Joshua 16
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And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Bethel,
2 And goeth out from Bethel to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth,
3 And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Bethhoron the nether, and to Gezer; and the goings out thereof are at the sea.
4 So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
5 And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Atarothaddar, unto Bethhoron the upper;
6 And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanathshiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah;
7 And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan.
8 The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.
9 And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.
10 And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.
Public Domain KJV text from Wordproject.org
Joshua 16:1-10
The Allotment for Ephraim and Manasseh
1The allotment of the people of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel. 2Then going from Bethel to Luz, it passes along to Ataroth, the territory of the Archites. 3Then it goes down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, and it ends at the sea.
4The people of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.
5The territory of the people of Ephraim by their clans was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was Ataroth-addar as far as Upper Beth-horon, 6and the boundary goes from there to the sea. On the north is Michmethath. Then on the east the boundary turns around toward Taanath-shiloh and passes along beyond it on the east to Janoah, 7then it goes down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, and touches Jericho, ending at the Jordan. 8From Tappuah the boundary goes westward to the brook Kanah and ends at the sea. Such is the inheritance of the tribe of the people of Ephraim by their clans, 9together with the towns that were set apart for the people of Ephraim within the inheritance of the Manassites, all those towns with their villages. 10However, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this day but have been made to do forced labor.
ESV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Joshua 16:1-10
Allotment for Ephraim and Manasseh
1The allotment for Joseph began at the Jordan, east of the springs of Jericho, and went up from there through the desert into the hill country of Bethel. 2It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz), crossed over to the territory of the Arkites in Ataroth, 3descended westward to the territory of the Japhletites as far as the region of Lower Beth Horon and on to Gezer, ending at the Mediterranean Sea.
4So Manasseh and Ephraim, the descendants of Joseph, received their inheritance.
5This was the territory of Ephraim, according to its clans:
The boundary of their inheritance went from Ataroth Addar in the east to Upper Beth Horon 6and continued to the Mediterranean Sea. From Mikmethath on the north it curved eastward to Taanath Shiloh, passing by it to Janoah on the east. 7Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho and came out at the Jordan. 8From Tappuah the border went west to the Kanah Ravine and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Ephraimites, according to its clans.
9It also included all the towns and their villages that were set aside for the Ephraimites within the inheritance of the Manassites.
10They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor.
NIV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Commentary
Joshua gave Caleb Hebron, the city that had so frightened the ten spies because of the giant Anakites. Trusting in the Lord, 85 year-old Caleb drove out the Anakites and then marched against Kiriath Sepher. Othniel, his nephew, conquered it, and then claimed Caleb's daughter Acsah as his reward.
Sadly many others in Israel did not share Caleb’s faith. The Judahites could not dislodge the Jebusites from Jerusalem, and 16:10 says the Ephramites did not dislodge the Canaanites. By letting these foreigners stay in their midst, the Ephraimites were endangering themselves spiritually. Their future shows them lapsing into idolatry until the Lord was forced to say through His prophet, “Ephraim is joined to idols: let him alone" (Hosea 4:17). In the chapters that follow we read that the Manassites were not able to occupy some of their towns, for the Canaanites “were determined to live in that region;” and the Danites had difficulty taking possession of their territory.
If they would have had faith to make the effort, the Lord would have given them the victory as He did Caleb. Thus the way was prepared for future apostasy. Will our faith stand against the world around us?
Ralph Neall
Retired Professor and Missionary
