Joshua 17

1 Now this was the allotment [a portion, inheritance] for the tribe [a family group, clan] of Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob, ancestor of a large tribe] as Joseph’s [Jehovah has added, a son of Jacob] firstborn [preeminent, having special rights] son, namely [specifically, that is] for Machir [a man of war, a warrior] the firstborn [born first, having priority] of Manasseh and father [a male parent, ancestor] of the Gileadites [inhabitants of Gilead, a mountainous region], who had received [been given, acquired] Gilead [a rocky region, a place of refuge] and Bashan [a fertile land, a place of abundance] because Machir was a man [a male person, a warrior] of war [battle, conflict, a state of hostility]. word study 2 So this allotment [inheritance, territorial portion] was for the rest of the descendants [sons, male heirs] of Manasseh [Moses, a grandson of Jacob]—the clans [families, tribes] of Abiezer [my father is help], Helek [portion], Asriel [I shall be princely], Shechem [shoulder, back], Hepher [a well], and Shemida [name, famous]. These are the other male [men] descendants [sons, heirs] of the clans [families, tribes] of Manasseh [having God’s addition] son of Joseph [Jehovah has added, a name given to several Israelites]. word study 3 But Zelophehad [a descendant of Gilead] son of Hepher [the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh] (the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh) had no sons [male children, heirs] but only daughters [female children, inheritors]. These are the names [identities, characters] of his daughters: Mahlah [meaning disease, affliction], Noah [rest, comfort], Hoglah [partridge, a type of bird], Milcah [queen, ruler], and Tirzah [pleasant, delightful]. word study 4 They approached [came near, drew close to] Eleazar the priest [the spiritual leader, mediator between God and man], Joshua son of Nun [a leader, successor of Moses], and the leaders [princes, high-ranking officials], and said, “The LORD [Yehovah, the self-existent God] commanded [gave orders, instructed] Moses to give us an inheritance [a possession, a legacy] among our brothers [fellow Israelites, kinsmen].” So Joshua gave them an inheritance [a portion, a share] among their father’s brothers [their paternal relatives, kinsmen], in keeping with the command [the will, the decree] of the LORD [the sovereign God]. word study 5 Thus ten [a decade, a multitude] shares fell [were allotted, came to] to Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob, the ancestor of a large tribe], in addition to [apart from, beyond] the land [territory, region] of Gilead [a mountainous region, rocky region] and Bashan [a fertile area, a land of abundance] beyond [on the other side, across] the Jordan [a key river, a border], word study 6 because the daughters [female descendants, women] of Manasseh [a tribe of Israel, a grandson of Jacob] received an inheritance [a possession, a heritage] among his sons [male descendants, children]. And the land [earth, territory] of Gilead [a mountainous region, a rocky area] belonged to the rest [the remaining ones, those left] of the sons [descendants, children] of Manasseh. word study 7 Now the border [boundary, territorial limit] of Manasseh [a tribe of Israel, named after Joseph’s son] went from Asher [the eighth son of Jacob] to Michmethath [a place of hiding] near Shechem [a city in Palestine, significant in Israel’s history], then southward [toward the southern region] to include [encompass, surround] the inhabitants [residents, dwellers] of En-tappuah [the spring of Tappuah, a border city]. word study 8 The region [land, territory] of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh [a tribe of Israel, descendants of Joseph’s son], but Tappuah [the apple city, a place of abundance] itself, on the border [boundary, limit] of Manasseh, belonged to Ephraim [a tribe of Israel, doubly fruitful]. word study 9 From there the border [boundary, territorial limit] continued southward to the Brook [stream, river] of Kanah [reeds, a place in Palestine]. There were cities [towns, settlements] belonging to Ephraim [doubly fruitful, a tribe of Israel] among the cities [towns, communities] of Manasseh [a tribe of Israel, descendant of Joseph], but the border [territorial limit, boundary] of Manasseh was on the north [northern, Zaphon] side of the brook [stream, valley] and ended [terminated, had its outgoings] at the Sea [Mediterranean, a large body of water]. word study 10 Ephraim’s territory [to the south, Negeb] was to the south, and Manasseh’s [son of Joseph, doubly fruitful] was to the north, having the Sea [the Mediterranean, western border] as its border and adjoining Asher [eighth son of Jacob] on the north [Zaphon, direction of the sun’s setting] and Issachar [there is recompense, ninth son of Jacob] on the east [direction of the sunrise]. word study 11 Within Issachar [a tribe of Israel, meaning ’there is recompense’] and Asher [a tribe of Israel, the eighth son of Jacob], Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob, ancestor of a large tribe] was assigned Beth-shean [a place of ease, house of ease], Ibleam [a city in ancient Palestine, meaning ‘devouring’], Dor [a city in the territory of Manasseh, also known as Naphath-Dor] (that is, Naphath [a height, a place or region]), Endor [a place in the territory of Issachar, meaning ‘fountain of Dor’], Taanach [an ancient city in Palestine, conquered by Joshua], and Megiddo [an important city in ancient Israel, near Mount Carmel], each with their surrounding [adjacent, neighboring] settlements [towns, villages]. word study 12 But the descendants [sons, children] of Manasseh [a grandson of Jacob and ancestor of a large tribe] were unable [lacked the power or ability] to occupy [possess, take control of] these cities [towns, settlements], because the Canaanites [inhabitants of the land of Canaan] were determined [willing, resolute] to stay [dwell, remain] in this land [region, territory]. word study 13 However, when the Israelites [children of Israel, descendants of Jacob] grew stronger [were waxed strong, became more powerful], they put the Canaanites [Canaanitess, people of the land of Canaan] to forced labor [tribute, taskwork]; but they failed [did not utterly drive them out, were not able to expel them completely] to drive them out completely [to possess, to take control of the land]. word study 14 Then the sons [descendants, children] of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why [for what reason] have you given us only one [a single] portion [inheritance, allotted land] as an inheritance [a gift, a heritage]? We have many [a great, numerous] people, because the LORD [Yehovah, the supreme God] has blessed [praised, honored] us abundantly [with great abundance, very much].” word study 15 Joshua answered them, “If you have so many people [a numerous nation, a great multitude] that the hill country [mountainous region, highlands] of Ephraim [doubly fruitful, a tribe of Israel] is too small [narrow, confined] for you, go [ascend, rise up] to the forest [wood country, woodland area] and clear [cut down, prepare] for yourself an area [space, room] in the land [territory, region] of the Perizzites [a Canaanite tribe] and the Rephaim [giants, a group of large people].” word study 16 “The hill country [mountainous region, highlands] is not enough for us,” they replied, “and all [every, the entire] the Canaanites [inhabitants of Canaan, the people of the land] who live [dwell, reside] in the valley [lowland area, plain] have iron [strong, heavy] chariots [vehicles, war carts], both [also, in addition] in Beth-shean [house of rest, a city] with its towns [surrounding villages, cities] and in the Valley [lowland area, plain] of Jezreel [God sows, a fertile valley].” word study 17 So Joshua [the leader, God’s appointed one] said to the house [family, tribe] of Joseph—to Ephraim [doubly fruitful, a blessed people] and Manasseh [making to forget]—“You have many [numerous, a great multitude] people and great [abundant, extraordinary] strength [power, might]. You shall not have just [only, merely] one [single, unique] allotment [inheritance, portion], word study 18 because the hill country [mountain, high land] will be yours as well [to possess, to occupy]. It is a forest [wood, woodland area]; clear it [cut it down, make it plain], and its farthest limits [outgoings, boundaries] will be yours [to dwell in, to inhabit]. Although the Canaanites [people of Canaan, native inhabitants] have iron [strong, heavy] chariots [vehicles, war-carriages] and although they are strong [powerful, fierce], you can drive them out [dispossess, expel].” word study