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17 Forsooth (a) lot felled to the lineage of Manasseh, for he is the first engendered son of Joseph; (that is, a) lot felled to Machir, the first engendered son of Manasseh, to the father of Gilead (the father of Gilead), that was a warrior, and he had [the] possession (of) Gilead and Bashan.

And (a) lot felled to the others of the sons of Manasseh, by their families; 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 be the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the male children, by their families.

But to Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, there were not sons, but daughters alone (but only daughters); of which these be the names, Mahlah, and Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.

And they came in the sight of Eleazar, [the] priest, and of Joshua, [the] son of Nun, and of the princes, and said, The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, that (a) possession should be given to us in the midst of our brethren. And Joshua gave to them (a) possession, by the commandment of the Lord, in the midst of the brethren of their father. (And they came before Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the leaders, and said, The Lord commanded by Moses, that a possession should be given to us in the midst of our kinsmen. And Joshua gave them a possession, by the commandment of the Lord, in the midst of their father’s brothers.)

And ten cords, that is, lands measured by ten cords, felled to Manasseh, without the land of Gilead and Bashan, beyond (the) Jordan; (And ten cords, that is, the lands measured by ten cords, fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, on the eastern side of the Jordan River;)

for the daughters of Manasseh wielded (a) heritage in the midst of the sons of him. For the land of Gilead felled into the part of the sons of Manasseh, that were left alive. (for Manasseh’s daughters received an inheritance in the midst of his sons. For the land of Gilead fell into the portion for the rest of Manasseh’s sons.)

And the term of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that beholdeth Shechem, and it goeth forth to the right side, beside the dwellers of the well (of) Tappuah; (And the territory of western Manasseh went from Asher to Michmethah, which is east of Shechem, and it goeth forth to the right side, beside the inhabitants of Entappuah;)

for the land of Tappuah, which is beside the terms of Manasseh, and of the sons of Ephraim, felled in the lot of Manasseh. (for the land of Tappuah fell in the lot of Manasseh, but Tappuah itself was on the border of Manasseh, and belonged to the sons of Ephraim.)

And the term of the valley of the place of reeds goeth down in the south of the strand of the cities of Ephraim, that be in the midst of the cities of Manasseh. The term of Manasseh is from the north of the strand, and the going(s) out thereof goeth to the sea; (And the border goeth down to the Kanah River, and then south of the river; the cities there belonged to Ephraim, even though they be in the midst of the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh is along the north side of the river, and its end, or its limit, is the Mediterranean Sea;)

10 so that the possession of Ephraim is from the south, and the possession of Manasseh is from the north, and the sea closeth ever either; and those possessions be joined to themselves in the lineage of Asher from the north, and in the lineage of Issachar from the east. (so the possession of Ephraim is from the south side of the river, and the possession of western Manasseh is from the north side of the river, and the Mediterranean Sea closeth, or endeth, both; and the tribe of Asher is to the north, and the tribe of Issachar is to the east.)

11 And the heritage of Manasseh was in Issachar and in Asher, Bethshean, and the towns thereof, and Ibleam, with his towns, and the dwellers of Dor, with her cities, and the dwellers of Endor, with her towns, and also the dwellers of Taanach, with her towns, and the dwellers of Megiddo, with her towns, and the third part of the city (of) Naphath[a]. (And Manasseh had possessions within Issachar and Asher, Bethshean, and its towns, and Ibleam, and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor, and its towns, and the inhabitants of Endor, and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach, and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo, and its towns, and the third part of the city of Naphath.)

12 And the sons of Manasseh might not destroy these cities, but Canaanites began to dwell in this land. (And the sons of Manasseh could not destroy these cities, and so the Canaanites continued to live in this land.)

13 And after that the sons of Israel had waxed strong, they made subject (these) Canaanites, and they made them tributaries to themselves, and they killed them not. (And after the Israelites had grown strong, they made these Canaanites to pay tribute, or taxes, to them, but they did not kill them.)

14 And the sons of Joseph spake to Joshua, and said, Why hast thou given to me land into (a) possession of (only) one lot and [one] part, since I am of so great multitude, and the Lord hath blessed me, that is, hath alarged me in children? (And Joseph’s sons, that is, the sons of Ephraim and of Manasseh, spoke to Joshua, and said, Why hast thou given us the land of only one lot, yea, only one portion for a possession, since we be of so great a multitude, and the Lord hath blessed us, that is, hath enlarged us, with so many children?)

15 To whom Joshua said, If thou art a much people, go thou up into the wood, and cut down to thee spaces in the land of Perizzites, and of Rephaim, for the possession of the hill of Ephraim is (too) strait to thee. (To whom Joshua said, If thou be so many people, and the possession of the hill country of Ephraim is too small for thee, go thou up into the woods, and cut down space for thyselves in the land of the Perizzites, and of the Rephaim, or of the giants.)

16 To whom the sons of Joseph answered, We may not ascend to the hilly places, since Canaanites, that dwell in the land of the field, use iron chariots; in which land Bethshean, with his towns, and Jezreel, wielding the middle valley, be set. (To whom Joseph’s sons answered, The hill country is still not large enough; and also, the Canaanites, who live there in the land of the valley, have iron chariots; yea, all those who live in Bethshean, and its towns, and who live in the Jezreel Valley.)

17 And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, and of Ephraim, and of Manasseh (And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, that is, to the tribes of Ephraim, and of Manasseh), Thou art [a] much people, and of great strength; thou shalt not have (only) one lot,

18 but thou shalt pass to the hill, and thou shalt cut down to thee trees; and thou shalt cleanse spaces to dwell in (but thou shalt go into the hill country, and thou shalt cut down the trees; and thou shalt clear out space for thyselves to live in). And thou shalt be able to go forth further, when thou hast destroyed (the) Canaanites, whom thou sayest to have iron chariots, and to be most strong.

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 17:11 The Hebrew meaning of this phrase, “and the third part of the city (of) Naphath”, is unclear; other possibilities include: “even the three countries, or regions”, “even the three heights”, and “and the third is Naphath, that is, the hills of Dor”.

17 This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh(A) as Joseph’s firstborn,(B) that is, for Makir,(C) Manasseh’s firstborn. Makir was the ancestor of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead(D) and Bashan(E) because the Makirites were great soldiers. So this allotment was for the rest of the people of Manasseh(F)—the clans of Abiezer,(G) Helek, Asriel,(H) Shechem, Hepher(I) and Shemida.(J) These are the other male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.

Now Zelophehad son of Hepher,(K) the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters,(L) whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our relatives.” So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with the brothers of their father, according to the Lord’s command.(M) Manasseh’s share consisted of ten tracts of land besides Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan,(N) because the daughters of the tribe of Manasseh received an inheritance among the sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.

The territory of Manasseh extended from Asher(O) to Mikmethath(P) east of Shechem.(Q) The boundary ran southward from there to include the people living at En Tappuah. (Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah(R) itself, on the boundary of Manasseh, belonged to the Ephraimites.) Then the boundary continued south to the Kanah Ravine.(S) There were towns belonging to Ephraim lying among the towns of Manasseh, but the boundary of Manasseh was the northern side of the ravine and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. 10 On the south the land belonged to Ephraim, on the north to Manasseh. The territory of Manasseh reached the Mediterranean Sea and bordered Asher(T) on the north and Issachar(U) on the east.(V)

11 Within Issachar(W) and Asher, Manasseh also had Beth Shan,(X) Ibleam(Y) and the people of Dor,(Z) Endor,(AA) Taanach(AB) and Megiddo,(AC) together with their surrounding settlements (the third in the list is Naphoth[a]).(AD)

12 Yet the Manassites were not able(AE) to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region. 13 However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.(AF)

14 The people of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people, and the Lord has blessed us abundantly.”(AG)

15 “If you are so numerous,” Joshua answered, “and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest(AH) and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites(AI) and Rephaites.(AJ)

16 The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have chariots fitted with iron,(AK) both those in Beth Shan(AL) and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”(AM)

17 But Joshua said to the tribes of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—“You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment(AN) 18 but the forested hill country(AO) as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have chariots fitted with iron(AP) and though they are strong, you can drive them out.”

Footnotes

  1. Joshua 17:11 That is, Naphoth Dor