Joshua 16:10 Komentář

It is a pity that this and the following chapter should be separated, for both of them give us the lot of the children of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, who, next to Judah, were to have the post of honour, and therefore had the first and best portion in the northern part of Canaan, as Judah now had in the southern part. In this chapter we have, I. A general account of the lot of these two tribes together (Jos 16:1-4). II. The borders of the lot of Ephraim in particular (Jos 16:5-10). That of Manasseh following in the next chapter.

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 16 This chapter gives us an account of the lot of the children of Joseph, Ephraim, and the half tribe of Manasseh, one half having settled on the other side Jordan; and first the borders of the whole lot in general are given, Jos 16:1; and then the borders of the tribe of Ephraim in particular, Jos 16:4; and it is observed, that this tribe had besides separate cities among the children of Manasseh, and that there were some Canaanites, particularly in Gezer, not driven out by the Ephraimites, Jos 16:9.

“And the Canaanites have lived in the midst of Ephraim to this very day.” But Ephraim is interpreted as “fruitful.” Therefore, although it is fruitful, it is not able to eject the Canaanite (who is of a different and cursed seed) from its territory until this day. But we can also say this concerning the church. Taken another way, there is no soul who is able to remain pure in this present life seeking peace alone without sinning until he sees Christ, the peace of God and the one who [dwells] throughout all those who bear fruit. For no one is clean from sordidness, from strange or alien thinking [on his own]. And so, just as the Jebusites and Canaanites are always found in Jerusalem, it is also necessary to suffer for the casting out of these, but only those who call upon God are able to do so.

Borders of the children of Joseph, Jos 16:1-4. The borders of the Ephraimites, Jos 16:5-9. The Canaanites dwell tributary among them, Jos 16:10.

The Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer - It appears that the Canaanites were not expelled from this city till the days of Solomon, when it was taken by the king of Egypt his father-in-law, who made it a present to his daughter, Solomon's queen. See Kg1 9:16. And see the note on Jos 10:33. The Ephraimites, however, had so far succeeded in subjecting these people as to oblige them to pay tribute, though they could not, or at least did not, totally expel them. Of the names and places in this chapter, we may say the same as of others already mentioned. See the note on Jos 15:1. Many of those towns were small, and, we may rationally conclude, slightly built, and consequently have perished perhaps more than a thousand years ago. It would be therefore useless to look for such places now. Several of the towns in England, a land not exposed to such revolutions as that of Palestine has ever been, mentioned by Caesar and other ancient writers, are no longer discernible. Several have changed their names, and not a few their situation. Tradition states that the city of Norwich anciently stood some miles from its present situation; and we have the fullest proof that this was the case with the city of Salisbury. Such changes do not affect the truth of the ancient geography of our own country; nor can they impeach that of the sacred historian before us.

THE GENERAL BORDERS OF THE SONS OF JOSEPH. (Jos 16:1-4) the lot of the children of Joseph fell--Hebrew, "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 in the rich domains of central Palestine. It was drawn in one lot, that the brethren might be contiguously situated; but it was afterwards divided. The southern boundary only is described here; that on the north being irregular and less defined (Jos 17:10-11), is not mentioned. water of Jericho-- (Kg2 2:19), at the joint of its junction with the Jordan. mount Beth-el--the ridge south of Beth-el. Having described the position of Joseph's family generally the historian proceeds to define the territory; first, that of Ephraim.

they drave not out the Canaanites . . . but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute--This is the first mention of the fatal policy of the Israelites, in neglecting the divine command (Deu 20:16) to exterminate the idolaters. Next: Joshua Chapter 17

Inheritance of the Tribe of Joseph - Joshua 16-17 The descendants of Joseph drew one lot, that the inheritance of the half tribe of Manasseh might not be separated from that of the tribe of Ephraim. But the territory was immediately divided between the two separate tribes of the children of Joseph, Ephraim receiving the southern portion of the land that had fallen to it by lot, and half Manasseh the northern. Accordingly we find the southern boundary of the whole territory described first of all in Jos 16:1-4, both the boundary which separated it from the tribe of Benjamin (Jos 18:11.), and that which divided it from Dan (Jos 19:40.); then the territory of Ephraim is given, with a minute description of the northern boundary (Jos 16:5-10); and finally the territory assigned to the families of Manasseh (Jos 17:1-13), without any precise delineation of its northern boundaries, all that is stated being that the Manassites touched Asher and Issachar towards the north, and also received some scattered towns with their villages in the territory of both those tribes (Jos 17:10-11). To this there is appended in vv. 14-18 the complaint of the children of Joseph concerning the inheritance that had fallen to them.

From Gezer, however (see Jos 16:3), they could not drive out the Canaanites, so that they still dwelt among the Ephraimites, but were reduced to a state of serfdom. This notice resembles the one in Jos 15:63, and is to be interpreted in the same way.