Joshua 16:8

8 from Tappuah the border goes to the west, [to] the wadi of Kanah, and {it ends} at the sea. This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim according to their families,

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 The border continues to the sea; from Micmethath to [the] north, the border turns to the east to Taanath Shiloh, and it passes [along] it from the east to Janoah.

7 Then it goes down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah; it touches Jericho and ends [at] the Jordan;

8 from Tappuah the border goes to the west, [to] the wadi of Kanah, and {it ends} at the sea. This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim according to their families,

9 with the cities that were set apart for the descendants of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the descendants of Manasseh, all the cities and their villages.

10 But they did not drive out the Canananites who were dwelling in Gezer, and so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, but they became forced laborers.

Footnotes

• [a]. A valley that is dry most of the year, but contains a stream during the rainy season
• [b]. Literally "the goings out of it were"
• [c]. Or "sons"