1Land was given to the tribe of Manasseh. It was given to Makir. Manasseh was Joseph’s eldest son. Makir was Manasseh’s eldest son. The people of Gilead came from the family line of Makir. The people of Gilead had received the lands of Gilead and Bashan. That’s because the people of Makir were great soldiers.2So land was given to the rest of the people of Manasseh. It was given to the family groups of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida. They were the other men in the family line of Manasseh, the son of Joseph. Those were their names by their family groups.3Makir was the son of Manasseh. Gilead was the son of Makir. Hepher was the son of Gilead. And Zelophehad was the son of Hepher. Zelophehad didn’t have any sons. He only had daughters. Their names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah.4The daughters of Zelophehad went to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua, the son of Nun. They also went to the other leaders. They said, ‘The LORD commanded Moses to give us our share of land among our male relatives.’ So Joshua gave them land along with their male relatives. That was according to what the LORD had commanded.5Manasseh’s share was made up of ten pieces of land. That land was in addition to Gilead and Bashan east of the River Jordan.6So the five granddaughters of Hepher in the family line of Manasseh received land, just as the other five sons of Manasseh did. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the family line of Manasseh.7The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to Mikmethath. Mikmethath was east of Shechem. The border ran south from Mikmethath. The people living at En Tappuah were inside the border.8Manasseh had the land around Tappuah. But the town of Tappuah itself was on the border of Manasseh’s land. It belonged to the people of Ephraim.9The border continued south to the Kanah Valley. Some of the towns that belonged to Ephraim were located among the towns of Manasseh. But the border of Manasseh was the north side of the valley. The border came to an end at the Mediterranean Sea.10The land on the south belonged to Ephraim. The land on the north belonged to Manasseh. The territory of Manasseh reached the Mediterranean Sea. The tribe of Asher was the border on the north. The tribe of Issachar was the border on the east.11Inside the land given to Issachar and Asher, the towns of Beth Shan and Ibleam belonged to Manasseh. The towns of Dor, Endor, Taanach and Megiddo and their people also belonged to Manasseh. Manasseh was given all those towns and the settlements around them. The third town in the list was also called Naphoth Dor.12But the people of Manasseh weren’t able to take over those towns. That’s because the Canaanites had made up their minds to live in that area.13The Israelites grew stronger. Then they forced the Canaanites to work hard for them. But they didn’t drive them out completely.14The people in the family line of Joseph spoke to Joshua. They said, ‘Why have you given us only one share of the land to have as our own? There are large numbers of us. The LORD has blessed us greatly.’15‘That’s true,’ Joshua said. ‘There are large numbers of you. And the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you. So go up into the forest. Clear out some land for yourselves in the territory of the Perizzites and Rephaites.’16The people in Joseph’s family line replied, ‘The hill country isn’t big enough for us. And all the Canaanites who live in the plains use chariots that have iron parts. They include the people of Beth Shan and its settlements. They also include the people who live in the Valley of Jezreel.’17Joshua spoke again to the people in Joseph’s family line. He said to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh, ‘There are large numbers of you. And you are very powerful. You will have more than one piece of land.18You will also have the central hill country. It’s covered with trees. Cut them down and clear the land. That whole land from one end to the other will belong to you. The Canaanites use chariots that have iron parts. And those people are strong. But you can drive them out.’
Joshua 17
English Standard Version
1Then 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. (Ge 41:51; Ge 46:20; Ge 48:18; Ge 50:23; Nu 26:29; Nu 32:39; De 3:13; De 3:15; 1Ch 7:14)2And 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. (Nu 26:29)3Now 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. (Nu 26:33; Nu 27:1; Nu 36:2; Nu 36:11)4They 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. (Nu 27:6; Nu 34:17; Nu 36:2; Jos 14:1; Jos 21:1)5Thus there fell to Manasseh ten portions, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of the Jordan, (Jos 13:30; Jos 17:1)6because 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.7The 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. (Jos 16:6)8The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah on the boundary of Manasseh belonged to the people of Ephraim. (Jos 16:8)9Then 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, (Jos 17:8)10the 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.11Also 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] (Jos 11:2; Jos 12:23; 1Ki 4:11; 1Ch 7:29)12Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. (Jud 1:27)13Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out. (Ge 49:15; Jos 16:10)14Then 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?” (Ge 48:19; Ge 48:22; Nu 26:34; Nu 26:37; Jos 16:4)15And 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.” (Jos 12:4; Jos 24:33; Jud 3:27)16The 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.” (Jos 11:6; Jud 6:33)17Then 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,18but 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.” (De 20:1; Jos 11:6)