Joshua 14:4
in Joshua 14The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion of the land was given to the Levites, except for cities in which to live, along with pasturelands for their flocks and herds.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: and they gave no portion unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for their cattle and for their substance.
KJV
For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.
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This verse in Joshua 14
Commentary
10 notes on this verseThe children of Joseph were two tribes - This was ascertained by the prophetic declaration of their grandfather Jacob, Gen 48:5, Gen 48:6; and as Levi was taken out of the tribes for the service of the sanctuary, one of these sons of Joseph came in his place, and Joseph was treated as the first-born of Jacob, in the place of Reuben, who forfeited his right of primogeniture. With their suburbs for their cattle - For the meaning of this passage the reader is referred to the note on Num 35:6.
This site's exposition
For Moses had given the inheritance east of the Jordan
on Joshua 14:3-5
Two arithmetic problems are answered in one breath. Levi is taken out of the count and receives cities with suburbs instead of territory, and Joseph is counted as two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, which Jacob had arranged at Genesis 48:5 long before there was any land to divide. Nine and a half tribes are left to provide for west of Jordan because two and a half already have their ground east of it, and the twelve are still twelve.
This site's exposition
The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim
Adam Clarke connects Joseph's double share with the birthright. Reuben lost it, and 1 Chronicles 5:1 says it was given to the sons of Joseph. The Levites' towns and pasturelands were ordered at Numbers 35:2, and Joshua 21 assigns them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A first and a second distribution of the inheritance is reported. The first is indeed through Moses, but the second, and the more powerful, is depicted as accomplished through Jesus [Joshua]. Across the Jordan, Moses decrees property to the tribe of Reuben and the tribe of Gad and to half the tribe of Manasseh, but all the rest receive their inheritance through Jesus [Joshua]. We have already spoken first about how those who had pleased God through the law do not yet reach those things that have been perfected. They precede in time those who attain to the promises through faith in Jesus but must wait for those coming afterwards who will please God in a different time but by one faith, just as the apostle says, "They might not attain perfection without us."
The whole account of the land of Judah and of the tribes is typical of the church in heaven. Let us read Joshua, the son of Nun, or the concluding portions of Ezekiel, and we shall see that the historical division of the land as related by the one finds a counterpart in the spiritual and heavenly promises of the other. What is the meaning of the seven and eight steps in the description of the temple?
Just as those who submit to the law, which is the "shadow" of that true law, diligently serve a "shadow and copy" of "heavenly things," so those who divide the inheritance of the land in Judea imitate the "copy and shadow" of a heavenly division. Thus truth was in heaven, "but a shadow and copy" of truth was on earth. And as long as this shadow remained on earth, there was an earthly Jerusalem; there was a temple, an altar and a visible worship; there were priests and high priests; and there existed regions and towns of Judea and all these things that are described in this book and are now recited.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
): The children of Joseph were two tribes, therefore they gave no part to Levi, they being twelve without them. The rule by which they went was the lot,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
Were two tribes - That is, had the portion of two tribes, and therefore though Levi was excluded, there remained nine tribes and a half, to be provided for in Canaan.
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
But Ephraim and Manasseh, the two sons of Joseph, had been constituted two tribes (Ge 48:5), and although Levi was excluded, the original number of the tribes of Israel was still preserved.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| הָי֧וּ | hayu | they were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְנֵֽי־ | venei- | [the] descendants of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יוֹסֵ֛ף | yosef | Joseph | H3130 → | 213 times |
| שְׁנֵ֥י | shenei | two | H8147 → | 768 times |
| מַטּ֖וֹת | matot | tribes | H4294 → | 252 times |
| מְנַשֶּׁ֣ה | menasheh | Manasseh | H4519 → | 146 times |
| וְאֶפְרָ֑יִם | veefrayim | and Ephraim | H669 → | 180 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָתְנוּ֩ | natenu | people gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| חֵ֨לֶק | chelek | a portion | H2506 → | 67 times |
| לַלְוִיִּ֜ם | lalviyim | to the Levites | H3881 → | 291 times |
| בָּאָ֗רֶץ | baaretz | in the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | 1069 times |
| עָרִים֙ | ʾarim | cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| לָשֶׁ֔בֶת | lashevet | to dwell in | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| וּמִ֨גְרְשֵׁיהֶ֔ם | umigresheihem | and pasture lands their | H4054 → | 119 times |
| לְמִקְנֵיהֶ֖ם | lemikneihem | for livestock their | H4735 → | 76 times |
| וּלְקִנְיָנָֽם׃ | ulekinyanam | and for possession[s] their | H7075 → |
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
הָי֧וּthey were
hayuH1961 →3559 times
בְנֵֽי־[the] descendants of
venei-H1121 →4930 times
יוֹסֵ֛ףJoseph
yosefH3130 →213 times
שְׁנֵ֥יtwo
sheneiH8147 →768 times
מַטּ֖וֹתtribes
matotH4294 →252 times
מְנַשֶּׁ֣הManasseh
menashehH4519 →146 times
וְאֶפְרָ֑יִםand Ephraim
veefrayimH669 →180 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
נָתְנוּ֩people gave
natenuH5414 →2011 times
חֵ֨לֶקa portion
chelekH2506 →67 times
לַלְוִיִּ֜םto the Levites
lalviyimH3881 →291 times
בָּאָ֗רֶץin the land
baaretzH776 →2504 times
כִּ֤יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
עָרִים֙cities
ʾarimH5892 →1090 times
לָשֶׁ֔בֶתto dwell in
lashevetH3427 →1079 times
וּמִ֨גְרְשֵׁיהֶ֔םand pasture lands their
umigresheihemH4054 →119 times
לְמִקְנֵיהֶ֖םfor livestock their
lemikneihemH4735 →76 times
וּלְקִנְיָנָֽם׃and for possession[s] their
ulekinyanamH7075 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 48:5And now your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here shall be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
it leads to
- Genesis 41:50–52
Before the years of famine arrived, two sons were born to Joseph by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
- Genesis 46:20
Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
- 1 Chronicles 5:1–2
These were the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel. Though he was the firstborn, his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel, because Reuben defiled his father’s bed. So…
- Joshua 13:7
Now therefore divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
- Revelation 7:6–7
from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,
- Genesis 41:50–52
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Joshua
Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJosephThe rejected-then-exalted son — Genesis's great Christ-type; preserver of his family and of Egypt; the bridge into Exodus.
- PersonLate monarchyManassehJudah's longest-reigning and worst king, who filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; the book names his apostasy as the cause of 586…
- PlaceJudeaEphraimThe town near the wilderness where Jesus withdrew with His disciples before the last Passover (John 11:54).
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Against Jovinianus 2.34; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 17.2 and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 17.1.