Joshua 17:1

1 [This] was the lot for the tribe of Menashsheh; for he was the firstborn of Yosef. As for Makhir the firstborn of Menashsheh, the father of Gil`ad, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gil`ad and Bashan.

Joshua 17:1 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 17:1

There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh
As well as for the tribe of Ephraim:

for he [was] the firstborn of Joseph;
and therefore ought to have his part and share in the lot of the children of Joseph, though Ephraim was preferred before him in the blessing of Jacob. Some think this is given as a reason why he had a double portion, one on the other side Jordan, and another in the land of Canaan:

[to wit], for Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead;
who was the only son of Manasseh, and so through him, and by his son Gilead, the whole tribe sprung from that patriarch: and

because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan;
which were given to his posterity by Moses, and lay on the other side Jordan, see ( Deuteronomy 3:13 Deuteronomy 3:15 ) . This Machir very likely had shown his warlike disposition and courage in Egypt, and had fought under the kings there against the common enemy of that country; for it is highly probable he was dead before the children of Israel came out from thence, but the same warlike spirit continued in his posterity; they had their part assigned them on the other side Jordan, to defend that country, while the tribes of Reuben and Gad attended to the care of their flocks and herds.

Joshua 17:1 In-Context

1 [This] was the lot for the tribe of Menashsheh; for he was the firstborn of Yosef. As for Makhir the firstborn of Menashsheh, the father of Gil`ad, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gil`ad and Bashan.

2 So [the lot] was for the rest of the children of Menashsheh according to their families: for the children of Avi-Ezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asri'el, and for the children of Shekhem, and for the children of Hefer, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Menashsheh the son of Yosef according to their families.

3 But Tzelohchad, the son of Hefer, the son of Gil`ad, the son of Makhir, the son of Menashsheh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlach, and No`ah, Hoglah, Milkah, and Tirtzah.

4 They came near before El`azar the Kohen, and before Yehoshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, the LORD commanded Moshe to give us an inheritance among our brothers: therefore according to the mitzvah of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father.

5 There fell ten parts to Menashsheh, besides the land of Gil`ad and Bashan, which is beyond the Yarden;