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.
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.
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.
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.
1 There was also a lot H1486 for the tribe H4294 of Manasseh; H4519 for he was the firstborn H1060 of Joseph; H3130 to wit, for Machir H4353 the firstborn H1060 of Manasseh, H4519 the father H1 of Gilead: H1568 because he was a man H376 of war, H4421 therefore he had Gilead H1568 and Bashan. H1316
2 There was also a lot for the rest H3498 of the children H1121 of Manasseh H4519 by their families; H4940 for the children H1121 of Abiezer, H44 and for the children H1121 of Helek, H2507 and for the children H1121 of Asriel, H844 and for the children H1121 of Shechem, H7928 and for the children H1121 of Hepher, H2660 and for the children H1121 of Shemida: H8061 these were the male H2145 children H1121 of Manasseh H4519 the son H1121 of Joseph H3130 by their families. H4940
3 But Zelophehad, H6765 the son H1121 of Hepher, H2660 the son H1121 of Gilead, H1568 the son H1121 of Machir, H4353 the son H1121 of Manasseh, H4519 had no sons, H1121 but daughters: H1323 and these are the names H8034 of his daughters, H1323 Mahlah, H4244 and Noah, H5270 Hoglah, H2295 Milcah, H4435 and Tirzah. H8656
4 And they came near H7126 before H6440 Eleazar H499 the priest, H3548 and before H6440 Joshua H3091 the son H1121 of Nun, H5126 and before H6440 the princes, H5387 saying, H559 The LORD H3068 commanded H6680 Moses H4872 to give H5414 us an inheritance H5159 among H8432 our brethren. H251 Therefore according to the commandment H6310 of the LORD H3068 he gave H5414 them an inheritance H5159 among H8432 the brethren H251 of their father. H1
5 And there fell H5307 ten H6235 portions H2256 to Manasseh, H4519 beside the land H776 of Gilead H1568 and Bashan, H1316 which were on the other side H5676 Jordan; H3383
6 Because the daughters H1323 of Manasseh H4519 had H5157 an inheritance H5159 among H8432 his sons: H1121 and the rest H3498 of Manasseh's H4519 sons H1121 had the land H776 of Gilead. H1568
7 And the coast H1366 of Manasseh H4519 was from Asher H836 to Michmethah, H4366 that lieth before H6440 Shechem; H7927 and the border H1366 went along H1980 on the right hand H3225 unto the inhabitants H3427 of Entappuah. H5887
8 Now Manasseh H4519 had the land H776 of Tappuah: H8599 but Tappuah H8599 on the border H1366 of Manasseh H4519 belonged to the children H1121 of Ephraim; H669
9 And the coast H1366 descended H3381 unto the river H5158 Kanah, H7071 southward H5045 of the river: H5158 these cities H5892 of Ephraim H669 are among H8432 the cities H5892 of Manasseh: H4519 the coast H1366 of Manasseh H4519 also was on the north side H6828 of the river, H5158 and the outgoings H8444 of it were at the sea: H3220
10 Southward H5045 it was Ephraim's, H669 and northward H6828 it was Manasseh's, H4519 and the sea H3220 is his border; H1366 and they met together H6293 in Asher H836 on the north, H6828 and in Issachar H3485 on the east. H4217
11 And Manasseh H4519 had in Issachar H3485 and in Asher H836 Bethshean H1052 and her towns, H1323 and Ibleam H2991 and her towns, H1323 and the inhabitants H3427 of Dor H1756 and her towns, H1323 and the inhabitants H3427 of Endor H5874 and her towns, H1323 and the inhabitants H3427 of Taanach H8590 and her towns, H1323 and the inhabitants H3427 of Megiddo H4023 and her towns, H1323 even three H7969 countries. H5316
12 Yet the children H1121 of Manasseh H4519 could H3201 not drive out H3423 the inhabitants of those cities; H5892 but the Canaanites H3669 would H2974 dwell H3427 in that land. H776
13 Yet it came to pass, when the children H1121 of Israel H3478 were waxen strong, H2388 that they put H5414 the Canaanites H3669 to tribute; H4522 but did not utterly H3423 drive them out. H3423
14 And the children H1121 of Joseph H3130 spake H1696 unto Joshua, H3091 saying, H559 Why hast thou given H5414 me but one H259 lot H1486 and one H259 portion H2256 to inherit, H5159 seeing I am a great H7227 people, H5971 forasmuch as H5704 the LORD H3068 hath blessed H1288 me hitherto? H3541
15 And Joshua H3091 answered H559 them, If thou be a great H7227 people, H5971 then get thee up H5927 to the wood H3293 country, and cut down H1254 for thyself there in the land H776 of the Perizzites H6522 and of the giants, H7497 if mount H2022 Ephraim H669 be too narrow H213 for thee.
16 And the children H1121 of Joseph H3130 said, H559 The hill H2022 is not enough H4672 for us: and all the Canaanites H3669 that dwell H3427 in the land H776 of the valley H6010 have chariots H7393 of iron, H1270 both they who are of Bethshean H1052 and her towns, H1323 and they who are of the valley H6010 of Jezreel. H3157
17 And Joshua H3091 spake H559 unto the house H1004 of Joseph, H3130 even to Ephraim H669 and to Manasseh, H4519 saying, H559 Thou art a great H7227 people, H5971 and hast great H1419 power: H3581 thou shalt not have one H259 lot H1486 only:
18 But the mountain H2022 shall be thine; for it is a wood, H3293 and thou shalt cut it down: H1254 and the outgoings H8444 of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out H3423 the Canaanites, H3669 though they have iron H1270 chariots, H7393 and though they be strong. H2389
1 And `this' was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the first-born of Joseph. As for Machir the first-born of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.
2 So `the lot' was for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to 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 according to 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, Jehovah commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren: therefore according to the commandment of Jehovah he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.
5 And there fell ten parts to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan;
6 because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons. And the land of Gilead belonged unto the rest of the sons of Manasseh.
7 And the border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem; and the border went along to the right hand, unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah.
8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh; but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim.
9 And the border went down unto the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook: these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh: and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook, and the goings out thereof were at the sea:
10 southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea was his border; and they reached to Asher on the north, and to Issachar on the east.
11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, even the three heights.
12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out `the inhabitants of' those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
13 And it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxed strong, that they put the Canaanites to taskwork, and did not utterly drive them out.
14 And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one part for an inheritance, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as hitherto Jehovah hath blessed me?
15 And Joshua said unto them, If thou be a great people, get thee up to the forest, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim; since the hill-country of Ephraim is too narrow for thee.
16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill-country 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 in Beth-shean and its towns, and they who are in 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 hill-country shall be thine; for though it is a forest, thou shalt cut it down, and the goings out thereof shall be thine; for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.
1 And the lot is for the tribe of Manasseh (for he `is' first-born of Joseph), for Machir first-born of Manasseh, father of Gilead, for he hath been a man of war, and his are Gilead and Bashan.
2 And there is for the sons of Manasseh who are left, for their families; for the sons of Abiezer, and for the sons of Helek, and for the sons of Asriel, and for the sons of Shechem, and for the sons of Hepher, and for the sons of Shemida; these `are' the children of Manasseh son of Joseph -- the males -- by their families.
3 As to Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, he hath no children except daughters, and these `are' the names of his daughters: Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah,
4 and they draw near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, `Jehovah commanded Moses to give to us an inheritance in the midst of our brethren;' and he giveth to them, at the command of Jehovah, an inheritance in the midst of the brethren of their father.
5 And ten portions fall `to' Manasseh, apart from the land of Gilead and Bashan, which `are' beyond the Jordan;
6 for the daughters of Manasseh have inherited an inheritance in the midst of his sons, and the land of Gilead hath been to the sons of Manasseh who are left.
7 And the border of Manasseh is from Asher to Michmethah, which `is' on the front of Shechem, and the border hath gone on unto the right, unto the inhabitants of En-Tappuah.
8 To Manasseh hath been the land of Tappuah, and Tappuah unto the border of Manasseh is to the sons of Ephraim.
9 And the border hath come down `to' the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook; these cities of Ephraim `are' in the midst of the cities of Manasseh, and the border of Manasseh `is' on the north of the brook, and its outgoings are at the sea.
10 Southward `is' to Ephraim and northward to Manasseh, and the sea is his border, and in Asher they meet on the north, and in Issachar on the east.
11 And Manasseh hath in Issachar and in Asher, Beth-Shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, three counties.
12 And the sons of Manasseh have not been able to occupy these cities, and the Canaanite is desirous to dwell in this land,
13 and it cometh to pass when the sons of Israel have been strong, that they put the Canaanite to tribute, and have not utterly dispossessed him.
14 And the sons of Joseph speak with Joshua, saying, `Wherefore hast thou given to me an inheritance -- one lot and one portion, and I a numerous people? hitherto hath Jehovah blessed me.'
15 And Joshua saith unto them, `If thou `art' a numerous people, go up for thee to the forest, then thou hast prepared for thee there, in the land of the Perizzite, and of the Rephaim, when mount Ephraim hath been narrow for thee.'
16 And the sons of Joseph say, `The hill is not found to us, and a chariot of iron `is' with every Canaanite who is dwelling in the land of the valley -- to him who `is' in Beth-Shean and its towns, and to him who `is' in the valley of Jezreel.'
17 And Joshua speaketh unto the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, `Thou `art' a numerous people, and hast great power; thou hast not one lot `only',
18 because the mountain is thine; because it `is' a forest -- thou hast prepared it, and its outgoings have been thine; because thou dost dispossess the Canaanite, though it hath chariots of iron -- though it `is' strong.'
1 And the lot came to the tribe of Manasseh (for he was the firstborn of Joseph), to Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, for he was a man of war, and he had Gilead and Bashan.
2 There was also [a portion] for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to 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 are the children of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the males, according to their families.
3 And 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, Jehovah commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. And he gave them according to the commandment of Jehovah an inheritance among the brethren of their father.
5 And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which are beyond the Jordan.
6 For the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons; and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.
7 And the territory of Manasseh was from Asher to Micmethath, which is before Shechem, and the border went on the right hand toward the inhabitants of En-Tappuah.
8 Manasseh had the land of Tappuah; but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim.
9 And the border descended to the torrent Kanah, south of the torrent. These cities were Ephraim's among the cities of Manasseh. And the territory of Manasseh was on the north side of the torrent, and ended at the sea.
10 Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea was his border. And they touched upon Asher on the north, and upon Issachar on the east.
11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher, Beth-shean and its dependent villages, and Ibleam and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Dor and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of En-Dor and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its dependent villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its dependent villages, the three hilly regions.
12 But the children of Manasseh could not dispossess [the inhabitants of] those cities; and the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
13 And it came to pass when the children of Israel were become strong, that they made the Canaanites tributary; but they did not utterly dispossess them.
14 And the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me as inheritance one lot and one portion, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as Jehovah has blessed me hitherto?
15 And Joshua said unto them, If thou art a great people, then get thee up to the wood, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if the hill-country of Ephraim is too narrow for thee.
16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill-country will not be enough for us; and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, those that are of Beth-shean and its dependent villages, and those that are in the valley of Jizreel.
17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, 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 hill-country shall be thine, as it is a wood, thou shalt cut it down, and its outgoings shall be thine; for thou shalt dispossess the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots; for they are powerful.
1 [This] was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph. As for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.
2 So [the lot] was for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to 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 according to 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 They came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, Yahweh commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers: therefore according to the commandment of Yahweh he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father.
5 There fell ten parts to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan;
6 because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.
7 The border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem; and the border went along to the right hand, to the inhabitants of En Tappuah.
8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh; but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim.
9 The border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook: these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh: and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook, and the goings out of it were at the sea:
10 southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea was his border; and they reached to Asher on the north, and to Issachar on the east.
11 Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, even the three heights.
12 Yet the children of Manasseh couldn't drive out [the inhabitants of] those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
13 It happened, when the children of Israel had grown strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and didn't utterly drive them out.
14 The children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, Why have you given me but one lot and one part for an inheritance, seeing I am a great people, because hitherto Yahweh has blessed me?
15 Joshua said to them, If you are a great people, go up to the forest, and cut down for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim; since the hill-country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.
16 The children of Joseph said, The hill-country is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are in Beth-shean and its towns, and they who are in the valley of Jezreel.
17 Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, You are a great people, and have great power; you shall not have one lot only:
18 but the hill-country shall be yours; for though it is a forest, you shall cut it down, and the goings out of it shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.
1 And this was the part marked out for the tribe of Manasseh, because he was the oldest son of Joseph. As for Machir, the oldest son of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war he had Gilead and Bashan.
2 And as for the rest of the children of Manasseh, their heritage was given to them by 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 only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
4 And they came before Eleazar the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and before the chiefs, saying, The Lord gave orders to Moses to give us a heritage among our brothers: so in agreement with the orders of the Lord he gave them a heritage among their father's brothers.
5 And ten parts were given to Manasseh, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of Jordan;
6 Because the daughters of Manasseh had a heritage among his sons, and the land of Gilead was the property of the other sons of Manasseh.
7 And the limit of Manasseh's land was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem; the line goes on to the right hand, to the people of En-tappuah.
8 The land of Tappuah was the property of Manasseh; but Tappuah on the edge of Manasseh was the property of the children of Ephraim.
9 And the limit goes down to the stream Kanah, to the south of the stream: these towns were Ephraim's among the towns of Manasseh; Manasseh's limit was on the north side of the stream, ending at the sea:
10 To the south it is Ephraim's, and to the north it is Manasseh's, and the sea is his limit; and they are touching Asher on the north, and Issachar on the east.
11 In Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its daughter-towns, and Ibleam and its daughter-towns, and the people of Dor and its daughter-towns, and the people of En-dor and its daughter-towns, and the people of Taanach and its daughter-towns, and the people of Megiddo and its daughter-towns, that is, the three hills.
12 But the children of Manasseh were not able to make the people of those towns go out; but the Canaanites would go on living in that land.
13 And when the children of Israel had become strong, they put the Canaanites to forced work, in place of driving them out.
14 Then the children of Joseph said to Joshua, Why have you given me only one part and one stretch of land for my heritage? For through the blessing given to me by the Lord up to now, I am a great people.
15 Then Joshua said to them, If you are such a great people, go up into the woodlands, clearing a place there for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, if the hill-country of Ephraim is not wide enough for you.
16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill-country is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites living in the valley have iron war-carriages, those in Beth-shean and its towns as well as those in the valley of Jezreel.
17 Then Joshua said to the children of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, You are a great people, and have great power: you are not to have one property only,
18 For the hill-country of Gilead will be yours ... the woodland and cut down ... its outskirts will be yours ... get the Canaanites out, for they have iron war-carriages ... strong.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Joshua 17
Commentary on Joshua 17 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
The inheritance of Manasseh on this side of the Jordan was on the north of Ephraim.
Joshua 17:1-6
Before proceeding to the more detailed description of the inheritance, the historian thinks it necessary to observe that the Manassites received a double inheritance. This remark is introduced with the words “ for he was the first-born of Joseph .” On this account, in addition to the territory already given to him in Gilead and Bashan, he received a second allotment of territory in Canaan proper. With the word למכיר (for Machir) the more minute account of the division of the Manassites commences. וגו למכיר is first of all written absolutely at the beginning of the sentence, and then resumed in לו ויהי : “ to Machir, the first-born of Manasseh ... to him were Gilead and Bashan assigned, because he was a man of war ,” i.e., a warlike man, and had earned for himself a claim to the inheritance of Gilead and Bashan through the peculiar bravery which he had displayed in the conquest of those lands. By Machir , however, we are not to understand the actual son of Manasseh, but his family; and הגּלעד אבי does not mean “father of Gilead,” but lord (possessor) of Gilead , for Machir's son Gilead is always called גלעד without the article (vid., Joshua 17:3; Numbers 26:29-30; Numbers 27:1; Numbers 36:1; 1 Chronicles 7:17), whereas the country of that name is just as constantly called הגּלעד (see Joshua 17:1, the last clause, Joshua 17:5; Joshua 13:11, Joshua 13:31; Numbers 32:40; Deuteronomy 3:10.). “ And there came , i.e., the lot fell (the lot is to be repeated from Joshua 17:1), to the other descendants of Manasseh according to their families ,” which are then enumerated as in Numbers 26:30-32. “ These are the male descendants of Manasseh .” הזּכרים must not be altered, notwithstanding the fact that it is preceded and followed by הגּותרים ; it is evidently used deliberately as an antithesis to the female descendants of Manasseh mentioned in Joshua 17:3.
Joshua 17:3-6
Among the six families of Manasseh (Joshua 17:2), Zelophehad , a descendant of Hepher , left no son; but he had five daughters, whose names are given in Joshua 17:3 (as in Numbers 26:33; Numbers 27:1; Numbers 36:10). These daughters had petitioned Moses for a separate portion in the promised land, and their request had been granted (Numbers 27:2., compared with Josh 36). They therefore came before the committee appointed for dividing the land and repeated this promised, which as at once fulfilled. Consequently there were ten families of Manasseh who had received portions by the side of Ephraim, five male and five female. “ And (Joshua 17:5) there fell the measurements of Manasseh (as) ten ,” i.e., ten portions were assigned to the Manassites (on the west of the Jordan), beside the land of Gilead, because (as is again observed in Joshua 17:6) the daughters of Manasseh, i.e., of Zelophehad the Manassite, received an inheritance among his sons (i.e., the rest of the Manassites).
Joshua 17:7-11
Boundaries and extent of the inheritance of the ten families of Manasseh . - Joshua 17:7-10, the southern boundary, which coincides with the northern boundary of Ephraim described in Joshua 16:6-8, and is merely given here with greater precision in certain points. It went “ from Asher to Michmethah, before Shechem .” Asher is not the territory of the tribe of Asher, but a distinct locality; according to the Onom. ( s. v. Asher ) a place on the high road from Neapolis to Scythopolis, fifteen Roman miles from the former. It is not to be found, however, in the ruins of Tell Um el Aschera ( V. de Velde ) or Tell Um Ajra ( Rob. Bibl. Res. pp. 310, 327), an hour to the south of Beisan, as Knobel supposes, but in the village of Yasir, where there are magnificent ruins, about five hours and ten minutes from Nabulus on the road to Beisan ( V. de Velde , Mem. pp. 237, 289; R. ii. p. 295). Michmethah , before Shechem, is still unknown (see Joshua 16:6). Shechem was founded by the Hivite prince Shechem (Genesis 33:18), and is frequently mentioned in the book of Genesis. It stood between Ebal and Gerizim, was given up by Ephraim to the Levites, and declared a free city (city of refuge: Joshua 21:21; Joshua 20:7). It was there that the ten tribes effected their separation from Judah 1 Kings 12:1.), and Jeroboam resided there (1 Kings 12:25). In later times it was the chief city of the country of Samaria, and the capital of the Samaritans (John 4:5); and the name of Neapolis , or Flavia Neapolis , from which the present Nabulus or Nablus has come, was given to it in honour of Vespasian (see v. Raumer , Pal. pp. 161ff.). From this point the boundary went אל־היּמין (i.e., either “ to the right side ,” the south side, or to Yamin ), “ To the inhabitants of En-tappuah .” Whether Yamin is an appellative or a proper name is doubtful. But even if it be the name of a place, it is quite certain that it cannot be the village of Yamôn , an hour to the south-east of Taanuk ( Rob. iii. pp. 161, 167, etc.), as this is much too far north, and, judging from Joshua 17:11, belonged to the territory of Asher. In the case of En-tappuah , the inhabitants are mentioned instead of the district, because the district belonged to Manasseh, whilst the town on the border of Manasseh was given to the Ephraimites. The situation of the town has not yet been discovered: see at Joshua 16:8. From this point the boundary ran down to the Cane-brook (see Joshua 16:8), namely to the south side of the brook.
“ These towns were assigned to Ephraim in the midst of the towns of Manasseh, and (but) the territory of Manasseh was on the north of the brook .” The only possible meaning of these words is the following: From Tappuah, the boundary went down to the Cane-brook and crossed it, so that the south side of the brook really belonged to the territory of Manasseh; nevertheless the towns on this south side were allotted to Ephraim, whilst only the territory to the north of the brook fell to the lot of the Manassites. This is expressed more plainly in Joshua 17:10 : “ To the south (of the brook the land came) to Ephraim, and to the north to Manasseh .” In Joshua 17:10 the northern and eastern boundaries are only briefly indicated: “ And they (the Manassites) touched Asher towards the north, and Issachar towards the east .” The reason why this boundary was not described more minutely, was probably because it had not yet been fixed. For (Joshua 17:11) Manasseh also received towns and districts in (within the territory of) Issachar and Asher, viz., Beth-shean, etc. Beth-shean , to the wall of which Saul's body was fastened (1 Samuel 31:10.; 2 Samuel 21:12), was afterwards called Scythopolis . It was in the valley of the Jordan, where the plain of Jezreel slopes off into the valley; its present name is Beisan , a place where there are considerable ruins of great antiquity, about two hours from the Jordan (vid., Seetzen , ii. pp. 162ff.; Rob. iii. p. 174; Bibl. Res. p. 325; v. Raumer , Pal. pp. 150-1). This city, with its daughter towns, was in the territory of Issachar, which was on the east of Manasseh, and may have extended a considerable distance towards the south along the valley of the Jordan, as the territory of Manasseh and Ephraim did not run into the valley of the Jordan; but Asher (Yasir) is mentioned in Joshua 17:7 as the most easterly place in Manasseh, and, according to Joshua 16:6-7, the eastern boundary of Ephraim ran down along the eastern edge of the mountains as far as Jericho, without including the Jordan valley. At the same time, the Ghor on the western side of the Jordan below Beisan, as far as the plain of Jericho, was of no great value to any tribe, as this district, according to Josephus (de Bell. Jud. iv. 8, 2, and iii. 10, 7), was uninhabited because of its barrenness. The other towns, Ibleam , etc., with the exception of Endor perhaps, were in the territory of Asher, and almost all on the south-west border of the plain of Esdraelon. Ibleam , called Bileam in 1 Chronicles 6:55 (70), a Levitical town (see at Joshua 21:25), was not very far from Megiddo (2 Kings 9:27), and has probably been preserved in the ruins of Khirbet-Belameh , half an hour to the south of Jenin; according to Schultz , it is the same place as Belamon , Belmen , or Belthem (Judith 4:4; 7:3; 8:3). With דאר ואת־ישׁבי the construction changes, so that there is an anacolouthon, which can be explained, however, on the ground that ל היה may not only mean to be assigned to, but also to receive or to have. In this last sense ואת is attached. The inhabitants are mentioned instead of the towns, because the historian had already the thought present in his mind, that the Manassites were unable to exterminate the Canaanites from the towns allotted to them. Dor is the present Tortura (see at Joshua 11:2). Endor , the home of the witch (1 Samuel 28:7), four Roman miles to the south of Tabor ( Onom. ), at present a village called Endôr , on the northern shoulder of the Duhy or Little Hermon (see Rob. iii. p. 225; Bibl. Res. p. 340). Taanach and Megiddo , the present Taanuk and Lejun (see at Joshua 12:21). The three last towns, with the places dependent upon them, are connected more closely together by הנּפת שׁלשׁת , the three-hill-country, probably because they formed a common league.
Joshua 17:12-13
The Manassites were unable to exterminate the Canaanites from these six towns, and the districts round; but when they grew stronger, they made them tributary slaves (cf. Joshua 16:10).
Complaint of the Descendants of Joseph respecting the inheritance allotted to them . - Joshua 17:14. As the descendants of Joseph formed two tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh), they gave utterance to their dissatisfaction that Joshua had given them (“ me ,” the house of Joseph, Joshua 17:17) but one lot, but one portion ( חבל , a measure, then the land measured off), for an inheritance, although they were a strong and numerous people. “ So far hath Jehovah blessed me hitherto .” עד־אשׁד , to this (sc., numerous people), is to be understood de gradu ; עד־כּה , hitherto, de tempore . There was no real ground for this complaint. As Ephraim numbered only 32,500 and Manasseh 52,700 at the second census in the time of Moses (Num 26), and therefore Ephraim and half Manasseh together did not amount to more than 58,000 or 59,000, this tribe and a half were not so strong as Judah with its 76,500, and were even weaker than Dan with its 64,400, or Issachar with its 64,300 men, and therefore could not justly lay claim to more than the territory of a single tribe. Moreover, the land allotted to them was in one of the most fertile parts of Palestine. For although as a whole the mountains of Ephraim have much the same character as those of Judah, yet the separate mountains are neither so rugged nor so lofty, there being only a few of them that reach the height of 2500 feet above the level of the sea (see Ritter , Erdk. xv. pp. 475ff.; V. de Velde , Mem. pp. 177ff.); moreover, they are intersected by many broad valleys and fertile plateaux, which are covered with fruitful fields and splendid plantations of olives,vines, and fig trees (see Rob. iii. p. 78, Bibl. Res. pp. 290ff.; Seetzen , ii. pp. 165ff., 190ff.). On the west the mountains slope off into the hill country, which joins the plain of Sharon, with its invariable fertility. “The soil here is a black clay soil of unfathomable depth, which is nearly all ploughed, and is of such unusual fertility that a cultivated plain here might furnish an almost unparalleled granary for the whole land. Interminable fields full of wheat and barley with their waving ears, which were very nearly ripe, with here and there a field of millet, that was already being diligently reaped by the peasants, presented a glorious sight” ( Ritter , Erdk. xvi. pp. 567-8).
Joshua 17:15
Joshua therefore sent them back with their petition, and said, “ If thou art a strong people, go up into the wood and cut it away ,” i.e., make room for houses, fields, and meadows, by clearing the forests, “ in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaim, if the mountain of Ephraim is too narrow for thee .” The name “mountain of Ephraim” is used here in a certain sense proleptically, to signify the mountain which received its name from the tribe of Ephraim, to which it had only just been allotted. This mountain, which is also called the mountain of Israel (Joshua 11:16, Joshua 11:21), was a limestone range running from Kirjath-jearim, where the mountains of Judah terminate (see at Joshua 11:21), to the plain of Jezreel, and therefore embracing the greater part of the tribe-territory of Benjamin. The wood, which is distinguished from the mountain of Ephraim, and is also described in Joshua 17:18 as a mountainous land, is either the mountainous region extending to the north of Yasir as far as the mountains at Gilboa, and lying to the west of Beisan, a region which has not yet been thoroughly explored, or else, as Knobel supposes, “the broad range of woody heights or low woody hills, by which the mountains of Samaria are connected with Carmel on the north-west ( Rob. iii. p. 189), between Taanath and Megiddo on the east, and Caesarea and Dor on the west.” Possibly both may be intended, as the children of Joseph were afraid of the Canaanites in Beisan and in the plain of Jezreel (Joshua 17:16). The Rephaim were dwelling there, a tribe of gigantic stature (see at Genesis 14:5), also the Perizzites (see at Genesis 13:7).
Joshua 17:16
The children of Joseph replied that the mountain (allotted to them) would not be enough for them ( מצא , as in Numbers 11:22; Zechariah 10:10); and that all the Canaanites who dwelt in the land of the plain had iron chariots, both those in Beth-shean and its daughter towns, and those in the valley of Jezreel. ארץ־העמק , the land of the plain or valley land, includes both the valley of the Jordan near Beisan, and also the plain of Jezreel, which opens into the Jordan valley in the neighbourhood of Beisan ( Rob. iii. p. 173). The plain of Jezreel , so called after the town of that name, is called the “great field of Esdrelom” in Judith 1:4, and τὸ μέγα πεδίον by Josephus . It is the present Merj (i.e., pasture-land) Ibn Aamer , which runs in a south-westerly direction from the Mediterranean Sea above Carmel, and reaches almost to the Jordan. It is bounded on the south by the mountains of Carmel, the mountain-land of Ephraim and the range of hills connecting the two, on the north by the mountains of Galilee, on the west by the southern spurs of the Galilean highland, and on the east by the mountains of Gilboa and the Little Hermon (Jebel Duhy). Within these boundaries it is eight hours in length from east to west, and five hours broad; it is fertile throughout, though very desolate now (see v. Raumer , Pal. iii. pp. 39ff.). “ Iron chariots ” are not scythe chariots, for these were introduced by Cyrus, and were unknown to the Medes, Persians, and Arabians, i.e., to the early Asiatics before his time ( Xen. Cyr. vi. 1, 27, 30), as well as to the ancient Egyptians (see Wilkinson , Manners and Customs, i. p. 350); they were simply chariots tipped with iron, just as the Egyptian war-chariots were made of wood and strengthened with metal nails and tips ( Wilkinson , pp. 342, 348).
Joshua 17:17-18
As the answer of the children of Joseph indicated cowardice and want of confidence in the help of God, Joshua contented himself with repeating his first reply, though more fully and with the reasons assigned. “ Thou art a strong people, and hast great power; there will not be one lot to thee: ” i.e., because thou art a numerous people and endowed with strength, there shall not remain one lot to thee, thou canst and wilt extend thine inheritance. “ For the mountain will be thine, for it is forest, and thou wilt hew it out, and its goings out will become thine .” By the mountain we are not to understand the mountains of Ephraim which were assigned to the Ephraimites by the lot, but the wooded mountains mentioned in Joshua 17:15, which the children of Joseph were to hew out, so as to make outlets for themselves. “ The outgoings of it ” are the fields and plains bordering upon the forest. For the Canaanites who dwelt there (Joshua 17:15) would be driven out by the house of Joseph, just because they had iron chariots and were strong, and therefore only a strong tribe like Joseph was equal to the task. “Not one of the tribes of Israel is able to fight against them (the Canaanites) because they are strong, but you have strength enough to be able to expel them” ( Rashi ).