Continuing a chronological Bible study:
The past few and future chapters of Joshua described the lots of inheritance that fell to the twelve tribes of Israel. This same map from iBiblemaps.com shows the general division of the tribes:
(Joshua 17:1) There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh for he, the firstborn of Joseph, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead; because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.
The last chapter spoke of the lots that fell to the children of Joseph but only described the one that fell to Ephraim. This chapter described the lot that went to the other son of Joseph, Manasseh, half already having been given on the east of the Jordan River. The lot of Manasseh described in verse 1 was allotted to Machir the son of Manasseh and through his son Gilead. It seems Machir was known as a man of war. I suppose the sense was that because he was a valiant warrior, he had been given the land on the east of the Jordan that he or his descendants had conquered (Bashan, the kingdom of Og), and he received part of Gilead, and he was also to be given a portion on the west of the Jordan.
(2) 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.
There was also a lot given to the other half of the tribe of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan River. It was said to be for the children of Abiezer, also called Jeezer (Numbers 26:30), a son of Gilead who was the son of Machir. It was also for the children of the other sons of Gilead, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida (Numbers 26:30-32). These were the male children or descendants of Manasseh.
(3) 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.
Normally only the males inherited, but Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, had no sons, only daughters, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. His daughters had requested and were granted their father's inheritance (Numbers 27:7).
(4) 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.
Indeed, the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, came before the priest, and Joshua, and the ten princes who were appointed along with Eleazar and Joshua to divide the land (Numbers 34:17), and claimed their inheritance according to the commandment of the Lord to Moses (Numbers 27:7), and it was given to them.
(5) And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan on the other side of the Jordan, (6) Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons, and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.
The lot on the west side of the Jordan that fell to the half tribe of Manasseh was divided into ten portions, for the five sons of Gilead who had male descendants and for the five daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher. Apparently, Hepher had only the one son, Zelophehad, who had only daughters, so there were no males among Hepher's descendants to receive an inheritance. The rest of Manasseh's sons, the sons of Machir, had the land of Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan.
(7) And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah that lies before Shechem, and the border went along on the right hand to the inhabitants of En Tappuah.
The boundary of West Manasseh went from the border of Asher in the northwest corner to Michmethah in the south. Or perhaps there was a city of Asher, not the tribe of Asher, in the southwest corner of West Manasseh that went across to Michmethah, which was said to be before Shechem, to En Tappuah. The map at the beginning of this post shows the tribe of Asher in relation to West Manasseh, and this map borrowed from Precept Austin shows the southern cities of Michmethah and Shechem.
(8) Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim.
West Manasseh had the territory of Tappuah, but Ephraim had the city of Tappuah, one of those cities within West Manasseh that were given to Ephraim, according to Joshua 16:9.
(9) And the coast descended to 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.
I believe the meaning is that from the city of Tappuah that belonged to the children of Ephraim, the border continued west along the Kanah River and eventually reached the Mediterranean Sea. The cities southward of the river were among the cities in West Manasseh that belonged to Ephraim. North of the river belonged to Manasseh.
(10) Southward was Ephraim's and northward Manasseh's, and the sea is its border, and they met together in Asher on the north and in Issachar on the east.
The land south of the river belonged to Ephraim and north of it was Manasseh's, and the Mediterranean Sea was West Manasseh's western border. The western border met the northern border at the border of Asher's lot and went eastward to Issachar's in the northeast.
(11) 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 En Dor and her towns and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, three countries.
As Ephraim had cities within the tribe of Manasseh, it seems that Manasseh had cities within Asher and Issachar. It seems to me that everyone's borders should have been pushed northward a little, but I imagine that the lots were determined before they knew who would get which lot, and as some tribes were much larger than others and required more land than perhaps had been allotted to them, adjustments were made to accommodate them. The cities of Beth Shean, Ibleam, Dor, Taanach, and Megiddo all appear to be completely within West Manasseh in the map above, so perhaps the border was adjusted from what was previously intended to be Asher's and Issachar's lots. I believe the sense of the three countries is that all these cities were in three regions in the north that became part of West Manasseh, perhaps the northwest region around Dor from Asher, the north central region around Megiddo and other cities in the north central from Issachar, and the northeast region around Beth Shean, also from Issachar.
(12) Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out those cities, but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
The tribe of Manasseh did not entirely drive out the Canaanites from those cities, so those Canaanites continued to dwell in the land.
(13) Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out.
When the Israelites grew stronger, perhaps meaning they grew greater in number, they made the Canaanites pay tribute to them and allowed them to stay. It seems that if they were strong enough to force them to pay tribute, they would have been strong enough to drive them out as God had commanded they do, but they didn't, perhaps for some selfish gain.
(14) And the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, "Why have you given me one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, for as much as the Lord has blessed me till now?"
The children of Joseph were Ephraim and Manasseh. It seems they thought they should have more than one lot each seeing that they were a great people, most likely meaning great in number as the Lord had blessed them up to that point, but perhaps they also looked forward to the future as Jacob had blessed them, his grandsons, as his sons (Genesis 48:19), and said they would be great, especially Ephraim whose descendants would become a multitude of nations.
(15) And Joshua answered them, "If you are a great people, get up to the forest and cut down for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim is too narrow for you."
However, Joshua said that if they were indeed a great people, then they should get themselves into the wood country and clear more land for them in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, the giants, if what they now occupied was too small for them. This map borrowed from
Big Springs Community Church clearly shows much land west of Megiddo, Beth Shean, and Shechem, that they did not occupy:
(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 have chariots of iron, they of Beth Shean and her towns and they of the valley of Jezreel."
The children of Joseph said that that hill country was not enough for them, and all the Canaanites that dwelt in Beth Shean and all the valley of Jezreel were too much for them. Most all the commentaries I study suggest that chariots of iron did not mean they were made of iron, but rather they were armed with scythes and dangerous. This response of the children of Joseph hearkens back to the time the first spies came back with the report that the Canaanites were giants and too strong for them, and they were punished for having no faith in God to give them the land as He had said.
(17) And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, "You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have one lot, (18) But the mountain shall be yours, for it is a wood and you shall cut it down, and the outgoings of it shall be yours, for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots, though they be strong."
I have to hand it to Joshua; even though he was from the tribe of Ephraim, he did not back down and give in to give them more land. I also can't help but think of Jacob who loved Joseph so much and made his sons his own. He might have been disappointed to learn that they were acting so weak and faithless. Joshua told Ephraim and the half tribe of Manasseh that they were indeed a great and powerful people, and they would not have only the one lot they occupied, but they would have almost twice as much land if they went in and cut down the woods and even the outgoings of that region to the Mediterranean Sea would be theirs because they would drive out the Canaanites, even though they were strong. After all, their Lord was stronger and had promised them all that territory.
There is a great lesson in this. God never promised us a rose garden. He said we will be saved, and we will overcome, but we will be persecuted. Life will be hard; we lost the Garden of Eden long ago. God will make a way if we rely on Him, but we must have that whole armor of God, truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God (Ephesians 6:13-17), and we must endure till the end (Matthew 24:13). But be of good courage, Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 3:15, that even in weaknesses, such as slothfulness, which might be said of the children of Joseph at this point, we will suffer loss but we ourselves will still be saved as one barely escaping a fire. However, God desires the best for us, and if we will trust in Him to lead us, we can live that best life.
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