JOS 16:1 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal Speaker(s)=Narrator (All still tentative.)

16:1 i.e., the half-tribes of Efrayim and Menashsheh.

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

BrLXX Καὶ ἐγένετο τὰ ὅρια υἱῶν Ἰωσὴφ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ἰορδάνου τοῦ κατὰ Ἱεριχὼ ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν· καὶ ἀναβήσεται ἀπὸ Ἱεριχὼ εἰς τὴν ὀρεινὴν, τὴν ἔρημον, εἰς Βαιθὴλ Λουζά.
(Kai egeneto ta horia huiōn Yōsaʸf apo tou Yordanou tou kata Hieriⱪō apo anatolōn; kai anabaʸsetai apo Hieriⱪō eis taʸn oreinaʸn, taʸn eraʸmon, eis Baithaʸl Louza.)

BrTr And the borders of the children of Joseph were from Jordan by Jericho eastward; and they will go up from Jericho to the hill country, to the wilderness, to Bæthel Luza.

ULT Now the lot for the sons of Joseph went out from the Jordan, at Jericho, to the waters of Jericho from the sunrise, going up, through the wilderness from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel.

UST The Israelite leaders assigned land to the two tribes that were descendants of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh. The southern border of this land started at the city of Jericho by the Jordan River. It went through the springs east of Jericho and up into the desolate area in the hill country around the city of Bethel.

BSB & MSB The allotment for the descendants of Joseph extended from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east, through the wilderness that goes up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel.

OEB The land allotted to the Josephites had a frontier starting from the Jordan at Jericho, east of the Waters of Jericho, near the desert, extending from Jericho up through the highlands to Bethel,

WEBBE & WMBB The lot came out for the children of Joseph from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel.

NET The land allotted to Joseph’s descendants extended from the Jordan at Jericho

LSV And the lot for the sons of Joseph goes out from Jordan [by] Jericho, to the waters of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness going up from Jericho in the hill-country of Beth-El,

FBV The boundary for the allocation of the descendants of Joseph went from the Jordan near Jericho, then east of the springs of Jericho and through the wilderness from Jericho up into the hill country of Bethel.

T4T The land that was allotted to the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh that were descended from Joseph started at the Jordan River, east of the springs at Jericho.

LEB The allotment of the descendants[fn] of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, at the waters of Jericho to the east, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel;

16:1 Or “sons”

BBE And the limit of the land marked out for the children of Joseph went out from Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, in the waste land, going up from Jericho through the hill-country to Beth-el;

Moff The land allotted to the Josephites had a frontier starting from the Jordan at Jericho, east of the Waters of Jericho, near the desert, extending from Jericho up through the highlands to Bethel,

JPS And the lot for the children of Joseph went out from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, going up from Jericho through the hill-country to the wilderness, even to Beth-el.

ASV And the lot came out for the children of Joseph from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill-country to Beth-el;

DRA And the lot of the sons of Joseph fell from the Jordan over against Jericho and the waters thereof, on the east: the wilderness which goeth up from Jericho to the mountain of Bethel:

YLT And the lot for the sons of Joseph goeth out from Jordan [by] Jericho, to the waters of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness going up from Jericho in the hill-country of Beth-El,

Drby And the lot came forth for the children of Joseph from the Jordan of Jericho as far as the waters of Jericho eastwards, to the wilderness which goes up from Jericho to the hill-country of Bethel.

RV And the lot for the children of Joseph went out from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Beth-el;
(And the lot for the children of Joseph went out from the Yordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Beth-el;)

SLT And the lot to the sons of Joseph went forth from Jordan of Jericho to the water of Jericho, from the sunrising to the desert it went up from Jericho into the mount of the House of God;

Wbstr And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, to the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Beth-el,

KJB-1769 And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Beth-el,[fn]
(And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Yordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth/goes up from Jericho throughout mount Beth-el,)

16.1 fell: Heb. went forth

KJB-1611 ¶ And the lot of the children of Ioseph [fn]fell from Iordan by Iericho, vnto the water of Iericho on the East, to the wildernesse that goeth vp from Iericho throughout mount Bethel;
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes)

16:1 Hebr. went foorth.

Bshps And the lot of the children of Ioseph fell fro Iordane by Iericho, vnto the water of Iericho eastwarde, & to the wildernesse that goeth vp fro Iericho throughout mount Bethel.
(And the lot of the children of Yoseph fell from Yordan by Yericho, unto the water of Yericho eastward, and to the wilderness that goeth/goes up from Yericho throughout mount Bethel.)

Gnva And the lot fell to the children of Ioseph from Iorden by Iericho vnto the water of Iericho Eastward, and to the wildernes that goeth vp from Iericho by the mount Beth-el:
(And the lot fell to the children of Yoseph from Yordan by Yericho unto the water of Yericho Eastward, and to the wilderness that goeth/goes up from Yericho by the mount Beth-el:)

Cvdl And the lot fell vnto the children of Ephraim fro Iordane ouer agaynst Iericho, vnto the water on the east syde of Iericho, and the wyldernesse, yt goeth vp from Iericho thorow the mountayne of Bethel,
(And the lot fell unto the children of Ephraim from Yordan over against Yericho, unto the water on the east side of Yericho, and the wilderness, it goeth/goes up from Yericho through the mountain of Bethel,)

Wycl And the lot, `ethir part, of the sones of Joseph felde fro Jordan ayens Jerico, and at the watris therof, fro the eest; is the wildirnesse, that stieth fro Jerico to the hil of Bethel,
(And the lot, either part, of the sons of Yoseph field from Yordan against Yericho, and at the waters thereof, from the east; is the wilderness, that ascends from Yericho to the hill of Bethel,)

Luth Und das Los fiel den Kindern Josephs vom Jordan gegen Jericho bis zum Wasser bei Jericho, von aufgangwärts, und die Wüste, die heraufgehet von Jericho durch das Gebirge Bethel;
(And the lot fell the children Joseph’s from_the Yordan to/against Jericho until for_the water at/in Jericho, from eastward, and the desert, the goes_up from Jericho through the mountains Bethel;)

ClVg Cecidit quoque sors filiorum Joseph ab Jordane contra Jericho et aquas ejus ab oriente: solitudo quæ ascendit de Jericho ad montem Bethel:[fn]
(Fell too fate/divination of_children Yoseph away Yordan on_the_contrary Yericho and waters his/her away east: solitude which went_up from/about Yericho to mountain Bethel:)

16.1 Cecidit, etc. AUG., quæst. 19 in Jos. Sequitur.

16.1 Fell, etc. AUG., quest. 19 in/into/on Yoshua. It_follows.

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 16:1–17:18 The clans of Ephraim and Manasseh received their land

This section describes the boundaries of the land given to Ephraim and to Manasseh, and the towns within each of their lands.

16:1a

The allotment for the descendants of Joseph extended from the Jordan at Jericho

¶ The land that the descendants of Joseph received began at the Jordan River near Jericho,
¶ The southern border of the land given to the descendants of Joseph started at the Jordan River near the town of Jericho.

The allotment for the descendants of Joseph: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as The allotment is more literally “the lot went out.” There is a similar phrase in Joshua 15:1. It is recommended that you translate this phrase in a similar way in both places.

the descendants of Joseph: The Hebrew phrase that the BSB translates as the descendants of Joseph is more literally “the sons of Joseph.” Joseph had two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. Their descendants became the clans of Ephraim and Manasseh.

Here are some ways to translate this phrase:

the descendants of Joseph (BSB, RSV, GNT, NLT, NET)

the people of Joseph (ESV)

Joseph (NIV, GW)

the children of Joseph (KJV)

extended from the Jordan at Jericho: The clause extended from the Jordan at Jericho describes the starting point of the southern border of the land given to Ephraim and Manasseh. The eastern point of the border was at the Jordan River near the town of Jericho.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

The land that the descendants of Joseph received began at the Jordan River, near Jericho

The south border of the land given to the descendants of Joseph started at the Jordan River, near the town of Jericho

16:1b

to the waters of Jericho on the east, through the wilderness

to the east of the springs of Jericho. It went west into the wilderness.
It began to the east of the springs at the town of Jericho and then went west into the wilderness.

to the waters of Jericho on the east: The phrase waters of Jericho refers to springs that were north of the town of Jericho.

through the wilderness: The phrase through the wilderness indicates that the border then continued west into the wilderness.

wilderness: A wilderness is an uncultivated and uninhabited area. In this verse it refers to the Judean wilderness. The Judean wilderness is between the Judean mountains and the valley of the Dead Sea. This wilderness is a rocky place that descends steeply from the mountains into the valley. It consists of flat plateaus, rounded hills, deep canyons, and cliffs.Rasmussen p. 42. It receives little rainfall and no crops can grow there. It is not a typical desert with large areas of sand. Many languages may have a term for an uncultivated area or an uninhabited place.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

It then went to the east of the springs of Jericho and continued west into the wilderness

The border began to the east of the springs at the town of Jericho and went west into the wilderness

16:1c

that goes up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel.

It ascended from Jericho up into the hill country to Bethel.
From Jericho it went up into the mountain country as far as the town of Bethel.

that goes up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel: The clause goes up from Jericho indicates that the border ascended in elevation as it went through the wilderness, into the hill country to the town of Bethel.

hill country: The term hill country refers to the central mountain range which runs from the north to the south of Israel. This area receives a lot of rain and farmers plant crops in terraces along the hillsides. See how you translated this phrase in Joshua 9:1.

Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:

The border went from Jericho up into the hill country to the town of Bethel

From Jericho it went up into the mountains as far as Bethel

BMM BibleMapper.com Maps:

Tribal Allotments of the Promised Land

After the Israelites had conquered portions of the Promised Land and Joshua had grown old, the Lord directed him to divide the rest of the land among the tribes of Israel as their inheritance (Joshua 13-20). The eastern tribes had already been allotted their land under Moses’ leadership (Numbers 32), but they continued to help the other tribes drive out the Canaanites from land west of the Jordan River. The Lord also instructed the Israelites to designate several cities of refuge, where someone could flee for protection from an avenger if they accidentally killed someone (Numbers 35; Joshua 20).

Poster Map of the Tribe of Benjamin, circa 1200 B.C.

The descendants of Jacob’s son Benjamin occupied one of the smallest of the Israelite tribal allotments–measuring a mere 27 miles (43 km) wide by 14 miles (23 km) high–yet the significance of all the biblical events that took place within it is immense. Benjamin was the location of the Israelites’ very first battles to conquer to the Promised Land, beginning with Jericho and moving on to Ai (see “The Israelites Conquer Ai” map). After this, four Gibeonite towns–all located in western Benjaminite territory–deceived the Israelites into forming an alliance with them (see “The Conquest of Canaan: The Southern Campaign” map) in order to avoid being wiped out by them. Two judges (Ehud and Deborah; see “Ehud Rescues Israel” and “Deborah and Barak Defeat Sisera” maps) hailed from Benjamin as did the prophet Samuel (see “The Tribe of Benjamin” map). After the Ark of the Covenant was captured near Aphek and Shiloh was overrun by the Philistines, it appears that the altar was moved to the High Place of Gibeah by the time of Solomon (see “The Ark of the Covenant in the Promised Land” map). In the closing years of the judges, a tragic incident at Gibeah led to a war between Benjamin and the rest of the Israelites tribes (see “Israel Battles Benjamin” map). Saul, the first king of Israel, also hailed from Benjamin (see “Saul Searches for His Father’s Donkeys” map). While King David’s capital was at Hebron, a detachment of his forces attacked those of Saul’s son Ish-bosheth at Gibeon, leading them to flee to the Hill of Ammah (likely the same as Emmaus; see “The Battle at the Pool of Gibeon” map). David later established Jerusalem, technically located within Benjamin’s territory, as his new capital over all Israel (2 Samuel 5:6-9). The borders of Benjamin’s tribal allotment and the adjacent borders of its neighboring tribes are meticulously defined in Joshua 15:1-16:3 and Joshua 18:11-28, demonstrating the biblical writers’ acute awareness of Benjamin’s territory. Several stretches of these borders appear to follow established roads that existed during the settlement era.

Poster Map of the Tribe of Manasseh (West) and Its Surroundings, circa 1200 B.C.

Though Manasseh’s descendants formed only half the tribe of Joseph (the other half being Ephraim) and its population was surpassed by Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, and Asher (Numbers 26) at the time of their entry in Canaan, Manasseh occupied one of the largest allotments among the tribes of Israel, rivaling even the royal tribe of Judah. Half of Manasseh’s allotted territory was located technically outside the Promised Land of Canaan in the region commonly referred to as the Transjordan (“across the Jordan”), which was seized from King Og as the Israelites approached Canaan from the southeast and prepared to enter the land (Numbers 32:33; Deuteronomy 3:13; Joshua 13; see “Israel Defeats Og and Sihon” map). The other half of its territory (often referred to as West Manasseh) lay in the central region of the Promised Land, and the tribe of Manasseh, sometimes referred to by the name of Machir, Manasseh’s son, was involved in several key events in the early life of Israel. They participated in the victory of Deborah and Barak over Sisera (Judges 5:14; see “Deborah and Barak Defeat Sisera” map) as well as the victory of Gideon (who was from Manasseh) over the Midianites (Judges 7:23; see “Gideon Defeats the Midianites” map). After Gideon died, his son Abimelech briefly made himself king over Shechem and also attacked the town of Thebez in the territory of Manasseh (Judges 9). Manassites were among those who joined David before the battle at Mount Gilboa and also among those who came to make him king at Hebron (1 Chronicles 12; see “The Battle at Mount Gilboa” map and “David and Ish-bosheth” map). Many Manassites were also among those who humbled themselves and accepted Hezekiah’s invitation to attend the Passover in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 30:11).

West Manasseh’s boundaries eventually stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, and that is how they are drawn on virtually all maps of the tribe’s territory. But this author is convinced that a careful reading of Joshua 16-17 (particularly Joshua 17:7-12) indicates that, technically speaking, Manasseh’s initial allotment included only the western portion of their full allotment, that is, the land to the west of Tappuah, Shechem, and En-gannim and to the south of Asher (see “Poster Map of the Tribe of Zebulun and Its Surroundings circa 1200 B.C.” map and its discussion regarding southern Asher), as shown on this map (see also 1 Kings 4:10). But the tribe of Joseph (that is, Manasseh and Ephraim) complained to Joshua that their allotted territory in Canaan was not large enough for their growing populations (Joshua 17:14-18). So Joshua responded: “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest, and clear ground there for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim” (Joshua 17:15). Then it appears that the tribe of Joseph complained further that even this additional hill country would not be enough, yet they were not confident that they could take land from the Canaanites in the Jezreel Valley (Joshua 17:16). But Joshua assured them, “Since you are so large and strong, you will be given more than one portion. The forests of the hill country will be yours as well. Clear as much of the land as you wish, and take possession of its farthest corners. And you will drive out the Canaanites from the valleys, too, even though they are strong and have iron chariots” (Joshua 17:17-18, NLT). This additional allotment–the forested hill country of the Perizzites and the Rephaim–was likely the mountainous region just north of Shechem and the surrounding towns of Tirzah, Thebez, and Bezek. This is supported by Jacob’s comment in Genesis 34:30 that Simeon and Levi had made him “odious to the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites and the Perizzites” when they slaughtered the men of Shechem for assaulting their sister. Judges 1:4-5 also references a battle fought against the Canaanites and the Perizzites at Bezek. Prior to the Israelites’ entry into Canaan, Perizzites apparently lived in the hill country near Bethel and Ai as well (Genesis 13:7). The Rephaim, while predominantly associated with the lands across the Jordan River (Genesis 14:5; Deuteronomy 2:11-20; 3:11-13), apparently also lived in Canaan, because the Israelites wiped out many Anakim, who were descendants of the Rephaim, as they were conquering Judah (Deuteronomy 2:11; Joshua 11:21-22; 14:12-15). It should also be noted that Ephraim was included in this promise of an additional lot as well (Joshua 17:17), and the stories of Gideon and Jephthah indicate that by their time Ephraim, not Manasseh, was progressively gaining control over the lower Jordan Valley as far north as Zaphon (Judges 7:23-24; 12:1). Manasseh also began to occupy territory belonging to the surrounding Israelite tribes, including the towns and surrounding villages of Beth-shan, Ibleam, Dor, Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo, though they never fully drove out the Canaanites living there (Joshua 17:11-12; Judges 1:27-28; 1 Chronicles 7:29). As a result, the territory occupied by Manasseh and Ephraim by the completion of the book of Joshua and Judges is notably larger than the land originally allotted to them.

Joshua also records that Manasseh’s tribal allotment was further divided among ten clans of Manasseh, including the families of the daughters of Zelophehad (Joshua 17:1-6). During the Israelites’ wandering in the wilderness, Moses granted Zelophehad’s daughters, whose father had no sons, the right to inherit land, though this was not the normal practice in Israel (Numbers 27). The discovery of the Samaria Ostraca in the palace of Ahab in 1910 has enabled scholars to deduce the likely area in which several of these clans settled within Manasseh’s territory, including Noah, Shemida, Abiezer, Asriel, Shechem, Helek, Hoglah, and Tirzah. This author also suspects that the location of the clan of Mahlah may be preserved in the name of the ruins at Khirbat al Milkh (identified as Abel-meholah on this map) and the nearby stream of Wadi el Maleh. Likewise, this author also suspects the location of the clan of Milcah may be preserved in name of the ruins at Khirbat Malihim and the nearby spring of `Ein el Ma`lqa.