Joshua 16

Joshua 16 sets out the land given by lot to the sons of Joseph, mainly to Ephraim, in the central hill country. Most of the chapter is boundary lines, which show that God’s promise became real ground with real borders. It ends with a sad note: Ephraim did not fully drive out the Canaanites of Gezer.

Joshua 16:1

The southern edge of Joseph’s land started at the Jordan near Jericho and climbed through the wilderness into the hill country toward Bethel. The lot marked out a place for Joseph’s family, fixed by God rather than by human bargaining.

BSA: allotment (“portion, inheritance”): The land was a portion handed down as a gift, not something earned or seized.

See also: Joshua 14:2.

Joshua 16:2

The line continued past Bethel, also called Luz, and on toward the Archites at Ataroth. Bethel was where Jacob once met God and named the place ‘house of God,’ so the border passed a spot rich in family memory.

BSA: Bethel (“the house of God, or Luz”): The name recalls Jacob’s meeting with God, which gives the border a holy landmark.

See also: Genesis 28:19.

Joshua 16:3

Here the line turns down westward, passing Lower Beth-horon and Gezer and reaching the Mediterranean. These verses give the outer edge shared by Ephraim and Manasseh. Gezer will matter again at the end of the chapter.

BSA: descended (“went down”): The land drops from the high hill country toward the coastal plain.

Joshua 16:4

Joseph’s two sons each became a full tribe and received an inheritance. This fulfills Jacob’s blessing, when he took Ephraim and Manasseh as his own sons. Joseph, once sold into slavery, now has a double portion in the promised land.

BSA: inheritance (“heritage, allotted land”): It is land received from God and passed on to the next generation.

See also: Genesis 48:5.

Joshua 16:5

The text now turns to Ephraim’s own territory, by clans. Its southern border ran from Ataroth-addar in the east to Upper Beth-horon. Each family knew where its place was. God’s gifts come with clear shape.

BSA: clans (“families, tribes”): The land was shared out family by family, so each household had its own share.

Joshua 16:6

The northern border ran from the Sea toward Michmethath, then turned east past Taanath-shiloh to Janoah. Shiloh was close by, and the tabernacle would soon stand there, so Ephraim lived near the center of Israel’s worship.

BSA: turned (“to surround, to go around”): The border curved around the landmarks rather than running in a straight line.

See also: Joshua 18:1.

Joshua 16:7

From Janoah the line ran down to Ataroth and Naarah, then touched Jericho and ended at the Jordan. This closes the circuit of Ephraim’s eastern side, back near where the whole chapter began.

BSA: went down (“descended, to a lower place”): The border drops steeply from the hills into the Jordan valley.

Joshua 16:8

From Tappuah the line went west along the Brook of Kanah to the Sea. Tappuah means ‘apple,’ a hint of fruitfulness. The verse closes the list of borders by naming it as the inheritance of the clans of Ephraim.

BSA: Tappuah (“the apple city, a place of abundance”): The name suggests fruitful ground, which fits Ephraim’s name, ‘doubly fruitful.’.

Joshua 16:9

Ephraim also held towns inside Manasseh’s territory. Ephraim’s land was not neat or self-contained, and the two brother tribes shared space. Their closeness in the land matched their closeness as sons of Joseph.

BSA: set apart (“separated, designated”): These towns were deliberately reserved for Ephraim, though they lay inside Manasseh’s land.

Joshua 16:10

Ephraim did not drive out the Canaanites of Gezer. They let them stay and put them to forced labor. It was convenient, but it was partial obedience, and later chapters and Judges show how such leftovers can become a snare.

BSA: drive out (“expel, dispossess”): God’s command was to remove the Canaanites, not merely to use them. forced laborers (“servants to do taskwork, under tribute”): Ephraim gained work from them instead of finishing the task God gave.

See also: Judges 1:29; Deuteronomy 7:1-4.