1The second lot came out for Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. Their inheritance was in the middle of the inheritance of the children of Judah. 2They had for their inheritance Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah, 3Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, 4Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, 6Beth Lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities with their villages; 7Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan; four cities with their villages; 8and all the villages that were around these cities to Baalath Beer, Ramah of the South. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. 9Out of the part of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon; for the portion of the children of Judah was too much for them. Therefore the children of Simeon had inheritance in the middle of their inheritance.
10The third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families. The border of their inheritance was to Sarid. 11Their border went up westward, even to Maralah, and reached to Dabbesheth. It reached to the brook that is before Jokneam. 12It turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrise to the border of Chisloth Tabor. It went out to Daberath, and went up to Japhia. 13From there it passed along eastward to Gath Hepher, to Ethkazin; and it went out at Rimmon which stretches to Neah. 14The border turned around it on the north to Hannathon; and it ended at the valley of Iphtah El; 15Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages. 16This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
17The fourth lot came out for Issachar, even for the children of Issachar according to their families. 18Their border was to Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, 19Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21Remeth, Engannim, En Haddah, and Beth Pazzez. 22The border reached to Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth Shemesh. Their border ended at the Jordan: sixteen cities with their villages. 23This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar according to their families, the cities with their villages.
24The fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families. 25Their border was Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26Allammelech, Amad, Mishal. It reached to Carmel westward, and to Shihorlibnath. 27It turned toward the sunrise to Beth Dagon, and reached to Zebulun, and to the valley of Iphtah El northward to Beth Emek and Neiel. It went out to Cabul on the left hand, 28and Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, and Kanah, even to great Sidon. 29The border turned to Ramah, to the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah. It ended at the sea by the region of Achzib; 30Ummah also, and Aphek, and Rehob: twenty-two cities with their villages. 31This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher according to their families, these cities with their villages.
32The sixth lot came out for the children of Naphtali, even for the children of Naphtali according to their families. 33Their border was from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, to Lakkum. It ended at the Jordan. 34The border turned westward to Aznoth Tabor, and went out from there to Hukkok. It reached to Zebulun on the south, and reached to Asher on the west, and to Judah at the Jordan toward the sunrise. 35The fortified cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Chinnereth, 36Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, 38Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh; nineteen cities with their villages. 39This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali according to their families, the cities with their villages.
40The seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families. 41The border of their inheritance was Zorah, Eshtaol, Irshemesh, 42Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, 46Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border opposite Joppa. 47The border of the children of Dan went out beyond them; for the children of Dan went up and fought against Leshem, and took it, and struck it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and lived therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their forefather. 48This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan according to their families, these cities with their villages.
49So they finished distributing the land for inheritance by its borders. The children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them. 50According to Yahweh’s commandment, they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnathserah in the hill country of Ephraim; and he built the city, and lived there. 51These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance by lot in Shiloh before Yahweh, at the door of the Tent of Meeting. So they finished dividing the land.
The Jezreel Valley is the triangular breadbasket of the Land of Israel, stretching about 20 miles on each of its three sides. Even its name means “God sows,” something that Hosea 1:11 and 2:21-23 uses for a play on words. While Jezreel was allotted to Issachar (Josh 19:18) in the lower Galilee region, it was not able to be taken until the time of Saul and David; and thus the valley is likely to be equated with “Horoshet HaGoim”—the Plowed Fields of the Gentiles, in this time, mainly the Egyptians (see Rainey and Notley, The Sacred Bridge, pp. 150-151). This fertile valley shares the name Jezreel with the town Jezreel, now known as Zerin (Arabic) or Tel Yizreel (Hebrew). Since Jezreel the city is not mentioned before the Israelite period, it seems likely to be founded by the Israelites. The Jezreel Valley is also known as the Esdraelon Valley in the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible, and on the west side of the Valley is HarMegdon, more commonly known as Armageddon (Revelation 16:16).
Saul and the Israelite army camped at a spring near Jezreel against the Philistines (1 Sam 29:1). Under Solomon, Jezreel is part of the border of the fifth district of the kingdom (1 Kgs 4:12). Under Ahab (9th century b.c.), Jezreel had become the winter capital of the Israelite kingdom and we hear about Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of Ahab, King of Samaria, in 1 Kgs 21:1. The Usurper King Jehu had a famous chariot ride from Ramot Gilead (in Jordan) and then killed both kings of Israel and Judah as well as Jezebel who was thrown out of an upper story palace window (2 Kgs 9:32). Previously Elijah had run before Ahab’s chariot when he returned to his palace in Jezreel (1 Kgs 18:46). It may be that Jesus’ healing of the ten lepers took place near Jezreel as Luke 17:11-19 reports that he was passing “between Samaria and Galilee.” [footnote: See H.G.M. Williamson, “Jezreel in the Biblical Texts,” Tel Aviv 18 (1991):72-92; and subsequent reports in Tel Aviv.]
Tel Jezreel was excavated by David Ussishkin and John Woodhead, but unfortunately almost nothing was preserved for posterity. Thankfully, with the few stones left and the overview of the Jezreel and Harod Valleys, one can still be greatly helped in reimagining the Biblical stories.