Northern tribes of new Israel
1This is the tribal land, starting in the far north and working south:Dan’s territory extends all the way across Israel, west to east, from the seacoast to the eastern boundary. It tracks along the road from Hethlon to Lebo-hamath. Then it goes on to Hazar-enon, which lies on Damascus’s northern border with the territory of Hamath.
2Ashur’s land lies parallel on Dan’s southern border. It, too, stretches all the way across Israel. 3Naphtali lies south of Ashur, stretching across the land. 4Manasseh, lies south of Naphtali, stretching west to east, from border to border.
5Ephraim comes next, below Manasseh, all the way across the land. 6Reuben’s tribe follows Ephraim, all across the land. 7Judah follows Reuben, from west to east, border to border.
Temple zone
8The Jerusalem Temple will stand on a sacred reserve south of Judah’s tribal territory. This reservation covers all the land from the sea to the eastern border. North to south it extends about seven miles. [1]9Inside that reserve there are several blocks of land for the Temple, Jerusalem, and for different groups of people. The total area covers about 42 square miles (110 sq km). North to south it will extend to the full seven miles of the reservation. But the footprint west to east will cover just six miles of land. [2]
10The northern block, measuring 7 by 3 miles, [3] is reserved for selected priests. 11Only priests descended from Zadok [4] can live there. Of all the priests in the tribe descended from Jacob’s son Levi, Zadok’s family is the one that remained loyal to God. The other priests turned their backs on God. So did many of the people. 12They get the most sacred land of all, with the Temple as its centerpiece. Levite [5] associates of the priests live on a parallel strip of land to the north. [6]
13So, the Levites get the other half of the sacred reserve, seven miles west to east and three miles north to south. 14These two blocks of territory for priests and Levites are holy land to the LORD. No one can sell the land or give it away. It stays with the priests and Levites.
Public land in Israel
15South of the sacred reserve there’s a parallel strip of public land seven miles west to east and almost 2 miles north to south. It’s for people to build homes and graze their livestock.16The city of Jerusalem is there, too, laid out as a square, measuring a mile and a half on each of the four sides. [7] 17Outside the city walls are open fields 150 yards deep on each side.
18East and west of the city there’s farmland, to produce food for the area. Each block of farmland is three miles west to east. And it’s a mile and a half north to south. 19Jerusalem farmers alongside farmers from all tribes work the land.
20The full footprint lays out as a square seven miles on each side. This contains the reserve for priests and Levites, along with the city and other public land.
21The rest of the reserve, parallel to the tribal lands, belongs to the ruler. This royal land lies outside the square block of sacred and public lands. The ruler has one area to the east of the sacred reserve and another to the west. Each plug of ground stretches seven miles north to south. But east to west it extends to Israel’s borders, sea to sea. From Jerusalem, the ruler’s land would run roughly 20 miles [8] east to the Dead Sea and Jordan River Valley, and about 35 miles west to the Mediterranean Sea.
22The land of the priests and Levites lay between the two stretches of royal land. This royal land runs parallel to the territory of Judah in the north and Benjamin in the south.
The rest of the tribal lands
23Benjamin’s land comes next, below the strip of royal, sacred, and public lands. 24Simeon’s land lies south of Benjamin, stretching across the nation. 25Issachar lies south of Simeon, stretching west to east, from border to border.26Zebulun comes next, below Issachar, all the way across the land. 27Gad’s tribe follows Zebulun, all across the land.
28The southern border goes from Tamar to the oasis of Kadesh-barnea, [9] and on to the usually dry riverbed called the Wadi of Egypt. From there, it stretches to the Mediterranean Sea. 29This is your land. The Lord God said so.
Gates into Jerusalem
30Jerusalem’s walls are built into a square. Each wall runs about 1 1/3 miles [10] long and has three gates. 31Each gate is named after a tribal family. The northern gates are called: Reuben, Judah, and Levi.32Gates of the east wall: Joseph, [11] Benjamin, Dan. 33Gates of the south wall: Simeon, Issachar, and Zebulun. 34Gates of the west wall: Gad, Asher, and Nephtali.
35Distance around the city is just over five miles. [12] The city’s name is I AM Here. [13]
