Joshua 17

1 Now this lot fell to the tribe of Manasseh, since he is the firstborn of Joseph: to Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, who was a fighting man, and he had as a possession Gilead and Bashan;

And the borders of the tribe of the children of Manasse, (for he [was] the firstborn of Joseph, ) [assigned] to Machir the firstborn of Manasse the father of Galaad, for he was a warrior, [were] in the land of Galaad and of Basan.

2 and to the rest of the sons of Manasseh, according to their families: to the sons of Abiezer, and to the sons of Helek, and to the sons of Asriel, and to the sons of Shechem, and to the sons of Hepher, and to the sons of Shemida. These are the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the males, by their families.

And there was [land] assigned to the other sons of Manasse according to their families; to the sons of Jezi, and to the sons of Kelez, and to the sons of Jeziel, and to the sons of Sychem, and to the sons of Symarim, and to the sons of Opher: these [are] the males according to their families.

3 Yet truly, Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, whose names are these: Mahlah and Noah and Hoglah and Milcah and Tirzah.

And Salpaad the sons of Opher had no sons but daughters: and these [are] the names of the daughters of Salpaad; Maala, and Nua, and Egla, and Melcha, and Thersa.

4 And they went before the sight of Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying: “The Lord instructed by the hand of Moses that a possession ought to be given to us, in the midst of our brothers.” And so, he gave to them, in accord with the order of the Lord, a possession in the midst of the brothers of their father.

And they stood before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua, and before the rulers, saying, God gave a charge by the hand of Moses, to give us an inheritance in the midst of our brethren: so there was given to them by the command of the Lord an inheritance among the brethren of their father.

5 And by lot, there fell ten portions to Manasseh, aside from the land of Gilead and Bashan beyond the Jordan.

And their lot fell [to them] from Anassa, and [to the] plain of Labec of the land of Galaad, which is beyond Jordan.

6 And so the daughters of Manasseh possessed an inheritance in the midst of his sons. But the land of Gilead fell by lot to the sons of Manasseh that were left.

For the daughters of the sons of Manasse inherited a portion in the midst of their brethren, and the land of Galaad was assigned to the remainder of the sons of Manasse.

7 And the border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which looks out toward Shechem. And it goes out, to the right, beside the inhabitants of the Fountain of Tappuah.

And the borders of the sons of Manasse were Delanath, which is before the sons of Anath, and it proceeds to the borders [even] to Jamin and Jassib to the fountain of Thaphthoth.

8 For by lot, there also fell to Manasseh the land of Tappuah, which is beside the borders of Manasseh, and which belongs to the sons of Ephraim.

It shall belong to Manasse, and Thapheth on the borders of Manasse [shall belong] to the sons of Ephraim.

9 And the border descends to the Valley of Reeds, to the south of the torrent of the cities of Ephraim, which are in the midst of the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh is to the north of the torrent, and its exit extends to the sea.

And the borders shall go down to the valley of Carana southward by the valley of Jariel, ([there is] a turpentine tree [belonging] to Ephraim between [that and] the city of Manasse: ) and the borders of Manasse [are] northward to the brook; and the sea shall be its termination.

10 So it is that the possession of Ephraim is in the south, and that of Manasseh is in the north, and both are enclosed by the sea, and they are joined together by the tribe of Asher to the north, and by the tribe of Issachar to the east.

Southward [the land belongs] to Ephraim, and northward to Manasse; and the sea shall be their cost; and northward they shall border upon Aseb, and eastward upon Issachar.

11 And the inheritance of Manasseh, in Issachar and in Asher, was Bethshean and its villages, and Ibleam with its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor, with their towns, likewise the inhabitants of Endor with their villages, and similarly the inhabitants of Taanach with their villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo with their villages, and one third part of the city of Naphath.

And Manasses shall have in [the portion of] Issachar and Aser Baethsan and their villages, and the inhabitants of Dor, and its villages, and the inhabitants of Mageddo, and its villages, and the third part of Mapheta, and its villages.

12 The sons of Manasseh were not able to overthrow these cities, and so the Canaanite began to dwell in their land.

And the sons of Manasse were not able to destroy these cities; and the Chananite began to dwell in that land.

13 But after the sons of Israel had grown strong, they subdued the Canaanites, and made them their tributaries, but they did not kill them.

And it came to pass that when the children of Israel were strong, they made the Chananites subject, but they did not utterly destroy them.

14 And the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, and they said, “Why have you given to me as a possession one lot and one portion, while I am of such a great multitude, and the Lord has blessed me?”

And the sons of Joseph answered Joshua, saying, Therefore have you caused us to inherit one inheritance, and one line? whereas I am a great people, and God has blessed me.

15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up into the forest, and cut out space for yourself in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the possession of mount Ephraim is too narrow for you.”

And Joshua said to them, If you be a great people, go up to the forest, and clear [the land] for yourself, If mount Ephraim be too little for you.

16 And the sons of Joseph responded to him: “We are not able to ascend to the mountains, since the Canaanites, who live in the plains, in which are situated Bethshean, with its villages, and Jezreel, possessing the middle of the valley, use chariots of iron.”

And they said, The mount of Ephraim does not please us, and the Chananite dwelling in it in Baethsan, and in its villages, [and] in the valley of Jezrael, has choice cavalry and iron.

17 And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh: “You are a numerous people, and you have great strength. You shall not have only one lot.

And Joshua said to the sons of Joseph, If you are a great people, and have great strength, you shall not have [only] one inheritance.

18 Instead, you shall cross to the mountain, and you shall cut down and clear out for yourselves space in which to live. And you shall be able to advance further, when you will have destroyed the Canaanite, who, as you say, has iron chariots and is very strong.”

For you shall have the wood, for there is a wood, and you shall clear it, and [the land] shall be your; even when you shall have utterly destroyed the Chananite, for he has chosen cavalry; yet you are stronger than he.