Joshua 17

1 This was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. As for Makir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he had 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 So this was for the rest of the descendants of Manasseh according to their families: for the descendants of Abiezer, for the descendants of Helek, for the descendants of Asriel, for the descendants of Shechem, for the descendants of Hepher, and for the descendants of Shemida: these were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to 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 But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

Hepher’s son Zelophehad had no sons, but he had five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

4 They came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the leaders, saying, "YHWH commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers." Therefore according to the commandment of YHWH he gave them an inheritance among 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 Ten parts fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is 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 because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.

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 The border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem. The border went along to the right hand to Jashub and to 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 belonged to Manasseh; but Tappuah, on the border of Manasseh, belonged to the descendants 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 The border went down to Wadi Kanah, southward of the wadi. These cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the wadi, and ended 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 it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea was his border. They reached to Asher on the north, and to 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 Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher, Beth Shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; three regions.

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 Yet the descendants of Manasseh couldn't drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that 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 It happened, when the children of Israel had grown strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, and did not utterly drive them out.

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 The descendants of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, "Why have you given me just one lot and one part for an inheritance, since I am a great people, because YHWH has blessed me so far?"

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 Joshua said to them, "If you are a great people, go up to the forest, and clear land for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim; since the hill country of Ephraim is too 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 The descendants of Joseph said, "The hill country is not enough for us. All the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are in Beth Shean and its towns, and those who are 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 Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, "You are a great people, and have great power. You shall not have one lot only;

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 but the hill country shall be yours. Although it is a forest, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are 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.”