The half tribe of Manasseh comes next to be
provided for; and here we have, I. The families of that tribe that
were to be portioned,
1 There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. 2 There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families. 3 But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father. 5 And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan; 6 Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.
Manasseh was itself but one half of the
tribe of Joseph, and yet was divided and subdivided. 1. It was
divided into two parts, one already settled on the other side
Jordan, consisting of those who were the posterity of Machir,
7 And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah. 8 Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim; 9 And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea: 10 Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east. 11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries. 12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. 13 Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out.
We have here a short account of the lot of
this half tribe. It reached from Jordan on the east to the great
sea on the west; on the south it lay all along contiguous to
Ephraim, but on the north it abutted upon Asher and Issachar. Asher
lay north-west, and Issachar north-east, which seems to be the
meaning of that (
14 And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the Lord hath blessed me hitherto? 15 And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee. 16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Beth-shean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. 17 And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only: 18 But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.
Here, I. The children of Joseph quarrel
with their lot; if they had had any just cause to quarrel with it,
we have reason to think Joshua would have relieved them, by adding
to it, or altering it, which it does not appear he did. It is
probable, because Joshua was himself of the tribe of Ephraim, they
promised themselves that they should have some particular favour
shown them, and should not be confined to the decision of the lot
so closely as the other tribes; but Joshua makes them know that in
the discharge of his office, as a public person, he had no more
regard to his own tribe than to any other, but would administer
impartially, without favour or affection, wherein he has left an
excellent example to all in public trusts. It was a very competent
provision that was made for them, as much, for aught that appears,
as they were able to manage, and yet they call it in disdain but
one lot, as if that which was assigned to them both was
scarcely sufficient for one. The word for complainers
(
II. Joshua endeavours to reconcile them to
their lot. He owns they were a great people, and being two
tribes ought to have more than one lot only (