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Joshua Chapter
Sixteen
New King James Version (NKJV)
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 Gezer, not
driven out by the Ephraimites, Joshua 16:9.
Joshua 16:1 The
lot fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan, by Jericho, to the waters
of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goes up from Jericho through the
mountains to Bethel,
YLT
1And the lot for the sons of
Joseph goeth out from Jordan [by] Jericho, to the waters of Jericho on the
east, to the wilderness going up from Jericho in the hill-country of Beth-El,
And the lot of the children of Joseph fell,.... Or,
"went out"F1ויצא "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 east; by which it
appears, that this was the southern border of the lot; for the tribe of
Benjamin, in which Jericho was, lay between Judah and Ephraim, and the border
began at Jordan, where it flowed near Jericho, and proceeded to a water which
belonged to that city, and is generally thought to be the waters Elisha healed,
2 Kings 2:19,
to the wilderness that goeth up throughout Mount Bethel; this was the
wilderness of Bethaven, Joshua 18:12;
Jarchi interprets it of the border that went up through Mount Bethel; which is
true, and so might the wilderness also, for which the Targum is express;
mention is made of a mountain on the east of Bethel, Genesis 12:8.
Joshua 16:2 2 then went out from Bethel
to Luz,[a] passed
along to the border of the Archites at Ataroth,
YLT
2and hath gone out from
Beth-El to Luz, and passed over unto the border of Archi [to] Ataroth,
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, and others; and is the same with
Atarothaddar, Joshua 16:5.
Ataroth was its proper name, but it had these additional epithets to
distinguish it from another Ataroth; see Joshua 16:7; JeromF2De
loc. Heb. fol. 88. G. makes mention of Atharoth by Ramma, in the tribe of
Joseph, and of another in the tribe of Ephraim, now a village at the north of
Sebaste, or Samaria, four miles from it, called Atharus; the former is here
meant.
Joshua 16:3 3 and went down westward to
the boundary of the Japhletites, as far as the boundary of Lower Beth Horon to
Gezer; and it ended at the sea.
YLT
3and gone down westward unto
the border of Japhleti, unto the border of Beth-Horon the lower, and unto
Gezer, and its outgoings have been at the sea.
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 Nicanor went out of Jerusalem, and
pitched his tents in Bethhoron, where an host out of Syria met him. 40 But
Judas pitched in Adasa with three thousand men, and there he prayed, saying,...
45 Then they pursued after them a day's journey, from Adasa unto Gazera,
sounding an alarm after them with their trumpets.' (1 Maccabees 7)JeromF3De
loc. Heb. fol. 92. A. says in his time it was a village called Gazara, four
miles from Nicopolis, or Emmaus. It is the same with Gadara, as it is sometimes
called by Josephus, who saysF4Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 22. , the
tribe of Ephraim took in the land from the river Jordan to Gadara; this was a
royal city; see Joshua 10:33,
and the outgoings thereof are at the sea: the
Mediterranean sea.
Joshua 16:4 4 So the children of Joseph,
Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
YLT
4And the sons of Joseph --
Manasseh and Ephraim -- inherit.
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.
Joshua 16:5 5 The border of the children
of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus: The border of their
inheritance on the east side was Ataroth Addar as far as Upper Beth Horon.
YLT
5And the border of the sons
of Ephraim is by their families; and the border of their inheritance is on the
east, Atroth-Addar unto Beth-Horon the upper;
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.
Joshua 16:6 6 And the border went out
toward the sea on the north side of Michmethath; then the border went around
eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed by it on the east of Janohah.
YLT
6and the border hath gone
out at the sea, to Michmethah on the north, and the border hath gone round
eastward [to] Taanath-Shiloh, and passed over it eastward to Janohah,
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 JeromF5De loc. Heb. fol. 95. C. calls Thenath in the
tribe of Joseph; and who observes there was in his day a village of this name
ten miles from Neapolis (or Shechem) to the east, as you go down to Jordan:
and passed by it on the east to Janohah: which the
above writerF6Ibid. fol. 92. I. wrongly calls Janon, and says, that
in his time a village of this name was shown in the country of Acrabatena,
twelve miles to the east from Neapolis or Shechem; the border passed by Taanath
on the east of it, and went on this place.
Joshua 16:7 7 Then it went down from
Janohah to Ataroth and Naarah,[b] reached to
Jericho, and came out at the Jordan.
YLT
7and gone down from Janohah
[to] Ataroth, and to Naarath, and touched against Jericho, and gone out at the
Jordan.
And it went down from Johanan to Ataroth,.... This is
different from Ataroth before mentioned, Joshua 16:2; there
were several places of this name, as before observed; this seems to be that
which Jerom places four miles from Sebaste or Samaria; see Gill on Joshua 16:2,
and to Naarath; JeromF7De loc. Heb. fol. 93. I.
says, that Naarath was in his time called Naorath, a village of the Jews, five
miles from Jericho; and is the village JosephusF8Antiqu. l. 17. c.
15. sect. 1. calls Neara, where was a water, half of which Archelaus turned,
and led to the field planted with palm trees, near Jericho; and, according to
the Jewish writersF9Vajikra Rabba, sect. 23. fol. 164. 3.
Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 9. 3. Echa Rabbati, fol. 50. 4. : there was a place
called Noaran near to Jericho, which seems to be this:
and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan; where it
ended this way, which was eastward.
Joshua 16:8 8 The border went out from
Tappuah westward to the Brook Kanah, and it ended at the sea. This was
the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their
families.
YLT
8From Tappuah the border
goeth westward unto the brook of Kanah, and its outgoings have been at the sea:
this [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim, for their
families.
The border went out from Tappuah westward,.... Which was
different from the Tappuah in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:34; this
was in the tribe of Ephraim on the border of Manasseh, Joshua 17:8,
unto the river Kanah; supposed by some to be
the brook Cherith, by which Elijah hid himself, 1 Kings 17:3;
though objected to by others; it seems to have had its name from the reeds
which grew in it, or on the banks of it:
and the goings out thereof were at the sea; if the river
Kanah was the brook Cherith, this must be the dead or salt sea: but that is
never called "the sea", rather the Mediterranean sea is meant, and
consequently Kanah could not be Cherith, which was at too great a distance from
this sea:
this is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of
Ephraim by their families; that is, this is the description of the
border of it; for the cities within are not mentioned, and the descriptions in
general are very obscure.
Joshua 16:9 9 The separate cities for
the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of
Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.
YLT
9And the separate cities of
the sons of Ephraim [are] in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of
Manasseh, all the cities and their villages;
And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim,.... The tribe
of Ephraim, being much larger than the half tribe of Manasseh, besides the lot
that fell to it, described before by its boundaries, had several particular and
distinct cities given to it: which
were among the
inheritance of the children of Manasseh; some that were upon the
borders of Ephraim, and within the territory of Manasseh, and it may be where
it jetted out in a nook or corner, see Joshua 17:8,
all the cities with their villages; not the separate cities
only, but the little towns adjacent to them.
Joshua 16:10 10 And they did not drive out
the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the
Ephraimites to this day and have become forced laborers.
YLT
10and they have not
dispossessed the Canaanite who is dwelling in Gezer, and the Canaanite dwelleth
in the midst of Ephraim unto this day, and is to tribute -- a servant.
And they drove not out the Canaanites which dwelt in Gezer,.... Which was
the border of their tribe length ways, and was near the sea, Joshua 16:3; in
this they did not obey the command of God, and either they did not drive them
out, because they could not, God not delivering them up into their hands,
because of their sins; or through their slothfulness, or it may be through
covetousness, being willing to make some advantage to themselves by them, being
a trading people, which seems to be intended in the next clause:
but the Canaanites dwelt among the Ephraimites unto this day; which Joshua,
the writer of this book, might truly say, and be no objection to it, since the
same is observed after his death, Judges 1:29; and
indeed they continued to dwell there until the times of Solomon, when it was taken
by Pharaoh king of Egypt, and given as a present to his daughter, the wife of
Solomon, 1 Kings 9:15; and
though this clause does not furnish out an argument against the writing of this
book by Joshua, yet, from the instance given, it appears it must have been
written before the times of Solomon, and so not by Ezra, as some:
and serve under tribute; so that they were under
their power, and therefore could have driven them out, or slain them, as by the
command of God they should; but they spared them for the sake of the tribute
they received from them, which seems to agree with the character of the
Ephraimites, Hosea 12:8.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)