Joshua 16

Territory of Ephraim

1 Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into ¹the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel.

2 It went from Bethel to Luz, and ²continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth.

3 It went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of lower ³Beth-horon even to ⁴Gezer, and it ended * at the sea.

4 The ⁵sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.

5 Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was ⁶Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon.

6 Then the border went westward at ⁷Michmethath on the north, and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah.

7 It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to ⁸Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan.

8 From ⁹Tappuah the border continued westward to the brook of Kanah, and it ended * at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families,

9 together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

10 ¹⁰But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so ¹¹the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers *.

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Joshua 16 Commentary

Chapter 16

The sons of Joseph.

- This and the following chapter should not be separated. They give the lots of Ephraim and Manasseh, the children of Joseph, who, next to Judah, were to have the post of honour, and therefore had the first and best portion in the northern part of Canaan, as Judah in the southern part. God's people now, as of old, suffer his enemies to remain. Blessed Lord, when will all ( 1 Corinthians. 15:26 ) thou alone canst do it. These settled boundaries may remind us, that our situation and provision in this life, as well as our future inheritance, are appointed by the only wise and righteous God, and we should be content with our portion, since he knows what is best for us, and all we have is more than we deserve.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)

Cross References 11

1. Joshua 8:15; Joshua 18:12
2. Joshua 18:13
3. Joshua 18:13; 1 Kings 9:17
4. Joshua 10:33
5. Joshua 17:14
6. Joshua 18:13
7. Joshua 17:7
8. 1 Chronicles 7:28
9. Joshua 17:8
10. Judges 1:29; 1 Kings 9:16
11. Joshua 17:12, 13

Footnotes 4

[a]. Lit "the goings out of it were"
[b]. Or "wadi"
[c]. Lit "the goings out of it were"
[d]. Or "dispossess"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 16

This chapter gives us an account of the lot of the children of Joseph, Ephraim, and the half tribe of Manasseh, one half having settled on the other side Jordan; and first the borders of the whole lot in general are given, Jos 16:1-4; and then the borders of the tribe of Ephraim in particular, Jos 16:4-8; and it is observed, that this tribe had besides separate cities among the children of Manasseh, and that there were some Canaanites, particularly in Gezer, not driven out by the Ephraimites, Jos 16:9,10.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible