Joshua 17

Chapters 13 through 21 of Joshua describe the division of the conquered land among the tribes. Chapter 17 follows Joshua 16, which deals with the territory of Ephraim, and records the portion received by the descendants of Manasseh, Joseph's other son.

Outline

• Verses 1–2: The lot is cast for the tribe of Manasseh. The descendants of Machir, the firstborn, had already received Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan. Lots are cast for the remaining six families: Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida.
• Verses 3–6: The five daughters of Zelophehad (Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah), whose father had daughters but no sons, come before Eleazar and Joshua. Citing the command given to Moses, they ask for an inheritance (land passed down within the family), and they receive land according to the commandment of the LORD. As a result, ten portions fall to Manasseh in addition to the land east of the Jordan.
• Verses 7–10: The boundaries of Manasseh are described. The land of Tappuah belongs to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah belongs to Ephraim. The land south of the river Kanah belongs to Ephraim and the land north of it to Manasseh, with the sea as the western border.
• Verses 11–13: Manasseh also held towns within Issachar and Asher (Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor, Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo). Manasseh, however, could not drive out their inhabitants. Even after Israel grew strong, the Israelites did not drive out all the Canaanites but merely put them to forced labor.
• Verses 14–18: The descendants of Joseph ask why they have been given only one portion when they are a great people. Joshua tells them to clear the forest in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim for themselves. When they worry that the Canaanites in the valley have chariots of iron, Joshua replies that the forest will be theirs as well and that they will drive out the Canaanites.

Key Verses

• Joshua 17:4 "The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren." — This scene shows the law of inheritance for daughters, established in Numbers, actually being carried out.
• Joshua 17:13 "They put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out." — This anticipates the problem of incomplete conquest that continues in Judges.
• Joshua 17:18 "For it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine." — This is Joshua's answer to the complaining tribe.

People and Places

• Manasseh: The firstborn of Joseph and the ancestor of the tribe featured in this chapter.
• Machir: The firstborn of Manasseh and the father of Gilead.
• The daughters of Zelophehad: The five daughters of Zelophehad, a great-great-grandson of Manasseh.
• Eleazar: The priest responsible for the division of the land.
• Joshua: The leader of Israel, who oversaw the division of the land.
• Megiddo: One of the towns that became part of Manasseh's portion.
• Beth-shean and the Valley of Jezreel: Mentioned as places where Canaanites with chariots of iron lived.

Interpretive Considerations

The account of Zelophehad's daughters concludes the story begun with their petition in Numbers 27 and continued in the marriage regulations of Numbers 36. The passage is frequently discussed as a text illustrating women's inheritance rights. Interpreters differ, however, on how far this provision should be applied to present-day discussions of gender roles.

The statement that Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of its towns appears in nearly identical form in Judges 1. Some read this failure as disobedience, while others read it as a record of the realities of warfare and of a gradual conquest.

The meaning of the phrase in verse 11 rendered "three countries" in the KJV (literally "three heights") is unclear, and translations and commentaries interpret it differently. The New Testament does not directly quote this chapter.

In the Korean Church

The command to "cut down for thyself" in verses 14–18 is sometimes cited in sermons for the founding of church plants or at the start of a new year as a text emphasizing a spirit of challenge and pioneering.