16 The allotment of the people of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel. 2 Then going from Bethel to Luz, it passes along to Ataroth, the territory of the Archites. 3 Then it goes down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, and it ends at the sea.
4 The people of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.
5 The territory of the people of Ephraim by their clans was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was Ataroth-addar as far as Upper Beth-horon, 6 and the boundary goes from there to the sea. On the north is Michmethath. Then on the east the boundary turns around toward Taanath-shiloh and passes along beyond it on the east to Janoah, 7 then it goes down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, and touches Jericho, ending at the Jordan. 8 From Tappuah the boundary goes westward to the brook Kanah and ends at the sea. Such is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Ephraim by their clans, 9 together with the towns that were set apart for the people of Ephraim within the inheritance of the Manassites, all those towns with their villages. 10 However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor.
17 Then allotment was made to the people of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. 2 And allotments were made to the rest of the people of Manasseh by their clans, Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph, by their clans.
3 Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers.” So according to the mouth of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father. 5 Thus there fell to Manasseh ten portions, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance along with his sons. The land of Gilead was allotted to the rest of the people of Manasseh.
7 The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to Michmethath, which is east of Shechem. Then the boundary goes along southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. 8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah on the boundary of Manasseh belonged to the people of Ephraim. 9 Then the boundary went down to the brook Kanah. These cities, to the south of the brook, among the cities of Manasseh, belong to Ephraim. Then the boundary of Manasseh goes on the north side of the brook and ends at the sea, 10 the land to the south being Ephraim’s and that to the north being Manasseh’s, with the sea forming its boundary. On the north Asher is reached, and on the east Issachar. 11 Also in Issachar and in Asher Manasseh had Beth-shean and its villages, and Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; the third is Naphath.1 12 Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 13 Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.
14 Then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me?” 15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” 16 The people of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in the Valley of Jezreel.” 17 Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only, 18 but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.”
Section Overview
The general south-to-north pattern in Joshua continues, as the settlement accounts move from the leading tribe of the south, Judah, to the leading “tribe” of the north, Joseph. A shared southern border is first plotted (16:1–3) before respective allotments are described, first Ephraim (16:5–10) then Manasseh (17:1–13), following their order of precedence rather than birth (cf. Gen. 48:14–20). Manasseh’s account has embedded within it the conclusion to the record of the inheritance mandated for Zelophehad’s daughters (Josh. 17:3–6), providing an echo of the Judah account of the land that went with Achsah in her marriage to Othniel (15:18–19). As the passage begins with “Joseph,” so it ends (17:14–18), albeit on a querulous note, as Joshua is called upon to enlarge their portion. On the whole, there is much less detail provided for Ephraim and Manasseh than for Judah’s settlement, but this will be the case for each of the tribes moving forward.
Section Outline
II.E. The Settlement of Joseph (16:1–17:18)
1. The Border of Joseph (16:1–3)
2. Joseph Disaggregated into Manasseh and Ephraim (16:4)
3. Ephraim’s Borders (16:5–10)
a. The Boundary Lines (16:5–9)
b. Gezer’s Canaanites Remain (16:10)
4. Manasseh’s Borders (17:1–13)
a. The Leading Clans of Manasseh (17:1–2)
b. An Inheritance for Zelophehad’s Daughters (17:3–6)
c. The Boundaries and Cities of Manasseh (17:7–11)
d. Canaanites Remain (17:12–13)
5. Joseph’s Complaints; Joshua’s Riposte (17:14–18)
Response
Correspondences are evident between the account of the Joseph settlement and that of Judah in Joshua 15, despite their even more marked differences. Machir and the daughters of Zelophehad evoke in a different, more muted register the dynamics of Caleb and Achsah. In spite of great gains, both cases display lingering failure, potentially sowing seeds of later damaging developments.
The most important reflections on the initiative of the daughters of Zelophehad belong to the book of Numbers, as indicated above. Still, they are here for a reason and are a further reminder of a long faithfulness in seeking God’s best for God’s people. It is their initiative that occasions a development in the law of Israel. Such developments take place in later times, too, as situations arise for which the guidelines for faithful living appear to be opaque. On this third occasion of seeing the results of bold actions on the part of female characters in Joshua—so on every such occasion, then—the outcome works good for God’s people. In the case of these seven daughters it is the impulse to justice that leads to their favorable settlement—and not only for them but for women similarly circumstanced who will come after them.
A different trajectory is also at work in the final scenario of this Ephraim/Manasseh account (Josh. 17:14–18). The only places that “blessing” is mentioned in the allotment accounts are with Caleb’s being “blessed” from Joshua when he receives his inheritance (14:13), in Achsah’s request to Caleb, to which he responds with generosity (15:19), and in the initial complaint of the Joseph tribes to Joshua (17:14). There is an element of irony here. The complaints show, on the one hand, a desire for the kind of settlement that would allow for flourishing, perhaps like that of Othniel and Achsah, only now on the level of the tribe rather than the clan or household. On the other hand, the complaint arises out of simple dissatisfaction and an unwillingness to apply themselves to achieving goals already in their grasp if they would only spend some effort to realize them. Once again, in a book with so much to celebrate, only a superficial reading would overlook elements such as this that anticipate, and in some way lay the foundation for, the scenes found in the opening chapters of Judges.