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16 And the lot for the sons of Joseph goeth out from Jordan [by] Jericho, to the waters of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness going up from Jericho in the hill-country of Beth-El,

and hath gone out from Beth-El to Luz, and passed over unto the border of Archi [to] Ataroth,

and gone down westward unto the border of Japhleti, unto the border of Beth-Horon the lower, and unto Gezer, and its outgoings have been at the sea.

And the sons of Joseph -- Manasseh and Ephraim -- inherit.

And the border of the sons of Ephraim is by their families; and the border of their inheritance is on the east, Atroth-Addar unto Beth-Horon the upper;

and the border hath gone out at the sea, to Michmethah on the north, and the border hath gone round eastward [to] Taanath-Shiloh, and passed over it eastward to Janohah,

and gone down from Janohah [to] Ataroth, and to Naarath, and touched against Jericho, and gone out at the Jordan.

From Tappuah the border goeth westward unto the brook of Kanah, and its outgoings have been at the sea: this [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim, for their families.

And the separate cities of the sons of Ephraim [are] in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities and their villages;

10 and they have not dispossessed the Canaanite who is dwelling in Gezer, and the Canaanite dwelleth in the midst of Ephraim unto this day, and is to tribute -- a servant.

17 And the lot is for the tribe of Manasseh (for he [is] first-born of Joseph), for Machir first-born of Manasseh, father of Gilead, for he hath been a man of war, and his are Gilead and Bashan.

And there is for the sons of Manasseh who are left, for their families; for the sons of Abiezer, and for the sons of Helek, and for the sons of Asriel, and for the sons of Shechem, and for the sons of Hepher, and for the sons of Shemida; these [are] the children of Manasseh son of Joseph -- the males -- by their families.

As to Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, he hath no children except daughters, and these [are] the names of his daughters: Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah,

and they draw near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, `Jehovah commanded Moses to give to us an inheritance in the midst of our brethren;' and he giveth to them, at the command of Jehovah, an inheritance in the midst of the brethren of their father.

And ten portions fall [to] Manasseh, apart from the land of Gilead and Bashan, which [are] beyond the Jordan;

for the daughters of Manasseh have inherited an inheritance in the midst of his sons, and the land of Gilead hath been to the sons of Manasseh who are left.

And the border of Manasseh is from Asher to Michmethah, which [is] on the front of Shechem, and the border hath gone on unto the right, unto the inhabitants of En-Tappuah.

To Manasseh hath been the land of Tappuah, and Tappuah unto the border of Manasseh is to the sons of Ephraim.

And the border hath come down [to] the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook; these cities of Ephraim [are] in the midst of the cities of Manasseh, and the border of Manasseh [is] on the north of the brook, and its outgoings are at the sea.

10 Southward [is] to Ephraim and northward to Manasseh, and the sea is his border, and in Asher they meet on the north, and in Issachar on the east.

11 And Manasseh hath in Issachar and in Asher, Beth-Shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns, three counties.

12 And the sons of Manasseh have not been able to occupy these cities, and the Canaanite is desirous to dwell in this land,

13 and it cometh to pass when the sons of Israel have been strong, that they put the Canaanite to tribute, and have not utterly dispossessed him.

14 And the sons of Joseph speak with Joshua, saying, `Wherefore hast thou given to me an inheritance -- one lot and one portion, and I a numerous people? hitherto hath Jehovah blessed me.'

15 And Joshua saith unto them, `If thou [art] a numerous people, go up for thee to the forest, then thou hast prepared for thee there, in the land of the Perizzite, and of the Rephaim, when mount Ephraim hath been narrow for thee.'

16 And the sons of Joseph say, `The hill is not found to us, and a chariot of iron [is] with every Canaanite who is dwelling in the land of the valley -- to him who [is] in Beth-Shean and its towns, and to him who [is] in the valley of Jezreel.'

17 And Joshua speaketh unto the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, `Thou [art] a numerous people, and hast great power; thou hast not one lot [only],

18 because the mountain is thine; because it [is] a forest -- thou hast prepared it, and its outgoings have been thine; because thou dost dispossess the Canaanite, though it hath chariots of iron -- though it [is] strong.'

Allotment for Ephraim and Manasseh

16 The allotment for Joseph began at the Jordan, east of the springs of Jericho, and went up from there through the desert(A) into the hill country of Bethel.(B) It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz(C)),[a] crossed over to the territory of the Arkites(D) in Ataroth,(E) descended westward to the territory of the Japhletites as far as the region of Lower Beth Horon(F) and on to Gezer,(G) ending at the Mediterranean Sea.

So Manasseh and Ephraim, the descendants of Joseph, received their inheritance.(H)

This was the territory of Ephraim, according to its clans:

The boundary of their inheritance went from Ataroth Addar(I) in the east to Upper Beth Horon(J) and continued to the Mediterranean Sea. From Mikmethath(K) on the north it curved eastward to Taanath Shiloh, passing by it to Janoah(L) on the east. Then it went down from Janoah(M) to Ataroth(N) and Naarah, touched Jericho and came out at the Jordan. From Tappuah(O) the border went west to the Kanah Ravine(P) and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Ephraimites, according to its clans. It also included all the towns and their villages that were set aside for the Ephraimites within the inheritance of the Manassites.(Q)

10 They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor.(R)

17 This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh(S) as Joseph’s firstborn,(T) that is, for Makir,(U) Manasseh’s firstborn. Makir was the ancestor of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead(V) and Bashan(W) because the Makirites were great soldiers. So this allotment was for the rest of the people of Manasseh(X)—the clans of Abiezer,(Y) Helek, Asriel,(Z) Shechem, Hepher(AA) and Shemida.(AB) These are the other male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.

Now Zelophehad son of Hepher,(AC) the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters,(AD) whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our relatives.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with the brothers of their father, according to the Lord’s command.(AE) Manasseh’s share consisted of ten tracts of land besides Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan,(AF) because the daughters of the tribe of Manasseh received an inheritance among the sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.

The territory of Manasseh extended from Asher(AG) to Mikmethath(AH) east of Shechem.(AI) The boundary ran southward from there to include the people living at En Tappuah. (Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah(AJ) itself, on the boundary of Manasseh, belonged to the Ephraimites.) Then the boundary continued south to the Kanah Ravine.(AK) There were towns belonging to Ephraim lying among the towns of Manasseh, but the boundary of Manasseh was the northern side of the ravine and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. 10 On the south the land belonged to Ephraim, on the north to Manasseh. The territory of Manasseh reached the Mediterranean Sea and bordered Asher(AL) on the north and Issachar(AM) on the east.(AN)

11 Within Issachar(AO) and Asher, Manasseh also had Beth Shan,(AP) Ibleam(AQ) and the people of Dor,(AR) Endor,(AS) Taanach(AT) and Megiddo,(AU) together with their surrounding settlements (the third in the list is Naphoth[b]).(AV)

12 Yet the Manassites were not able(AW) to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region. 13 However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.(AX)

14 The people of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people, and the Lord has blessed us abundantly.”(AY)

15 “If you are so numerous,” Joshua answered, “and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest(AZ) and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites(BA) and Rephaites.(BB)

16 The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with iron,(BC) both those in Beth Shan(BD) and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”(BE)

17 But Joshua said to the tribes of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment(BF) 18 but the forested hill country(BG) as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have chariots fitted with iron(BH) and though they are strong, you can drive them out.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 16:2 Septuagint; Hebrew Bethel to Luz
  2. Joshua 17:11 That is, Naphoth Dor