The Book of Joshua
Joshua 17
Chapter XVII · Vol. I, pp. 564–566
1 The lot of Manasseh. 7 His coast. 12 The Canaanites not wholly driven out. 14 The children of Joseph obtain another lot.
1 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh, (for he was the afirst-born of Joseph,) to wit, for bMachir, the first-born of Manasseh, the father of Gilead:1 because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.
A.M. 2560. B.C. 1444.
b Ge.50.23. Nu.32.39,40. 1 Ch.7.14; 2.23. De.3.15.
1 The father of Gilead. Machir had sons born before the death of Joseph (Ge. 50. 23), 190 years before the first division of Canaan; the lot was therefore to his descendants in his name and right as a distinguished leader. C.——Literally, 'Father of the Gilead;' i.e. possessor of the province of Gilead, which the family of Jair had conquered. The allusion here is not to Machir himself, but to his house or descendants.—P.
2 There was also a lot for cthe rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.
3 But dZelophehad,2 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, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
2 There were six sons and five daughters, wherefore eleven portions would seem the proper division, rather than ten, as mentioned, ver. 5. But Zelophehad, son of Hepher, having left five daughters as his only representatives, neither he nor his father is counted, which omission leaves five sons and five daughters as co-heirs and co-heiresses of the property.—C.
4 And they came near ebefore Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, fThe LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren: therefore, according to the commandment3 of the LORD, he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.
5 And there fell gten portions to Manasseh, besidesh the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;
g ver.2,3,14, i.e. ten lines.
h Nu.32.39-41. ch.13.29-31. De.3.13-15.
6 Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and ithe rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.
i Nu.26.29; 32.39,41. ch.13.29-31. De.3.13-15.
7 And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah,4 that lieth before kShechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah.
4 This is a different town from that of the same name mentioned ch. 16. 6; a conclusion warranted by the fact that the towns now enumerated on the southern border of Manasseh are, with the exception of Tappuah, a town ceded to Ephraim, never once noticed in describing his northern border.—C.
k Ge.12.6; 33.18; xxxiv.; 37.12,14. ch.16.6. Ju.9.1. 1 Ki.12.1,25. Jn.4.5.
8 Now Manasseh had the land of lTappuah: but Tappuah, on the border of Manasseh, belonged to the children of Ephraim;
l Or, city of apples. Not that ch.15.34,53, but perhaps that ch.12.17.
9 And the coast descended unto the mriver Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea:
m Or, brook of reeds, ch.16.8.
10 Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east.5
5 If we interpret this passage of the extension of the joint property of the tribes to Asher and Issachar, they may as well be said to meet in Dan in the south, and Benjamin in the east, or in the other adjacent tribes of Reuben and Gad. Do not the words rather mean—that after a council or meeting together in Asher and Issachar, Manasseh obtained the cities enumerated in the succeeding verses? It is the improper division of the verses that causes the obscurity.—C.
11 And Manasseh had in Issachar, and in Asher, nBeth-shean6 and her towns, and oIbleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of pDor and her towns, and the inhabitants of qEn-dor7 and her towns, and the inhabitants of rTaanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries.
6 Bethshean was one of the strongest cities in Central Palestine. It stood on a conical hill at the place where the valley of Jezreel opens into the great plain of the Jordan. There is still a small village on the site, and the ancient ruins are extensive.—P.
7 Endor subsequently became celebrated as the home of 'the witch' whom Saul consulted in his day of adversity. It stands on the bare slope of a low range of hills facing Tabor, and about three miles south of it.—P.
n 1 Sa.31.10,12. 2 Sa.21.12. ver.16. 1 Ch.7.29.
o 1 Ch.6.70, Bileam.
p ch.12.23.
q Sa.28.7. Ps.83.10.
12 Yet sthe children of Manasseh could not 8drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
A.M. 2560. B.C. 1444.
s Ju.1.27,28. ch.15.63; 16.10. Ex.23.29-33. Nu.33.52,55. Ro.7.14-25.
8 They could not, because they wanted faith in the divine promise of assistance. See He.11.33.—C.
13 Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were twaxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out.9
14 And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a ugreat people,1 forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto?
u Ge.48.22. Nu.26.34,37. De.33.17.
1 Joshua was an Ephraimite, and therefore his kindred came in the more confident hope of a favourable reply. Joshua's reply is at once the language of a faithful servant of God and a sound and impartial politician. The Josephites in asserting their own greatness furnish Joshua with an appeal that he dexterously and truly employs against their indolence, neglect, or cowardice, ver. 17.—Note, A Christian, who is a soldier, and, considering his spiritual birth, a great man, should always take care to act up to his profession. The Lord expects us to walk worthy of our vocation.—C.
15 And Joshua answered them, xIf thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood-country, and cut down for thyself there, in the land of the Perizzites, and of the ygiants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.
16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley zhave chariots of iron, both they who are of Beth-shean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of aJezreel.
z Ju.1.19; 4.3. 1 Sa.27.1,2. 2 Ch.12.7-9.
a ch.19.18. Ju.6.33. 1 Ki.18.45,46; 21.1,23. 2 Ki.8.29; 9.16; 10.6,7. Ho.1.4,5.
17 And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, bThou art a great people, and hast great power; thou shalt not have one lot only:
b ver.15. De.33.25.
18 But the cmountain2 shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down; and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou dshalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.
c ver.15; ch.20.7; 15.9.
2 The mountainous tract. This they were to clear; and setting themselves vigorously to the duty assigned them—driving out the present occupants—'the outgoings of it' would be theirs, even the whole district connected with it. Alas! how apt are we, like the children of Joseph, to murmur against the allotments of divine Providence; and how frequently are our grievances traceable to ourselves, not to the circumstances of which we complain!—J.
d ch.13.6; 11.4,6. Ex.23.29-33. De.7.2,5,16. Is.41.10,15,16.
Notes
Reflections.—What a fruitful bough is Joseph now become, and planted in a goodly soil! The promise of God is a firm foundation of claim; and if in this wilderness we secure such a title to glory, we shall, when the warfare is over, enjoy the portion for ever. It is good for brethren to dwell together in unity; yet unhappy is the union when they encourage one another in neglecting the Lord's work, and seem more anxious to enlarge their property than to improve what they have. But unbelief strangely heightens every difficulty, and often discourages from the good fight of faith, which necessarily lies in the way to the crown.