamentation) and Dimonah (sufficient numbering) and Adadah (forever adorned),
v 23…and Kedesh (set apart) and Hazor and Ithnan,
v 24…Ziph (flowing) and Telem (their shadow) and Bealoth (bride),
v 25…and Hazor-hadattah and Kerioth-hezron, that is, Hazor,
v 26…Amani and Shema (hear) and Moladah (about twenty miles form Hebron),
v 27…and Hazar-gaddah (court of troops) and Heshmon (hasty messenger) and Beth-pelet (house of escape),
v 28…and Hazar-shua (pen of the jackal) and Beersheba (seven wells) and Bizlothiam (their villages),
v 29…Baalah and Iim and Ezem (strength),
v 30…and Eltolad (born of God) and Chesil (foolish) and Hormah (broken rock)
v 31…and Ziklag (winding) and Madmannah and Sansannah (palm branch or thorn bush),
v 32…and Lebaoth abd Shilhim and Ain and Rimmon (pomegranate); in all twenty-nine cities and their villages.
v 33… In the lowland (the Shephelah Valley): Eshtaol and Zorah and Ashnah,
v 34…and zanoah and En-gannim, Tappuah and Enam,
v 35…Jarmuth (lifted up) and Adullam, Socoh (his hedge) and Azekah (fitted),
v 36…and Shaaraim (gates) abd Adithaim abd Gederah (sheepfold) and Gederothiaim (double sheepfold); fourteen cities with their villages.
v 37…Zenan and Hadashah (myrtle) abd Migdal-gad (watchtower of the troops),’
v 38…and Dilean (brought low in affliction) and Mizpeh (watch tower) and Joktheel (adorned of God),
v 39…Lachish (walk of a man) and Bozkath (puffing up) and Eglon (bull),
v 40…and Cabbon (prudent) and Lahmas (their bread) and Chitlish,
v 41…and Gederoth (walls), Beth-dagon (house of fish/abundance) and Naamath (she was pleasant) and Makkedah (place of shepherds); sixteen cities with their villages.
v 42…Libnah and Ether and Ashan (smoke),
v 43…and Iphtah (he opens) and Ashnah (change) and Nezib (to stand),
v 44…and Keilah abd Achzib (I make lies) and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.
v 45…Ekron (up-rooting) with its towns and its villages;
v 46…from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod (I spoil) with their villages.
v 47…Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza (she was strong), its towns and its villages, as far as the brook of Egypt and the Great Sea, even its coastline.
v 48…And in the hill country (of Judah-Luke 1.39); Shamir (keep guard) and Jattir (excellent) and Socoh (his hedge),
v 49…and Dannah and Kiriath-sannah (city of the thorn bush), that is, Debir,
v 50…and Anah and Eshtemoh (fire of wonder) and Anim (fountains),
v 51…and Goshen and Holon and Giloh (uncovered); eleven cities with their villages.
v 52…Arab and Dumah and Eshan,
v 53…and Janum and Beth-tappuah (apple house) and Aphekah (restrains),
v 54…and Humtah and Kiriath-arba, that is, Hebron, and Zior; nine cities with their villages.
v 55…Maon (habitation), Carmel (fruitful field) and Ziph (flowing) and Juttan (he will be turned aside),
v 56…and Jezreel (sown of God) abd Jokteam (born of the people) and Zanoah (reject)
v 57…Kain (producer), Gibeah (hill) abd Timnah (to number); ten cities with their villages.
v 58…Halhul (travail, pain), Beth-zur (house of the rock) and Gedor (to walk in),
v 59…and Maarath and Beth-anoth (house of afflictions) and Eltekon (made straight); six cities with their villages
v 60…Kiriath-baal (city of Baal), that is Kiriath-jearim (changed to city of forests), and Rabbah (great); two cities with their villages.
v 61…In the wilderness: Beth-arabah (desert house), Middin (judging) ahd Secacah (enclosed),
v 62…and Nibshan (prophesy quiet) and the City of Salt (possibly Qumran) and Engedi (spring of the kid); six cities with their villages.
v 63…Now as for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the sons of Judah could not drive them out (“The eastern half of Jerusalem, occupied by the Philistines, thus fell into the portion of Judah. Because of Abraham’s treaty with Abimelech and the Philistines, the tribe of Judah could not drive them out, and the Scripture thus states, “The sons of Judah could not drive out the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Josh 16.63).” It was not until after the last descendants of Abimelech died after the time of Joshua that the tribe of Judah was able to conquer its portion of the city: “The children of Judah fought against Jerusalem and took it, smiting it with the sword and setting the city on fire (Judges 1.8).” The western part of Jerusalem, which belonged to Benjamin, was inhabited by the Hittite descendants of Ephron, who had made a covenant with Abraham when the cave of Machpelah was purchased. Just as the sale of Machpelah had been permanent, so was this covenant, so the Benjaminites could not drive the Hittites out of their portion of Jerusalem. It is thuis written, “The children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites who inhabited Jerusalem (Judges 1.21).” As mentioned earlier, whatever people lived in Jerusalem at the time were called Jebusites, whether they were Philistines or Hittites.”- “The Aryeh Kaplan Anthology II”, p 65).
Josh 16.1-10 deals with the territory of Ephraim.
v 1…Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel.
v 2…And it went from Bethel to Luz and continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth.
v 3…And it went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of the lower Beth-horon even to Gezer and it ended at the sea (Mediterranean).
v 4…And the sons fo Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.
v 5…Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar (crowns of glory), as far as upper Beth-horon.
v 6…Then the border went westward at Michmethath (poverty of the dead) on the north and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh (pass to Shiloh), and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah.
v 7…And it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan.
v 8…From Tappuah the border continued westward to the brook of Kanah, and it ended at the sea (Mediterranean),
v 9…together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages (some were upon the borders of Ephraim, a nook or corner may have jetted out)
v 10…But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer (typical of all the tribes), so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day and they became forced laborers (they could have driven them out but did not because they wanted laborers; but God allowed some of the nations to survive because of Judges 3.1-2).
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