20140212 Wednesday, February 12 2014
Joshua 16: Ephraim's Inheritance

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"The border of the children of Ephraim according to their families"

Ephraim and Manasseh were the sons of Jacob/Israel's son Joseph. Their mother was Egyptian. Israel adopted, in effect promoted, Ephraim and Manasseh from grandsons to sons (see the Fact Finder question below; also Genesis 46: The First Census Of Israel).

"48:8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?

48:9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place [see Genesis 42: Joseph's Sheaves and Stars Dreams Fulfilled].

And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.

48:10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.

48:11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.

48:12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.

48:13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.

48:14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

48:15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, 48:16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

48:17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. 48:18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.

48:19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. 48:20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

48:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers. 48:22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow." (Genesis 48:8-22 KJV)

When the Israelites entered the Promised Land (see Joshua 3: The Crossing Of The Jordan), four centuries after Ephraim and Manasseh were born in Egypt, their descendants had grown into a multitude, just as the other tribes of Jacob/Israel had done (see Numbers 26: Israel's Jordan Census). Ephraim and Manasseh individually received the tribal inheritance of their father Joseph i.e. "the lot of the children of Joseph ... So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance."

"16:1 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, 16:2 And goeth out from Bethel to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth, 16:3 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. 16:4 So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance." (Joshua 16:1-4 KJV)

As shown on the map above, Ephraim's territory was located north of Jerusalem, immediately south of west Manasseh (see Why East And West Manasseh?).

"16:5 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; 16:6 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; 16:7 And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan. 16:8 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. 16:9 And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. 16:10 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." (Joshua 16:5-10 KJV)

Fact Finder: Why did Jacob/Israel adopt his grandsons Ephraim and Manasseh as sons?
See Genesis 48: The Adoption Of Ephraim and Manasseh and The Rachel Prophecies