Discovery BoxJoshua 17:1-17
Context17:1 The tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn son, was also allotted land. 1 The descendants of Makir, Manasseh’s firstborn and the father of Gilead, received land, for they were warriors. 2 They were assigned Gilead and Bashan. 3 17:2 The rest of Manasseh’s descendants were also assigned land 4 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.” 5 So Joshua 6 assigned them land among their uncles, as the Lord had commanded. 7 17:5 Manasseh was allotted ten shares of land, 8 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 9 from Asher to Micmethath which is near 10 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, 11 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 12 western border and their territory 13 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, 14 the three of Napheth, 15 and the towns surrounding all these cities. 16 17:12 But the men 17 of Manasseh were unable to conquer these cities; the Canaanites managed 18 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. 19
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.” 20 17:15 Joshua replied to them, “Since you have so many people, 21 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 22 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.” 23 17:17 Joshua said to the family 24 of Joseph – to both Ephraim and Manasseh: “You have many people and great military strength. You will not have just one tribal allotment.
[17:1] 1 tn Heb “and the lot belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph.”
[17:1] 2 tn Heb “to Makir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, for he was a man of war.”
[17:1] 3 tn Heb “Gilead and Bashan belonged to him.”
[17:2] 4 tn Heb “and it belonged to the sons of Manasseh who remained.”
[17:4] 5 tn Heb “The
[17:4] 6 tn Heb “he.” The referent is probably Joshua, although Eleazar is mentioned first in the preceding list.
[17:4] 7 tn Heb “and he assigned to them in accordance with the mouth [i.e., command] of the
[17:5] 8 tn Heb “and the allotted portions of Manasseh fell out ten.”
[17:7] 10 tn Heb “in front of”; perhaps “east of.”
[17:9] 11 tn Heb “these cities belonged to Ephraim in the midst of the cities of Manasseh.”
[17:10] 12 tn Heb “his”; the referent (Manasseh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:10] 13 tn Heb “they”; the referent (their territory) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[17:11] 14 map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.
[17:11] 15 tn Or “the third [is] Napheth”; or “Napheth-dor.” The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain.
[17:11] 16 tn Heb “Beth Shean and its surrounding towns, Ibleam and its surrounding towns, the residents of Dor and its surrounding towns, the residents of En Dor and its surrounding towns, the residents of Taanach and its surrounding towns, the residents of Megiddo and its surrounding towns, three of Nepheth.”
[17:12] 17 tn Heb “sons”; “men” has been used in the translation because the context involves the conquest of cities; therefore, warriors (hence males) would be in view here.
[17:12] 18 tn Or “were determined.”
[17:13] 19 sn On the Israelites’ failure to conquer the Canaanites completely, see Judg 1:27-28.
[17:14] 20 tn Heb “Why have you given me as an inheritance one lot and one portion, though I am a great people until [the time] which, until now the
[17:15] 21 tn Heb “If you are a great people.”
[17:16] 22 tn The Hebrew text has simply “the hill country,” which must here include the hill country of Ephraim and the forest regions mentioned in v. 15.
[17:16] 23 tn Heb “and there are iron chariots among all the Canaanites who live in the land of the valley, to those who are in Beth Shean and its daughters and to those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255 and R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.
