< 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.
[This is a list of] the land that was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh. Manasseh’s oldest son was Makir and his grandson was Gilead. Makir’s descendants were great warriors, so the lands in the Gilead and Bashan regions were allotted to their clan.
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.
Land was also allotted to the other clans of the tribe of Manasseh: The clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida.
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,
Hepher’s son Zelophehad had no sons, but he had five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, 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.
They went to Eleazar the Supreme Priest, and to Joshua and to the other Israeli leaders. They said, “[We want you to give us some land, because] Yahweh told Moses that he should give to us some land, just like you gave to the men.” So Eleazar did what Yahweh had commanded, and he allotted to them some land, just like he allotted to their uncles.
5 And ten portions fall [to] Manasseh, apart from the land of Gilead and Bashan, which [are] beyond the Jordan;
So the tribe of Manasseh eventually had ten sections [of land west of the Jordan River] and [two sections, ] Gilead and Bashan, on the east side of the Jordan [River].
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.
So those female descendants of Manasseh also were allotted land [on the west side of the river] just like the men were allotted. The other parts of the Gilead area were allotted to the male descendants of Manasseh.
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.
The land allotted to the tribe of Manasseh was between the land where the tribe of Asher lives and Michmethath [town], near Shechem [city]. The border extended south to the Tappuah Spring.
8 The land of Tappuah has been for Manasseh, and Tappuah to the border of Manasseh for the sons of Ephraim.
The land near the Tappuah area belonged to the tribe of Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah, which was at the border of the land that was allotted to the tribe of Manasseh, was allotted to the tribe 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.
The border [of the land allotted to the tribe of Manasseh] extended south to Kanah Gorge. From there it extended [west] along the north side of the gorge and ended at the [Mediterranean] 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.
The land on the south side of the gorge belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, and the land on the north side belonged to the tribe of Manasseh. The western border of the land allotted to the tribe of Manasseh was the [Mediterranean] Sea. To the north, the border of their land extended from the land allotted to the tribe of Asher [at the northwest] to the land allotted to the tribe of Issachar [at the northeast.]
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.
But there are cities inside the area allotted to the tribes of Issachar and Asher. Those cities, along with their surrounding villages, were allotted to people from the tribe of Manasseh. These cities are Beth-Shan, Ibleam, Dor (which is also named Naphoth-Dor, ) Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo.
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 men of the tribe of Manasseh were not able to force the people who lived in those cities to leave, so the people of the Canaan people-group continued to live in those cities.
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 [years later] when the Israelis became better [warriors], they forced the Canaan people-group to work for them as slaves, although they did not force them to leave the land.
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.”
The people of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh said to Joshua, “You allotted to us only one area of land, but there are a lot of us. Yahweh has blessed us very much [with the result that our tribe has grown very large]. So why did you give us only a small part of the land [RHQ]?”
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.”
Joshua replied to them, “[I agree that] you do not have enough land in the hilly area of the tribe of Ephraim. So, since you have a lot of people, I will allot more land to you, in the hilly region. But you will have to [cut down the trees] in the forest [and] make a place for yourselves in the land where the Periz and Repha people-groups live.”
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.”
The people of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh replied, “It is true that the land in the hilly area is not big enough for us, but the Canaan people-group who live in the lowlands, in Beth-Shan and the surrounding villages in that area, and in the Jezreel Valley, have iron chariots, [so we will not be able to defeat them]!”
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,
Joshua replied to them, “Your tribe is very numerous and very powerful. So I will allot more land for you in the hilly area,
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.”
but you will have to cut down the trees in order to make a place for you to live. [It is true that] the Canaan people-group are strong and have iron chariots, but you will be able to force them to leave that valley.”

< Joshua 17 >