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The people of Israel had already conquered and occupied the land east of the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley up the Jordan Valley and as far north as Mount Hermon. They defeated two kings.
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One was Sihon, the Amorite king who ruled at Heshbon. His kingdom included half of Gilead: from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and from the city in the middle of that valley, as far as the Jabbok River, the border of Ammon;
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it included the Jordan Valley from Lake Galilee south to Beth Jeshimoth (east of the Dead Sea) and on toward the foot of Mount Pisgah.
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They also defeated King Og of Bashan, who was one of the last of the Rephaim; he ruled at Ashtaroth and Edrei.
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His kingdom included Mount Hermon, Salecah, and all of Bashan as far as the boundaries of Geshur and Maacah, as well as half of Gilead, as far as the territory of King Sihon of Heshbon.
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These two kings were defeated by Moses and the people of Israel. Moses, the LORD's servant, gave their land to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to be their possession.
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Joshua and the people of Israel defeated all the kings in the territory west of the Jordan, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak in the south near Edom. Joshua divided this land among the tribes and gave it to them as a permanent possession.
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This portion included the hill country, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley and its foothills, the eastern slopes, and the dry country in the south. This land had been the home of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
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The people of Israel defeated the kings of the following cities: Jericho, Ai (near Bethel),
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Shimron Meron, Achshaph,
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Kedesh, Jokneam (in Carmel),
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Dor (on the coast), Goiim (in Galilee ),
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and Tirzah---thirty-one kings in all.
1
Joshua was now very old. The LORD said to him, "You are very old, but there is still much land to be taken:
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all the territory of Philistia and Geshur,
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as well as all the territory of the Avvim to the south. (The land from the stream Shihor, at the Egyptian border, as far north as the border of Ekron was considered Canaanite; the kings of the Philistines lived at Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.)
4
There is still all the Canaanite country, and Mearah (which belonged to the Sidonians), as far as Aphek, at the Amorite border;
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the land of the Gebalites; all of Lebanon to the east, from Baalgad, which is south of Mount Hermon, to Hamath Pass.
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This includes all the territory of the Sidonians, who live in the hill country between the Lebanon Mountains and Misrephoth Maim. I will drive all these peoples out as the people of Israel advance. You must divide the land among the Israelites, just as I have commanded you to do.
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Now then, divide this land among the other nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh, for them to possess as their own."
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The tribes of Reuben and Gad and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh had already received the land that Moses, the LORD's servant, had given them; it was on the east side of the Jordan River.
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Their territory extended to Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and the city in the middle of that valley and included all of the plateau from Medeba to Dibon.
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It went as far as the border of Ammon and included all the cities that had been ruled by the Amorite king Sihon, who had ruled at Heshbon.
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It included Gilead, the regions of Geshur and Maacah, all of Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far as Salecah.
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It included the kingdom of Og, the last of the Rephaim, who had ruled at Ashtaroth and Edrei. Moses had defeated these people and driven them out.
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However, the Israelites did not drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah; they still live in Israel.
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Moses had given no land to the tribe of Levi. As the LORD had told Moses, they were to receive as their possession a share of the sacrifices burned on the altar to the LORD God of Israel.
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Moses had given a part of the land to the families of the tribe of Reuben as their possession.
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Their territory extended to Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley) and the city in the middle of that valley and included all the plateau around Medeba.
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It included Heshbon and all the cities on the plateau: Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baalmeon,
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Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,
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Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley,
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Bethpeor, the slopes of Mount Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth.
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It included all the cities of the plateau and the whole kingdom of the Amorite king Sihon, who had ruled at Heshbon. Moses defeated him, as well as the rulers of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba. All of them had ruled the land for King Sihon.
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Among those whom the people of Israel killed was the fortune teller Balaam son of Beor.
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The Jordan was the western border of the tribe of Reuben. These were the cities and towns given to the families of the tribe of Reuben as their possession.
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Moses had also given a part of the land to the families of the tribe of Gad as their possession.
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Their territory included Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, half the land of Ammon as far as Aroer, which is east of Rabbah;
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their land extended from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpeh and Betonim, from Mahanaim to the border of Lodebar.
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In the Jordan Valley it included Beth Haram, Bethnimrah, Sukkoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon. Their western border was the Jordan River as far north as Lake Galilee.
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These were the cities and towns given to the families of the tribe of Gad as their possession.
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Moses had given a part of the land to the families of half the tribe of Manasseh as their possession.
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Their territory extended to Mahanaim and included all of Bashan---the whole kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, as well as all sixty of the villages of Jair in Bashan.
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It included half of Gilead, as well as Ashtaroth and Edrei, the capital cities of Og's kingdom in Bashan. All this was given to half the families descended from Machir son of Manasseh.
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This is how Moses divided the land east of Jericho and the Jordan when he was in the plains of Moab.
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But Moses did not assign any land to the tribe of Levi. He told them that their possession was to be a share of the offerings to the LORD God of Israel.
1
What follows is an account of how the land of Canaan west of the Jordan was divided among the people of Israel. Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the families of the Israelite tribes divided it among the population.
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As the LORD had commanded Moses, the territories of the nine and one-half tribes west of the Jordan were determined by drawing lots.
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Moses had already assigned the land east of the Jordan to the other two and one-half tribes. (The descendants of Joseph were divided into two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim.) However, Moses gave the Levites no portion of the territory. Instead, they received cities to live in, with fields for their cattle and flocks.
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The people of Israel divided the land as the LORD had commanded Moses.
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One day some people from the tribe of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. One of them, Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, said to him, "You know what the LORD said in Kadesh Barnea about you and me to Moses, the man of God.
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I was forty years old when the LORD's servant Moses sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out this land. I brought an honest report back to him.
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The men who went with me, however, made our people afraid. But I faithfully obeyed the LORD my God.
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Because I did, Moses promised me that my children and I would certainly receive as our possession the land which I walked over.
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But now, look. It has been forty-five years since the LORD said that to Moses. That was when Israel was going through the desert, and the LORD, as he promised, has kept me alive ever since. Look at me! I am eighty-five years old
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and am just as strong today as I was when Moses sent me out. I am still strong enough for war or for anything else.
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Now then, give me the hill country that the LORD promised me on that day when my men and I reported. We told you then that the race of giants called the Anakim were there in large walled cities. Maybe the LORD will be with me, and I will drive them out, just as the LORD said."
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Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him the city of Hebron as his possession.
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Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, because he faithfully obeyed the LORD, the God of Israel.
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Before this, Hebron was called the city of Arba. (Arba had been the greatest of the Anakim.) There was now peace in the land.
1
Now, to deal with the matters you wrote about. A man does well not to marry.
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But because there is so much immorality, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband.
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A man should fulfill his duty as a husband, and a woman should fulfill her duty as a wife, and each should satisfy the other's needs.
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A wife is not the master of her own body, but her husband is; in the same way a husband is not the master of his own body, but his wife is.
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Do not deny yourselves to each other, unless you first agree to do so for a while in order to spend your time in prayer; but then resume normal marital relations. In this way you will be kept from giving in to Satan's temptation because of your lack of self-control.
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I tell you this not as an order, but simply as a permission.
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Actually I would prefer that all of you were as I am; but each one has a special gift from God, one person this gift, another one that gift.
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Now, to the unmarried and to the widows I say that it would be better for you to continue to live alone as I do.
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But if you cannot restrain your desires, go ahead and marry---it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
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For married people I have a command which is not my own but the Lord's: a wife must not leave her husband;
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but if she does, she must remain single or else be reconciled to her husband; and a husband must not divorce his wife.
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To the others I say (I, myself, not the Lord): if a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she agrees to go on living with him, he must not divorce her.
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And if a Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever and he agrees to go on living with her, she must not divorce him.
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For the unbelieving husband is made acceptable to God by being united to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made acceptable to God by being united to her Christian husband. If this were not so, their children would be like pagan children; but as it is, they are acceptable to God.
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However, if the one who is not a believer wishes to leave the Christian partner, let it be so. In such cases the Christian partner, whether husband or wife, is free to act. God has called you to live in peace.
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How can you be sure, Christian wife, that you will not save your husband? Or how can you be sure, Christian husband, that you will not save your wife?
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Each of you should go on living according to the Lord's gift to you, and as you were when God called you. This is the rule I teach in all the churches.
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If a circumcised man has accepted God's call, he should not try to remove the marks of circumcision; if an uncircumcised man has accepted God's call, he should not get circumcised.
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For whether or not a man is circumcised means nothing; what matters is to obey God's commandments.
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Each of you should remain as you were when you accepted God's call.
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Were you a slave when God called you? Well, never mind; but if you have a chance to become free, use it.
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For a slave who has been called by the Lord is the Lord's free person; in the same way a free person who has been called by Christ is his slave.
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God bought you for a price; so do not become slaves of people.
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My friends, each of you should remain in fellowship with God in the same condition that you were when you were called.
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Now, concerning what you wrote about unmarried people: I do not have a command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is worthy of trust.
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Considering the present distress, I think it is better for a man to stay as he is.
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Do you have a wife? Then don't try to get rid of her. Are you unmarried? Then don't look for a wife.
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But if you do marry, you haven't committed a sin; and if an unmarried woman marries, she hasn't committed a sin. But I would rather spare you the everyday troubles that married people will have.
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What I mean, my friends, is this: there is not much time left, and from now on married people should live as though they were not married;
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those who weep, as though they were not sad; those who laugh, as though they were not happy; those who buy, as though they did not own what they bought;
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those who deal in material goods, as though they were not fully occupied with them. For this world, as it is now, will not last much longer.
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I would like you to be free from worry. An unmarried man concerns himself with the Lord's work, because he is trying to please the Lord.
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But a married man concerns himself with worldly matters, because he wants to please his wife;
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and so he is pulled in two directions. An unmarried woman or a virgin concerns herself with the Lord's work, because she wants to be dedicated both in body and spirit; but a married woman concerns herself with worldly matters, because she wants to please her husband.
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I am saying this because I want to help you. I am not trying to put restrictions on you. Instead, I want you to do what is right and proper, and to give yourselves completely to the Lord's service without any reservation.
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In the case of an engaged couple who have decided not to marry: if the man feels that he is not acting properly toward the young woman and if his passions are too strong and he feels that they ought to marry, then they should get married, as he wants to. There is no sin in this.
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But if a man, without being forced to do so, has firmly made up his mind not to marry, and if he has his will under complete control and has already decided in his own mind what to do---then he does well not to marry the young woman.
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So the man who marries does well, but the one who doesn't marry does even better.
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A married woman is not free as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, then she is free to be married to any man she wishes, but only if he is a Christian.
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She will be happier, however, if she stays as she is. That is my opinion, and I think that I too have God's Spirit.
