Joshua 16 17 Joseph's Inheritance

Go Go Go Josephites!Show more

This chapter deals primarily with land that is given to the Josephites, or more specifically, the Ephraims (1-9).
Joseph, if you don't recall, was the favorite son of Jacob who was sold into slavery by his brothers.
The last verse of the chapter tells us that the Ephraims were unable to drive out the Canaanites who lived in their land so they forced the Canaanites to become servants instead (10).

This is an odd contrast considering the first twelve chapters of Joshua make the reader think that the Israelites had no problem conquering the Promised Land.

Ancient Feminism And A Bunch Of Complainers

Joshua divides land in Canaan for the Manasseh, the other half of the Josephites (1-2).
The daughters of Zelophehad go before Joshua and Eleazar and say that God commanded that they receive an inheritance along with their male kin.
Joshua, being an equal opportunist, divides ten portions to the Manassites besides the land of Gilead and Bashan.