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Joshua 17

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The Land Allotted to Manasseh 1–6

1
There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. ​
2
There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.
3
But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ​
4
And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father. ​
5
And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan; ​
6
Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.

The Western Border Defined 7–11

7
And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of Entappuah.
8
Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim; ​
9
And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea:
10
Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east.
11
And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries. ​

Failure to Dispossess the Canaanites 12–13

12
Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. ​
13
Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out. ​

The House of Joseph Demands More Land 14–18

14
And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto? ​
15
And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee. ​
16
And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. ​
17
And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only:
18
But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Joshua 17

Verse 1

Machir the firstborn of Manasseh… a man of war — Machir’s sons ‘took’ Gilead and ‘dispossessed the Amorite which was in it’, and ‘Moses gave Gilead unto Machir’ (Num 32:39–40), so Machir’s line held Gilead and Bashan east of Jordan (13:31). The lot described in this chapter is for the rest of Manasseh’s families. Jacob had said of Ephraim that he ‘shall be greater than he’ (Gen 48:19).

Verse 3

Zelophehad… had no sons, but daughters — The five names are those of Num 26:33 and 27:1. Their father’s line runs back through Hepher, Gilead and Machir to Manasseh. The LORD had ruled that they receive ‘a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren’ (Num 27:7), on condition that they marry within the tribe (Num 36:6).

Verse 4

before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua — Eleazar and Joshua were the two named to divide the land (Num 34:17). The daughters bring the earlier ruling, ‘The LORD commanded Moses’, and Joshua acts ‘according to the commandment of the LORD’, giving them an inheritance ‘among the brethren of their father’, as Num 27:7 had ordered.

Verse 5

ten portions to Manasseh — The ten are usually counted as the five families of Gilead’s sons besides Hepher (v.2; Num 26:30–32) and the five daughters of Zelophehad, Hepher’s son, who had no sons (v.3). These lay west of Jordan, ‘beside the land of Gilead and Bashan’, which Machir’s line already held on the east side.

Verse 8

Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim — The district of Tappuah was Manasseh’s, but the town itself on the boundary went to Ephraim. Ephraim’s border ran ‘from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah’ (16:8), and v.9 adds that some cities of Ephraim stood ‘among the cities of Manasseh’. A king of Tappuah is counted among the conquered (12:17).

Verse 11

even three countries — Nepheth is a height or district. Bethshean, Ibleam, Dor, Endor, Taanach and Megiddo lay within Issachar and Asher yet belonged to Manasseh. Judges 1:27 gives the same list, minus Endor, among those Manasseh did not drive out. Endor is named in Ps 83:10, ‘Which perished at Endor’, among the defeats of Sisera and Jabin.

Verse 12

the Canaanites would dwell in that land — ‘Would’ is yaal, to be willing or determined: the Canaanites were resolved to stay. Judges 1:27 has the same clause. The LORD had said of those left, ‘those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides’ (Num 33:55).

Verse 13

put the Canaanites to tribute — Mas, forced labour. ‘Did not utterly drive them out’ doubles the verb yarash in the Hebrew. Judges 1:28 says the same of Israel when ‘strong’, and the Ephraimites left the Canaanites at Gezer ‘under tribute’ (16:10). The LORD’s word had been ‘drive out all the inhabitants’ (Num 33:52).

Verse 14

one lot and one portion — Goral is the lot, a pebble cast; chebel is the measuring line, and so the share it marked off. The ‘children of Joseph’ are Ephraim and Manasseh together, numbered at 52,700 and 32,500 (Num 26:34, 37). ‘A great people’ echoes Jacob’s word that Manasseh ‘also shall become a people, and he also shall be great’ (Gen 48:19).

Verse 15

the Perizzites and of the giants — ‘Giants’ is rapha, the Rephaim, named with the Perizzites among the peoples of the promised land (Gen 15:20). ‘Cut down’ is bara, the verb of ‘create’ in Gen 1:1, here used for clearing the wood. ‘Too narrow’ is uts, pressed close.

Verse 16

chariots of iron — The Canaanites of the valley, at Bethshean and Jezreel, had ‘chariots of iron’. Judah too ‘could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron’ (Judg 1:19), and later Jabin’s ‘nine hundred chariots of iron’ oppressed Israel twenty years (Judg 4:2–3). Joseph’s reply is that the hill is too little and the valley too strong.

Verse 18

though they have iron chariots — Joshua gives them the mountain, ‘for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down’, and answers with the verb of the chapter, yarash: ‘thou shalt drive out the Canaanites’. The ground is the law’s: ‘seest horses, and chariots… be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee’ (Deut 20:1).