Joshua 17:15

15 To whom Joshua said, If thou art a much people, go thou up into the wood, and cut down to thee spaces in the land of Perizzites, and of Rephaim, for the possession of the hill of Ephraim is (too) strait to thee. (To whom Joshua said, If thou be so many people, and the possession of the hill country of Ephraim is too small for thee, go thou up into the woods, and cut down space for thyselves in the land of the Perizzites, and of the Rephaim, or of the giants.)

Joshua 17:15 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 17:15

And Joshua answered them
By retorting their own argument upon them:

if thou [be] a great people;
which he does not deny, as they were for numbers and power:

[then] get thee up to the wood [country];
which was near them, and within their borders, and lay on hills and mountains, perhaps the mountains of Gilboa, and therefore are bid to go up:

and cut down for thyself there;
cut down the trees of the wood, clear the ground of them, and so make it habitable, and by that means enlarge the places of their habitation:

in the land of the Perizzites, and of the giants;
or Rephaim; the former of these were one of the seven nations of the Canaanites, who from their name seem to have dwelt not in the cities, and walled towns, but in villages, and scattered houses, in desert places, and among the woods, where also the giants had retired and dwelt after Joshua had driven them out of the cities; and by driving these out of their present habitations, they would gain more room to dwell in, and would find their lot sufficient for them:

if Mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee;
either meaning all Ephraim, and even the whole lot of the sons of Joseph, or rattler the mount particularly so called; for the words may be rendered, "for Mount Ephraim hastens for thee" ^F17; was clear or open for thee; ready to be delivered to thee, and thou mayest possess it at once.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 Vid Gusset. Ebr. Comment, p. 21.

Joshua 17:15 In-Context

13 And after that the sons of Israel had waxed strong, they made subject (these) Canaanites, and they made them tributaries to themselves, and they killed them not. (And after the Israelites had grown strong, they made these Canaanites to pay tribute, or taxes, to them, but they did not kill them.)

14 And the sons of Joseph spake to Joshua, and said, Why hast thou given to me land into (a) possession of (only) one lot and [one] part, since I am of so great multitude, and the Lord hath blessed me, that is, hath alarged me in children? (And Joseph's sons, that is, the sons of Ephraim and of Manasseh, spoke to Joshua, and said, Why hast thou given us the land of only one lot, yea, only one portion for a possession, since we be of so great a multitude, and the Lord hath blessed us, that is, hath enlarged us, with so many children?)

15 To whom Joshua said, If thou art a much people, go thou up into the wood, and cut down to thee spaces in the land of Perizzites, and of Rephaim, for the possession of the hill of Ephraim is (too) strait to thee. (To whom Joshua said, If thou be so many people, and the possession of the hill country of Ephraim is too small for thee, go thou up into the woods, and cut down space for thyselves in the land of the Perizzites, and of the Rephaim, or of the giants.)

16 To whom the sons of Joseph answered, We may not ascend to the hilly places, since Canaanites, that dwell in the land of the field, use iron chariots; in which land Bethshean, with his towns, and Jezreel, wielding the middle valley, be set. (To whom Joseph's sons answered, The hill country is still not large enough; and also, the Canaanites, who live there in the land of the valley, have iron chariots; yea, all those who live in Bethshean, and its towns, and who live in the Jezreel Valley.)

17 And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, and of Ephraim, and of Manasseh (And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, that is, to the tribes of Ephraim, and of Manasseh), Thou art [a] much people, and of great strength; thou shalt not have (only) one lot,