CHAPTER 17

¹And the portion for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was Joseph’s firstborn, to Machir Manasseh’s firstborn, father of Gilead, for he was a man of war—Gilead and Bashan were his. ²And to the remaining sons of Manasseh 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 are the male offspring of Manasseh son of Joseph according to their clans. ³And Zelophehad son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manesseh did not have sons but daughters, and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah and Noa, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirzah. ⁴And they approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun and the chieftains, saying, “The LORD charged Moses to give us an estate in the midst of our kinsmen.” And he gave them at the LORD’s behest an estate in the midst of their father’s kinsmen. ⁵And the shares of Manasseh fell out as ten, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan that is across the Jordan. ⁶For the daughters of Manasseh took an estate in the midst of his sons, and the land of Gilead went to the remaining sons of Manasseh. ⁷And the boundary of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which is by Shechem, and the boundary went southward to the inhabitants of Ein-Tapuah. ⁸The land of Tapuah was Manasseh’s, but Tapuah to the boundary of Manasseh was the Ephraimites’. ⁹And the boundary went down to Wadi Kanah south of the wadi. These towns were Ephraim’s in the midst of the towns of Manasseh, and the boundary of Manasseh was north of the wadi, and its far reaches were to the Sea, ¹⁰south of Ephraim and north of Manasseh, and the Sea was its boundary, and they touched Asher from the north and Issachar from the east. ¹¹And within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-Sheʾan and its hamlets and Ibleam and its hamlets and the inhabitants of Dor and its hamlets and the inhabitants of Taanach and its hamlets and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its hamlets—the three regions. ¹²And the Manassites were unable to take hold of these towns, and the Canaanites went on dwelling in this land. ¹³And it happened when the Israelites grew strong, that they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not absolutely dispossess them. ¹⁴And the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why did you give me in estate one portion and one share when I am a numerous people, and until now the LORD has blessed me?” ¹⁵And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear it for yourself there in the land of the Perizzite and the Rephaim, for the high country of Ephraim is too cramped for you.” ¹⁶And the sons of Joseph said, “The high country is not enough for us, and there are iron chariots among all the Canaanites who dwell in the valley land, those in Beth-Sheʾan and its hamlets and those in the Valley of Jezreel.” ¹⁷And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, “You are a numerous people and you have great power. You shall not have just one portion. ¹⁸But the high country shall be yours, for it is forest and you shall clear it, and its far reaches will be yours, for you shall dispossess the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and though they are strong.”