The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Portion” it comes from the Hebrew Word “cheleq” which means “portion, share.”
The daughters of Zelophehad step forward once more, this time to actually claim the land God promised them. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Joshua 17.
The tribe of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn, receives its inheritance, with half already settled east of the Jordan under Moses, and the remaining half now receiving territory west of the Jordan alongside Ephraim. The five daughters of Zelophehad, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, come before Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the leaders of Israel, reminding them of the ruling Moses established years earlier in Numbers, that they should receive an inheritance among their father’s brethren since he died without a son.
Consistent with that earlier ruling, they receive their inheritance exactly as promised, a meaningful, practical fulfillment of a promise made decades earlier during the wilderness wandering, now finally realized in the actual land itself. Manasseh’s combined territory, spanning both sides of the Jordan, becomes notably large, though the tribe, like Ephraim before it, is unable to drive out the Canaanites from several fortified cities within their allotted region, including Bethshean and Megiddo, due to their strong iron chariots.
When the children of Joseph complain to Joshua that their allotted portion feels too small for such a numerous people, Joshua responds pointedly, telling them that if they are truly so great, they should go up into the forest country and clear it themselves, rather than simply complaining, and that they are strong enough to drive out the Canaanites despite their iron chariots, since “the LORD… is great.”
Joshua’s blunt response to Joseph’s complaining descendants carries a lesson worth noticing. Rather than simply granting more land to satisfy their frustration, he challenged them to actually go take the additional territory themselves, trusting God’s strength rather than waiting passively for an easier solution to be handed to them.
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