Joshua 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,_ The lot of the children of Joseph fell, х_ HAGOWRAAL_ (H1486), the small pebble or calculus used in casting lots, frequently the portion awarded by lot: _ YAATSAA'_ (H3318), went forth] - referring either to the lot as drawn out of the urn, or to the tract of land thereby assigned. The first four verses describe the territory allotted to the family of Joseph-namely, the tribe of Ephraim and the half tribe of Manasseh-in the rich domains of central Palestine. It was drawn in one lot, that the brethren might be contiguously situated; but it was afterward divided. The southern boundary only is described here; that on the north, being irregular and less defined ...

1._And the lot of the children of Joseph fell, _etc The sacred writer first states what the lot was which fell to the two children of Joseph, and then describes the lot of Ephraim. It is strange, however, that when the half of the tribe of Manasseh had already been settled beyond the Jordan, more words are employed in describing the remaining half than in describing the whole of the inheritance of the tribe of Ephraim, though the latter was the more populous, and justly claimed for itself a larger territory. But the longer detail given concerning the posterity of Manasseh is owing to particular circumstances. First, the writer repeats how a settlement had been given them without lot in the country of Basan. Secondly, he mentions the ratification by Joshua of the command which Moses had given by divine authority in regard to the daughters of Selophead. Seeing, then, there was no doubt in...

CHAPTER XVI _Borders of the children of Joseph_, 1-4. _The borders of the Ephraimites_, 5-9. _The Canaanites dwell tributary among them_, 10. NOTES ON CHAP. XVI Verse Joshua 16:1. _THE CHILDREN OF JOSEPH_] Ephraim and Manasseh, and their descendants. The limits of the tribe of Ephraim extended along the borders of Benjamin and Dan, from _Jordan_ on the _east_ to the _Mediterranean_ on the _west_....

TO THE WILDERNESS - Strike out “to,” for the word is in apposition to “lot.” The wilderness is Joshua 18:12 “the wilderness of Bethaven.”...

EXPOSITION THE INHERITANCE OF EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH. JOSHUA 16:1 FELL. Literally_ came forth, i.e; _out of the urn. THE WATER OF JERICHO. "This is the present fountain of es Sultan, half an hour to the west of Ribs, the only large fountain in the neighbourhood of Jericho, whose waters spread over the plain and form a small brook" (or small stream, according to Von Schubert)," which flows in the rainy season through the Wady Kelt into the Jordan" (Keil and Delitzsch). This spring, which rises amid the nebek trees and the wheat fields, "springs from the earth at the eastern base of a little knoll; the water is sweet, clear, and agreeable, neither cold nor warm" (Ritter). It flows, he adds, into a basin nine feet b

AND THE LOT OF THE CHILDREN OF JOSEPH FELL,.... Or, "went out" a; of the pot or urn, this being the next lot that was drawn to that of Judah, the government being Judah's, and the birthright Joseph's, 1 Chronicles 5:2; and by his children are here meant the tribe of Ephraim, and the tribe of Manasseh: or the line and border according to the lot went forth FROM JORDAN BY JERICHO UNTO THE WATER OF JERICHO ON THE EAST; by which it appears, that this was the southern border of the lot; for the tribe of Benjamin, in which Jericho was, lay between Judah and Ephraim, and the border began at Jordan, where it flowed near Jericho, and proceeded to a water which belonged to that city, and is generally thought to be the waters Elisha healed, 2 Kings 2:19; to the wilderness that

4. THE PORTION OF EPHRAIM CHAPTER 16 _ 1. The lot for the children of Joseph (Joshua 16:1)_ 2. Ephraim's portion (Joshua 16:5) 3. Ephraim's failure (Joshua 16:10) A wonderful lot was that of Joseph, beginning at Jordan, the river of death, up to Bethel, which means “the house of God.” Then the portion of Ephraim comes first. Ephraim with the blessed inheritance to be “doubly fruitful” (the meaning of Ephraim) fails. “They drove not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer.” Josephus, the Jewish historian, remarks on this: “They grew effeminate as to fighting any more against their enemies, but applied themselves to the cultivation of the land, which producing them great plenty and riches, they

JOSHUA 16 F. This section deals with the inheritance of the Joseph tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh. It is composite, but the different parts are easily separated. The old narrative speaks of the tribe of Joseph, the new, _i.e._ P, of Ephraim and Manasseh. The section begins with three verses (Joshua 16:1) from the older source which give the dividing line of the lot of Joseph, _i.e._ the boundary between the N. and S.; the line goes from Jordan near Jericho, leaving Jericho on the S., and is drawn by Bethel, Bethhoron, and Gezer. One would naturally expect that this line would be the same as the southern border of Ephraim which P gives in the following verses (Joshua 16:4). But for some reason, which we can only conjecture, the borders of Ephraim are confused and unintelligible. It has been suggested tha

THE LOT. See note on Joshua 14:1. CHILDREN. sons. FELL. came forth, i.e. from the bag behind the High Priest's breastplate, the Thummim meaning "Yes". See notes on Exodus 28:30 and Numbers 26:55....

Joshua 16:1-4. The Lot of the Children of Joseph 1. _the lot of the children of Joseph_ Having described the inheritance of the royal tribe of Judah, the Author proceeds to relate the distribution of the descendants of the great house of Joseph. _fell_ Heb. _went forth_, i.e. "came out of the urn or chest." See above, ch. Joshua 7:16, and Joshua 14:2. _from Jordan by Jericho_ We have first the southern boundary, which coincided for part of its length with the northern boundary of Benjamin. It began at the Jordan, at the port, or reach, exactly opposite to Jericho. Compare for the expression, above ch. Joshua 13: