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Joshua / Ephraim and West Manasseh: Boundaries and Claims
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Ephraim and West Manasseh: Boundaries and Claims

Joshua 16:1-17:18

16
Chapter 16
1 And the lot went out to the sons of Joseph from the Jordan Jericho to the waters of Jericho eastward; the wilderness went up from Jericho in the hill country Bethel. 2 It went out from Bethel to Luz, passed along to the border of the Archi at Ataroth. 3 It went down westward to the boundary of the Japhletites as far as the boundary of Lower Beth-horon and as far as Gezer, and its exits were westward. 4 And the sons of Joseph—Manasseh and Ephraim—inherited. 5 The boundary of the sons of Ephraim according to their clans was as follows, and the boundary of their inheritance ran eastward from Ataroth-addar as far as upper Beth-horon. 6 The boundary went out westward at Michmethath on the north, and the boundary turned eastward to Tappuah and passed by it on the east to Naḥoa. 7 It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and Na’arah, met Jericho, and went out at the Jordan. 8 From Tappuah the boundary goes westward to the stream of Kanah, and its exits are seaward. This is the inheritance of the tribal staff of the sons of Ephraim according to their families. 9 and the separate cities for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities and their villages. 10 And they did not dispossess the Canaanite who dwells in Gezer, and the Canaanite dwelt in the midst of Ephraim until this day, and it became tribute—a servant.
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Chapter 17
1 And the lot fell to the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph—for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, for he was a man of war. And Gilead and Bashan were his. 2 And there were to the sons of Manasseh the remaining ones according to their clans: 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 were sons of Manasseh son of Joseph, the males according to their clans. 3 And Zelophehad son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir 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 approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the princes, saying, "The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers." So he gave them an inheritance among their father's brothers according to the word of the LORD. 5 And the portions of Manasseh fell—ten apart from the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan. 6 for the daughters of Manasseh inherited an inheritance in the midst of his sons, and the land of Gilead was to the remaining sons of Manasseh. 7 The border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem, and the border went to the right to the inhabitants of the spring of Tappuah. 8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah itself was on the border of Manasseh for the sons of Ephraim. 9 And the border went down the Wadi of Kanah southward to the Wadi of those cities for Ephraim in the midst of the cities of Manasseh, and the border of Manasseh was from the north to the wadi, and its outlets were to the sea. 10 Southward to Ephraim and northward to Manasseh, and the sea became its border; and to Asher they meet from the north, and to Issachar from the east. 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 Ein-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns—the three districts. 12 And the sons of Manasseh could not dispossess these cities, and the Canaanite insisted on dwelling in this land. 13 When the sons of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanite to forced labor, but they did not dispossess him. 14 And the sons of Joseph said to Joshua, "Why have you given me one lot, one portion, when I am a great people—as the LORD has blessed me until now?" 15 And Joshua said to them, "If you are a great people, go up for yourselves to the forest and clear for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzite and the Rephaim, for the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you." 16 And the sons of Joseph said, "The hill country will not be sufficient for us; chariots of iron are with all the Canaanites who dwell in the land of the valley, those in Beth-shean and its towns, and those in the valley of Jezreel." 17 And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, "You are a great people, and great strength belongs to you. There shall not be for you one lot." 18 for the mountain shall be yours, for it is forest, and you shall clear it, and it shall be yours. Its exits shall be yours, for you shall dispossess the Canaanites, for chariot of iron is to him, for he is strong.