JOSHUA LESSON 17


     We will begin this lesson in Joshua 16:1 "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 Beth-el."

     We find that Joseph's sons received two allotments. Together,
Ephraim and Manasseh's land spread between Jordan at Jericho to the
other side of mount Beth-el.  "Fell" means that they received their
portion by lot.

     Joshua 16:2 "And goeth out from Beth-el to Luz, and passeth along
unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth,"

     We see that the land extended beyond Bethel to Luz. It extended
even to the borders of the Archites {Archi}.

     Joshua 16:3 "And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti,
unto the coast of Beth-horon the nether, and to Gezer: and the goings
out thereof are at the sea."

     The sea, mentioned here, is the Mediterranean Sea.

     Joshua 16:4 "So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim,
took their inheritance."

     Manasseh's land is just north of Ephraim's land. It appears, they
took possession of their land.

     Joshua 16:5  "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 Ataroth-addar, unto Beth-horon the upper;"

     It is very difficult to separate Ephraim's northern border from
Manasseh's southern border. It is really an imaginary line. Their
eastern border was at the Jordan River, and their western border
reached to the Mediterranean Sea.

     Joshua 16:6 "And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah
on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanath-
shiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah;"  Joshua 16:7 "And it
went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to
Jericho, and went out at Jordan."

     Jericho was the southeastern border of the land of Ephraim. The
names of these cities were changed, when the Israelites took the
cities and this makes it difficult to locate each area. We would
recognize the northern area better, by realizing that one of the most
northern cities of Ephraim will be Shechem.

     Joshua 16:8 "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."

     This is speaking of the border that joins Manasseh. The river
"Kanah" was named Kana, because it was a wintertime river that flowed
through the cane and the reeds. It was not always there.

     Joshua 16:9 "And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim
[were] among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the
cities with their villages."

     There were cities in the inheritance of Manasseh, that were
actually divided from the land of Manasseh, and belonged to Ephraim as
an inheritance. These two tribes were very closely connected, not just
because that Ephraim and Manasseh were brothers, but because their
land was joined.

     Joshua 16:10 "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."

     It appears that, Ephraim did not kill all of the Canaanites. They
kept some of them alive under their jurisdiction. The Canaanites that
were left paid tribute to Ephraim. This shows that the Israelites did
not complete God's will in getting rid of the Canaanites. We can see
in this, the same problem that Christians live in today. We live in
lands where the believers are mixed in with the rest of society. It is
difficult to live a completely holy life under these circumstances.

     Joshua 17:1 "There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for
he [was] the firstborn of Joseph; [to wit], for Machir the firstborn
of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war,
therefore he had Gilead and Bashan."

     Now, we see that Manasseh's descendents were allotted land just
north of Ephraim. Machir's descendents represented the tribe of
Manasseh, because he was the firsborn son. Manasseh had, also, been
the firstborn.  Machir's son was Gilead. The land of Gilead was named
for him. This first allotment is not for the entire tribe, but for the
descendents of Machir.

     Joshua 17:2 "There was also [a lot] for the rest of the children
of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abi-ezer, and for
the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the
children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the
children of Shemida: these [were] the male children of Manasseh the
son of Joseph by their families."

     Gideon was the descendent of Abiezer, making Gideon of the tribe
of Manasseh. Judges 6:11  "And there came an angel of the LORD, and
sat under an oak which [was] in Ophrah, that [pertained] unto Joash
the Abi-ezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to
hide [it] from the Midianites."  The city of Shechem was named for
this son of Manasseh. The male children were listed above, and each
inherited land. The reason female children are not mentioned, is
because they receive land by their husband's inheritance, when they
marry.

     Joshua 17:3  "But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of
Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but
daughters: and these [are] the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and
Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah."

     In a case where there are no sons, the father's inheritance goes
to his daughters. There was a restriction that they must marry within
their own tribe, so the land inheritance would not go to another
tribe.

     Joshua 17:4 "And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and
before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD
commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren.
Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an
inheritance among the brethren of their father."

     We see from the following Scriptures that, this has been settled
for a long time. Numbers 27:4 "Why should the name of our father be
done away from among his family, because he hath no son?  Give unto us
[therefore] a possession among the brethren of our father." Numbers
27:6  "And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying," Numbers 27:7 "The
daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a
possession of an inheritance among their father's brethren; and thou
shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them."
Eleazar and Joshua could not deny them, and they received their
father's inheritance.

     Joshua 17:5 "And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the
land of Gilead and Bashan, which [were] on the other side Jordan;"

     The ten portions include the five potions given to the daughters
of Zelophehad.

     Joshua 17:6 "Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance
among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of
Gilead."

     We must remember that, Manasseh had a half tribe on each side of
the Jordan River. The descendents of Machir are spoken of as the sons,
here.

     Joshua 17:7  "And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to
Michmethah, that [lieth] before Shechem; and the border went along on
the right hand unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah."

     This Asher is a place, and not the tribe of Asher. Sichem was the
earliest known name used for Shechem. When Jesus left the Jews, He
went to Shechem. The land of Shechem was a fertile, green land.

     Joshua 17:8 "[Now] Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah
on the border of Manasseh [belonged] to the children of Ephraim;"

     We read earlier how, a place that was actually located in
Manasseh's inherited land, might belong to Ephraim. That is the case,
here.

     Joshua 17:9 "And the coast descended unto the river Kanah,
southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim [are] among the cities
of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also [was] on the north side of the
river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea:"

     We read about the Kanah earlier in this lesson. The cities
southward of Kana belonged to Ephraim. We know from earlier in the
lesson that, Ephraim had cities in the northern area from this brook
of separation, as well. The land extended to the Mediterranean.

     Joshua 17:10 "Southward [it was] Ephraim's, and northward [it
was] Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in
Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east."

     This is just saying that, Issachar's land was east of them near
the Jordan river, and Asher's inheritance was to the north.

     Joshua 17:11 "And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-
shean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of
Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and her towns, and
the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of
Megiddo and her towns, [even] three countries."

     Just as Ephraim had cities in Manasseh's land, Manasseh had towns
in Issachar's land, and in Asher's land.  The towns are listed in the
verse above. Megiddo is a famous sight, where many believe the battle
of Armageddon will be fought.

     Joshua 17:12 "Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out
[the inhabitants of] those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in
that land."

     We see, again, the mixed multitude. The Israelites could not
drive out the Canaanites. The Canaanites were under the rule of
Manasseh, but lived with them.

     Joshua 17:13 "Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel
were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did
not utterly drive them out."

     When the Hebrews got strong enough, they made the Canaanites pay
taxes to them.

     Joshua 17:14 "And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua,
saying, Why hast thou given me [but] one lot and one portion to
inherit, seeing I [am] a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath
blessed me hitherto?"

     The children of Joseph, here, are speaking of the families of
Ephraim and Manasseh. They truly were a large nation together. Their
complaint to Joshua is, because of their large numbers living in a
small portion of land. The Lord had intended for them to have a
portion large enough for two tribes.

     Joshua 17:15 "And Joshua answered them, If thou [be] a great
people, [then] get thee up to the wood [country], and cut down for
thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if
mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee."

     If they are as strong as they say they are, they should have no
difficulty in overpowering the Perizzites, who have control of the
mountain. This vast forest of central Palestine would be quite a
prize. The giants in the land were remnants of the larger tribes.
Mount Ephraim is where Deborah will be from.

     Joshua 17:16 "And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not
enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the
valley have chariots of iron, [both they] who [are] of Beth-shean and
her towns, and [they] who [are] of the valley of Jezreel."

     They want the land, but are fearful of the enemy that holds the
land now. We see that, Joshua has given them an option to take the
land, and they are hesitating. God had warned, over and over, to not
fear the enemy. They must not look at the strength of the enemy. They
should realize that God is with them, and they could take the land.

     Joshua 17:17 "And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, [even]
to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou [art] a great people, and
hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot [only]:"  Joshua 17:18
"But the mountain shall be thine; for it [is] a wood, and thou shalt
cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt
drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, [and] though
they [be] strong."

     Joshua does not listen to the excuses of Ephraim's and Manasseh's
descendents. They will be required to take the land they want. When
the trees of this land are cut, there will be plenty of land for
Ephraim and Manasseh. They will, also, get the benefit of the trees
they cut. Joshua is, also, telling them to go beyond the wooded area,
and take the land on the other side. They should know from past
experience that no weapon formed against God's people would prosper.
God would be with them, and they would win the battle. It appears,
that Ephraim and Manasseh did not have enough faith in God to drive
all the Canaanites out. They, instead, made a treaty with them. They
would have trouble for years to come, with the remnant of the
Canaanites they did not run out.






                         Joshua 17 Questions


1.  Joseph's sons received _________ allotments.
2.  Together their land reached from where to where?
3.  What does the word "fell" tell us about this inheritance?
4.  Archi is the same as the __________.
5.  What is the sea in verse 3?
6.  Where is Manasseh's land in relation to Ephraim's?
7.  _________ was on the southeastern border of Ephraim's land.
8.  Why is it so hard to locate each detail of the area?
9.  Why was the river named "Kanah"?
10. What was strange about some of the cities Ephraim inherited?
11. The Canaanites that were left paid _________ to Ephraim.
12. What similar problem do Christians have that Ephraim and Manasseh
    had?
13. Which brother was the firstborn of Joseph?
14. Whose descendents represented Manasseh?
15. Gideon was the descendent of ___________.
16. Who was Shechem named for?
17. Which son of Hepher had no sons?
18. Give the daughters' names.
19. Who would his inheritance go to?
20. Quote Numbers chapter 27 verse 7.
21. How many portions fell to Manasseh?
22. _________ was the earliest known name of Shechem.
23. __________ owned the land of Tappuah, but __________ owned the
    town of Tappuah.
24. Where was Issachar's land located?
25. Manasseh had towns in whose lands?
26. Did they kill the Canaanites?
27. What complaint did they make to Joshua?
28. How did Joshua answer them?
29. Why were the children of Joseph afraid of the Canaanites in the
    valley?
30. What did Joshua do about this?
31. What happened in this conflict?