CHAPTER 17
1 Forsooth (a) lot felled to the lineage of Manasseh, for he is the first engendered son of Joseph; (that is, a)lot felled to Machir, the first engendered son of Manasseh, to the father of Gilead (or the father of Gilead), that was a warrior, and he had [the] possession (of) Gilead and Bashan.
2 And (a) lot felled to the others of the sons of Manasseh, by their families; to the sons of Abiezer, and to the sons of Helek, and to the sons of Asriel, and to the sons of Shechem, and to the sons of Hepher, and to the sons of Shemida; these be the sons of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the male children, by their families.
3 But to Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, there were not sons, but daughters alone (or but only daughters); of which these be the names, Mahlah, and Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.
4 And they came in the sight of Eleazar, [the] priest, and of Joshua, [the] son of Nun, and of the princes, and said, The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, that (a) possession should be given to us in the midst of our brethren. And Joshua gave to them (a) possession, by the commandment of the Lord, in the midst of the brethren of their father. (And they came before Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the leaders, and said, The Lord commanded by Moses, that a possession should be given to us in the midst of our kinsmen. And Joshua gave them a possession, by the commandment of the Lord, in the midst of their father’s brothers.)
5 And ten cords, that is, lands measured by ten cords, felled to Manasseh, without the land of Gilead and Bashan, beyond (the) Jordan; (And ten cords, that is, the lands measured by ten cords, fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, on the eastern side of the Jordan River;)
6 for the daughters of Manasseh wielded (a) heritage in the midst of the sons of him. For the land of Gilead felled into the part of the sons of Manasseh, that were left alive. (for Manasseh’s daughters received an inheritance in the midst of his sons. For the land of Gilead fell into the portion for the rest of Manasseh’s sons.)
7 And the term of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that beholdeth Shechem, and it goeth forth to the right side, beside the dwellers of the well (of) Tappuah; (And the territory of western Manasseh went from Asher to Michmethah, which is east of Shechem, and it goeth forth to the right side, beside the inhabitants of Entappuah;)
8 for the land of Tappuah, which is beside the terms of Manasseh, and of the sons of Ephraim, felled in the lot of Manasseh. (for the land of Tappuah fell in the lot of Manasseh, but Tappuah itself was on the border of Manasseh, and belonged to the sons of Ephraim.)
9 And the term of the valley of the place of reeds goeth down in the south of the strand of the cities of Ephraim, that be in the midst of the cities of Manasseh. The term of Manasseh is from the north of the strand, and the going(s) out thereof goeth to the sea; (And the border goeth down to the Kanah River, and then south of the river; the cities there belonged to Ephraim, even though they be in the midst of the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh is along the north side of the river, and its end, or its limit, is the Mediterranean Sea;)
10 so that the possession of Ephraim is from the south, and the possession of Manasseh is from the north, and the sea closeth ever either; and those possessions be joined to themselves in the lineage of Asher from the north, and in the lineage of Issachar from the east. (so the possession of Ephraim is from the south side of the river, and the possession of western Manasseh is from the north side of the river, and the Mediterranean Sea closeth, or endeth, both; and the tribe of Asher is to the north, and the tribe of Issachar is to the east.)
11 And the heritage of Manasseh was in Issachar and in Asher, Bethshean, and the towns thereof, and Ibleam, with his towns, and the dwellers of Dor, with her cities, and the dwellers of Endor, with her towns, and also the dwellers of Taanach, with her towns, and the dwellers of Megiddo, with her towns, and the third part of the city (of) Naphath*. (And Manasseh had possessions within Issachar and Asher, Bethshean, and its towns, and Ibleam, and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor, and its towns, and the inhabitants of Endor, and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach, and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo, and its towns, and the third part of the city of Naphath.)
12 And the sons of Manasseh might not destroy these cities, but Canaanites began to dwell in this land. (And the sons of Manasseh could not destroy these cities, and so the Canaanites continued to live in this land.)
13 And after that the sons of Israel had waxed strong, they made subject (these) Canaanites, and they made them tributaries to themselves, and they killed them not. (And after the Israelites had grown strong, they made these Canaanites to pay tribute, or taxes, to them, but they did not kill them.)
14 And the sons of Joseph spake to Joshua, and said, Why hast thou given to me land into (a) possession of (only) one lot and [one] part, since I am of so great multitude, and the Lord hath blessed me, that is, hath alarged me in children? (And Joseph’s sons, that is, the sons of Ephraim and of Manasseh, spoke to Joshua, and said, Why hast thou given us the land of only one lot, yea, only one portion for a possession, since we be of so great a multitude, and the Lord hath blessed us, that is, hath enlarged us, with so many childrenx?)
15 To whom Joshua said, If thou art a much people, go thou up into the wood, and cut down to thee spaces in the land of Perizzites, and of Rephaim, for the possession of the hill of Ephraim is (too) strait to thee. (To whom Joshua said, If thou be so many people, and the possession of the hill country of Ephraim is too small for thee, go thou up into the woods, and cut down space for thyselves in the land of the Perizzites, and of the Rephaim, or of the giants.)
16 To whom the sons of Joseph answered, We may not ascend to the hilly places, since Canaanites, that dwell in the land of the field, use iron chariots; in which land Bethshean, with his towns, and Jezreel, wielding the middle valley, be set. (To whom Joseph’s sons answered, The hill country is still not large enough; and also, the Canaanites, who live there in the land of the valley, have iron chariots; yea, all those who live in Bethshean, and its towns, and who live in the Jezreel Valley.)
17 And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, and of Ephraim, and of Manasseh, (or And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, that is, to the tribes of Ephraim, and of Manasseh), Thou art [a] much people, and of great strength; thou shalt not have (only) one lot,
18 but thou shalt pass to the hill, and thou shalt cut down to thee trees; and thou shalt cleanse spaces to dwell in, (or but thou shalt go into the hill country, and thou shalt cut down the trees; and thou shalt clear out space for thyselves to live in). And thou shalt be able to go forth further, when thou hast destroyed (the) Canaanites, whom thou sayest to have iron chariots, and to be most strong.
* CHAPTER 17:11 The Hebrew meaning of this phrase, ‘and the third part of the city (of) Naphath’, is unclear; other possibilities include: ‘even the three countries, or regions’, ‘even the three heights’, and ‘and the third is Naphath, that is, the hills of Dor’.