Joshua 17

Joshua 17 - The Inheritance of Manasseh

Above map from http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/old-testament-bible-maps.html

(1) The next allotment of land was given to the half-tribe of *Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph’s older son. Makir, the firstborn son of Manasseh, was the father of Gilead. Because his descendants were experienced soldiers, the regions of **Gilead and ***Bashan on the east side of the Jordan had already been given to them.

• This second land area was granted because Manasseh was Joseph's firstborn. Ephraim had received the blessing of the firstborn and his land had been granted first.
• Genesis 48:17-20: But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father placed his right hand on Ephraim’s head. So Joseph lifted it to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. “No, my father,” he said. “This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.” But his father refused. “I know, my son; I know,” he replied. “Manasseh will also become a great people, but his younger brother will become even greater. And his descendants will become a multitude of nations.” So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: “The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing. They will say, ‘May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.’” In this way, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh
• Deuteronomy 21:15-17: “Suppose a man has two wives, but he loves one and not the other, and both have given him sons. And suppose the firstborn son is the son of the wife he does not love. When the man divides his inheritance, he may not give the larger inheritance to his younger son, the son of the wife he loves, as if he were the firstborn son. He must recognize the rights of his oldest son, the son of the wife he does not love, by giving him a double portion. He is the first son of his father’s virility, and the rights of the firstborn belong to him.
• *Manasseh means "forgetting". Half of the tribe of Manasseh had their inheritance on the east side of Jordan with Reuben and Gad. The rest of Manasseh is now named according to its families. Gideon (Judges 6:12-15) is perhaps the most famous descendant of Manasseh.
  
  • According to 2 Chronicles 15:9, members of the tribes of Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon "fled" to Judah during the reign of Asa of Judah. The territory of Manasseh was conquered by the Assyrians, and the tribe exiled; the manner of their exile lead to their further history being lost. However, several modern day groups claim descent, with varying levels of academic and rabbinical support.
    
    • 2 Chronicles 15:9: Then Asa called together all the people of Judah and Benjamin, along with the people of Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had settled among them. For many from Israel had moved to Judah during Asa’s reign when they saw that the LORD his God was with him.
  • In northeast India, the Kuki-Chin-Mizo Jews claim descent from Manasseh, and call themselves Bnei Menashe; in 2005 Shlomo Amar, Sephardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, announced that
    he regarded this claim to be true, which under the Law of Return allows them to migrate to Israel, as long as they formally convert to Judaism in accordance with halachic standards.
  • Some evidence exists of a continuing identification in later centuries of individual Jews to the Lost Tribes. For example, in Luke 2:36 of the New Testament, an individual is identified with the tribe of Asher. In recent years many groups have claimed descent from these Lost Tribes, some of which have been upheld by Israel's rabbinic authorities.
  • The Samaritan community in Israel and the Palestinian territories numbers about 600. These people, who still keep their ancient traditions, live in what was the capital of Samaria - Nablus and the town of Holon. They claim to be authentic descendants of the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh that were not exiled.
  • The Beta Israel are Ethiopian Jews. Some members of the Beta Israel as well as several Jewish scholars believe that they are descended from the lost Tribe of Dan, as opposed to the traditional story of their descent from the Queen of Sheba.
  • The Yousafzai are a large group of Pashtun tribes. Their name means "Sons of Joseph". There are a variety of cultural and ethnic similarities between Jews and Pashtuns.
  • The Bene Israel (Hebrew: "Sons of Israel") are a group of Jews who live in various Indian cities. Most Bene Israel have now emigrated to Israel.
  • According to some historical sources, a Jewish community has existed in Kaifeng, China from medieval times until the present day. In 2009, Chinese Jews from Kaifeng arrived in Israel as immigrants. According to historical records, a Jewish community with a synagogue built in 1163 existed at Kaifeng from at least the Southern Song Dynasty until the late nineteenth century. A stone monument in the city suggests that they were there since at least 231 BC.
  • Genetic testing is being conducted on representatives of the Lemba in Africa in an attempt to verify claims of descent from the "lost ten tribes". There is a definite link to Levite Hebrew ancestry, specifically Kohen.
• **Gilead means rugged or rocky region.
  
  • Deuteronomy 3:13,16: Then I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan—Og’s former kingdom—to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (This entire Argob region of Bashan used to be known as the land of the Rephaites. But I also gave part of Gilead to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The area I gave them extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge in the south to the Jabbok River on the Ammonite frontier.
• ***Bashan means fruitful and 59 times in scripture. It is an area east of the Jordan and in the northern part of the country known for its fertility and which was given to the half-tribe of Manasseh.
  
  • Numbers 21:33-35: Then they turned and marched up the road to Bashan, but King Og of Bashan and all his people attacked them at Edrei. The LORD said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, along with all his people and his land. Do the same to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.” And Israel killed King Og, his sons, and all his subjects; not a single survivor remained. Then Israel occupied their land.

(2) So the allotment on the west side of the Jordan was for the remaining families within the *clans of the tribe of Manasseh: Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. These clans represent the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph.

• *clans: Numbers 26 lists the clans of Israel.
• God commands Joshua to divide the land as an "inheritance" for Israel. Repeatedly in Joshua 13-19, the land given to the tribes is called "inheritance." This is another clue for the Book of Joshua and the biblical theme of the land. Land is never just dirt - it is inheritance.
• The law of land inheritance in ancient Israel: Each of the 12 tribes (Levites are excluded) would own a specific region of the land, and all of the families in that tribe would own some portion of the land. The land would remain in the tribe and family. In fact, if the land were sold, it would revert back to the family in the Jubilee year every fifty years. (Leviticus 25:13, 23-24.) Since one's tribe is determined patrilineally, only males can inherit land. Thus, a father's land holdings would be passed down to his son or sons. A daughter would presumably marry and join the family of her husband, and their sons would inherent the land from their father. The law preserved family land holdings through male inheritance.

(3) However, *Zelophehad, a descendant of Hepher son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons. He had only daughters, whose names were **Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and ***Tirzah.

• *Zelophehad possibly means "first born".
• **Mahlah means "fat" or "infirmity", Noah means "movement", Milcah means "queen",
  Tirzah means "pleasing", Hoglah means "dancing" or "partridge".
• ***Tirzah (pronounced "tirtsah") is the name of Ben-Hur's sister in the movie Ben-Hur.

(4) These women came to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the Israelite leaders and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us a grant of land along with the men of our tribe.” So Joshua gave them a grant of land along with their uncles, as the LORD had commanded.

• While it may not seem unusual to us, this was a pretty bold and audacious move by these sisters. Yet, the daughters of Zelophehad risked their reputations by approaching the leaders and asking for something revolutionary which Moses had promised them.
• Without a husband with inheritance, these women would have no inheritance. The decision that Moses rendered under the direction of God was that the women would inherit their father's inheritance on the condition that they married within their own tribe so as to keep property in their own tribe. In fact, the sisters married their own cousins, and thus fulfilled the law.
• They argue that their father's name (lineage) should not be cut off from his clan just because he had no son and that they should be permitted to inherit his land portion in order to avoid this potential injustice to their father's name (and property). The story presumes a culture that recognizes a connection between landholding and preservation of a male name in a family lineage.
• According to God's decree, the promised land is to be apportioned according to the "number of names" of members of the second generation counted in the census recorded in Numbers 26 26:5-56. Since only men were counted in the census, however, Zelophehad's daughters would be left without an inheritance.
• Numbers 27:1-11: One day a petition was presented by the daughters of Zelophehad—Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. Their father, Zelophehad, was a descendant of Hepher son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph. These women stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and the entire community at the entrance of the Tabernacle. “Our father died in the wilderness,” they said. “He was not among Korah’s followers, who rebelled against the LORD; he died because of his own sin. But he had no sons. Why should the name of our father disappear from his clan just because he had no sons? Give us property along with the rest of our relatives.” So Moses brought their case before the LORD. And the LORD replied to Moses, And the LORD replied to Moses, “The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must give them a grant of land along with their father’s relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father. “And give the following instructions to the people of Israel: If a man dies and has no son, then give his inheritance to his daughters. And if he has no daughter either, transfer his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. But if his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan. This is a legal requirement for the people of Israel, just as the LORD commanded Moses.”
• Numbers 36:6-12: Then the heads of the clans of Gilead—descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph—came to Moses and the family leaders of Israel with a petition. They said, “Sir, the LORD instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the LORD to give the grant of land owned by our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. But if they marry men from another tribe, their grants of land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way, the total area of our tribal land will be reduced. Then when the Year of Jubilee comes, their portion of land will be added to that of the new tribe, causing it to be lost forever to our ancestral tribe.” So Moses gave the Israelites this command from the LORD: “The claim of the men of the tribe of Joseph is legitimate. This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry anyone they like, as long as it is within their own ancestral tribe. None of the territorial land may pass from tribe to tribe, for all the land given to each tribe must remain within the tribe to which it was first allotted. The daughters throughout the tribes of Israel who are in line to inherit property must marry within their tribe, so that all the Israelites will keep their ancestral property. No grant of land may pass from one tribe to another; each tribe of Israel must keep its allotted portion of land.” The daughters of Zelophehad did as the LORD commanded Moses. Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah all married cousins on their father’s side. They married into the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. Thus, their inheritance of land remained within their ancestral tribe.
• This incident is significant, for it shows a concern for the rights of women at a time when most societies regarded them as mere property.
• Interestingly, I found that a father had a way around the law if he had sons but particularly loved a daughter. He would simply declare that he had a debt to that daughter which had to be paid back to her upon his death!
• The Samaritan ostraca (pottery pieces), uncovered by archeologists, and dated about 770 B.C. show tax payments in kind carry the names of districts such as Abiezer Helek, Shechem, Shemida, Noah, and Hoglah.
• There was a precedent for giving property to daughters:
• Job 42:15: In all the land no women were as lovely as the daughters of Job. And their father put them into his will along with their brothers.

(5) As a result, Manasseh’s total allocation came to ten parcels of land, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan across the Jordan River,

(6) because the female descendants of Manasseh received a grant of land along with the male descendants. (The land of Gilead was given to the rest of the male descendants of Manasseh.)

(7) The boundary of the tribe of Manasseh extended from the border of Asher to Micmethath, near Shechem. Then the boundary went south from Micmethath to the settlement near the spring of Tappuah.

(8) The land surrounding Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah itself, on the border of Manasseh’s territory, belonged to the tribe of Ephraim.

(9) From the spring of Tappuah, the boundary of Manasseh followed the Kanah Ravine to the Mediterranean Sea. Several towns south of the ravine were inside Manasseh’s territory, but they actually belonged to the tribe of Ephraim.

(10) In general, however, the land south of the ravine belonged to Ephraim, and the land north of the ravine belonged to Manasseh. Manasseh’s boundary ran along the northern side of the ravine and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. North of Manasseh was the territory of Asher, and to the east was the territory of Issachar.

(11) The following towns within the territory of Issachar and Asher, however, were given to Manasseh: *Beth-shan, Ibleam, Dor (that is, Naphoth-dor), **Endor, ***Taanach, and ****Megiddo, each with their surrounding settlements.

• Note that several cities located in the tribes of Issachar and Asher were given to Manasseh. Apparently it was considered necessary for military purposes that these cities be held by a strong tribe.
• *Beth-shean: It was to the wall of this city that the bodies of Saul and his sons were fastened by the victorious Philistines following the battle on Mount Gilboa. Later, it was the border town of Galilee and the chief town of the Decapolis.
• **Endor (fountain or well of habitation): Assigned to Manasseh, it was never wrested from the Canaanites. The witch of Endor, of whom Saul inquired before his last battle (1 Samuel 28:3-7) was probably of this Canaanite stock, for the Hebrews had tried to do away with such practices.
• ***Taanach guards a pass over Mount Carmel. Israel defeated the king of this place; but Manasseh, the tribe to which it was assigned, was not able to occupy it. It was one of the Levitical cities (Joshua 21:25), and finally occupied by Isaachar. Taanach was the site of the battle between Deborah and Barak and the kings of Canaan in Judges 5:19.
• ****Megiddo fell to Israel in the latter half of the twelfth century B.C., roughly a century after the main conquest. Megiddo appears twelve times in scriptures and yet is most famous for the place to which it gives its name - Armageddon meaning hill of Megiddo. Megiddo itself means 'place of crowds' so that the name Armageddon means the hill of great crowds or the hill of great slaughter. Megiddo was located on the main road which linked Egypt and Syria. Megiddo has been excavated three times and is currently being excavated yet again. Excavations have unearthed 26 layers of ruins, indicating a long period of settlement. From the earliest historical records of the area (Thutmose III) to the future (Revelation 16), Megiddo assumes a prominent role. This is largely owing to its strategic location astride the Megiddo Pass (Wadi Ara) and inside the busy Jezreel Valley. The modern road follows the ancient one.

(12) But the descendants of Manasseh were unable to occupy these towns. They could not drive out the Canaanites who continued to live there.

(13) Later, however, when the Israelites became strong enough, they forced the Canaanites to work as slaves. But they did not drive them out of the land.

• Their failure here is like the failure of the tribe of Ephraim in Joshua 16:10:
  They did not drive the Canaanites out of Gezer, however, so the people of Gezer live as slaves
  among the people of Ephraim to this day.

(14) The descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and asked, “Why have you given us only one portion of land as our homeland when the LORD has blessed us with so many people?”

• The descendants of Joseph registered a belligerent complaint with Joshua, claiming that their allotment was too small in light of their large population. Puffed up with pride, the children of Manasseh wanted more land, yet they failed to destroy the Canaanites from the land they already had.
• Joshua himself was a Josephite, but if his kinsfolk thought to intimidate him by a demand for more land, they certainly were frustrated. The great heart of the plain of Jezreel had already been assigned them, that being the richest part of Palestine, but they called it "one portion."
• The census of Numbers 26 shows that they were not greatly more numerous than the single tribe of Judah; and half of them had already been settled east of Jordan; the remainder could hardly have been any stronger than the Danites or the Issacharites. Some of the other tribes were actually more numerous.

(15) Joshua replied, “If there are so many of you, and if the *hill country of Ephraim is not large enough for you, clear out land for yourselves in the forest where the Perizzites and Rephaites live.”

• *hill country refers to Mt. Giboa and the surrounding hill country.
• Joshua challenged them first to clear the trees and settle in the forested hill country. But this is not what they wanted to hear.

(16) The descendants of Joseph responded, “It’s true that the hill country is not large enough for us. But all the Canaanites in the lowlands have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shan and its surrounding settlements and those in the valley of *Jezreel. They are too strong for us.”

• They insisted that the hill country was not sufficient for them and that the Canaanites in the region possessed iron chariots, probably chariots of wood covered with iron.
• They saw only the chariots of iron, not the lush pastures and farmlands of the valley of Jezreel (Esdraelon), which was theirs by right of promise and which Joshua urged them to take. What a contrast was their lack of faith to the bold, intrepid spirit of Caleb (Numbers 13:30, Joshua 14:6-15). The only reason the Josephites did not drive out the Canaanites and thus possess their possessions was that they did not trust in God but preferred to compromise with neighbors who, however rich in warlike material, were sunk in sensuality and sloth.
• *Jezreel means “God sows”. It was mostly likely in this valley that the host of the Midianites was encamped, when attacked by Gideon (Judges 7:1,8). The great plain of Jezreel extends from Carmel on the west to the hills of Gilboa, little Hermon, and Tabor on the east, a distance of full sixteen miles; and its breadth between the rocky mass of southern Palestine and the bolder mountains of Galilee on the north, is about twelve miles. Its position as well as its open area make it the natural battle-field of Palestine. The Valley of Jezreel separates Samaria from Galilee.

(17) Then Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph, “Since you are so large and strong, you will be given more than one portion.

(18) 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.”

• This was land to which they had title, but they had not taken possession of it. They were much like many believers today, who would like to have what others had fought for, but are afraid of the conflict necessary to possess what they are entitled to.

Why didn’t Ephraim and Manasseh drive out the Canaanites as God had commanded?  (Coffman):

1. Indolence.
2. Love of ease.
3. Perhaps a mistaken humanity.
4. Disregard of the Divine command.
5. Lack of faith, trust in God.
6. Lack of zeal for God’s service.
7. Love of this present world.
8. Attraction to sensual heathen religious practices.
9. Self-aggrandizement (The act or practice of enhancing or exaggerating one's own importance, power, or reputation)

APPLICATION and LESSONS to LEARN:

1. Lay hold on the promises of God as the women did at the beginning of the chapter.
2. Don't think ourselves to be so important that the blessings that we enjoy should be handed to us on a plate. If we allow our pride to get in the way, there will be no blessing at all. There may be the equivalent of woods to cut down and chariots to deal with until we are where God wants us.
3. Why don’t we drive the devil out of our lives as God has commanded?
4. What legacy are we leaving for the next generation? Money isn't the most important inheritance.
5. In Christ, we have obtained an inheritance. Not due to our courage, but to his...so that we might set our hope on Christ and live for the praise of his glory, so that with the eyes of our heart enlightened, we might know what is the hope to which we are called, what is the immeasurable power of God working in us - Ephesians 1:18.
   
   1. Romans 8:17: And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.
   2. Ephesians 1:11-14: Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him.
   3. Colossians 1:12: always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.
   4. Colossians 3:24: Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.
   5. Hebrews 9:15: That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.
   6. 1 Peter 1:4-5: and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6. There was an enemy still in the land after they were meant to have driven them out of the land. That enemy may have paid money but it was still an enemy. How many of us leave things in our life that create wealth (by that is meant over and above that which is necessary to maintain life and to do my duty as far as my family is concerned) and they stay there because their presence is justified by that which is given to the Lord's work. We are prepared to retain life styles and appease our consciences by giving of that gain to support others to do the work. Perhaps it is that God wants us to do the work and not to just supply so that others can do it.
7. How different is their attitude than Caleb’s attitude (Joshua 14:11-12)! They want “easy land” given to them, instead of taking God’s promises and going out and taking what God has given them. The principle applies just as strongly for us today; if we desire more of something, the first thing to do is to be a faithful as we can where we are.
8. The earthly Canaan is for us a double-type. We, like the children of Israel, are traversing a wilderness and "the Land" is the goal, the ultimate end, that we have before us. In Hebrews 2, that is "the future world" (Hebrews 2: 5). This point of view is developed very fully in Hebrews chapters 3 and 4 where the inheritance is connected with the rest, God's rest, that we are moving onto. The other side of this double-type is that, once in the land of Canaan, the children of Israel had to fight in order to possess what God had given them. That is where the figure changes. The land is then a type of our present spiritual blessings in Christ, and there is conflict involved in really entering into the enjoyment of them. Joshua in the Old Testament (typically) and Colossians in the New, speak of the entry into these blessings. Ephesians, especially chapter 6, shows us how to stand the ground once it has been gained.

NOTES:

• Unless otherwise noted, the scripture version used is the New Living Translation.
• Sources and References are on line at: http://joshua-biblestudy.blogspot.com/2011/07/joshua-references-and-sources.html