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17 ¶ There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph. Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh and father of Gilead, who was a man of war, had Gilead and Bashan.

There was also a lot for the rest of the sons of Manasseh by 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 were the male sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, by their families.

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, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

And they came near before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua, the son of Nun, and before the princes and said, 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.

And there fell ten portions to Manasseh besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side of the Jordan,

because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons; and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.

¶ And the border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, which is before Shechem; and this border goes along on the right hand to the inhabitants of Entappuah.

Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah; but the Tappuah next to the border of Manasseh belongs to the sons of Ephraim;

And this border descends to the river Kanah towards the Negev of the river. These cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh; and the border of Manasseh is from the north side of the same river, and it comes out at the sea.

10 Ephraim towards the Negev and Manasseh to the north and the sea is his border; and they meet with Asher on the side of the north and with Issachar to the east.

11 And Manasseh also had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean 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, three provinces.

12 But the sons of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; to the contrary the Canaanite desired to dwell in that land.

13 Yet it came to pass when the sons of Israel waxed strong that they put the Canaanite under tribute, but did not utterly drive them out.

14 ¶ And the sons of Joseph spoke unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people and that the LORD has blessed me as such until now?

15 And Joshua answered them, If thou art such a great people, then go up to the forest and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzite and of the giants, if mountain of Ephraim is too narrow for thee.

16 And the sons of Joseph said, This mountain is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are in Bethshean and her towns, and those who are in the valley of Jezreel.

17 Then Joshua replied unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people and hast great strength; thou shalt not have only one lot;

18 but that mountain shall be thine, for it is a forest, and thou shalt cut it down, and the borders of it shall be thine; for thou shalt drive out the Canaanite, though he has iron chariots and though he is strong.

17 This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh(A) as Joseph’s firstborn,(B) that is, for Makir,(C) Manasseh’s firstborn. Makir was the ancestor of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead(D) and Bashan(E) because the Makirites were great soldiers. So this allotment was for the rest of the people of Manasseh(F)—the clans of Abiezer,(G) Helek, Asriel,(H) Shechem, Hepher(I) and Shemida.(J) These are the other male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.

Now Zelophehad son of Hepher,(K) the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters,(L) 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.(M) Manasseh’s share consisted of ten tracts of land besides Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan,(N) 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(O) to Mikmethath(P) east of Shechem.(Q) The boundary ran southward from there to include the people living at En Tappuah. (Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah(R) itself, on the boundary of Manasseh, belonged to the Ephraimites.) Then the boundary continued south to the Kanah Ravine.(S) 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(T) on the north and Issachar(U) on the east.(V)

11 Within Issachar(W) and Asher, Manasseh also had Beth Shan,(X) Ibleam(Y) and the people of Dor,(Z) Endor,(AA) Taanach(AB) and Megiddo,(AC) together with their surrounding settlements (the third in the list is Naphoth[a]).(AD)

12 Yet the Manassites were not able(AE) 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.(AF)

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.”(AG)

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(AH) and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites(AI) and Rephaites.(AJ)

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,(AK) both those in Beth Shan(AL) and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”(AM)

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(AN) 18 but the forested hill country(AO) as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have chariots fitted with iron(AP) and though they are strong, you can drive them out.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 17:11 That is, Naphoth Dor