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Joshua 17:1

in Joshua 17

Now this was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn son, namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because Machir was a man of war.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV

ASV

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.

KJV

There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.

This verse in Joshua 17

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
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 Gen 48:20, yet Manasseh received “the double portion” which was the special privilege of the first-born Deu 21:17.

This site's exposition

was the firstborn of Joseph

on Joshua 17:1-2

Manasseh is called the firstborn of Joseph here and still receives his lot after Ephraim, which is Genesis 48:14-20 working itself out on a map, where Jacob crossed his hands and set the younger before the elder. Machir already held Gilead and Bashan, granted by Moses at Numbers 32:39-40 and Deuteronomy 3:15 for taking them, so half of this tribe was settled before anyone crossed the Jordan. The six families of verse 2 are the same six counted at Numbers 26:30-32, and Gideon comes out of the first of them, Abiezer, at Judges 6:11.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

It is here said that the lot came to Manasseh, for he was the first-born of Joseph. Bishop Patrick thinks it should be translated, though he was the first-born of Joseph, and then the meaning is plain, that the second lot was for Manasseh, because, though he was the first-born, yet Jacob had preferred Ephraim before him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

on Joshua 17:1-6

Machir--his descendants. the father of Gilead--Though he had a son of that name (Nu 26:29; 27:1), yet, as is evident from the use of the Hebrew article, reference is made, not to the person, but the province of Gilead. "Father" here means lord or possessor of Gilead.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

To Mochir, the firstborn of Menashe. Since he was the firstborn, he was the first to take a portion in the days of Moshe, on the other side of the Jordan, and thus Gilod and Boshon were his portion.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on Joshua 17:1:1, via Sefaria, The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

22 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיְהִ֤יand it belonged

    vayhiH19613559 times

  • הַגּוֹרָל֙the lot

    hagoralH148678 times

  • לְמַטֵּ֣הto [the] tribe of

    lematehH4294252 times

  • מְנַשֶּׁ֔הManasseh

    menashehH4519146 times

  • כִּי־for

    ki-H35884482 times

  • ה֖וּאhe

    hu'H19311879 times

  • בְּכ֣וֹר[was] [the] firstborn of

    bekhorH1060122 times

  • יוֹסֵ֑ףJoseph

    yosefH3130213 times

  • לְמָכִיר֩to Makir

    lemakhirH435322 times

  • בְּכ֨וֹר[the] firstborn of

    bekhorH1060122 times

  • מְנַשֶּׁ֜הManasseh

    menashehH4519146 times

  • אֲבִ֣י[the] father of

    ʾaviH11212 times

  • הַגִּלְעָ֗ד<the> Gilead

    hagiladH1568134 times

  • כִּ֣יfor

    kiH35884482 times

  • ה֤וּאhe

    hu'H19311879 times

  • הָיָה֙he was

    hayahH19613559 times

  • אִ֣ישׁa man of

    ʾishH3761663 times

  • מִלְחָמָ֔הwar

    milchamahH4421320 times

  • וַֽיְהִי־and it belonged

    vayhi-H19613559 times

  • ל֖וֹto <the> him

    lo

  • הַגִּלְעָ֥ד<the> Gilead

    hagiladH1568134 times

  • וְהַבָּשָֽׁן׃and <the> Bashan

    vehabashanH131660 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 50:23

    He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation, and indeed the sons of Machir son of Manasseh were brought up on Joseph’s knees.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 32:39

      The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.

    • Genesis 30:3

      Then she said, “Here is my maidservant Bilhah. Sleep with her, that she may bear children for me, so that through her I too can build a family.”

    • Job 42:16

      After this, Job lived 140 years and saw his children and their children to the fourth generation.

  • Through

    Genesis 41:51

    Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”

    it leads to

    • Psalms 30:5

      For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.

    • Proverbs 31:7

      Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

    • Genesis 41:30

      but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will devastate the land.

  • Through

    Genesis 46:20

    Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.

    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.

  • Through

    Numbers 26:29

    These were the descendants of Manasseh: The Machirite clan from Machir, the father of Gilead, and the Gileadite clan from Gilead.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 36:1

      Now the family heads of the clan of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh, one of the clans of Joseph, approached Moses and the leaders who were the heads of the Israelite families…

About Joshua

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.