Advanced Commentary

Texts -- Joshua 16:1--17:18 (NET)

Context
Joseph’s Tribal Lands
16:1 The land allotted to Joseph’s descendants extended from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho to the east , through the desert and on up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel . 16:2 The southern border extended from Bethel to Luz , and crossed to Arkite territory at Ataroth . 16:3 It then descended westward to Japhletite territory , as far as the territory of lower Beth Horon and Gezer , and ended at the sea . 16:4 Joseph’s descendants , Manasseh and Ephraim , were assigned their land . 16:5 The territory of the tribe of Ephraim by its clans included the following: The border of their assigned land to the east was Ataroth Addar as far as upper Beth Horon . 16:6 It then extended on to the sea , with Micmethath on the north . It turned eastward to Taanath Shiloh and crossed it on the east to Janoah . 16:7 It then descended from Janoah to Ataroth and Naarah , touched Jericho , and extended to the Jordan River . 16:8 From Tappuah it went westward to the Valley of Kanah and ended at the sea . This is the land assigned to the tribe of Ephraim by its clans . 16:9 Also included were the cities set apart for the tribe of Ephraim within Manasseh’s territory , along with their towns . 16:10 The Ephraimites did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer . The Canaanites live among the Ephraimites to this very day and do hard labor as their servants . 17:1 The tribe of Manasseh , Joseph’s firstborn son , was also allotted land. The descendants of Makir , Manasseh’s firstborn and the father of Gilead , received land, for they were warriors . They were assigned Gilead and Bashan . 17:2 The rest of Manasseh’s descendants were also assigned land by their clans , including the descendants of Abiezer , Helek , Asriel , Shechem , Hepher , and Shemida . These are the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans . 17:3 Now 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 . 17:4 They went before Eleazar the priest , Joshua son of Nun , and the leaders and said , “The Lord told Moses to assign us land among our relatives .” So Joshua assigned them land among their uncles , as the Lord had commanded . 17:5 Manasseh was allotted ten shares of land, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan , 17:6 for the daughters of Manasseh were assigned land among his sons . The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh . 17:7 The border of Manasseh went from Asher to Micmethath which is near Shechem . It then went south toward those who live in Tappuah . 17:8 (The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh , but Tappuah , located on the border of Manasseh , belonged to the tribe of Ephraim .) 17:9 The border then descended southward to the Valley of Kanah . Ephraim was assigned cities there among the cities of Manasseh , but the border of Manasseh was north of the valley and ended at the sea . 17:10 Ephraim’s territory was to the south , and Manasseh’s to the north . The sea was Manasseh’s western border and their territory touched Asher on the north and Issachar on the east . 17:11 Within Issachar’s and Asher’s territory Manasseh was assigned Beth Shean , Ibleam , the residents of Dor , En Dor , the residents of Taanach , the residents of Megiddo , the three of Napheth , and the towns surrounding all these cities. 17:12 But the men of Manasseh were unable to conquer these cities ; the Canaanites managed to remain in those areas . 17:13 Whenever the Israelites were strong militarily, they forced the Canaanites to do hard labor , but they never totally conquered them. 17:14 The descendants of Joseph said to Joshua , “Why have you assigned us only one tribal allotment ? After all, we have many people , for until now the Lord has enabled us to increase in number .” 17:15 Joshua replied to them, “Since you have so many people , go up into the forest and clear out a place to live in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites , for the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you.” 17:16 The descendants of Joseph said , “The whole hill country is inadequate for us, and the Canaanites living down in the valley in Beth Shean and its surrounding towns and in the Valley of Jezreel have chariots with iron-rimmed wheels.” 17:17 Joshua said to the family of Joseph – to both Ephraim and Manasseh : “You have many people and great military strength . You will not have just one tribal allotment . 17:18 The whole hill country will be yours; though it is a forest , you can clear it and it will be entirely yours . You can conquer the Canaanites , though they have chariots with iron-rimmed wheels and are strong .”

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • TAPPUSH

    [smith] (the apple-city). A city of Judah, of the Shefelah or lowland. (Joshua 15:34) A place on the boundary of the "children of Joseph." (Joshua 16:8; 17:8) Its full name was probably En-tappuah. (Joshua 17:7) ("Around the city wa...

  • PALESTINE, 2

    [isbe] PALESTINE, 2 - III. Palestine in the Historic Books of the Old Testament. 1. Book of Joshua: Joshua is the great geographical book of the Old Testament; and the large majority of the 600 names of places, rivers and mountains...

  • Manasseh

    [smith] (forgetting), the eldest son of Joseph, (Genesis 41:51; 46:20) born 1715-10 B.C. Both he and Ephraim were born before the commencement of the famine. He was placed after his younger brother, Ephraim, by his grandfather Jacob,...
    [nave] MANASSEH 1. Son of Joseph and Asenath, Gen. 41:50, 51; 46:20; adopted by Jacob on his deathbed, Gen. 48:1, 5-20. Called Manasses, Rev. 7:6. 2. Tribe of. Descendants of Joseph. The two sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, ...

  • Manaen

    [ebd] consoler, a Christian teacher at Antioch. Nothing else is known of him beyond what is stated in Acts 13:1, where he is spoken of as having been brought up with (Gr. syntrophos; rendered in R.V. "foster brother" of) Herod, i....

  • MANASSEH (2)

    [isbe] MANASSEH (2) - 1. Son of Joseph: Following the Biblical account of Manasseh (patriarch, tribe, and territory) we find that he was the eider of Joseph's two sons by Asenath, the daughter of Poti-phera, priest of On (Gen 41:51...

  • Lord

    [ebd] There are various Hebrew and Greek words so rendered. (1.) Heb. Jehovah, has been rendered in the English Bible LORD, printed in small capitals. This is the proper name of the God of the Hebrews. The form "Jehovah" is retain...

  • Joshua

    [nave] JOSHUA 1. Called also Jehoshua, and Jehoshuah, and Oshea. Son of Nun, Num. 13:8; 1 Chr. 7:27. Intimately associated with Moses, Ex. 24:13; 32:17; 33:11. A religious zealot, Num. 11:28. Sent with others to view the promise...

  • Israel

    [nave] ISRAEL 1. A name given to Jacob, Gen. 32:24-32; 2 Kin. 17:34; Hos. 12:3, 4. 2. A name of the Christ in prophecy, Isa. 49:3. 3. A name given to the descendants of Jacob, a nation. Called also Israelites, and Hebrews, Gen. 4...

  • Horonite

    [ebd] the designation of Sanballat (Neh. 2:10, 19), a native of Horonaim, or of one of the two Beth-horons, the "upper" or the "nether," mentioned in Josh. 16:3,5.

  • Gideon

    [ebd] called also Jerubbaal (Judg. 6:29, 32), was the first of the judges whose history is circumstantially narrated (Judg. 6-8). His calling is the commencement of the second period in the history of the judges. After the victory...

  • Gibeon

    [ebd] hill-city, "one of the royal cities, greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty" (Josh. 10:2). Its inhabitants were Hivites (11:19). It lay within the territory of Benjamin, and became a priest-city (18:25; 21:17)....

  • Ephraim, The tribe of

    [ebd] took precedence over that of Manasseh by virtue of Jacob's blessing (Gen. 41:52; 48:1). The descendants of Joseph formed two of the tribes of Israel, whereas each of the other sons of Jacob was the founder of only one tribe....

  • Ephraim, Mount

    [ebd] the central mountainous district of Palestine occupied by the tribe of Ephraim (Josh. 17:15; 19:50; 20:7), extending from Bethel to the plain of Jezreel. In Joshua's time (Josh. 17:18) these hills were densely wooded. They w...

  • Ephraim

    [smith] that portion of Canaan named after Joseph?s second son. (Genesis 41:50-52) The boundaries of the portion of Ephraim are given in (Joshua 16:1-10) The south boundary was coincident for part of its length with the north boundar...
    [nave] EPHRAIM 1. Second son of Joseph, Gen. 41:52. Adopted by Jacob, Gen. 48:5. Blessed before Manasseh; prophecies concerning, Gen. 48:14-20. Descendants of, Num. 26:35-37; 1 Chr. 7:20-27. Mourns for his sons, 1 Chr. 7:21, 22...

  • EPHRAIM (1)

    [isbe] EPHRAIM (1) - e'-fra-im, e'-fra-im ('ephrayim, "double fruit"): 1. The Patriarch: The younger of the two sons of Joseph and Asenath, born in Egypt. He and his brother Manasseh were adopted by Jacob, and ranked as his own son...

  • Cowardice

    [nave] COWARDICE. Lev. 26:36, 37; Deut. 20:8; Deut. 32:30; Josh. 7:5; Josh. 23:10; Judg. 7:3; Job 15:24; Job 18:11; Prov. 28:1; Prov. 29:25; Isa. 51:12, 13; Gal. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:16 See: Courage. Instances of Adam, in attempting t...

  • Canaanites

    [nave] CANAANITES Eleven nations, descended from Canaan, Gen. 10:15-19; Deut. 7:1; 1 Chr. 1:13-16. Territory of, Gen. 10:19; 12:6; 15:18; Ex. 23:31; Num. 13:29; 34:1-12; Josh. 1:4; 5:1; given to the Israelites, Gen. 12:6, 7; 15:18...

  • BOTANY

    [isbe] BOTANY - bot'-a-ni. 1. General Characteristics of Palestinian Flora: On account of the great diversity in the climatic and topographical conditions Palestine is peculiarly rich in the variety of its flora--the best authority...

  • BETHHORON

    [smith] (house of caverns), the name of two towns or villages, an "upper" and a "nether," (Joshua 16:3,5; 1 Chronicles 7:24) on the road from Gibeon to Azekah, (Joshua 10:10,11) and the Philistine plain. 1 Macc. 3:24. Beth-horon l...

  • Abieezer

    [ebd] father of help; i.e., "helpful." (1.) The second of the three sons of Hammoleketh, the sister of Gilead. He was the grandson of Manasseh (1 Chr. 7:18). From his family Gideon sprang (Josh. 17:2; comp. Judg. 6:34; 8:2). He wa...

Arts

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Book of Joshua evidently came into being several years after the events recorded in the book took place. A number of statements point to a time of composition beyond the conquest and perhaps beyond the lifetime of Joshua....
  • I. The conquest of the land chs. 1-12A. Preparations for entering Canaan chs. 1-21. God's charge to Joshua 1:1-92. Joshua's charge to Israel 1:10-183. The spying out of Jericho ch. 2B. Entrance into the land 3:1-5:121. Passag...
  • In one sense verses 1-9 are a preamble to the whole book. They contain the basic principles that were to guide Joshua and Israel so they could obtain all that God had promised their forefathers.1:1 The first word of the book ...
  • The writer referred to Canaan as "the land of the sons of Israel"first here in Scripture (v. 22). The Anakim were the mighty warriors that the 10 spies had feared (Num. 13:28). Israel destroyed most of these."The hardening of...
  • The writer identified 31 kings in the order in which Joshua defeated them."Many of the same names appear in the Amarna letters, thus confirming the historicity of our text."158"The description was not complete. Shechem is not...
  • Chapters 13-24 describe how Joshua divided the land and the results of that division. Many if not all the Israelite tribes did not conquer or control all the land allotted to them (15:63; 16:10; 17:12-13). The record of the a...
  • The writer may have dealt with the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh together since Jacob had given Joseph the second largest blessing after Judah (Gen. 49). Moreover half the tribe of Manasseh had already received its inheritan...
  • After the process of assigning land to the three tribes mentioned above, Israel's attention turned to relocating the tabernacle in a more central location (v. 1). God undoubtedly made the choice of Shiloh (lit. rest; cf. Deut...
  • First the two and one-half tribes east of the Jordan received their land. Then Judah, the primary recipient of Jacob's patriarchal blessing, and Joseph, the recipient of Jacob's patriarchal birthright, received their allotmen...
  • Israel's leaders completed this division of the land at Shiloh, the new location of the tabernacle."The gift of the land brought blessings not only to the nation as a whole and to the individual tribes. It also brought blessi...
  • These verses conclude the account of the division of the land proper (chs. 13-21; cf. 1:2-6; 11:23). They bind the two parts of the second half of the book together. They form a theological conclusion to the entire book up to...
  • The main part of the second half of the Book of Joshua dealing with the division of the land ends with the appointment of the Levitical cities (chs. 13-21). The rest of the book deals with settlement in the land (chs. 22-24)....
  • 1:1 The Book of Judges begins with a conjunction translated "now"or "and."God intended Judges to continue the narrative of Israel's history where the Book of Joshua ended (cf. Josh. 1:1). This verse provides a heading for the...
  • The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
  • The people of Israel had formerly given the kingdom to David as a gift (5:1-3), but now they took that gift from him (v. 13).237David knew that Absalom was popular with the people. Evidently he fled Jerusalem to save his own ...
  • Solomon was powerful enough to conscript laborers to build the Millo and a wall around Jerusalem. The Millo (lit. filling) evidently refers to the terraces on the east side of Mt. Zion (cf. 2 Sam. 5:9). Solomon enlarged these...
  • This is the sixth and last message that Ezekiel received from the Lord the night before the refugees reached the exiles with the message that Jerusalem had fallen (cf. 33:21-22). It too deals with God's plans for Israel in th...
  • The tribe of Dan was to receive the northernmost section of the Promised Land. The order of tribes from north to south, north of the sacred district, was Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Reuben and Judah--seven tribal...
  • The sailors interrogated Jonah about his reasons for travelling on their ship, but it was his failure to live consistently with his convictions that amazed them.1:7 It appears to have been common among the heathen to cast lot...
Back to Commentary Page
Display Bible



Universal Search:

NET Only
Exact Search
Commentary
Study Dictionary
Word Study
Lexicon
Study Maps System
Sermon Illustrations
Expository
Arts
Resource
Daily Bible Reading
Training Video
Classic NET Bible
iPhone NET Bible
Mobile Bible
TIP #33: This site depends on your input, ideas, and participation! Click the button below. [ALL]
created in 0.06 seconds
powered by
bible.org - YLSA