Joshua 17

Joshua 17 describes the land given to the half-tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan, including the inheritance of Zelophehad’s daughters. It ends with the descendants of Joseph complaining that their share is too small. Joshua answers that they are strong enough to clear the forest and drive out even the Canaanites with iron chariots.

Joshua 17:1

Manasseh was Joseph’s firstborn, so his tribe received a large share. Machir, his chief clan, was a warrior and had already taken Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan. Courage and fighting had already won this family a place.

BSA: firstborn (“preeminent, having special rights”): Being firstborn carried honor and responsibility, though Ephraim was given the greater blessing.

See also: Numbers 32:39-40.

Joshua 17:2

The rest of Manasseh’s clans, six families in all, received land west of the Jordan. Each clan is listed by name, which shows that every family was counted and given its place in the promised land.

BSA: allotment (“inheritance, territorial portion”): The land was an inheritance given by God, not something won by Israel’s own cleverness.

Joshua 17:3

Zelophehad died with no sons, only five daughters, and they are named here. Naming them shows that God took their situation seriously. Their family line was in danger of vanishing from the land.

See also: Numbers 27:1-4.

Joshua 17:4

The women came before the priest, Joshua and the leaders and appealed to what the LORD had already told Moses. Joshua did not hesitate. He gave them land among their father’s brothers, because God’s word had settled the matter.

BSA: command (“the will, the decree”): Joshua acted on God’s expressed will rather than on custom or convenience.

See also: Numbers 27:5-7.

Joshua 17:5-6

Manasseh’s western share came to ten portions. These covered five daughters and five clans of sons, and the land of Gilead stayed with the rest of the sons. Everyone received something, and the daughters’ share was real land.

BSA: ten (“a decade, a multitude”): The number reflects a full count of the families sharing the western land.

Joshua 17:7-9

These verses trace Manasseh’s southern edge, beginning near Shechem and running to the Brook of Kanah and the sea. The line is untidy. Some towns of Ephraim sat inside Manasseh’s area, and Tappuah belonged to Ephraim while the land around it was Manasseh’s. The two sons of Joseph were closely tied together.

BSA: border (“boundary, territorial limit”): God’s gift of land had definite limits, which gave each tribe a place to call its own.

Joshua 17:10

Ephraim lay to the south and Manasseh to the north. Manasseh’s land reached the Mediterranean on the west, Asher on the north and Issachar on the east. The verse gives the overall shape of the territory.

BSA: Sea (“the Mediterranean, western border”): The Mediterranean was Israel’s natural western edge.

Joshua 17:11

Manasseh also received a number of important towns that lay inside the lands of Issachar and Asher. Beth-shean, Dor, Taanach and Megiddo guarded main roads and fertile plains. These were valuable places, and strongly held.

See also: Judges 1:27.

Joshua 17:12

Manasseh could not take these cities, because the Canaanites were determined to stay. The text does not hide the failure. God had given the land, but Israel did not fully take what was offered, and the people who remained later led Israel astray.

BSA: unable (“lacked the power or ability”): The text states plainly that Manasseh lacked the strength to take these cities.

Hebrew: וַיּוֹאֶל (vayyo’el, H2974) — “determined, was willing.” The Canaanites were resolved to stay. The word suggests stubborn will, not merely their circumstances.

See also: Judges 1:27-28.

Joshua 17:13

When Israel grew stronger, they made the Canaanites work for them instead of driving them out. This was an easy compromise that paid in labor. It left the people God wanted removed living among Israel.

BSA: forced labor (“tribute, taskwork”): Israel preferred the profit of Canaanite labor to full obedience.

See also: Deuteronomy 7:1-4.

Joshua 17:14

The sons of Joseph complained to Joshua that they had received only one portion despite their numbers. They said that their size was proof of the LORD’s blessing. There was some truth in this, but they spoke as if the land they already had were too small, not as if they were unwilling to work.

BSA: blessed (“praised, honored”): They credited the LORD for their large numbers, and Joshua took them at their word.

See also: Genesis 48:19.

Joshua 17:15

Joshua answered with a challenge. If they were so many, they should go up and clear the forest. Their own strength could win more land, but only by hard work. He did not simply hand them more.

BSA: clear (“cut down, prepare”): More land would come through labor with an axe, not by complaint.

Joshua 17:16

They replied that the hill country was not enough and that the Canaanites in the valleys had iron chariots. The chariots were a serious threat in open country. Their reply sounds like fear dressed as a complaint.

BSA: iron (“strong, heavy”): Iron chariots stood for military power that Israel’s foot soldiers dreaded.

Joshua 17:17-18

Joshua refused to be put off. He told Joseph’s house that they had great strength, would receive the hill country, and could drive out the Canaanites despite their iron chariots. The same God who gave the land would give the victory. Obedience and courage would make the gift theirs.

BSA: strong (“powerful, fierce”): The Canaanites were strong, but Joshua said Joseph’s tribes were stronger. drive them out (“dispossess, expel”): God’s call was to take the land fully, not to settle beside the enemy.

See also: Joshua 1:6-9; Judges 1:19.