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.”