131 Now Joshua was old and advanced in years; and the Lord said to him, "You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed. 2 This is the land that yet remains: all the regions of the Philistines, and all those of the Gesh'urites 3 (from the Shihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is reckoned as Canaanite; there are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ash'kelon, Gath, and Ekron), and those of the Avvim, 4 in the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mear'ah which belongs to the Sido'nians, to Aphek, to the boundary of the Amorites, 5 and the land of the Geb'alites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Ba'al-gad below Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath, 6 all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Mis'rephoth-ma'im, even all the Sido'nians. I will myself drive them out from before the people of Israel; only allot the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you.
7 Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manas'seh." 8 With the other half of the tribe of Manas'seh the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the Lord gave them: 9 from Aro'er, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland of Med'eba as far as Dibon; 10 and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the boundary of the Ammonites; 11 and Gilead, and the region of the Gesh'urites and Ma-ac'athites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Sal'ecah; 12 all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ash'taroth and in Ed're-i (he alone was left of the remnant of the Reph'aim); these Moses had defeated and driven out. 13 Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Gesh'urites or the Ma-ac'athites; but Geshur and Ma'acath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day.
14 To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance; the offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him. 15 And Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the Reubenites according to their families. 16 So their territory was from Aro'er, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland by Med'eba; 17 with Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the tableland; Dibon, and Ba'moth-ba'al, and Beth-ba'al-me'on, 18 and Jahaz, and Ked'emoth, and Meph'aath, 19 and Kir'iatha'im, and Sibmah, and Zer'eth-sha'har on the hill of the valley, 20 and Beth-pe'or, and the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jesh'imoth, 21 that is, all the cities of the tableland, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses defeated with the leaders of Mid'ian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who dwelt in the land. 22 Balaam also, the son of Be'or, the soothsayer, the people of Israel killed with the sword among the rest of their slain. 23 And the border of the people of Reuben was the Jordan as a boundary. This was the inheritance of the Reubenites, according to their families with their cities and villages. 24 And Moses gave an inheritance also to the tribe of the Gadites, according to their families. 25 Their territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites, to Aro'er, which is east of Rabbah, 26 and from Heshbon to Ra'math-miz'peh and Bet'onim, and from Mahana'im to the territory of Debir, 27 and in the valley Beth-ha'ram, Beth-nim'rah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, having the Jordan as a boundary, to the lower end of the Sea of Chin'nereth, eastward beyond the Jordan. 28 This is the inheritance of the Gadites according to their families, with their cities and villages. 29 And Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manas'seh; it was allotted to the half-tribe of the Manas'sites according to their families. 30 Their region extended from Mahana'im, through all Bashan, the whole kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Ja'ir, which are in Bashan, sixty cities, 31 and half Gilead, and Ash'taroth, and Ed're-i, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan; these were allotted to the people of Machir the son of Manas'seh for the half of the Machirites according to their families. 32 These are the inheritances which Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho. 33 But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, as he said to them.
141 And these are the inheritances which the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which Elea'zar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers' houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed to them. 2 Their inheritance was by lot, as the Lord had commanded Moses for the nine and one-half tribes. 3 For Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan; but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. 4 For the people of Joseph were two tribes, Manas'seh and E'phraim; and no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasture lands for their cattle and their substance. 5 The people of Israel did as the Lord commanded Moses; they allotted the land.
6 Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal; and Caleb the son of Jephun'neh the Ken'izzite said to him, "You know what the Lord said to Moses the man of God in Ka'desh-bar'nea concerning you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Ka'desh-bar'nea to spy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. 8 But my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the Lord my God. 9 And Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children for ever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.' 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the Lord spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness; and now, lo, I am this day eighty-five years old. 11 I am still as strong to this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war, and for going and coming. 12 So now give me this hill country of which the Lord spoke on that day; for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities: it may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall drive them out as the Lord said." 13 Then Joshua blessed him; and he gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephun'neh for an inheritance. 14 So Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephun'neh the Ken'izzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. 15 Now the name of Hebron formerly was Kir'iath-ar'ba; this Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim. And the land had rest from war.
151 The lot for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their families reached southward to the boundary of Edom, to the wilderness of Zin at the farthest south. 2 And their south boundary ran from the end of the Salt Sea, from the bay that faces southward; 3 it goes out southward of the ascent of Akrab'bim, passes along to Zin, and goes up south of Ka'desh-bar'nea, along by Hezron, up to Addar, turns about to Karka, 4 passes along to Azmon, goes out by the Brook of Egypt, and comes to its end at the sea. This shall be your south boundary. 5 And the east boundary is the Salt Sea, to the mouth of the Jordan. And the boundary on the north side runs from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan; 6 and the boundary goes up to Beth-hoglah, and passes along north of Beth-arabah; and the boundary goes up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben; 7 and the boundary goes up to Debir from the Valley of Achor, and so northward, turning toward Gilgal, which is opposite the ascent of Adum'mim, which is on the south side of the valley; and the boundary passes along to the waters of En-she'mesh, and ends at En-ro'gel; 8 then the boundary goes up by the valley of the son of Hinnom at the southern shoulder of the Jeb'usite (that is, Jerusalem); and the boundary goes up to the top of the mountain that lies over against the valley of Hinnom, on the west, at the northern end of the valley of Reph'aim; 9 then the boundary extends from the top of the mountain to the spring of the Waters of Nephto'ah, and from there to the cities of Mount Ephron; then the boundary bends round to Ba'alah (that is, Kir'iath-je'arim); 10 and the boundary circles west of Ba'alah to Mount Se'ir, passes along to the northern shoulder of Mount Je'arim (that is, Ches'alon), and goes down to Beth-she'mesh, and passes along by Timnah; 11 the boundary goes out to the shoulder of the hill north of Ekron, then the boundary bends round to Shik'keron, and passes along to Mount Ba'alah, and goes out to Jabneel; then the boundary comes to an end at the sea. 12 And the west boundary was the Great Sea with its coast-line. This is the boundary round about the people of Judah according to their families.
13 According to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua, he gave to Caleb the son of Jephun'neh a portion among the people of Judah, Kir'iath-ar'ba, that is, Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). 14 And Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak, She'shai and Ahi'man and Talmai, the descendants of Anak. 15 And he went up from there against the inhabitants of Debir; now the name of Debir formerly was Kir'iath-se'pher. 16 And Caleb said, "Whoever smites Kir'iath-se'pher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife." 17 And Oth'ni-el the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. 18 When she came to him, she urged him to ask her father for a field; and she alighted from her ass, and Caleb said to her, "What do you wish?" 19 She said to him, "Give me a present; since you have set me in the land of the Negeb, give me also springs of water." And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Judah according to their families. 21 The cities belonging to the tribe of the people of Judah in the extreme South, toward the boundary of Edom, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 22 Kinah, Dimo'nah, Ada'dah, 23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 24 Ziph, Telem, Be-a'loth, 25 Ha'zor-hadat'tah, Ker'i-oth-hezron (that is, Hazor), 26 Amam, Shema, Mola'dah, 27 Ha'zar-gad'dah, Heshmon, Beth-pel'et, 28 Hazar-shu'al, Beer-sheba, Biziothi'ah, 29 Ba'alah, I'im, Ezem, 30 Elto'lad, Chesil, Hormah, 31 Ziklag, Madman'nah, Sansan'nah, 32 Leba'oth, Shilhim, A'in, and Rimmon: in all, twenty-nine cities, with their villages. 33 And in the lowland, Eshta'ol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zano'ah, En-gan'nim, Tap'puah, Enam, 35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Aze'kah, 36 Shaara'im, Aditha'im, Gede'rah, Gederotha'im: fourteen cities with their villages. 37 Zenan, Hadash'ah, Mig'dal-gad, 38 Di'lean, Mizpeh, Jok'theel, 39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 40 Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish, 41 Gede'roth, Beth-da'gon, Na'amah, and Makke'dah: sixteen cities with their villages. 42 Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 44 Kei'lah, Achzib, and Mare'shah: nine cities with their villages. 45 Ekron, with its towns and its villages; 46 from Ekron to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages. 47 Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; to the Brook of Egypt, and the Great Sea with its coast-line. 48 And in the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kir'iath-san'nah (that is, Debir), 50 Anab, Esh'temoh, Anim, 51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages. 52 Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 53 Janim, Beth-tap'puah, Aphe'kah, 54 Humtah, Kir'iath-ar'ba (that is, Hebron), and Zi'or: nine cities with their villages. 55 Ma'on, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jok'de-am, Zano'ah, 57 Kain, Gib'e-ah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages. 58 Halhul, Beth-zur, Gedor, 59 Ma'arath, Beth-anoth, and El'tekon: six cities with their villages. 60 Kir'iath-ba'al (that is, Kir'iath-je'arim), and Rabbah: two cities with their villages. 61 In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, Seca'cah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En-ge'di: six cities with their villages. 63 But the Jeb'usites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people of Judah could not drive out; so the Jeb'usites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they would have named him Zechari'ah after his father, 60 but his mother said, "Not so; he shall be called John." 61 And they said to her, "None of your kindred is called by this name." 62 And they made signs to his father, inquiring what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is John." And they all marveled. 64 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea; 66 and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, "What then will this child be?" For the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zechari'ah was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68 "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people, 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, 70 as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, 71 that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath which he swore to our father Abraham, 74 to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. 76 And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, 78 through the tender mercy of our God, when the day shall dawn upon us from on high 79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." 80 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
(Read Luke 1:57-66)
In these verses we have an account of the birth of John the Baptist, and the great joy among all the relations of the family. He shall be called Johanan, or "Gracious," because he shall bring in the gospel of Christ, wherein God's grace shines most bright. Zacharias recovered his speech. Unbelief closed his mouth, and believing opened it again: he believers, therefore he speaks. When God opens our lips, our mouths must show forth his praise; and better be without speech, than not use it in praising God. It is said, The hand of the Lord was working with John. God has ways of working on children in their infancy, which we cannot account for. We should observe the dealings of God, and wait the event.
(Read Luke 1:67-80)
Zacharias uttered a prophecy concerning the kingdom and salvation of the Messiah. The gospel brings light with it; in it the day dawns. In John the Baptist it began to break, and increased apace to the perfect day. The gospel is discovering; it shows that about which we were utterly in the dark; it is to give light to those that sit in darkness, the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. It is reviving; it brings light to those that sit in the shadow of death, as condemned prisoners in the dungeon. It is directing; it is to guide our feet in the way of peace, into that way which will bring us to peace at last, Romans 3:17. John gave proofs of strong faith, vigorous and holy affections, and of being above the fear and love of the world. Thus he ripened for usefulness; but he lived a retired life, till he came forward openly as the forerunner of the Messiah. Let us follow peace with all men, as well as seek peace with God and our own consciences. And if it be the will of God that we live unknown to the world, still let us diligently seek to grow strong in the grace of Jesus Christ.
