Joshua 16–17

Ephraim and West Manasseh

16The lot ¹fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan, by Jericho, to the waters of Jericho on the east, to the ^awilderness that goes up from Jericho through the mountains to ²Bethel, ²then went out ³from ^bBethel to Luz, passed along to the border of the Archites at Ataroth, ³and went down westward to the boundary of the Japhletites, ^cas far as the boundary of Lower Beth Horon to ^dGezer; and ⁴it ended at the sea.

^4eSo the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their ⁵inheritance.

The Land of Ephraim

^5fThe border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus: The border of their inheritance on the east side was ^gAtaroth Addar ^has far as Upper Beth Horon.

⁶And the border went out toward the sea on the north side of ⁱMichmethath; then the border went around eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed by it on the east of Janohah. ⁷Then it went down from Janohah to Ataroth and ⁶Naarah, reached to Jericho, and came out at the Jordan.

⁸The border went out from ^jTappuah westward to the ^kBrook Kanah, and ⁷it ended at the sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families. ^9lThe separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

^10mAnd they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become forced laborers.

The Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh (West)

17There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the ^afirstborn of Joseph: namely for ^bMachir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war; therefore he was given ^cGilead and Bashan. ²And there was a lot for ^dthe rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: ^efor the children of ¹Abiezer, the children of Helek, ^fthe children of Asriel, the children of Shechem, ^gthe children of Hepher, and the children of Shemida; these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.

³But ^hZelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters. And these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴And they came near before ⁱEleazar the priest, before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the rulers, saying, ^j“The Lord commanded Moses to give us an ²inheritance among our brothers.” Therefore, according to the commandment of the Lord, he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. ⁵Ten shares fell to ^kManasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side of the Jordan, ⁶because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons; and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.

⁷And the territory of Manasseh was from Asher to ^lMichmethath, that lies east of Shechem; and the border went along south to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. ⁸Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but ^mTappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. ⁹And the ³border descended to the ⁴Brook Kanah, southward to the brook. ⁿThese cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook; and it ended at the sea.

¹⁰Southward it was Ephraim’s, northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea was its border. Manasseh’s territory was adjoining Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. ¹¹And in Issachar and in Asher, ^oManasseh had ^pBeth Shean and its towns, Ibleam and its towns, the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of En Dor and its towns, the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns—three hilly regions. ¹²Yet ^qthe children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. ¹³And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to ^rforced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

More Land for Ephraim and Manasseh

^14sThen the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only ^tone ⁵lot and one share to inherit, since we are ^ua great people, inasmuch as the Lord has blessed us until now?”

¹⁵So Joshua answered them, “If you are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you.”

¹⁶But the children of Joseph said, “The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have ^vchariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are ^wof the Valley of Jezreel.”

¹⁷And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, “You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one ⁶lot, ¹⁸but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its ⁷farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, ^xthough they have iron chariots and are strong.”