51 (A)Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages; 52 Arab, Dumah, Eshean, 53 Janum, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, (B)Kirjath Arba (which is Hebron), and Zior: nine cities with their villages; 55 (C)Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages; 58 Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon: six cities with their villages; 60 (D)Kirjath Baal (which is Kirjath Jearim) and Rabbah: two cities with their villages.

61 In the wilderness: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and (E)En Gedi: six cities with their villages.

63 As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, (F)the children of Judah could not drive them out; (G)but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

Ephraim and West Manasseh

16 The lot [a]fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan, by Jericho, to the waters of Jericho on the east, to the (H)wilderness that goes up from Jericho through the mountains to [b]Bethel, then went out [c]from (I)Bethel to Luz, passed along to the border of the Archites at Ataroth, and went down westward to the boundary of the Japhletites, (J)as far as the boundary of Lower Beth Horon to (K)Gezer; and [d]it ended at the sea.

(L)So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their [e]inheritance.

The Land of Ephraim

(M)The border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus: The border of their inheritance on the east side was (N)Ataroth Addar (O)as far as Upper Beth Horon.

And the border went out toward the sea on the north side of (P)Michmethath; then the border went around eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed by it on the east of Janohah. Then it went down from Janohah to Ataroth and [f]Naarah, reached to Jericho, and came out at the Jordan.

The border went out from (Q)Tappuah westward to the (R)Brook Kanah, and [g]it ended at the sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families. (S)The separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

10 (T)And they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become forced laborers.

The Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh (West)

17 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the (U)firstborn of Joseph: namely for (V)Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war; therefore he was given (W)Gilead and Bashan. And there was a lot for (X)the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: (Y)for the children of [h]Abiezer, the children of Helek, (Z)the children of Asriel, the children of Shechem, (AA)the children of Hepher, and the children of Shemida; these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.

But (AB)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, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they came near before (AC)Eleazar the priest, before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the rulers, saying, (AD)“The Lord commanded Moses to give us an [i]inheritance among our brothers.” Therefore, according to the commandment of the Lord, he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. Ten shares fell to (AE)Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side of the Jordan, because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons; and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.

And the territory of Manasseh was from Asher to (AF)Michmethath, that lies east of Shechem; and the border went along south to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but (AG)Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. And the [j]border descended to the [k]Brook Kanah, southward to the brook. (AH)These cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook; and it ended at the sea.

10 Southward it was Ephraim’s, northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea was its border. Manasseh’s territory was adjoining Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. 11 And in Issachar and in Asher, (AI)Manasseh had (AJ)Beth Shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of En Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns—three hilly regions. 12 Yet (AK)the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 13 And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to (AL)forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

More Land for Ephraim and Manasseh

14 (AM)Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only (AN)one [l]lot and one share to inherit, since we are (AO)a great people, inasmuch as the Lord has blessed us until now?”

15 So Joshua answered them, “If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you.”

16 But the children of Joseph said, “The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have (AP)chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are (AQ)of the Valley of Jezreel.”

17 And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, “You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one [m]lot, 18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its [n]farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, (AR)though they have iron chariots and are strong.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 16:1 Lit. went out
  2. Joshua 16:1 LXX Bethel Luz
  3. Joshua 16:2 LXX to Bethel,
  4. Joshua 16:3 Lit. the goings out of it were at the sea
  5. Joshua 16:4 possession
  6. Joshua 16:7 Naaran, 1 Chr. 7:28
  7. Joshua 16:8 Lit. the goings out of it were at the sea
  8. Joshua 17:2 Jeezer, Num. 26:30
  9. Joshua 17:4 possession
  10. Joshua 17:9 boundary
  11. Joshua 17:9 Wadi
  12. Joshua 17:14 allotment
  13. Joshua 17:17 allotment
  14. Joshua 17:18 Lit. goings out

51 Goshen,(A) Holon(B) and Giloh(C)—eleven towns and their villages.

52 Arab, Dumah,(D) Eshan, 53 Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kiriath Arba(E) (that is, Hebron) and Zior—nine towns and their villages.

55 Maon,(F) Carmel,(G) Ziph,(H) Juttah,(I) 56 Jezreel,(J) Jokdeam, Zanoah,(K) 57 Kain, Gibeah(L) and Timnah(M)—ten towns and their villages.

58 Halhul, Beth Zur,(N) Gedor,(O) 59 Maarath, Beth Anoth and Eltekon—six towns and their villages.[a]

60 Kiriath Baal(P) (that is, Kiriath Jearim(Q)) and Rabbah(R)—two towns and their villages.

61 In the wilderness:(S)

Beth Arabah,(T) Middin, Sekakah, 62 Nibshan, the City of Salt and En Gedi(U)—six towns and their villages.

63 Judah could not(V) dislodge the Jebusites(W), who were living in Jerusalem;(X) to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah.(Y)

Allotment for Ephraim and Manasseh

16 The allotment for Joseph began at the Jordan, east of the springs of Jericho, and went up from there through the desert(Z) into the hill country of Bethel.(AA) It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz(AB)),[b] crossed over to the territory of the Arkites(AC) in Ataroth,(AD) descended westward to the territory of the Japhletites as far as the region of Lower Beth Horon(AE) and on to Gezer,(AF) ending at the Mediterranean Sea.

So Manasseh and Ephraim, the descendants of Joseph, received their inheritance.(AG)

This was the territory of Ephraim, according to its clans:

The boundary of their inheritance went from Ataroth Addar(AH) in the east to Upper Beth Horon(AI) and continued to the Mediterranean Sea. From Mikmethath(AJ) on the north it curved eastward to Taanath Shiloh, passing by it to Janoah(AK) on the east. Then it went down from Janoah(AL) to Ataroth(AM) and Naarah, touched Jericho and came out at the Jordan. From Tappuah(AN) the border went west to the Kanah Ravine(AO) and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Ephraimites, according to its clans. It also included all the towns and their villages that were set aside for the Ephraimites within the inheritance of the Manassites.(AP)

10 They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor.(AQ)

17 This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh(AR) as Joseph’s firstborn,(AS) that is, for Makir,(AT) Manasseh’s firstborn. Makir was the ancestor of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead(AU) and Bashan(AV) because the Makirites were great soldiers. So this allotment was for the rest of the people of Manasseh(AW)—the clans of Abiezer,(AX) Helek, Asriel,(AY) Shechem, Hepher(AZ) and Shemida.(BA) These are the other male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.

Now Zelophehad son of Hepher,(BB) the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters,(BC) whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our relatives.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with the brothers of their father, according to the Lord’s command.(BD) Manasseh’s share consisted of ten tracts of land besides Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan,(BE) because the daughters of the tribe of Manasseh received an inheritance among the sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.

The territory of Manasseh extended from Asher(BF) to Mikmethath(BG) east of Shechem.(BH) The boundary ran southward from there to include the people living at En Tappuah. (Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah(BI) itself, on the boundary of Manasseh, belonged to the Ephraimites.) Then the boundary continued south to the Kanah Ravine.(BJ) There were towns belonging to Ephraim lying among the towns of Manasseh, but the boundary of Manasseh was the northern side of the ravine and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. 10 On the south the land belonged to Ephraim, on the north to Manasseh. The territory of Manasseh reached the Mediterranean Sea and bordered Asher(BK) on the north and Issachar(BL) on the east.(BM)

11 Within Issachar(BN) and Asher, Manasseh also had Beth Shan,(BO) Ibleam(BP) and the people of Dor,(BQ) Endor,(BR) Taanach(BS) and Megiddo,(BT) together with their surrounding settlements (the third in the list is Naphoth[c]).(BU)

12 Yet the Manassites were not able(BV) to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region. 13 However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.(BW)

14 The people of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people, and the Lord has blessed us abundantly.”(BX)

15 “If you are so numerous,” Joshua answered, “and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest(BY) and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites(BZ) and Rephaites.(CA)

16 The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with iron,(CB) both those in Beth Shan(CC) and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”(CD)

17 But Joshua said to the tribes of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment(CE) 18 but the forested hill country(CF) as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have chariots fitted with iron(CG) and though they are strong, you can drive them out.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 15:59 The Septuagint adds another district of eleven towns, including Tekoa and Ephrathah (Bethlehem).
  2. Joshua 16:2 Septuagint; Hebrew Bethel to Luz
  3. Joshua 17:11 That is, Naphoth Dor