Joshua 17

1 And the lot is for the tribe of Manasseh (for he [is] firstborn of Joseph), for Machir firstborn of Manasseh, father of Gilead, for he has been a man of war, and his are Gilead and Bashan.

Now this lot fell to the tribe of Manasseh, since he is the firstborn of Joseph: to Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, who was a fighting man, and he had as a possession Gilead and Bashan;

2 And there is [a lot] for the sons of Manasseh who are left, for 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 [are] the children of Manasseh son of Joseph—the males—by their families.

and to the rest of the sons of Manasseh, according to their families: to the sons of Abiezer, and to the sons of Helek, and to the sons of Asriel, and to the sons of Shechem, and to the sons of Hepher, and to the sons of Shemida. These are the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the males, by their families.

3 As for Zelophehad, son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, he has no children except daughters, and these [are] the names of his daughters: Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah,

Yet truly, Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, whose names are these: Mahlah and Noah and Hoglah and Milcah and Tirzah.

4 and they draw near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, “YHWH commanded Moses to give an inheritance to us in the midst of our brothers”; and he gives to them, at the command of YHWH, an inheritance in the midst of the brothers of their father.

And they went before the sight of Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying: “The Lord instructed by the hand of Moses that a possession ought to be given to us, in the midst of our brothers.” And so, he gave to them, in accord with the order of the Lord, a possession in the midst of the brothers of their father.

5 And ten portions fall [to] Manasseh, apart from the land of Gilead and Bashan, which [are] beyond the Jordan;

And by lot, there fell ten portions to Manasseh, aside from the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond the Jordan.

6 for the daughters of Manasseh have inherited an inheritance in the midst of his sons, and the land of Gilead has been for the sons of Manasseh who are left.

And so the daughters of Manasseh possessed an inheritance in the midst of his sons. But the land of Gilead fell by lot to the sons of Manasseh that were left.

7 And the border of Manasseh is from Asher to Michmethah, which [is] on the front of Shechem, and the border has gone on to the right, to the inhabitants of En-Tappuah.

And the border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which looks out toward Shechem. And it goes out, to the right, beside the inhabitants of the Fountain of Tappuah.

8 The land of Tappuah has been for Manasseh, and Tappuah to the border of Manasseh for the sons of Ephraim.

For by lot, there also fell to Manasseh the land of Tappuah, which is beside the borders of Manasseh, and which belongs to the sons of Ephraim.

9 And the border has come down [to] the Brook of Kanah, southward of the brook; these cities of Ephraim [are] in the midst of the cities of Manasseh, and the border of Manasseh [is] on the north of the brook, and its outgoings are at the sea.

And the border descends to the Valley of Reeds, to the south of the torrent of the cities of Ephraim, which are in the midst of the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh is to the north of the torrent, and its exit extends to the sea.

10 Southward [is] for Ephraim and northward for Manasseh, and the sea is his border, and in Asher they meet on the north, and in Issachar on the east.

So it is that the possession of Ephraim is in the south, and that of Manasseh is in the north, and both are enclosed by the sea, and they are joined together by the tribe of Asher to the north, and by the tribe of Issachar to the east.

11 And in Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh has Beth-Shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns—three counties.

And the inheritance of Manasseh, in Issachar and in Asher, was Bethshean and its villages, and Ibleam with its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor, with their towns, likewise the inhabitants of Endor with their villages, and similarly the inhabitants of Taanach with their villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo with their villages, and one third part of the city of Naphath.

12 And the sons of Manasseh have not been able to occupy these cities, and the Canaanite is desirous to dwell in this land,

The sons of Manasseh were not able to overthrow these cities, and so the Canaanite began to dwell in their land.

13 and it comes to pass, when the sons of Israel have been strong, that they put the Canaanite to forced labor, and have not utterly dispossessed him.

But after the sons of Israel had grown strong, they subdued the Canaanites, and made them their tributaries, but they did not kill them.

14 And the sons of Joseph speak with Joshua, saying, “Why have you given an inheritance to me—one lot and one portion, and I [am] a numerous people? YHWH has blessed me until now.”

And the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, and they said, “Why have you given to me as a possession one lot and one portion, while I am of such a great multitude, and the Lord has blessed me?”

15 And Joshua says to them, “If you [are] a numerous people, go up to the forest for yourself, then you have created [a place] for yourself there in the land of the Perizzite and of the Rephaim, when Mount Ephraim has been narrow for you.”

And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up into the forest, and cut out space for yourself in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the possession of mount Ephraim is too narrow for you.”

16 And the sons of Joseph say, “The mountain is not enough for us, and a chariot of iron [is] with every Canaanite who is dwelling in the land of the valley—to him who [is] in Beth-Shean and its towns, and to him who [is] in the Valley of Jezreel.”

And the sons of Joseph responded to him: “We are not able to ascend to the mountains, since the Canaanites, who live in the plains, in which are situated Bethshean, with its villages, and Jezreel, possessing the middle of the valley, use chariots of iron.”

17 And Joshua speaks to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, “You [are] a numerous people, and have great power; you do not have [only] one lot,

And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh: “You are a numerous people, and you have great strength. You shall not have only one lot.

18 because the mountain is yours; because it [is] a forest—you have created it, and its outgoings have been yours; because you dispossess the Canaanite, though it has chariots of iron—though it [is] strong.”

Instead, you shall cross to the mountain, and you shall cut down and clear out for yourselves space in which to live. And you shall be able to advance further, when you will have destroyed the Canaanite, who, as you say, has iron chariots and is very strong.”