Naravist

The Histories · Old Testament

Joshua 16

Ephraim's allotment and the Canaanites at Gezer

General context

The allotment for Joseph's descendants is introduced through a boundary running from the Jordan near Jericho toward Bethel, Beth-horon, Gezer and the sea. Manasseh and Ephraim receive their inheritance, and the account then describes Ephraim's borders by families. The route names Ataroth-addar, upper Beth-horon, Michmethah, Janohah, Jericho, the Jordan, Tappuah and the Kanah watercourse. Ephraim also has designated towns and villages within Manasseh's inheritance. The closing verse says the Canaanites in Gezer were not driven out. They continued living among Ephraim and were placed under tribute or compulsory work.

Cited passages: Joshua 16:1, Joshua 16:2, Joshua 16:3, Joshua 16:4, Joshua 16:5, Joshua 16:6, Joshua 16:7, Joshua 16:8, Joshua 16:9, Joshua 16:10

Joshua 16 (KJV)

1And 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,

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

3And 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.

4So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.

5And 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;

6And 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;

7And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan.

8The 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.

9And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

10And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

Children of Joseph refers here to the descendant tribes Manasseh and Ephraim. The chapter moves from their shared allotment heading to Ephraim's particular boundaries. Towns assigned within Manasseh's inheritance mean the description cannot be reduced to two completely separate blocks without attending to these exceptions. For Gezer's surviving inhabitants, KJV says serve under tribute, ASV specifies servants doing taskwork, and BBE calls it forced work. The ending therefore describes both continued Canaanite residence and subjection; it does not say the city was emptied or that coexistence was on equal terms.

Cited passages: Joshua 16:1, Joshua 16:2, Joshua 16:3, Joshua 16:4, Joshua 16:5, Joshua 16:8, Joshua 16:9, Joshua 16:10

Literary context

The repeated movement of the border carries most of this short chapter. A shared family heading narrows to one tribe, then the attention shifts from the line itself to towns located within a neighbouring inheritance. The final verse changes the subject from boundaries to people, distinguishing an assigned place from the expulsion of its existing inhabitants.

Cited passages: Joshua 16:1, Joshua 16:2, Joshua 16:3, Joshua 16:4, Joshua 16:5, Joshua 16:6, Joshua 16:7, Joshua 16:8, Joshua 16:9, Joshua 16:10

Key moments

  1. Joseph's descendants receive land (Joshua 16:4). Manasseh and Ephraim are named as the recipients of the inheritance.
  2. Ephraim's western boundary (Joshua 16:8). The border runs from Tappuah toward the Kanah watercourse and the sea.
  3. Towns within Manasseh (Joshua 16:9). Ephraim's designated towns and villages include places inside Manasseh's inheritance.
  4. Gezer's inhabitants remain (Joshua 16:10). The Canaanites are not expelled and continue under tribute or forced work.

For reflection

The boundary account ends by naming people who still live within it and the work imposed on them. What becomes visible when you read a territorial description with attention to its inhabitants?

People in this chapter

Also indexed here: