Joshua 17

1 [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.

THERE was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.

2 Land was also allotted to the other clans of the tribe of Manasseh: The clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida.

There was also a lot for the 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 Hepher’s son Zelophehad had no sons, but he had five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

But Zelophehad, 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.

4 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.

And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.

5 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].

And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;

6 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.

Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.

7 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.

And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah.

8 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.

Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim;

9 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.

And the coast descended unto the river 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:

10 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.]

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.

11 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.

And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries.

12 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.

Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

13 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.

Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out.

14 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]?”

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 great people, forasmuch as the Lord hath blessed me hitherto?

15 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.”

And Joshua answered them, If 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 giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.

16 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]!”

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 have chariots of iron, both they who are of Beth-shean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.

17 Joshua replied to them, “Your tribe is very numerous and very powerful. So I will allot more land for you in the hilly area,

And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only:

18 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.”

But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.