Joshua 17:1–13

Manasseh’s Land

¹The lot was drawn for the tribe of Manasseh, because Manasseh was Joseph’s firstborn. Machir, Manasseh’s firstborn, the ancestor of the people living in Gilead, had received Gilead and Bashan because he was a soldier. ²The land was given to the rest of the families descended from Manasseh, to the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the male descendants of Joseph’s son Manasseh listed by their families. 

³Zelophehad, son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, and great-grandson of Machir, whose father was Manasseh, had no sons—only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴They came to the priest Eleazar, Joshua (son of Nun), and the leaders. They said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us some land as an inheritance among our male relatives.” So they gave them an inheritance among their father’s relatives as the Lord had required. ⁵Ten portions of land went to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan River. ⁶These portions were distributed because Manasseh’s daughters were given an inheritance along with his sons, while Gilead belonged to Manasseh’s other descendants. 

⁷Manasseh’s border extends from Asher to Michmethath, which faces Shechem. Then the border goes south toward the people who live in En Tappuah. ⁸(The land of Tappuah belongs to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself, on the border of Manasseh, belongs to Ephraim.) ⁹The border then descends southward to the Kanah River. These cities belong to Ephraim, although they are among Manasseh’s cities. Manasseh’s ⸤southern⸥ border is the river, which ends at the Mediterranean Sea. ¹⁰What is south ⸤of the river⸥ belongs to Ephraim, and what is north ⸤of it⸥ belongs to Manasseh. So the Mediterranean Sea ⸤is its western border⸥, Asher its northern border, and Issachar its eastern border. ¹¹In Issachar and Asher, Manasseh possessed Beth Shean and Ibleam with their villages and the people living in Dor, En dor, Taanach, and Megiddo and their villages. The last three are on mountain ridges. 

¹²But Manasseh was not able to take possession of these cities since the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land. ¹³When the Israelites became strong enough, they made the Canaanites do forced labor, since they didn’t force all of them out.