JOSHUA 17
1Then allotment was made to the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a warrior. 2And allotments were made to the rest of the tribe of Manasseh, by their families, Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida; these were the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, by their families.
3Now Zelophehad son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh had no sons, but only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4They came before the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun and the leaders, and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our male kin.” So according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the kinsmen of their father. 5Thus there fell to Manasseh ten portions, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of the Jordan, 6because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance along with his sons. The land of Gilead was allotted to the rest of the Manassites.
7The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to Michmethath, which is east of Shechem; then the boundary goes along southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. 8The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah on the boundary of Manasseh belonged to the Ephraimites. 9Then the boundary went down to the Wadi Kanah. The towns here, to the south of the wadi, among the towns of Manasseh, belong to Ephraim. Then the boundary of Manasseh goes along the north side of the wadi and ends at the sea. 10The land to the south is Ephraim’s and that to the north is Manasseh’s, with the sea forming its boundary; on the north Asher is reached, and on the east Issachar. 11Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its villages, Ibleam and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Taanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages (the third is Naphath).a 12Yet the Manassites could not take possession of those towns; but the Canaanites continued to live in that land. 13But when the Israelites grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.
The Tribe of Joseph Protests
14The tribe of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, since we are a numerous people, whom all along the LORD has blessed?” 15And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest, and clear ground there for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” 16The tribe of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us; yet all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in the Valley of Jezreel.” 17Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are indeed a numerous people, and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, 18but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”
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a Meaning of Heb uncertain
17.1–13 Description of Manasseh west of the Jordan, unlike the preceding tribal descriptions, falls into two parts, one concerned with subgroups (vv. 1–6), one with borders (vv. 7–13).
17.1 Firstborn of Joseph. See Gen 41.51; 46.20. Machir, as “eldest son” of Manasseh, appears to have been a constituency that was originally at home in the west (Judg 5.14) and then in part shifted to Transjordan. Father of Gilead. Genealogy adjusts to reflect changing sociopolitical realities (cf. Num 26.28–34; 1 Chr 7.14–19). Gilead was originally a geographical term (12.2, 5; 13.11, 25, 31).
17.2 The rest of the tribe of Manasseh were those who had not already settled in Transjordan. Six clans traced descent through Manasseh’s male heirs. Abiezer was Gideon’s hometown (Judg 6.11, 24, 34). Helek is the area to the northwest of Shechem. Asriel (1 Chr 7.14) is located northwest of Helek. Shechem figures merely as one of the clans of Manasseh. Hepher is the area north of Shechem. Shechem is given as a son of Shemida in 1 Chr 7.19.
17.3–6 Five clans of Manasseh descended from the daughters of Zelophehad. Special provision for them in the north balances the special treatment of Caleb in the south (14.6–15; 15.13–14). Both are based on appeal to a prior ruling from Moses (Num 27.1–11; 36.1–12). Location of the areas identified by the names Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, and Milcah are unknown. Tirzah. See note on 12.24.
17.4 Eleazar is always mentioned before Joshua when they are found together (14.1; 21.1). The LORD commanded Moses. See Num 27.1–11.
17.5 Six clans, one of which is “grandfather” of the five daughters, account for ten portions for Manasseh west of the river.
17.7–13 The boundaries of western Manasseh were sketchy and presented questions about the tribal “ownership” of certain towns (v. 9). For the allotments to the northern tribes there was apparently no archival source comparable to that for Judah and Benjamin in the south.
17.7–9 Manasseh’s southern border corresponds to Ephraim’s northern boundary (16.6, 8).
17.11–13 The plain of Esdraelon (or Jezreel), supporting a number of well-fortified city-states, separated Manasseh from the Galilean tribes. Beth-shean (Tell el-Husn) was a strongly fortified city controlling the southeast corner of the Jezreel Valley. Taanach (Tell Ti‘innik) and Megiddo (Tell el-Mutesellim) controlled access from the Plain of Sharon to the Jezreel Valley. With the exception of Dor (Khirbet el-Burj) and En-dor (probably Khirbet Safsafeh), the same towns mentioned here are listed as Manasseh’s responsibility, unfulfilled, in Judg 1.27.
17.14–18 A petition of Ephraim and Manasseh together as the tribe of Joseph (lit. “the sons of Joseph,” v. 14) protests that they have too little land.
17.15 Perizzites. See 3.10; 9.1; 11.3; 12.8; 24.11. Rephaim. See note on 12.4. The hill country of Ephraim encompassed territory belonging to both Ephraim and Manasseh. Go up to the forest. Originally, forests covered much of the watershed ridge and western slopes of the hill country, and clearing them required enormous amounts of cooperative labor.
17.16 Not enough. Not only did the heavily forested condition of the hill country pose a problem, but the military strength of the Canaanites also kept them from settling the plains.
17.17–18 Joshua points out that the large population of Ephraim and Manasseh is not a problem, but actually an opportunity. It gives them the resources to clear the highland forests and to drive out the Canaanites.
The Territories of the Remaining Tribes
JOSHUA 18
The Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh (West)
1Then the whole congregation of the Israelites assembled at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there. The land lay subdued before them.
2There remained among the Israelites seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. 3So Joshua said to the Israelites, “How long will you be slack about going in and taking possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you? 4Provide three men from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may begin to go throughout the land, writing a description of it with a view to their inheritances. Then come back to me. 5They shall divide it into seven portions, Judah continuing in its territory on the south, and the house of Joseph in their territory on the north. 6You shall describe the land in seven divisions and bring the description here to me; and I will cast lots for you here before the LORD our God. 7The Levites have no portion among you, for the priesthood of the LORD is their heritage; and Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan eastward, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.”
8So the men started on their way; and Joshua charged those who went to write the description of the land, saying, “Go throughout the land and write a description of it, and come back to me; and I will c
ast lots for you here before the LORD in Shiloh.” 9So the men went and traversed the land and set down in a book a description of it by towns in seven divisions; then they came back to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh, 10and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD; and there Joshua apportioned the land to the Israelites, to each a portion.
The Territory of Benjamin
11The lot of the tribe of Benjamin according to its families came up, and the territory allotted to it fell between the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Joseph. 12On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan; then the boundary goes up to the slope of Jericho on the north, then up through the hill country westward; and it ends at the wilderness of Beth-aven. 13From there the boundary passes along southward in the direction of Luz, to the slope of Luz (that is, Bethel), then the boundary goes down to Ataroth-addar, on the mountain that lies south of Lower Beth-horon. 14Then the boundary goes in another direction, turning on the western side southward from the mountain that lies to the south, opposite Beth-horon, and it ends at Kiriathbaal (that is, Kiriath-jearim), a town belonging to the tribe of Judah. This forms the western side. 15The southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim; and the boundary goes from there to Ephron,a to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah; 16then the boundary goes down to the border of the mountain that overlooks the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is at the north end of the valley of Rephaim; and it then goes down the valley of Hinnom, south of the slope of the Jebusites, and downward to En-rogel; 17then it bends in a northerly direction going on to En-shemesh, and from there goes to Geliloth, which is opposite the ascent of Adummim; then it goes down to the Stone of Bohan, Reuben’s son; 18and passing on to the north of the slope of Beth-arabahb it goes down to the Arabah; 19then the boundary passes on to the north of the slope of Beth-hoglah; and the boundary ends at the northern bay of the Dead Sea,c at the south end of the Jordan: this is the southern border. 20The Jordan forms its boundary on the eastern side. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin, according to its families, boundary by boundary all around.
21Now the towns of the tribe of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, Beth-hoglah, Emek-keziz, 22Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, 23Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, 24Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve towns with their villages: 25Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, 26Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, 27Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, 28Zela, Haeleph, Jebusd (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeahe and Kiriath-jearimf—fourteen towns with their villages. This is the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin according to its families.
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a Cn See 15.9. Heb westward
b Gk: Heb to the slope over against the Arabah
c Heb Salt Sea
d Gk Syr Vg: Heb the Jebusite
e Heb Gibeath
f Gk: Heb Kiriath
18.1–10 A survey commission prepares for the remaining allotments in western Palestine.
18.1 Congregation. See 9.15–21. For this portion of the narrative Shiloh has succeeded Gilgal as the rallying point for Israel. Shiloh is Khirbet Seilun, nineteen miles (thirty kilometers) north of Jerusalem. The tent of meeting was the portable sanctuary of the wilderness period (Ex 33.7; Num 11.16; 12.4; Deut 31.14). In ch. 24 the focus will shift to Shechem.
18.6 I will cast lots. Readers are unprepared to find Joshua and not Eleazar doing this (cf. 19.51).
18.7 Levites. See 13.14, 33; note on 13.14. Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh. See 13.8–32.
18.11–28 Benjamin, immediately to the north of Judah, is the first of seven tribes whose land apportionment is determined at Shiloh. This section returns to the pattern displayed in describing Judah (15.1–63): borders (18.11–20; described in a counterclockwise direction) followed by a town list (18.21–28). It may be derived from the same source document. Towns are numerous and close together, concentrated in the area that was the center of action in the warfare recounted in chs. 2–9. The towns are listed in two districts, one crowded onto the watershed ridge north and west of Jerusalem (vv. 25–28), the other on the less desirable eastern ridge and falling away to Jericho and the Jordan.
18.12–13 Benjamin’s northern border corresponds to that of Ephraim (16.1–3).
18.15–19 Benjamin’s southern border parallels Judah’s northern border (15.5–9) traced from west to east.
18.21–24 After Solomon’s death, Benjamin was split between Judah and Israel. This district apparently describes that part of Benjamin originally located in the Northern Kingdom and incorporated into the kingdom of Judah during the reign of Josiah.
18.25–28 This district comprises towns located in the kingdom of Judah; see note on 15.20–63.
JOSHUA 19
The Territory of Simeon
1The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of Simeon, according to its families; its inheritance lay within the inheritance of the tribe of Judah. 2It had for its inheritance Beer-sheba, Sheba, Moladah, 3Hazar-shual, Balah, Ezem, 4Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5Ziklag, Beth-marcaboth, Hazar-susah, 6Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen towns with their villages; 7Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four towns with their villages; 8together with all the villages all around these towns as far as Baalath-beer, Ramah of the Negeb. This was the inheritance of the tribe of Simeon according to its families. 9The inheritance of the tribe of Simeon formed part of the territory of Judah; because the portion of the tribe of Judah was too large for them, the tribe of Simeon obtained an inheritance within their inheritance.
The Territory of Zebulun
10The third lot came up for the tribe of Zebulun, according to its families. The boundary of its inheritance reached as far as Sarid; 11then its boundary goes up westward, and on to Maralah, and touches Dabbesheth, then the wadi that is east of Jokneam; 12from Sarid it goes in the other direction eastward toward the sunrise to the boundary of Chisloth-tabor; from there it goes to Daberath, then up to Japhia; 13from there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Ethkazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Neah; 14then on the north the boundary makes a turn to Hannathon, and it ends at the valley of Iphtah-el; 15and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve towns with their villages. 16This is the inheritance of the tribe of Zebulun, according to its families—these towns with their villages.
The Territory of Issachar
17The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the tribe of Issachar, according to its families. 18Its territory included Jezreel, Chesulloth, Shunem, 19Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, 20Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, 21Remeth, En-gannim, En-haddah, Beth-pazzez; 22the boundary also touches Tabor, Shahazumah, and Beth-she-mesh, and its boundary ends at the Jordan—sixteen towns with their villages. 23This is the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar, according to its families—the towns with their villages.
The Territory of Asher
24The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher according to its families. 25Its boundary included Helkath, Hali, Beten, Achshaph, 26Allammelech, Amad, and Mishal; on the west it touches Carmel and Shihor-libnath, 27then it turns eastward, goes to Beth-dagon, and touches Zebulun and the valley of Iphtah-el northward to Beth-emek and Neiel; then it continues in the north to Cabul, 28Ebron, Rehob, Hammon, Kanah, as far as Great Sidon; 29then the boundary turns to Ramah, reaching to the fortified city of Tyre; then the boundary turns to Hosah, and it ends at the sea; Mahalab,a Achzib, 30Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob—twenty-two towns with their villages. 31This is the inheritance of the tribe of Asher according to its families—these towns with their villages.
The Territory of Naphtali
32The sixth lot came out for the tribe of Naphtali, for the tribe of Naphtali, according to its families. 33And its boundary ran from Heleph, from the oak in Zaanannim, and Adami-nekeb, and Jabneel, as far as Lakkum; and it ended at the Jordan; 34then the boundary turns westward to Aznoth-tabor, and goes from there to Hukkok, touching Zebulun at the south, and Asher on the west, and Judah on the east at the Jordan. 35The fortified towns are Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, R
akkath, Chinnereth, 36Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, 37Kedesh, Edrei, En-hazor, 38Iron, Migdal-el, Horem, Beth-anath, and Beth-shemesh—nineteen towns with their villages. 39This is the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali according to its families—the towns with their villages.
The Territory of Dan
40The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan, according to its families. 41The territory of its inheritance included Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir-shemesh, 42Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, 43Elon, Timnah, Ekron, 44Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, 45Jehud, Bene-berak, Gath-rimmon, 46Me-jarkon, and Rakkon at the border opposite Joppa. 47When the territory of the Danites was lost to them, the Danites went up and fought against Leshem, and after capturing it and putting it to the sword, they took possession of it and settled in it, calling Leshem, Dan, after their ancestor Dan. 48This is the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, according to their families—these towns with their villages.
Joshua’s Inheritance
49When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the Israelites gave an inheritance among them to Joshua son of Nun. 50By command of the LORD they gave him the town that he asked for, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim; he rebuilt the town, and settled in it.
51These are the inheritances that the priest Eleazar and Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the families of the tribes of the Israelites distributed by lot at Shiloh before the LORD, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.
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a Cn Compare Gk: Heb Mehebel
19.1–9 In the case of Simeon, situated at the brink of the Negeb desert and entirely surrounded by Judah, there is no trace of boundary descriptions, only a list of towns. The situation is explained in terms of Judah’s magnanimity (v. 9). Simeon’s towns are listed in two districts (vv. 2–6, 7), which are closely related to the second part of Judah’s first district, the northern Negeb around Beer-sheba (15.26–32), and even more closely related to the Simeonite towns in 1 Chr 4.28–32.
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