Joshua 16

1 The allotment of the descendants 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;

2 then going from Bethel to Luz, it passes along to At'aroth, the territory of the Archites;

3 then it goes down westward to the territory of the Japh'letites, as far as the territory of Lower Beth-hor'on, then to Gezer, and it ends at the sea.

4 The people of Joseph, Manas'seh and E'phraim, received their inheritance.

5 The territory of the E'phraimites by their families was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was At'aroth-ad'dar as far as Upper Beth-hor'on,

6 and the boundary goes thence to the sea; on the north is Mich-me'thath; then on the east the boundary turns round toward Ta'anath-shi'loh, and passes along beyond it on the east to Jan-o'ah,

7 then it goes down from Jan-o'ah to At'aroth and to Na'arah, and touches Jericho, ending at the Jordan.

8 From Tap'puah the boundary goes westward to the brook Kanah, and ends at the sea. Such is the inheritance of the tribe of the E'phraimites by their families,

9 together with the towns which were set apart for the E'phraimites within the inheritance of the Manas'sites, all those towns with their villages.

10 However they did not drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: so the Canaanites have dwelt in the midst of E'phraim to this day but have become slaves to do forced labor.

Joshua 16 Commentary

Chapter 16

The sons of Joseph.

- This and the following chapter should not be separated. They give the lots of Ephraim and Manasseh, the children of Joseph, who, next to Judah, were to have the post of honour, and therefore had the first and best portion in the northern part of Canaan, as Judah in the southern part. God's people now, as of old, suffer his enemies to remain. Blessed Lord, when will all ( 1 Corinthians. 15:26 ) thou alone canst do it. These settled boundaries may remind us, that our situation and provision in this life, as well as our future inheritance, are appointed by the only wise and righteous God, and we should be content with our portion, since he knows what is best for us, and all we have is more than we deserve.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 16

This chapter gives us an account of the lot of the children of Joseph, Ephraim, and the half tribe of Manasseh, one half having settled on the other side Jordan; and first the borders of the whole lot in general are given, Jos 16:1-4; and then the borders of the tribe of Ephraim in particular, Jos 16:4-8; and it is observed, that this tribe had besides separate cities among the children of Manasseh, and that there were some Canaanites, particularly in Gezer, not driven out by the Ephraimites, Jos 16:9,10.