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JOSHUA 17
page 207
48 Judah also received the following
towns in the hill country: Shamir, Jattir,
Socoh, 49 Dannah, Kiriath-sannah (that is,
Debir), 50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 51 Goshen,
Holon, and Giloh—eleven towns with their
surrounding villages.
52 Also included were the towns of Arab,
Dumah, Eshan, 53 Janim, Beth-tappuah,
Aphekah, 54 Humtah, Kiriath-arba (that is,
Hebron), and Zior—nine towns with their
surrounding villages.
55 Besides these, there were Maon, Carmel,
Ziph, Juttah, 56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—ten towns with
their surrounding villages.
58 In addition, there were Halhul, Beth-zur,
Gedor, 59 Maarath, Beth-anoth, and Eltekon—
six towns with their surrounding villages.
60 There were also Kiriath-baal (that is,
Kiriath-jearim) and Rabbah—two towns
with their surrounding villages.
61 In the wilderness there were the towns
of Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah, 62 Nibshan,
the City of Salt, and En-gedi—six towns with
their surrounding villages.
63 But the tribe of Judah could not drive out
the Jebusites, who lived in the city of Jerusalem,
so the Jebusites live there among the people of
Judah to this day.
The Land Given to Ephraim and
West Manasseh
The allotment for the descendants of
Joseph extended from the Jordan River
near Jericho, east of the springs of Jericho,
through the wilderness and into the hill
country of Bethel. 2 From Bethel (that is,
Luz)* it ran over to Ataroth in the territory
of the Arkites. 3 Then it descended westward
to the territory of the Japhletites as far as
Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer and over
to the Mediterranean Sea.*
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4 This
was the homeland allocated to the families of Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
The Land Given to Ephraim
5 The following territory was given to the clans
of the tribe of Ephraim.
The boundary of their homeland began
at Ataroth-addar in the east. From there it
ran to Upper Beth-horon, 6 then on to the
Mediterranean Sea. From Micmethath on
the north, the boundary curved eastward
past Taanath-shiloh to the east of Janoah.
7 From Janoah it turned southward to
Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho, and
ended at the Jordan River. 8 From Tappuah
the boundary extended westward, following
16:2 As in Greek version (also see 18:13); Hebrew reads From
Bethel to Luz. 16:3 Hebrew the sea; also in 16:6, 8.
the Kanah Ravine to the Mediterranean Sea.
This is the homeland allocated to the clans
of the tribe of Ephraim.
9 In addition, some towns with their
surrounding villages in the territory allocated
to the half-tribe of Manasseh were set aside
for the tribe of Ephraim. 10 They did not drive
the Canaanites out of Gezer, however, so
the people of Gezer live as slaves among the
people of Ephraim to this day.
The Land Given to West Manasseh
The next allotment of land was given to
the half-tribe of Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph’s older son. Makir, the firstborn
son of Manasseh, was the father of Gilead. Because his descendants were experienced soldiers, the regions of Gilead and Bashan on the
east side of the Jordan had already been given to
them. 2 So the allotment on the west side of the
Jordan was for the remaining families within
the clans of the tribe of Manasseh: Abiezer,
Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida.
These clans represent the male descendants of
Manasseh son of Joseph.
3 However, Zelophehad, a descendant of Hepher son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons. He had only daughters, whose
names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah,
and Tirzah. 4 These women came to Eleazar the
priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite leaders and said, “The Lord commanded Moses to
give us a grant of land along with the men of
our tribe.”
So Joshua gave them a grant of land along
with their uncles, as the Lord had commanded.
5 As a result, Manasseh’s total allocation came
to ten parcels of land, in addition to the land
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• Equality
JOS HU A 17:3-4
Zelophehad’s five daughters had brought
their case before Moses some time before
(Numbers 27:1-11). Their father had died
in the wilderness without leaving a son to
carry on his name. The daughters were
concerned about their family not receiving
its inheritance in the Promised Land. At
that time, Moses brought their concern
before God. It was God himself who ruled
on this case. He granted these daughters
an equal inheritance alongside the sons
of other families. In a time when only men
owned land, this was an extraordinary
concession, showing God’s concern not
only for these women, but for the equality
of men and women.