Joshua 17:1

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 17:1-6

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, Josh. 17:1. This Machir was born to Manasseh in Egypt; there he had signalized himself as a man of war, probably in the contests between the Ephraimites and the men of Gath, 1 Chron. 7:21. His warlike disposition descended to his posterity, and therefore Moses gave them... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 17:1

There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh ,.... As well as for the tribe of Ephraim: for he was the firstborn of Joseph ; and therefore ought to have his part and share in the lot of the children of Joseph, though Ephraim was preferred before him in the blessing of Jacob. Some think this is given as a reason why he had a double portion, one on the other side Jordan, and another in the land of Canaan: to wit , for Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead ; who... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 17:1

There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh - It was necessary to mark this because Jacob, in his blessing, ( Genesis 48:19 , Genesis 48:20 ;), did in a certain sense set Ephraim before Manasseh, though the latter was the first-born; but the place here shows that this preference did not affect the rights of primogeniture. For Machir - because he was a man of war - It is not likely that Machir himself was now alive; if he were, he must have been nearly 200 years old: It is... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 17:1

Verse 1 The historian returns to the tribe of Manasseh with the view of confirming what we formerly saw with regard to the daughters of Selophead. For though it was a novelty for females to succeed indiscriminately with males, yet as five of them had survived their father, they proved it to be equitable that they should be admitted to a portion, lest while he was innocent he should lie under the reproach of having died childless. God had replied to Moses by his oracle, that in regard to... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 17:1

EXPOSITION There was also a lot. The preferable translation is, " and the lot for the tribe of Manasseh—for he was the firstborn of Joseph—was ( or fell ) to Machir the son of Manasseh. That is to say, the proper possession of the tribe of Manasseh fell to Machir and his descendants only, because of their warlike spirit, and possibly on account of their numbers also. They were sufficient to occupy the land of Gilead and Bashan, extensive and powerful though it was, while the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Joshua 17:1

Manasseh, as the “first-born,” was to receive not only the territory on the east of Jordan won by the valor of the Machirites, but also a portion with the other tribes on the west of Jordan, the holy land of promise strictly so called. Thus, though Ephraim took precedence of Manasseh, according to the prediction of Joseph Genesis 48:20, yet Manasseh received “the double portion” which was the special privilege of the first-born Deuteronomy 21:17. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joshua 17:1

Joshua 17:1. There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh That half of it which had no portion on the other side Jordan. For he was the firstborn of Joseph The sense of this, as it here stands, is very obscure. But if the particle כי , ki, here rendered for, be translated though, as it often is, and as Bishop Patrick thinks it ought to be here, the meaning is plain, that the second lot was for Manasseh, because, though he was the firstborn of Joseph, yet Jacob had preferred... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Joshua 17:1-18

The Joseph tribes (16:1-17:18)Ephraim and the western half of Manasseh together occupied most of the central portion of Canaan between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea (16:1-4). The southern part of this territory belonged to Ephraim (5-10), the northern part to Manasseh (17:1). (The other half of Manasseh had already received its allotment east of Jordan.)Western Manasseh was divided between six major family groups. No details are given concerning portions received by five of these... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Joshua 17:1

a lot = the lot. Compare Joshua 16:1 , above. firstborn of Joseph. Genesis 41:51 ; Genesis 46:20 ; Genesis 50:23 . Nah 32:39 . man = Hebrew. ish . App-14 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Joshua 17:1

This and the preceding chapters deal with the inheritance of Ephraim and Manasseh, Ephraim's having been outlined in Joshua 16, and Manasseh's boundaries are given in this."And this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the first-born of Joseph. As for Machir the first-born of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. So the lot was for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: for the children of... read more

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