Joshua 17
Lexham English Bible
The Allotment of the Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh
17 Then the allotment was made for the tribe of Manasseh, because he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Makir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted[a] Gilead and Bashan, because he was a warrior.[b] 2 An allotment was made for the remaining descendants[c] of Manasseh, according to their families: For the children of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida—these were the male descendants[d] of Manasseh son of Joseph according to their families.
3 But Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They came before Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “Yahweh commanded Moses to give an inheritance to us among our kinsmen.”[e] Therefore, according to the command of Yahweh[f] he gave them an inheritance among the kinsmen[g] of their father. 5 Thus ten shares fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the land of Gilead was allotted to the remaining descendants[h] of Manasseh. 7 The border of Manasseh was from Asher to Micmethath, which is opposite Shechem;[i] then the border goes to the south, to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. 8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh,[j] but Tuppuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the descendants of Ephraim.[k] 9 Then the border goes down to the wadi[l] of Kanah to the south of the wadi. These cities belong to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh is north of the wadi, and it ends[m] at the sea. 10 The south is Ephraim’s, and the north is Manasseh’s; the sea is their[n] border; Asher touches the north and on the east Issachar. 11 In Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its villages, Ibleam and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Taanach and its villages, the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; the third is Napheth. 12 But the descendants[o] of Manasseh were not able to take possession of these towns; the Canaanites[p] were determined to live in this land. 13 And it happened, when the Israelites[q] grew strong, they put the Canaanites[r] to forced labor but never drove them out completely.
The Tribes of Joseph Object
14 The descendants[s] of Joseph spoke with Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us[t] one allotment and one share as an inheritance? We are many people, which Yahweh has blessed.” 15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are many people, go up to the forest and clear a place there for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites[u] and Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” 16 And the descendants[v] of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all of the Canaanites[w] living in the land of the valley have chariots[x] of iron, those in Beth-shean and its villages, and those in the Jezreel Valley.” 17 And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are many people and have great power; you will not have one allotment only; 18 the hill country will be yours. Even though it is a forest, you will clear it, and it will be yours to its farthest borders. You will drive out the Canaanites,[y] even though they have iron chariots and are strong.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 17:1 Literally “and there was to him”
- Joshua 17:1 Literally “a man of war”
- Joshua 17:2 Or “sons”
- Joshua 17:2 Or “sons”
- Joshua 17:4 Or “among our brothers”
- Joshua 17:4 Literally “mouth of Yahweh”
- Joshua 17:4 Or “brothers”
- Joshua 17:6 Or “sons”
- Joshua 17:7 Or “which faces Shechem”
- Joshua 17:8 Literally “was to Manasseh”
- Joshua 17:8 Literally “was to the children of Ephraim”
- Joshua 17:9 A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
- Joshua 17:9 Literally “the goings out of it were”
- Joshua 17:10 Hebrew “its”
- Joshua 17:12 Or “sons”
- Joshua 17:12 Hebrew “Canaanite”
- Joshua 17:13 Literally “sons/children of Israel”
- Joshua 17:13 Hebrew “Canaanite”
- Joshua 17:14 Or “sons”
- Joshua 17:14 Hebrew “to me”
- Joshua 17:15 Hebrew “Perizzite”
- Joshua 17:16 Or “sons”
- Joshua 17:16 Hebrew “Canaanite”
- Joshua 17:16 Hebrew “chariot”
- Joshua 17:18 Hebrew “Canaanite”
Joshua 17
Common English Bible
Manasseh
17 Land was determined by lot for the tribe of Manasseh, who was actually Joseph’s oldest son. Gilead and Bashan belonged to Machir, who was Manasseh’s oldest son and Gilead’s father. This was because he was a warrior. 2 So an allotment took place for the rest of the clans of the people of Manasseh—for the people of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the male descendants by their clans.
3 Zelophehad was Hepher’s son, Gilead’s grandson, Machir’s great-grandson and Manasseh’s great-great-grandson. Zelophehad had no sons, only daughters, who were named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 The daughters approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua, Nun’s son, and the leaders. They said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us a legacy along with our male relatives.” So in agreement with the Lord’s command, they were given a legacy along with their uncles. 5 Manasseh had ten parcels in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan on the other side of the Jordan. 6 This was because the daughters of Manasseh received a legacy along with his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the people of Manasseh.
7 The border of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath, which is opposite Shechem. The border went south to the population of En-tappuah. 8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh. But Tappuah itself belonged to the people of Ephraim, even though it was on the border of Manasseh. 9 The border went down by the Kanah Valley. South of the ravine are those cities that belong to Ephraim, even though they are located among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh lay on the north side of the ravine and ended at the sea. 10 What lay south of the border belonged to Ephraim, and what lay north of it belonged to Manasseh. The sea was its border. The territory bordered Asher on the north and Issachar on the east.
11 Belonging to Manasseh in Issachar and in Asher were Beth-shean and its dependent cities, Ibleam and its dependent cities, the population of Dor and its dependent cities, the population of En-dor and its dependent cities, the population of Taanach and its dependent cities, and the population of Megiddo and its dependent cities. (The third one is Naphath.)[a] 12 The people of Manasseh couldn’t take over these cities, and the Canaanites were determined to live in this land. 13 When the Israelites grew strong, they subjected the Canaanites to hard labor but didn’t remove them.
Future expansion for Joseph
14 The tribe of Joseph spoke to Joshua: “Why have you only given us a single lot and a solitary parcel for a legacy? We are a numerous people whom the Lord has blessed so richly.”
15 Then Joshua said, “Yes, you are a numerous people. So go up to the forest and clear ground for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaim, because the Ephraimite highland is too small for you.”
16 The people of Joseph said, “The highland isn’t enough for us. But all the Canaanites who live in the valley region have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shean and its dependent cities and those in the Jezreel Valley.”
17 Joshua then said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and possess great strength. You will have more than a single lot. 18 The highland will belong to you. Because it is a forest, you can clear it. Its farthest limits will be yours. You will definitely remove the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and are strong.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 17:11 Heb uncertain
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