^17:1The 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.³^17:2The rest of Manasseh’s descendants were also assigned land⁴ 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.

^17:3Now 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. ^17:4They 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 Joshua⁶ assigned them land among their uncles, as the Lord had commanded.⁷^17:5Manasseh was allotted ten shares of land,⁸ in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan, ^17:6for the daughters of Manasseh were assigned land among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.

^17:7The border of Manasseh went⁹ from Asher to Micmethath which is near¹⁰ 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.) ^17:9The 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. ^17:10Ephraim’s territory was to the south, and Manasseh’s to the north. The sea was Manasseh’s¹² western border and their territory¹³ touched Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. ^17:11Within 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

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Footnotes

1 Heb “and the lot belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph.”
2 Heb “to Makir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, for he was a man of war.”
3 Heb “Gilead and Bashan belonged to him.” On the assignment of Manasseh’s territory in Gilead and Bashan, see Josh 13:31.
4 Heb “and it belonged to the sons of Manasseh who remained.”
5 Heb “The Lord commanded Moses to assign to us an inheritance in the midst of our brothers.” Since Zelophehad had no sons, “brothers” must refer to their uncles, as the next sentence makes clear.
6 Heb “he.” The referent is probably Joshua, although Eleazar is mentioned first in the preceding list.
7 Heb “and he assigned to them in accordance with the mouth [i.e., command] of the Lord an inheritance in the midst of the brothers of their father.”
8 Heb “and the allotted portions of Manasseh fell out ten.”
9 Heb “was.”
10 Heb “in front of”; perhaps “east of.”
11 Heb “these cities belonged to Ephraim in the midst of the cities of Manasseh.”
12 Heb “his”; the referent (Manasseh) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 Heb “they”; the referent (their territory) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
14 For location see ; ; ; ; .
15 Or “the third [is] Napheth”; or “Napheth-dor.” The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain.
16 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.”