Joshua 17

Land for the Rest of Manasseh’s Crew

1 Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn, got his piece of the land too. Makir (Manasseh’s son), father of Gilead, was a soldier - so he got Gilead and Bashan, two big zones.

2 The rest of Manasseh’s sons - Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida - all got land too, split by families.

3 But one dude, Zelophehad (son of Hepher, grandson of Gilead, great-grandson of Makir, son of Manasseh), had no sons - just five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

4 They rolled up to Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the leaders, saying, “God told Moses to give us our share just like the fellas.” So they gave them land like God said - within Manasseh’s fam.

5 Manasseh got ten pieces of land west of the Jordan, plus the land east in Gilead and Bashan.

6 The daughters of Manasseh got their cut just like the sons, and the land of Gilead went to the rest of Manasseh’s sons.

Boundaries of Manasseh

7 Manasseh’s border ran from Asher to Michmethath, near Shechem, then south to the folks living at En-tappuah.

8 Tappuah was on Manasseh’s land, but the town of Tappuah near the border belonged to Ephraim.

9 The border dropped to the Kanah River. South of the river, cities belonged to Ephraim even though they were in Manasseh’s land. The border ran west to the sea.

10 South side = Ephraim. North side = Manasseh. The sea was the border. They touched Asher on the north and Issachar on the east.

11 Manasseh also had towns in Issachar and Asher: Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor, En-dor, Taanach, Megiddo - plus the villages nearby.

Manasseh’s People Want More Land

12 But Manasseh could not take over some of those towns - the Canaanites stayed put.

13 When Israel got stronger, they put the Canaanites to work - but never fully drove them out.

14 Then the people of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) told Joshua, “Why we only get one slice of land, We a big crew, and God been good to us.”

15 Joshua said, “If you too big for one spot, roll into the forest and clear some land in Perizzite and Rephaim territory.”

16 They said, “The hill country is not enough. Plus, the Canaanites got iron chariots - in Beth-shean and the valley spots.”

17 Joshua told the Joseph tribes, “You all got numbers and power. You are not just getting one lot.”

18 “You will get the hill country too. Yeah, it is forest now, but clear it out - and you will push out the Canaanites, even with their iron whips. You all got this.”