Dividing the Land

48 “These are the ·areas of the tribes named here [^Lnames of the tribes]: Dan will have one share at the northern border. It will go from the sea through Hethlon to Lebo Hamath [47:15], all the way to Hazar Enan [47:17], ·where Damascus lies to the north. It will stop there next to Hamath [or …which is located on the northern border of Damascus next to Hamath]. This will be Dan’s northern border from the east side to the ·Mediterranean Sea on the west side [^Lwest].

² “·South of [^LBeside] Dan’s border, Asher will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

³ “·South of [^LBeside] Asher’s border, Naphtali will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

⁴ “·South of [^LBeside] Naphtali’s border, Manasseh will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

⁵ “·South of [^LBeside] Manasseh’s border, Ephraim will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

⁶ “·South of [^LBeside] Ephraim’s border, Reuben will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

⁷ “·South of [^LBeside] Reuben’s border, Judah will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

⁸ “·South of [^LBeside] Judah’s border will be the ·holy area which you are to give [portion set apart]. It will be ·about seven miles [^Ltwenty-five thousand cubits] wide and as long and wide as one of the tribes’ shares. It will run from the east side to the west side. The ·Temple [^Lsanctuary] will be in the middle of this area.

⁹ “The share which you will give the Lord will be ·about seven miles [^Ltwenty-five thousand cubits] long and ·three miles [^Lten thousand cubits] wide. ¹⁰ The ·holy area [sacred allotment] will be divided among these people. The priests will have land ·about seven miles [^Ltwenty-five thousand cubits] long on the north and south sides, and ·three miles [^Lten thousand cubits] wide on the west and east sides. The ·Temple [sanctuary] of the Lord will be in the middle of it. ¹¹ This land is for the ·priests who are given the holy duty of serving the Lord [^Lconsecrated priests]. ·They [^L…who] are the ·descendants [sons] of Zadok who ·did my work [were faithful to me; kept my charge] and did not ·leave me [go astray] when Israel and the Levites ·left me [went astray]. ¹² They will have as their share a very holy part of the holy portion of the land. It will be next to the land of the Levites.

¹³ “Alongside the land for the priests, the Levites will have a share ·about seven miles [^Ltwenty-five thousand cubits] long and ·three miles [^Lten thousand cubits] wide; its full length will be ·about seven miles [^Ltwenty-five thousand cubits] and its full width ·about three miles [^Lten thousand cubits]. ¹⁴ The Levites are not to sell or ·trade [exchange] any of this land. They are not to ·let anyone else own [transfer; alienate] any of this best part of the land, because it ·belongs [is set apart/holy] to the Lord.

City Property

¹⁵ “The rest of the area will be ·about one and one-half miles [^Lfive thousand cubits] wide and ·seven miles [^Ltwenty-five thousand cubits] long. It will ·not be holy but [be for common use and] will belong to the city and be used for homes and pastures. The city will be in the middle of it. ¹⁶ These are the city’s measurements: the north side will be ·about one mile [^Lfour thousand five hundred cubits], the south side ·about one mile [^Lfour thousand five hundred cubits], the east side ·about one mile [^Lfour thousand five hundred cubits], and the west side ·about one mile [^Lfour thousand five hundred cubits]. ¹⁷ The city’s land for pastures will be ·about four hundred thirty-seven feet [^Ltwo hundred fifty cubits] on the north, ·four hundred thirty-seven feet [^Ltwo hundred fifty cubits] on the south, ·four hundred thirty-seven feet [^Ltwo hundred fifty cubits] on the east, and ·four hundred thirty-seven feet [^Ltwo hundred fifty cubits] on the west. ¹⁸ Along the long side of the holy area there will be left ·three miles [^Lten thousand cubits] on the east and ·three miles [^Lten thousand cubits] on the west. It will be used to grow food for the city workers. ¹⁹ The city workers from all the tribes of Israel will farm this land. ²⁰ This whole area will be square, ·seven miles [^Ltwenty-five thousand cubits] by ·seven miles [^Ltwenty-five thousand cubits]. You shall give to the Lord the holy share along with the city property.

²¹ “Land that is left over on both sides of the holy area and city property will belong to the ·ruler [prince]. That land will extend eastward from the ·seven miles [^Ltwenty-five thousand cubits] of the holy area to the eastern border and westward from the ·seven miles [^Ltwenty-five thousand cubits] to the ·Mediterranean Sea [^Lwestern border]. Both of these areas run the length of the lands of the tribes, and they belong to the ·ruler [prince]. The holy area with the ·Holy Place [sanctuary] of the ·Temple [^Lhouse] will be in the middle. ²² The Levites’ land and the city property will be in the middle of the lands belonging to the ·ruler [prince]. Those lands will be between Judah’s border and Benjamin’s border.

The Other Tribes’ Land

²³ “Here is what the rest of the tribes will receive: Benjamin will have one share. It will go from the east side to the ·Mediterranean Sea on the west side [^Lwest side].

²⁴ “·South of [^LBeside] Benjamin’s land, Simeon will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

²⁵ “·South of [^LBeside] Simeon’s land, Issachar will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

²⁶ “·South of [^LBeside] Issachar’s land, Zebulun will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

²⁷ “·South of [^LBeside] Zebulun’s land, Gad will have one share. It will go from the east side to the west side.

²⁸ “The southern border of Gad’s land will go ·east from Tamar on the Dead Sea [^Lfrom Tamar; 47:18] to the waters of Meribah Kadesh [47:19]. Then it will run along the brook of Egypt to the ·Mediterranean [^LGreat] Sea.

²⁹ “This is the land you will divide among the tribes of Israel to be their shares,” says the Lord God.

The Gates of the City

³⁰ “These will be the ·outside borders [or exits] of the city: The north side will measure ·more than one mile [^Lfour thousand five hundred cubits]. ³¹ There will be three gates facing north: Reuben’s Gate, Judah’s Gate, and Levi’s Gate, named for the tribes of Israel.

³² “The east side will measure ·more than one mile [^Lfour thousand five hundred cubits]. There will be three gates facing east: Joseph’s Gate, Benjamin’s Gate, and Dan’s Gate.

³³ “The south side will measure ·more than one mile [^Lfour thousand five hundred cubits]. There will be three gates facing south: Simeon’s Gate, Issachar’s Gate, and Zebulun’s Gate.

³⁴ “The west side will measure ·more than one mile [^Lfour thousand five hundred cubits]. There will be three gates facing west: Gad’s Gate, Asher’s Gate, and Naphtali’s Gate.

³⁵ “The city will measure ·about six miles around [^Leighteen thousand cubits]. From then on the name of the city will be The Lord Is There.”