Josué 17:15

15 Josué contestó:
—Si ustedes son tantos y la zona montañosa de Efraín no les alcanza, despejen sectores de tierra en el bosque, donde viven los ferezeos y los refaítas.

Josué 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.

---

FOOTNOTES:

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

Josué 17:15 In-Context

13 Sin embargo, tiempo después, cuando los israelitas se hicieron más poderosos, forzaron a los cananeos a que trabajaran como esclavos; pero no los expulsaron de la tierra.

14 Los descendientes de José se presentaron ante Josué y le preguntaron:
—¿Por qué nos diste solamente una porción de tierra para habitar si el Señor
nos bendijo con tanta gente?

15 Josué contestó:
—Si ustedes son tantos y la zona montañosa de Efraín no les alcanza, despejen sectores de tierra en el bosque, donde viven los ferezeos y los refaítas.

16 Los descendientes de José respondieron:
—Es cierto que la zona montañosa no es lo suficientemente grande para nosotros. Pero todos los cananeos de las tierras bajas tienen carros de guerra hechos de hierro, tanto los que viven en Bet-sán y en sus asentamientos vecinos como los que habitan el valle de Jezreel. Son demasiado poderosos para nosotros.

17 Entonces Josué dijo a la tribu de Efraín y a la de Manasés, los descendientes de José:
—Ya que ustedes son tan fuertes y numerosos, se les dará más de una porción de tierra.