Joshua 16:8

8 And the borders will proceed from Tapho to the sea to Chelcana; and their termination will be at the sea; this the inheritance of the tribe 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 And the borders will proceed to the sea to Icasmon north of Therma; they will go round eastward to Thenasa, and Selles, and will pass on eastward to Janoca,

7 and to Macho, and Ataroth, and their villages; and they will come to Jericho, and will issue at Jordan.

8 And the borders will proceed from Tapho to the sea to Chelcana; and their termination will be at the sea; this the inheritance of the tribe of Ephraim according to their families.

9 And the cities separated to the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasse, all the cities and their villages.

10 And Ephraim did not destroy the Chananite who dwelt in Gazer; and the Chananite dwelt in Ephraim until this day, until Pharao the king of Egypt went up and took it, and burnt it with fire; and the Chananites, and Pherezites, and the dwellers in Gaza they destroyed, and Pharao gave them for a dowry to his daughter.

Footnotes

• [a]. Taphon, etc.