Joshua 16:8

8 From Tappuah the border^[a] went westward along the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans, together with

Joshua 16:8 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 16:8

The border went out from Tappuah westward
Which was different from the Tappuah in the tribe of Judah, ( Joshua 15:34 ) ; this was in the tribe of Ephraim on the border of Manasseh, ( Joshua 17:8 ) ;

unto the river Kanah;
supposed by some to be the brook Cherith, by which Elijah hid himself, ( 1 Kings 17:3 1 Kings 17:5 ) ; though objected to by others; it seems to have had its name from the reeds which grew in it, or on the banks of it:

and the goings out thereof were at the sea;
if the river Kanah was the brook Cherith, this must be the dead or salt sea: but that is never called "the sea", rather the Mediterranean sea is meant, and consequently Kanah could not be Cherith, which was at too great a distance from this sea:

this [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by
their families;
that is, this is the description of the border of it; for the cities within are not mentioned, and the descriptions in general are very obscure.

Joshua 16:8 In-Context

6 In the north the border went westward from Michmethath; it turned eastward from Taanath-shiloh and passed it east of Janoah.

7 From Janoah it descended to Ataroth and Naarah, and then reached Jericho and went to the Jordan.

8 From Tappuah the border went westward along the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans, together with

9 the cities set apart for the descendants of Ephraim within the inheritance of the descendants of Manasseh-all these cities with their villages.

10 But, they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So the Canaanites live in Ephraim to this day, but they are forced laborers.

Footnotes

• [a]. Ephraim's northern border