Bible Study Joshua 16
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Joshua 16 · WEB

Territory Allotted to Ephraim

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The lot came out for the children of Joseph from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel.
2It went out from Bethel to Luz, and passed along to the border of the Archites to Ataroth;
3and it went down westward to the border of the Japhletites, to the border of Beth Horon the lower, and to Gezer; and its border ended at the sea.
4The children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
5This was the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families. The border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth Addar, to Beth Horon the upper.
6The border went out westward at Michmethath on the north. The border turned about eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed along it on the east of Janoah.
7It went down from Janoah to Ataroth, to Naarah, reached to Jericho, and went out at the Jordan.
8From Tappuah the border went westward to the brook of Kanah, and ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families,
9together with the cities which were set apart for the children of Ephraim in the middle of the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.
10They didn't drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell in the middle of Ephraim to this day, and have become servants who do forced labor.
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Summary

The combined territory for the house of Joseph — Ephraim and Manasseh together — is described first as a single block stretching from Jericho in the east up through the central hill country to Bethel and westward to the Mediterranean Sea. Ephraim's specific allotment then takes up the southern portion of this block, running through the fertile central highlands of Canaan. Like Judah's failure with the Jebusites, the chapter ends with a notable shortcoming: Ephraim failed to drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, settling instead for subjugating them as forced laborers rather than obeying the command to remove them entirely.

Themes

  • God's fulfillment of the promise to Joseph's descendants, who became two full tribes
  • The fertile inheritance of the central highlands given to Joseph's sons
  • Incomplete obedience — settling for compromise rather than full possession
  • The danger of coexisting with what God commanded be removed

Key verses

  • Josh 16:10 — “They didn't drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell in the middle of Ephraim to this day, and have become servants who do forced labor.”
  • Josh 16:4 — “The children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.”

Context & background

Ephraim's territory corresponds to the central highlands of the modern West Bank — the region between Jerusalem to the south and the Jezreel Valley to the north. This was some of the most agriculturally productive land in Canaan, with good rainfall and deep soil. Key cities like Bethel (near modern Beitin), Shiloh (modern Khirbet Seilun), and Gezer (near modern Kibbutz Gezer in central Israel) defined this territory. Gezer sat at a strategic crossroads between the coastal plain and the hill country and remained a Canaanite stronghold until the time of Solomon, when it was given to him as a dowry by Egypt (1 Kings 9:16). The Jordan River, which forms part of the eastern boundary, still flows today between modern Jordan and Israel/West Bank.

Cross-references

  • 1 Kings 9:16 — Gezer is finally conquered by Pharaoh and given to Solomon as a wedding gift
  • Genesis 48:19 — Jacob prophesies that Ephraim, the younger, will be greater than Manasseh
  • Genesis 48:5–6 — Jacob elevates Ephraim and Manasseh to full tribal status, equal with his own sons
  • Judges 1:29 — Ephraim's failure to drive out the Canaanites in Gezer is noted again as a pattern of incomplete conquest
  • Psalm 78:9–11 — Ephraim is later rebuked for turning back in battle and not keeping God's covenant

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    What are the general boundaries of the combined Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) territory?

  2. Observe

    What did Ephraim do with the Canaanites in Gezer instead of driving them out?

  3. Interpret

    Why is Ephraim's use of the Canaanites as forced labor presented as a failure rather than a success?

  4. Interpret

    What pattern is the narrator establishing with these back-to-back failures (Judah at Jerusalem in ch. 15, Ephraim at Gezer in ch. 16)?

  5. Apply

    How does Ephraim's compromise warn believers about tolerating sin that seems "manageable"?

  6. Apply

    What does Ephraim's one-city failure teach about the urgency of dealing with small areas of incomplete obedience?

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