Joshua 16-17
EasyEnglish Bible
Land for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh
16 This is the land that Joshua gave to the descendants of Joseph.[a] Their land went from the Jordan River at Jericho, and from there it went through the desert into the hills of Bethel.
2 The south border of their land went from Bethel, to Luz, and then to the land of the Arkites at Ataroth. 3 It continued to the west, to the land of the Japhletites as far as lower Beth Horon and Gezer. The border ended at the sea.
4 Joshua gave this land to Manasseh and Ephraim, the sons of Joseph. It was for them and their descendants.
Land for Ephraim's tribe
5 Joshua gave this land to the tribe of Ephraim, clan by clan:
The border of their land went from Ataroth Addar in the east to Beth Horon. 6 Then it continued west to the sea, with Micmethath on the north side of the border. East of Micmethath, the border went past Taanath Shiloh on the east and then to Janoah. 7 From there it went to Ataroth and Naarah and past Jericho to the Jordan River. 8 From Tappuah, the border continued to the west, to the stream of Kanah. From there, it continued to the sea.
That is the land that Joshua gave to the families of the tribe of Ephraim. 9 They also received some towns and villages that were in Manasseh's land. 10 But the tribe of Ephraim did not chase out the Canaanite people who lived in Gezer. Canaanite people still live there with the people of Ephraim, but they have to work as their slaves.
Land for Manasseh's tribe
17 This is the land that Manasseh's tribe received. Manasseh was Joseph's firstborn son. Manasseh's firstborn son was Makir. He was the father of Gilead. Makir's descendants were brave soldiers. Because of that, Moses had already given Gilead and Bashan to them, east of the Jordan River. 2 The other families of Manasseh received land on the west side of the Jordan. They were the descendants of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida. They were all sons of Manasseh, and leaders of their clans.
3 Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons. He had only daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. 4 They went to see Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders. They said, ‘The Lord told Moses to give us part of the land. We must have land like the sons of other families.’ Joshua agreed and he gave land to them, like the other families. 5 That is why Manasseh's tribe received ten parts of the land, as well as Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan. 6 The daughters of Manasseh received some land, as well as his sons. They gave the land of Gilead to the other families of Manasseh.
7 The border of Manasseh's land went from Asher to Micmethath, east of Shechem. It went south to include En Tappuah. 8 Manasseh received the land near Tappuah, but the town of Tappuah belonged to the tribe of Ephraim. 9 The border of Manasseh's land went down to Kanah valley and along its north side to the Mediterranean Sea. Some towns on the south of that valley belonged to Ephraim, but they were in Manasseh's land. 10 Ephraim's land was south of the river, and Manasseh's land was to the north. Manasseh's west border was the Mediterranean Sea. Asher's land was on the north side of Manasseh's land. Issachar's land was on the east side. 11 Some towns that were in the lands of Issachar and Asher belonged to Manasseh. They were Beth Shan, Ibleam and the people who lived in Dor, Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo. They included the villages near those towns. 12 But the men of Manasseh could not chase out the people who lived in those cities. So the Canaanite people continued to live there. 13 When the Israelites became stronger, they made the Canaanites work for them as slaves. But they never completely chased the Canaanites out from those towns.
Joseph's descendants ask for more land
14 Joseph's descendants asked Joshua, ‘Why have you given only one part of the land for us to live in? The Lord has blessed us with many children, so there are many people in our tribe.’
15 Joshua said to them, ‘Because there are so many of you, you may take more land. If the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, move into the forest that belongs to the Perizzites and the Rephaites. Cut down trees there to make a place to live.’
16 They replied, ‘The hill country is certainly not big enough for us. But the Canaanites who live in Beth Shan and its villages, and in the valley of Jezreel, have iron chariots.’
17 Joshua said to the men from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, ‘You have very many strong men who can fight. I will give you more land than the part that you have already received. 18 You may take the whole of the hill country as your land. You can cut down the trees of the forests and live there. It is true that the Canaanites are strong fighters and they have iron chariots. But you will be strong enough to chase them out.’
Footnotes
- 16:1 The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim and Manasseh were Joseph's sons.
Joshua 16-17
New King James Version
Ephraim and West Manasseh
16 The lot [a]fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan, by Jericho, to the waters of Jericho on the east, to the (A)wilderness that goes up from Jericho through the mountains to [b]Bethel, 2 then went out [c]from (B)Bethel to Luz, passed along to the border of the Archites at Ataroth, 3 and went down westward to the boundary of the Japhletites, (C)as far as the boundary of Lower Beth Horon to (D)Gezer; and [d]it ended at the sea.
4 (E)So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their [e]inheritance.
The Land of Ephraim
5 (F)The border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus: The border of their inheritance on the east side was (G)Ataroth Addar (H)as far as Upper Beth Horon.
6 And the border went out toward the sea on the north side of (I)Michmethath; then the border went around eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed by it on the east of Janohah. 7 Then it went down from Janohah to Ataroth and [f]Naarah, reached to Jericho, and came out at the Jordan.
8 The border went out from (J)Tappuah westward to the (K)Brook Kanah, and [g]it ended at the sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families. 9 (L)The separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.
10 (M)And 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)
17 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the (N)firstborn of Joseph: namely for (O)Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war; therefore he was given (P)Gilead and Bashan. 2 And there was a lot for (Q)the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: (R)for the children of [h]Abiezer, the children of Helek, (S)the children of Asriel, the children of Shechem, (T)the children of Hepher, and the children of Shemida; these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.
3 But (U)Zelophehad 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. 4 And they came near before (V)Eleazar the priest, before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the rulers, saying, (W)“The Lord commanded Moses to give us an [i]inheritance among our brothers.” Therefore, according to the commandment of the Lord, he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. 5 Ten shares fell to (X)Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side of the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons; and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.
7 And the territory of Manasseh was from Asher to (Y)Michmethath, that lies east of Shechem; and the border went along south to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. 8 Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but (Z)Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. 9 And the [j]border descended to the [k]Brook Kanah, southward to the brook. (AA)These 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.
10 Southward 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. 11 And in Issachar and in Asher, (AB)Manasseh had (AC)Beth 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. 12 Yet (AD)the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. 13 And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to (AE)forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.
More Land for Ephraim and Manasseh
14 (AF)Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given us only (AG)one [l]lot and one share to inherit, since we are (AH)a great people, inasmuch as the Lord has blessed us until now?”
15 So 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.”
16 But 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 (AI)chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean and its towns and those who are (AJ)of the Valley of Jezreel.”
17 And 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 [m]lot, 18 but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its [n]farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, (AK)though they have iron chariots and are strong.”
Footnotes
- Joshua 16:1 Lit. went out
- Joshua 16:1 LXX Bethel Luz
- Joshua 16:2 LXX to Bethel,
- Joshua 16:3 Lit. the goings out of it were at the sea
- Joshua 16:4 possession
- Joshua 16:7 Naaran, 1 Chr. 7:28
- Joshua 16:8 Lit. the goings out of it were at the sea
- Joshua 17:2 Jeezer, Num. 26:30
- Joshua 17:4 possession
- Joshua 17:9 boundary
- Joshua 17:9 Wadi
- Joshua 17:14 allotment
- Joshua 17:17 allotment
- Joshua 17:18 Lit. goings out
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
