This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.
Due to the classification of these cities having fallen into about 10 groups, critics jump to the conclusion that, "This grouping corresponds to the administrative districts of the kingdom of Judah, probably as represented on an official province list of the ninth century B.C."[7]  What an unreasonable criticism!  The last verse here  (Joshua 15:63) effectively refutes such an error.  Note that when this list was written, the Jews did NOT control Jerusalem, nor had they ever done so at that time, but in the 9th century B.C., Jerusalem had been in the hands of David and his successors for ages.  Many criticisms, in the final analysis, just as in the case here, are flatly contradicted by the Word of God.