1 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 Bethel,

2 And goeth out from Bethel to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth,

3 And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Bethhoron the nether, and to Gezer; and the goings out thereof are at the sea.

4 So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.

5 And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Atarothaddar, unto Bethhoron the upper;

6 And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanathshiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah;

7 And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan.

8 The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.

9 And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

10 And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.

Commentary

Verse 1

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
Children of Joseph - That is, of Ephraim, and the half tribe of Manasseh, which are here put together in one; because in these first verses he speaks of them in common; and then of their several portions.
John Calvin Bible Commentary
And the lot of the children of Joseph fell,etc The sacred writer first states what the lot was which fell to the two children of Joseph, and then describes the lot of Ephraim. It is strange, however, that when the half of the tribe of Manasseh had already been settled beyond the Jordan, more words are employed in describing the remaining half than in describing the whole of the inheritance of the tribe of Ephraim, though the latter was the more populous, and justly claimed for itself a larger territory. But the longer detail given concerning the posterity of Manasseh is owing to particular circumstances. First, the writer repeats how a settlement had been given them without lot in the country of Basan. Secondly, he mentions the ratification by Joshua of the command which Moses had given by divine authority in regard to the daughters of Selophead. Seeing, then, there was no doubt in regard to the boundaries of Ephraim, and there was no danger of dispute, their allocation is only briefly glanced at.But here a new question arises. When the right of primogeniture had passed from Manasseh to Ephraim, how did the posterity of that tribe which had precedence in rank obtain their cities among the children of Manasseh? For theirs seems in this way to have been the inferior condition. My explanation is this, When the portion of Manasseh was too extensive in proportion to the amount of population, a calculation was made, and certain cities were deducted to complete the just share of the tribe of Ephraim; not that they were mixed up with the children of Manasseh, to hold their dwellings among them by a precarious tenure, but their boundaries were merely extended in the direction of the Manassites whom a narrower possession might suffice.In the end of the chapter, Ephraim is severely censured for his effeminacy in not having expelled the Canaanites from Gezer. For had they proceeded in a manly and hearty manner to make good their right to the land which had fallen to them by lot, the victory was in their hands. There would have been no temerity in the attempt, since the decision of the lot was as valid as if the Lord himself had stretched forth his hand from heaven. But their disgraceful sloth is more clearly expressed and their culpability greatly heightened by the fact, that they made tributaries of those with whom it was not lawful to enter into any kind of arrangement. Seeing, then, God had distinctly forbidden his people to transact business of any kind with those nations, and least of all to enter into pactions with them, stipulating for their pardon and safety, the Ephraimites sinned much more grievously in exacting tribute than if they had tolerated them without paction.
McArther Bible Commentary
children of Joseph. Joseph's territory was double as it was given to his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim, who had inheritances stretching over a large portion of the central area in the Promised Land.
Bible Cross References
Joshua 8:15 Joshua 18:12 1 Samuel 30:27

Verse 2

Bible Cross References
Joshua 18:13 2 Samuel 15:32 1 Chronicles 7:28

Verse 3

Bible Cross References
Joshua 10:33 Joshua 18:13 1 Samuel 13:18 1 Kings 9:17 1 Chronicles 7:24

Verse 4

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
Manasseh - That is, half Manasseh. Their inheritance - Their several portions which here follow. It is said, they took their inheritance, which also Judah had done before them, because the tribes of Judah and Joseph did take their inheritances before the rest; and it was fit they should do so, for the security of the main camp, and the body of the people which were at Gilgal, (Joshua 18:5) .
Bible Cross References
Joshua 17:14 Joshua 16:5

Verse 5

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
East - side - That is, the north - east side. It is no wonder, if some of these descriptions are dark to us at this distance of time; there having been so many alterations made in places, and so many circumstances, being now altogether undiscoverable. But this is certain, that all the descriptions here mentioned, were then evident to the Israelites, because these were the foundations of all the possessions which then they took, and peaceably possessed in succeeding ages.
McArther Bible Commentary
border of … Ephraim. The description is of the land north of Judah's territory, from the Jordan River west to the Mediterranean Sea. There was the inclusion of some cities in the territory of Manasseh, since Ephraim's land was small compared to its population.
Bible Cross References
Joshua 10:10 Joshua 18:13 1 Chronicles 7:24 Ezekiel 48:5

Verse 6

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
Toward the sun - The midland sea, towards the west.
Bible Cross References
Joshua 16:7 Joshua 17:7

Verse 7

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
To Jericho - Not to the city of Jericho, which belonged to Benjamin's lot, (Joshua 18:21) , but to its territory.
Bible Cross References
Joshua 16:6 1 Chronicles 7:28

Verse 8

Bible Cross References
Joshua 16:9 Joshua 17:8 Joshua 17:9

Verse 9

John Wesley's Bible Commentary
The separate cities - That is, besides those cities which were within Ephraim's bounds, he had some other cities, to which all of all their territories were annexed out Manasseh's portion, because his tribe was all here, and was larger than Manasseh's.
Bible Cross References
Joshua 16:8 Joshua 16:10

Verse 10

McArther Bible Commentary
Ephraim did not drive the Canaanites from their area. This is the first mention of neglecting to exterminate the idolaters (cf. Deu 20:16).
Bible Cross References
Joshua 10:33 Joshua 16:9 Joshua 17:12 Joshua 17:13 Judges 1:29 1 Kings 9:16