Joshua 16:1-4

The Territory of the Children of Joseph Joshua 16:1-4

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 Beth-el,
2 And goeth out from Beth-el 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 Beth-horon 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.

1.

Who were the children of Joseph) Joshua 16:1

Joseph had two childrenManasseh, the first-born; and Ephraim, his younger brother. In Joshua's day, the members of the two tribes are described as the children of Joseph. These two sons were born to Joseph while he was in Egypt. Joseph married Asenath, who was the daughter of the high priest of On (Genesis 41:45). On is called Heliopolis by the Greeks, and it was the city of the sun. Since the god who was symbolized by the sun to the Egyptians would be the chief god, it is believed that this was one of the chief religious cities of Egypt in Joseph's day. When his sons were born, Joseph called his first-born Manasseh, a word that signifies forgetting. His reason for this was that God had made him forget all his toil and all his father's house. He wanted to forget his father's house because his brothers had sold him as a slave. Ephraim was named fruitful. Joseph named his boy this because he said God had made him to be fruitful in the land of his affliction.

2.

What was the southern border of the inheritance of Ephraim and Manasseh? Joshua 16:2

The border on the south went from the Jordan River near Jericho up into the hill country around Beth-el and moved on west to the old site of Luz. From there, it dropped down into Joppa and out to the seacoast, This was also the northern border of the tribe of Benjamin and Dan. These tribes then were the southern neighbors of Ephraim. Dan was on the west and Benjamin on the east along the lower border of the children of Joseph. Beth-el was one of the most prominent points on the south border of Ephraim. This town was twelve miles from Jerusalem and on the right of the road between Jerusalem and Shechem. Ruins at this point bear the name Beitin. Luz was the old name of Beth-el, and the southern border of Ephraim ran along past the old town to Ataroth-adar. The border then went down to the territory possessed by the Japhletites, an ancient tribe who dwelt on the hills in the west part of Ephraim's territory. Beth-horon lay on the boundary between Benjamin and Ephraim and was settled by the Kohathites. The upper village is some four miles from Gibeon, and marks the descent down into the Philistine plains. The border of the territory assigned to the children of Joseph finally reached to Gezer, a town that figured prominently in later Israelite history, and the site of which has recently been excavated by a number of capable archaeologists, including Professor Reuben Bullard of the Bible College of The Cincinnati Bible Seminary. Finally, the southern border reached to the Mediterranean Sea.

3.

Who were the Archites? Joshua 16:2 b

The Archites are a family of people otherwise unknown except for this reference here. They evidently lived on the south border of Ephraim between Beth-el and Ataroth. Hushai, the beloved counselor of David, was an Archite (2 Samuel 15:32; 2 Samuel 16:16; 2 Samuel 17:5; 2 Samuel 17:14). Any village which belonged to them is not known, their settlement having been lost in the passage of time.

4.

Where is Gezer? Joshua 16:3

Gezer stands right on the edge of the northern promontory of Japhleti and overlooks all of the plain of Sharon and on out to the Mediterranean Sea. It is about one half of the distance between Joppa and Jerusalem and was a very important outpost in the defenses of the land of Canaan. The site was excavated in modern times by Dr. MacAlester, and later by a team under the auspices of Hebrew Union College. Gates built in the time of Solomon have been discovered, and a worship area dating back into the third millenium before Christ is also in evidence.

5.

What was the western border of the children of Joseph? Joshua 16:3 b

The western border of the territory of the children of Joseph was the Mediterranean Sea. The scripture says, the goings out thereof are at the sea (Joshua 16:3 b). No western border is given in so many words, but it goes without saying that the Mediterranean Sea was the western border of both Ephraim and Manasseh. The southern border was given since this divided the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh from the territory of all the other tribes to the south. In giving the border of the children of Ephraim, the author makes it clear that the territory was divided between the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. The northern border of the tribe of Manasseh is given in the next chapter.

6.

Why did Manasseh and Ephraim receive their inheritance together? Joshua 16:4

Since both Ephraim and Manasseh were sons of Joseph, they were given a single portion of land. This portion was then divided between them. In addition, Manasseh also was divided with part of his descendants living east of the Jordan while others lived west of the Jordan. In receiving this double portion of land, Joseph indeed became a fruitful bough by a fountain; his branches ran over the wall (Genesis 49:22).