Joshua 17

The TorahRooted Bible (TRB), translated directly from the Hebrew and Greek.

The inheritance of Manasseh

¹ This was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, Gilead and Bashan were given. ² And the lot was for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their clans: for the children of Abiezer, the children of Helek, the children of Asriel, the children of Shechem, the children of Hepher and the children of Shemida. These were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their clans.

The daughters of Zelophehad receive their inheritance

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, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ They came near before Eleazar the priest, before Joshua the son of Nun and before the leaders, saying, "Yahweh commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers." So according to the command of Yahweh he gave them an inheritance among their father's brothers. ⁵ So ten portions 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 belonged to the rest of the children of Manasseh.

⁷ The border of Manasseh went from Asher to Michmethath, which faces Shechem; then the border went southward 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 Then the border went down to the brook Kanah, south of the brook. These cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook, and it ended at the sea. ¹⁰ The south was Ephraim's and the north was Manasseh's, and the sea was its border; on the north they reached Asher, and on the east Issachar. ¹¹ In Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of Endor and its towns, the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns: the three heights. ¹² Yet the children of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in this land. ¹³ And when the children of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.

The house of Joseph asks for more land

¹⁴ Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, "Why have you given me only one lot and one portion as an inheritance, since I am a great people, because Yahweh has blessed me until now?" ¹⁵ And Joshua said to them, "If you are a great people, go up to the forest and clear land for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and 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 live in the valley land have chariots of iron, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the Valley of Jezreel." ¹⁷ Then Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, "You are a great people and have great strength; you shall not have one lot only, ¹⁸ but the hill country shall be yours. Though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and its farthest limits shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron and though they are strong."

Notes

• 17:4 Years earlier the daughters had brought their case to Moses, and Yahweh answered, "You shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father's brothers" (Numbers 27:7). Now, in the land itself, they remind Eleazar and Joshua of that word, and the promise is carried out.
• 17:6 The ten portions are usually explained from verses 2-3: five clans, Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem and Shemida, each received a portion, and Zelophehad's five daughters received five more in place of the sixth clan, Hepher. "Portion" is chevel, literally a measuring cord, the line used to measure out land.
• 17:11 "Its towns" is literally "its daughters," the Hebrew way of speaking of the villages that depended on a walled city. "The three heights" (sheloshet hannafet) is obscure; many connect it with "the heights of Dor" (Joshua 11:2; 12:23), and some understand "the third is Napheth."
• 17:15 "Clear" is bereta, from the verb bara in its Piel (intensive) form, used here and in verse 18 for cutting down trees. The same letters spell bara, "created," in Genesis 1:1; many lexicons list both under one verb, while others treat them as two different roots that happen to be spelled alike. Much of the central hill country was then covered with forest and scrub.
• 17:16 "Chariots of iron" were most likely chariots fitted or strengthened with iron parts. On the level floor of the Jezreel Valley they were a fearsome weapon, but they were of little use in the wooded hills where Joshua sends the tribe (verses 15, 18).

Joshua 16 · Joshua 18

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