Joshua 17:1-18
Jos 17:1
There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he
was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of
Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had
Gilead and Bashan.
Manasseh was the firstborn of Joseph.
Manasseh means “he that was forgotten.”
Joseph named him that because he never thought that he would see his
father again and that he was forgotten.
Machir was the firstborn of Manasseh.
And Joseph saw Ephraim's children
of the third generation: the
children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
(Genesis 50:23) Machir was the
father of Gilead who was a man of war and so his descendants received the cities
of Gilead and Bashan.
And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan,
being the kingdom of Og, gave I
unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which
was called the land of giants. (Deuteronomy 3:13)
Jos 17:2
There was also a lot for the rest of the children
of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children
of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and
for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were
the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.
Then the rest of the children or descendants of Manasseh
were given an inheritance by their family.
30 These
are the sons of Gilead:
of Jeezer, the family of the
Jeezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites: 31 And
of Asriel, the family of the
Asrielites: and of Shechem, the
family of the Shechemites: 32 And
of Shemida, the family of the
Shemidaites: and of Hepher, the
family of the Hepherites. (Numbers 26:30-32)
Abiezer in Joshua 17:2 is called Jeezer in Numbers 26:30.
Jos 17:3
But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the
son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are
the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
And Zelophehad the
son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the names of the daughters of
Zelophehad were Mahlah, and
Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. (Numbers 26:33)
Jos 17:4
And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before
Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses
to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the
commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their
father.
Joshua and Eleazar the priest were the ones who were
appointed to divide the land according to the families.
Then the daughters of Zelophehad came to them and brought their petition
to them.
Then came the daughters of Zelophehad,
the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of
the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these
are the names of his daughters;
Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. (Numbers 27:1)
Moses was commanded by the LORD to grant an inheritance to the daughters
of Zelophehad.
7 The daughters of Zelophehad
speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among
their father's brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to
pass unto them. 8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to
pass unto his daughter. (Numbers 27:7-8)
The LORD confirmed their proper request that if a man dies and he has no
sons but daughters, then the inheritance passes to the daughters.
Jos 17:5
And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land
of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;
The lot of inheritance of Manasseh was divided into ten
parts. The six families had six
parts of the inheritance and the daughters of Zelophehad were given four
portions of the inheritance. This
inheritance was on the east side of the Jordan which was apportioned by Moses.
Jos 17:6
Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance
among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.
The daughters of Manasseh are the daughters of Zelophahad
who descended from Manasseh. The
land of Gilead was on the east side of the Jordan.
Of the sons of Manasseh: of
Machir, the family of the Machirites: and Machir begat Gilead: of Gilead
come the family of the
Gileadites. (Numbers 26:29)
Jos 17:7
And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah,
that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand
unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah.
This is not the border of the tribe of Asher because the
distance would be too great. It was
the name of a town. Michmethah was
located south of Shechem probably at the foot of Mount Gerizim.
En-tappuah was located about 8 miles (13 KM) southwest of Shechem.
En-tappuah means “well of an apple” which is thought to have some
fountains nearby which watered the land.
Jos 17:8
Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah
on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim;
The land of Tappuah was located in the hill country of
Ephraim and was about 10 miles (16 KM) south of Shechem.
This was the inheritance given to the children of Ephraim.
Ephraim was given the actual city of Tappuah but the surrounding villages
were given to Manasseh.
Jos 17:9
And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward
of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh:
the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the
outgoings of it were at the sea:
The river Kanah ran north of the hill country of Ephraim
and emptied into the Mediterranean Sea.
The cities of Ephraim dwelt among the inheritance of Manasseh whose coast
or border was on the north side of the Kanah river.
Some of the cities were Asher, Michmethah,
Entappuah, and Tappuah.
Jos 17:10
Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it
was Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on
the north, and in Issachar on the east.
Asher was located on the coast of the Mediterranean sea
from Tyre southward to Nahalol.
Issachar was located just southwest of the Sea of Chinnereth.
Jos 17:11
And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and
her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns,
and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and
her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three
countries.
Beth-shean was located in the Valley of Jezreel about 5
miles (8 KM) west of the Jordan River.
Ibleam was located about 13 miles (21 KM) west of Beth-shean.
Dor was located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea about 25 miles (40
KM) northwest of Ibleam. Endor was
located about 15 miles (24 KM) north of Ibleam.
Taanach was about 7 miles (11 KM) north of Ibleam.
Megiddo was about 12 miles (19 KM) northwest of Ibleam.
The three countries listed are possibly the ones which are named such as
Manasseh, Issachar, and Asher since there was overlapping
in the inheritance.
Jos 17:12
Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the
inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
The cities mentioned were given to Manasseh but they
could not drive out the inhabitants of them.
The words “could not” would probably indicate they were not strong enough
to do it or not strong enough yet to do it.
Whatever the reason, they had to dwell with the pagans in the land God
gave to them at this time.
Jos 17:13
Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were
waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive
them out.
As the tribe of Manasseh became stronger and more
coordinated, they did not drive out the Canaanites but they put them to tribute.
This would mean they were the servants of the children of Manasseh and
were no doubt disarmed so they would not be a threat.
Jos 17:14
And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why
hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am
a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto?
Then representatives of the tribes of Manasseh and
Ephraim came to Joshua with a complaint and a petition.
They were two tribes and especially Manasseh which had now increased in
size and they had received only one portion for the two of them which they
thought. The LORD blessed their
increase and they believed that they should have a larger inheritance so the
people can live without crowding.
Both tribes together were a large amount of people.
Jos 17:15
And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great
people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for
thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim
be too narrow for thee.
Joshua was not doubting that they grew in numbers but
here is telling them to expand their own land.
The wood country was probably by Mt. Gilboa which was south of the Valley
of Jezreel. Joshua wanted them to
start cutting down the forests to make room for them to expand their living
areas. They could have had the
Canaanites which they placed under tribute to do most of the work in that area.
The land of the Perizzites and giants would have been the valley of
Rephaim. Rephaim means “giants.”
It was located west of the Valley of Hinnom.
Jos 17:16
And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough
for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have
chariots of iron, both they who are of Beth-shean and her towns,
and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.
They responded to Joshua by stating that even if they
could clear all that land, it would still not be enough room for them.
Then they told Joshua that the Canaanites which dwelt there had chariots
with iron scythes on the wheel axles which was designed to come by a chariot and
destroy it plus they would be deadly if they came in contact with a person.
Scythes were like machetes or sharp knives protruding from the wheel
axles and were a deadly instrument of war back then.
Jos 17:17
And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to
Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great
power: thou shalt not have one lot only:
The Joshua had agreed with them and understood their
situation as it seems representatives of both tribes were there.
He agreed with them that they had become a large group of people and that
resulted in them having greater power and strength.
Then Joshua states that they shall not have only one lot or portion.
Jos 17:18
But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood,
and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou
shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and
though they be strong.