Joshua 16:1–17:18

Joseph’s Inheritance

16The allotment for the descendants of Joseph ⁱwent from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east, through the wilderness ^jascending from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel. ²From Bethel it went to Luz and proceeded to the border of the Archites by Ataroth. ^k3It then descended westward to the border of the Japhletites as far as the border of lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, ^land ended at the Mediterranean Sea. ⁴So Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, ^mreceived their inheritance. ⁿ

Ephraim’s Inheritance

⁵This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans:

The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar ^oon the east of Upper Beth-horon. ⁶In the north the border went westward from Michmethath; ^pit turned eastward from Taanath-shiloh and passed it east of Janoah. ⁷From Janoah it descended to Ataroth and Naarah, ^qand then reached Jericho and went to the Jordan. ⁸From Tappuah the border ^rwent westward along the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. ^s

This was the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans, together with ⁹the cities set apart for the descendants of Ephraim within the inheritance of the descendants of Manasseh—all these cities with their villages. ¹⁰But, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. ^tSo the Canaanites live in Ephraim to this day, ^ubut they are forced laborers.

West Manasseh’s Inheritance

17This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh ^vas Joseph’s firstborn. Gilead and Bashan came to Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh and the father of Gilead, who was a man of war. ^w2So the allotment was for the rest of Manasseh’s descendants by their clans, for the sons of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These are the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, by their clans.

³Now Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ^x4They came before Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our male relatives.” ^ySo they gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers, in keeping with the Lord’s instruction. ^z5As a result, 10 tracts fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which are beyond the Jordan, ^a6because Manasseh’s daughters received an inheritance among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of Manasseh’s sons.

⁷The border of Manasseh went from Asher to Michmethath near Shechem. It then went southward toward the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸The region of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself on Manasseh’s border ^bbelonged to the descendants of Ephraim. ⁹From there the border descended to the Brook of Kanah; south of the brook, cities belonged to Ephraim among Manasseh’s cities. Manasseh’s border was on the north side of the brook and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. ¹⁰Ephraim’s territory was to the south and Manasseh’s to the north, with the Sea as its border. They ^creached Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. ¹¹Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean with its towns, Ibleam with its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor with its towns; ^dthe inhabitants of En-dor with its towns, the inhabitants of Taanach with its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo with its towns—the three cities of ^eNaphath. ^f

¹²The descendants of Manasseh could not possess these cities, because the Canaanites were determined to stay in this land. ¹³However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they imposed forced labor on the Canaanites but did not drive them out completely. ^g

Joseph’s Additional Inheritance

¹⁴Joseph’s descendants said to Joshua, “Why did you give us only one tribal allotment ^has an inheritance? We have many people, because the Lord has been blessing us greatly.”

¹⁵“If you have so many people,” Joshua replied to them, “go to the forest and clear an area for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, because Ephraim’s hill country is too small for you.”

¹⁶But the descendants of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who inhabit the valley area have iron chariots, both at Beth-shean with its towns and in the Jezreel Valley.”

¹⁷So Joshua replied to Joseph’s family (that is, Ephraim and Manasseh), “You have many people and great strength. You will not have just one allotment, ¹⁸because the hill country will be yours also. It is a forest; clear it and its outlying areas will be yours. You can also drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and are strong.”