Joshua16

Joshua 16 details the territorial inheritance allotted to the children of Joseph, encompassing the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. Their lot extended from the Jordan near Jericho westward to the Mediterranean Sea. The chapter specifically outlines the boundaries for the tribe of Ephraim and notes their failure to fully dispossess the Canaanites in Gezer.

The Inheritance of the Children of Joseph

1
The lot came out for the children of Joseph from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. ​
2
It went out from Bethel to Luz, and passed along to the border of the Archites to Ataroth; ​
3
and it went down westward to the border of the Japhletites, to the border of Beth Horon the lower, even to Gezer; and ended at the sea.
4
The children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance. ​

Boundaries of the Tribe of Ephraim

5
This was the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families. The border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth Addar, to Beth Horon the upper. ​
6
The border went out westward at Michmethath on the north. The border turned about eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed along it on the east of Janoah.
7
It went down from Janoah to Ataroth, to Naarah, reached to Jericho, and went out at the Jordan.
8
From Tappuah the border went along westward to the brook of Kanah; and ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families;
9
together with the cities which were set apart for the children of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. ​
10
They didn’t drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and have become servants to do forced labor. ​

Study Notes for Joshua 16

Verse 1

The 'children of Joseph' refers to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, who received their inheritance jointly before the specific boundaries were delineated. This territory formed the central highlands, the geographical and political heart of the later Northern Kingdom.

Verse 2

The mention of 'Bethel to Luz' suggests that Luz was the older, Canaanite name for the city, which Israel renamed Bethel ('House of God') after Jacob’s experience there (Gen. 28:19).

Verse 4

Joseph received a double portion (two tribes) through his sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, fulfilling the blessing given by Jacob (Gen. 48:5).

Verse 5

Ephraim, though the younger son, was blessed by Jacob as the greater tribe (Gen. 48:19), and its territory was highly fertile and strategically important, lying just north of Benjamin.

Verse 9

This verse shows that the borders were porous, and some cities belonging to Ephraim existed as enclaves within the territory of Manasseh, indicating a degree of shared settlement and cooperation.

Verse 10

This failure to fully drive out the Canaanites in Gezer is the first recorded instance of incomplete obedience in the conquest narrative. This compromise violated Yahweh’s command and became a major theological problem, setting the stage for the religious and military struggles documented later in the book of Judges.

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