Joshua 16

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 16

It is a pity that this and the following chapter should be separated, for both of them give us the lot of the children of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, who, next to Judah, were to have the post of honour, and therefore had the first and best portion in the northern part of Canaan, as Judah now had in the southern part. In this chapter we have, I. A general account of the lot of these two tribes together, Josh. 16:1-4. II. The borders of the lot of Ephraim in particular, Josh. 16:5-10. That of... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 16:1-4

Though Joseph was one of the younger sons of Jacob, yet he was his eldest by his most just and best beloved wife Rachel, was himself his best beloved son, and had been the greatest ornament and support of his family, kept it from perishing in a time of famine, and had been the shepherd and stone of Israel, and therefore his posterity were very much favoured by the lot. Their portion lay in the very heart of the land of Canaan. It extended from Jordan in the east (Josh. 16:1) to the sea, the... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 16:5-10

Here, 1. The border of the lot of Ephraim is set down, by which it was divided on the south from Benjamin and Dan, who lay between it and Judah, and on the north from Manasseh; for east and west it reached from Jordan to the great sea. The learned, who aim to be exact in drawing the line according to the directions here, find themselves very much at a loss, the description being short and intricate. The report of those who in these latter ages have travelled those countries will not serve to... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 16

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 16 This chapter gives us an account of the lot of the children of Joseph, Ephraim, and the half tribe of Manasseh, one half having settled on the other side Jordan; and first the borders of the whole lot in general are given, Joshua 16:1 ; and then the borders of the tribe of Ephraim in particular, Joshua 16:4 ; and it is observed, that this tribe had besides separate cities among the children of Manasseh, and that there were some Canaanites, particularly in... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 16:1

And the lot of the children of Joseph fell ,.... Or, "went out" F1 ויצא "et egressa est", Pagninus, Montanus; "exivit", Piscator. ; of the pot or urn, this being the next lot that was drawn to that of Judah, the government being Judah's, and the birthright Joseph's, 1 Chronicles 5:2 ; and by his children are here meant the tribe of Ephraim, and the tribe of Manasseh: or the line and border according to the lot went forth from Jordan by Jericho unto the water of Jericho on the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 16:2

And goeth out from Bethel to Luz ,.... For though these two places in time became one, yet they were originally distinct. Bethel, at which Jacob stopped, and who gave it its name, was a field adjacent to the city of Luz, Genesis 38:11 ; and therefore with propriety may be, as they here are, distinguished: and passeth along unto the borders Archi to Ataroth ; or to Archiataroth; these two words being the name of one and the same place, and to be joined as they are, in the Greek version,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 16:3

And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti ,.... This place is now unknown, though no doubt well known to the sons of Joseph, when this lot fell to them, and its border was described: unto the coast of Bethhoron the nether : so called to distinguish it from Bethhoron the upper, Joshua 16:5 ; this was about twelve miles from Jerusalem; See Gill on Joshua 10:10 ; and to Gezer: which was about a day's journey from Bethhoron, as appears from the passages in the Apocrypha:"39 So... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 16:4

So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance. As it fell to them by the lot; by Manasseh is meant the half tribe of Manasseh, one half of that tribe having been settled by Moses on the other side Jordan; and next follows an account of the borders of the inheritance of Ephraim in particular, as that of the half tribe of Manasseh is given in Joshua 17:1 . read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 16:5

And the border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus ,.... Or what follows is the description of it: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Atarothaddar, unto Bethhoron the upper ; the first was on the south of the inheritance, and the latter on the north, as Masius has placed them: who has given us a type of this description, by which it appears that this lot is here described in its breadth from south to north. read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 16:6

And the border went out towards the sea ,.... The Mediterranean sea: to Michmethah on the north side ; of the border, the same on which Bethhoron was, from whence the border proceeded on to this place, of which we have no other account but in Joshua 17:7 ; by which it appears to have been near Shechem, and in sight of it: and the border went about eastward unto Taanathshiloh ; this seems to be the same Jerom F5 De loc. Heb. fol. 95. C. calls Thenath in the tribe of Joseph;... read more

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