Joshua 17:17

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,

Joshua 17:17 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 17:17

And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, [even] to Ephraim
and to Manasseh
From whence it is clear that some of both were present; and they being brethren, and their interests united, and their cities intermixed, it would be to their mutual advantage to have an enlargement; which the tribe of Manasseh wanted more especially, more of their cities that fell to their lot being in the hands of the Canaanites, than of any other:

saying, thou [art] a great people, and hast great power;
were very numerous, and so able to contend with the Canaanites, and make themselves more room:

thou shalt not have one lot [only];
or only have what they were possessed of, but should have more; and, as they wanted more, they were able enough to get more; and if they exerted their power, relying on the providence of God, through his blessing on their endeavours, they would certainly have an increase of their portion.

Joshua 17:17 In-Context

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,

18 but thou shalt pass to the hill, and thou shalt cut down to thee trees; and thou shalt cleanse spaces to dwell in (but thou shalt go into the hill country, and thou shalt cut down the trees; and thou shalt clear out space for thyselves to live in). And thou shalt be able to go forth further, when thou hast destroyed (the) Canaanites, whom thou sayest to have iron chariots, and to be most strong.