Yehoshua 17:18

18 But the har shall be thine; for it is a forest, and thou shalt cut it down; and the rest of the cleared land shall be thine; for thou shalt drive out the Kena’ani, though they have chariots of barzel (iron), and though they be chazak.

Yehoshua 17:18 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 17:18

But the mountains shall be thine
Or "for" ^F19 it shall be thine; thou shalt get the possession of it, though attended with difficulties that seem insuperable:

for,
or "if, though" ^F20

it [is] a wood;
the habitation of the Perizzites, and giants, and so dangerous to go un to it, and full of trees, and so seems unprofitable and useless:

and thou shalt cut it down;
both the inhabitants of it, and the trees of it, and clear it of both, and make it both safe and commodious to dwell in, which would be a fine enlargement for them:

and the outgoings of it shall be thine;
all it produces when cultivated, and all the parts adjacent to it:

for thou shall drive out the Canaanites;
this Joshua assures them of, to encourage them to attempt it:

though they have iron chariots, [and] though they [be] strong;
be not afraid of their chariots, though terrible, nor of their giants and mighty men, God will be on your side, and you have nothing to fear from them, see ( Joshua 11:4 Joshua 11:6 ) ; whether the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh took this advice of Joshua is not said.

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 (yk) "quia", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Gussetius, p. 378.
F20 (yk) "si", Junius & Tremellius, "licet", Ar. vers. Lat.

Yehoshua 17:18 In-Context

16 And the Bnei Yosef said, The har is not enough for us; and all the Kena’ani that dwell in the eretz haemek have chariots of barzel (iron), both they who are of Beit Sh’an and her towns, and they who are of the emek Yizre’el.

17 And Yehoshua spoke unto Bais Yosef, even to Ephrayim and to Menasheh, saying, Thou art an am rav, and hast ko’ach gadol; thou shalt not have goral echad only;

18 But the har shall be thine; for it is a forest, and thou shalt cut it down; and the rest of the cleared land shall be thine; for thou shalt drive out the Kena’ani, though they have chariots of barzel (iron), and though they be chazak.