Joshua 17
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 17
The Tribe of Manasseh. 1 This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh, who was the firstborn of Joseph, that is, of Machir, who was the firstborn of Manasseh, and he was also the father of the Gileadites because he had received Gilead and Bashan since he was a mighty warrior. 2 This was the allotment for the rest of the Manassehites, the clans of the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, according to their clans.
3 [a]Now Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh had no sons, only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They went to Eleazar, the priest, to Joshua, the son of Nun, and the elders and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” He therefore gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father, just as the Lord had commanded.
5 Manasseh’s portion consisted of ten parcels of land besides Gilead and Bashan, which were on the east side of the Jordan, 6 for the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance along with the sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh. 7 The territory of the Manassehites ran from Asher to Micmethath east of Shechem. The boundary then ran south from there, so it included the people living at En-tappuah. 8 (Manasseh had received the land around Tappuah, which lay on the boundary with Manasseh, but Tappuah itself belonged to the Ephraimites.) 9 The boundary then continued on south to the Wadi Kanah. There were some towns that belonged to Ephraim among the towns of Manasseh, but Manasseh’s boundary ran along the north side of the river, ending at the sea. 10 To the north, the land belonged to Ephraim, while to the south the land belonged to Manasseh. Its boundary ended at the sea, bordering Asher on the north and Issachar on the east.
11 Within Asher and Issachar, Manasseh also possessed Beth-shan and the towns that were dependent upon it, Ibleam and the towns dependent upon it, the inhabitants of Dor and the towns dependent upon it, the inhabitants of Endor and the towns dependent upon it, the inhabitants of Taanach and the towns dependent upon it, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and the towns dependent upon it. (These are three mountainous areas.)
12 Yet, the Manassehites were not able to occupy these cities, for the Canaanites were determined to continue to live in that land. 13 When the Israelites grew stronger, they did subject the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely. 14 [b]The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one allotment, one portion as our inheritance. We are quite numerous, for the Lord has blessed us.” 15 But Joshua answered them, “If you are too numerous for the hill country of Ephraim, then go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim.” 16 The descendants of Joseph replied, “The hill country is too small for us, and the Canaanites who live in the plains have iron chariots, both the ones living in Beth-shean and the towns dependent upon it and those living in the Valley of Jezreel.” 17 Joshua said to the descendants of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are a numerous and very powerful people. You will have more than one allotment. 18 The forested hill country will also be yours. Cut it down, and it will be yours right to its fringes. The Canaanites might have iron chariots and be strong, but you can drive them out.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 17:3 The unusual situation of Israelite women inheriting property is carried out by Joshua in accordance with the law instituted by Moses at God’s command (Num 27:1-11). Zelophehad’s daughters reaped the benefits of this new law and set a precedent for future women.
- Joshua 17:14 Here we see the real damage that ensued in Ephraim and Manasseh because they had not driven out the Canaanites from the land. Rather than simply hand over more land to them because of what was occupied, Joshua insisted that they prove themselves worthy.
Joshua 17
Easy-to-Read Version
17 Then land was given to the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh was Joseph’s first son. Manasseh’s first son was Makir, the father of Gilead.[a] Makir was a great soldier, so the areas of Gilead and Bashan were given to his family. 2 Land was also given to the other families in the tribe of Manasseh. These families were Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. All these men were the other sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. The families of these men got their share of the land.
3 Zelophehad was the son of Hepher. Hepher was the son of Gilead. Gilead was the son of Makir, and Makir was the son of Manasseh. Zelophehad did not have any sons, but he had five daughters. The daughters were named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 The daughters went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and all the leaders. The daughters said, “The Lord told Moses to give us land the same as our male relatives.” So Eleazar obeyed the Lord and gave the daughters some land, just like their uncles.
5 So the tribe of Manasseh had ten areas of land west of the Jordan River and two more areas of land, Gilead and Bashan, on the other side of the Jordan River. 6 So these women from the tribe of Manasseh got land the same as the men. The land of Gilead was given to the rest of the families of Manasseh.
7 The lands of Manasseh were in the area between Asher and Micmethath. This is near Shechem. The border went south to the En Tappuah area. 8 The land around Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town itself did not. The town of Tappuah was at the border of Manasseh’s land, and it belonged to the people of Ephraim. 9 The border of Manasseh continued south to Kanah Ravine. This area belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, but the cities belonged to the people of Ephraim. Manasseh’s border was on the north side of the river and it continued west to the Mediterranean Sea. 10 The land to the south belonged to Ephraim. And the land to the north belonged to Manasseh. The Mediterranean Sea was the western border. The border touched Asher’s land in the north and Issachar’s land in the east.
11 The people of Manasseh had towns in the area of Issachar and Asher. Beth Shean, Ibleam, and the small towns around them also belonged to them. The people of Manasseh also lived in Dor, Endor, Taanach, Megiddo, and the small towns around these cities. They also lived in the three towns of Naphoth. 12 The people of Manasseh were not able to defeat those cities. So the Canaanites continued to live there. 13 But the Israelites grew strong. When this happened, they forced the Canaanites to work for them. But they did not force them to leave that land.
14 The tribe of Joseph spoke to Joshua and said, “You gave us only one area of land, but we are many people. Why did you give us only one part of all the land that the Lord gave his people?”
15 Joshua answered them, “If you have too many people, go up to the wooded area in the hill country and clear that land for a place to live. That land now belongs to the Perizzites and the Rephaites. But if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go take that land.”
16 The people of Joseph said, “It is true that the hill country of Ephraim is not large enough for us. But the Canaanites living there have powerful weapons—they have iron chariots! And they control Jezreel Valley, Beth Shean, and all the small towns in that area.”
17 Then Joshua said to the people of Joseph, the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, “You have many people and you are very strong, so you should get more than one share of the land. 18 You will take these mountains. It is a forest, but you can cut down the trees and make it a good place to live. You can take it from the Canaanites and force them to leave. You can defeat them, even if they are strong and have iron chariots.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 17:1 father of Gilead Or “the leader of the area of Gilead.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International