Joshua 17
Expanded Bible
17 Then land was ·given [allotted] to the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s ·first son [firstborn; Gen. 41:51]. Manasseh’s ·first son [firstborn] was Makir [Gen. 50:23], the ·father of Gilead [or ancestor of the Gileadites]. ·Makir was a great soldier [or His descendants were great solders], so the lands of Gilead and Bashan were given to his family. 2 ·Land [An allotment] was also given to the other ·family groups of Manasseh [L sons/descendants of Manasseh, by their clans]—[L the sons/descendants of] Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were ·all the other sons [the male descendants] of Manasseh son of Joseph.
3 Zelophehad was the son of Hepher, who was the son of Gilead, who was the son of Makir, who was the son of Manasseh. Zelophehad had no sons, but he had five daughters, named Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They ·went to [presented themselves before] Eleazar the priest [14:1; 19:51; 21:1] and to Joshua son of Nun and all the leaders. They said, “The Lord told Moses to give us land ·like the men received [L among/or along with our brothers; Num. 26:33; 27:1–7].” So ·Eleazar [or Joshua; L he] obeyed the Lord and gave the daughters ·some land [an inheritance], ·just like [or among] the brothers of their father. 5 So the tribe of Manasseh had ten sections of land ·west of the Jordan River and two more sections, [L in addition to] Gilead and Bashan [12:3–4], on the east side of the Jordan River. 6 The daughters of Manasseh received ·land just as the sons did [L an inheritance among/along with his sons]. Gilead was given to the rest of the ·families [sons; descendants] of Manasseh.
7 The ·lands [border] of Manasseh ·were in the area between Asher and [L ran from Asher to] Micmethath, ·near [or east of] Shechem. The border went south to the ·En Tappuah area [L inhabitants of En Tappuah], 8 which belonged to Manasseh, except for the town of Tappuah. It was along the border of Manasseh’s land and belonged to the ·sons [people; tribe] of Ephraim. 9 The border of Manasseh continued south to Kanah ·Ravine [Valley; or Brook]. The cities in this area of Manasseh belonged to Ephraim. Manasseh’s border was on the north side of the ravine and went to the sea. 10 The land to the south belonged to Ephraim, and the land to the north belonged to Manasseh. The ·Mediterranean Sea [L sea] was the western border. The border touched Asher’s land on the north and Issachar’s land on the east.
11 In the areas of Issachar and Asher, the people of Manasseh ·owned [included; had] these towns: Beth ·Shan [or Shean] and its small towns; Ibleam and its small towns; the people who lived in Dor and its small towns; the people in ·Naphoth Dor [or Dor, that is, Naphoth; L Dor…the third is Naphoth] and its small towns; the people who lived in Taanach and its small towns; the people in Megiddo and its small towns. 12 ·Manasseh [L The sons/descendants of Manasseh] was not able to defeat those cities, so the Canaanites ·continued [persisted; were determined] to live there. 13 When the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] grew strong, they forced the Canaanites to work for them, although they did not ·force them to leave the land [drive them out completely; Judg. 1:27–28].
14 The ·people from the tribes [sons/descendants] of Joseph said to Joshua, “You gave ·us [L me] only one ·area of land [L portion as an inheritance], but ·we are many [L I am a great] people. Why did you give us only one part of all the land the Lord gave his people?”
15 And Joshua answered them, “If you have too many people, go up to the forest and ·make a place [clear out land] for yourselves to live there in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaites. The ·mountain [hill] country of Ephraim is too small for you.”
16 The ·people [L sons/descendants] of Joseph said, “It is true. The ·mountain [hill] country of Ephraim is not enough for us, but the Canaanites who live in the valley have ·strong armies [L iron chariots], both in Beth Shan and all the small towns in that area, and in the Valley of Jezreel.”
17 Then Joshua said to the ·people [L house] of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh, “There are many of you, and you have great power. You should be given more than one ·share of land [allotment]. 18 You also will have the ·mountain [hill] country. It is a forest, but you can ·cut down the trees and make it a good place to live [L clear it and possess its farthest border]. You will own all of it because you will ·force the Canaanites to leave the land [drive out the Canaanites] even though they have ·powerful weapons [L iron chariots] and are strong.”
Joshua 17
EasyEnglish Bible
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.’
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