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Texts -- Joshua 17:1-15 (NET)

Context
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.”

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Yeshebi

    [ebd] the Hebrew word rendered "inhabitants" in Josh. 17:7, but probably rather the name of the village Yeshepheh, probably Yassuf, 8 miles south of Shechem.

  • Tirza

    [ebd] pleasantness. (1.) An old royal city of the Canaanites, which was destroyed by Joshua (Josh. 12:24). Jeroboam chose it for his residence, and he removed to it from Shechem, which at first he made the capital of his kingdom. ...

  • 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...

  • Noah

    [ebd] rest, (Heb. Noah) the grandson of Methuselah (Gen. 5:25-29), who was for two hundred and fifty years contemporary with Adam, and the son of Lamech, who was about fifty years old at the time of Adam's death. This patriarch is...
    [smith] (motion), one of the five daughters of Zelophehad. (Numbers 26:33; 27:1; 36:11; Joshua 17:3) (B.C. 1450.)
    [nave] NOAH 1. Son of Lamech, Gen. 5:28, 29. Builds an ark and saves his family from the flood, Gen. 6:14-22; 7:8; Matt. 24:38; Luke 17:27; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20. Builds an altar and offers sacrifices, Gen. 8:20, 21. Receives t...

  • 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, ...

  • MEGIDDO; MEGIDDON

    [isbe] MEGIDDO; MEGIDDON - me-gid'-o, me-gid'-on (meghiddo, meghiddon; Magiddo, Mageddon, Magdo): A royal city of the Canaanites, the king of which was slain by Joshua (Josh 12:21). It lay within the territory of Issachar, but was ...

  • 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...

  • MACHIR; MACHIRITE

    [isbe] MACHIR; MACHIRITE - ma'-kir (makhir; Macheir), ma'-kir-it: (1) The eldest son of Manasseh (Gen 50:23). In Nu 26:29 it is recorded that Machir begat Gilead, but another narrative informs us that the children of Machir "went t...

  • 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...

  • 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)....

  • GENEALOGY, 8 part 1

    [isbe] GENEALOGY, 8 part 1 - 8. Principal Genealogies and Lists: In the early genealogies the particular strata to which each has been assigned by reconstructive critics is here indicated by J, the Priestly Code (P), etc. The signs...

  • 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...

  • ENDOR

    [ebd] fountain of Dor; i.e., "of the age", a place in the territory of Issachar (Josh. 17:11) near the scene of the great victory which was gained by Deborah and Barak over Sisera and Jabin (comp. Ps. 83:9, 10). To Endor, Saul res...
    [smith] (fountain of Dor), a place in the territory of Issachar, and yet possessed by Manasseh. (Joshua 17:11) Endor was the scene of the great victory over Sisera and Jabin. It was here that the witch dwelt whom Saul consulted. (1Â...

  • 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...

  • 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...

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Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • 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)....
  • 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...
  • 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...
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