Old Testament Commentary - Joshua 16

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 16 Children of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) receive their inheritance—Some Canaanites continue to dwell among Ephraimites.
1 AND the lot of the children of ^aJoseph 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, 2 And goeth out from ^aBeth-el to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth, 3 And goeth down westward to the ^acoast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Beth-horon the ^bnether, and to Gezer: and the goings out thereof are at the sea. 4 So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their ^ainheritance.
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; 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; 7 And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan^a.	7^a and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan Many of the maps which divide the lands unto the tribes of Israel do vary and partly due to when it is that they determine such mappings. In relationship to the land of Ephraim many do not give the lands of Ephraim as reaching either the Jordan river and/or the great sea, that is the Mediterranean. Here it clearly states that the inheritance of Ephraim did reach unto Jordan from Jericho. As to the cities of Ephraim that is a different matter. One suggested mapping does show Ephraim extending and being bordered by the Jordan river on the east though some city and other type locations vary and it does not show Ephraim extended to the great sea on the west. Certainly over the passage of time land borders do change. On this map it properly denotes that Jerusalem was a part of the original inheritance of Benjamin but it does not list Zelzah, which was of Benjamin and reached down to the tomb of Rachel (1 Samuel 10:2) which is at Bethlehem.
8 The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea^a. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families. 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. 10 And they drave not out the ^aCanaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve ^bunder tribute.	8^a westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea Here the westward reaches of the inheritance of Ephraim is stated to be unto the goings our of the river Kanah to the sea which the above map does not show but the map prepared below does. Yet on the other hand it depicts that Ephraim did not extend to the Jordan river on the east, neither does it credit Benjamin as having Jerusalem as a part of its inheritance but rather gives it to Judah as reported later in the Bible record but not originally (Compare Joshua 15:8 & Joshua 18:28).