Bible Strands
Joshua 16:1
The allotment for the descendants of Joseph extended from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east, through the wilderness that goes up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua 16:1 records the territorial division made by lot for Joseph's descendants during the initial settlement of Canaan. The passage functions as a geographic report within the broader land distribution narrative, with no speaker or addressee specified in the verse itself.
The words — The Hebrew phrase הַגּוֹרָל לִבְנֵי יוֹסֵף (ha.goral li.vnei yo.sef) translates literally as "the lot for the sons of Joseph," identifying the administrative mechanism for the distribution. The verb וַיֵּצֵא (va.yi.tze) means "it went out" or "extended," marking the boundary's outward progression from its starting point.
The thread — This boundary description continues in Joshua 16:2 and corresponds to the northern border reference in Joshua 18:12, which also traces a line from the Jordan past Jericho. The waters of Jericho reappear in 2 Kings 2:19 as a distinct location associated with a spring.
Why it lands — The verse maps a specific geographic corridor from the Jordan River eastward through Jericho’s waters and up into the hill country of Bethel. Readers must follow this exact route to understand how tribal inheritance was physically allocated, avoiding assumptions about the boundary's direction or modern equivalents.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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 Beth–el,
Cross-references
- Joshua 18:12 On the north side their border began at the Jordan, went up past the northern slope of Jericho, headed west through the hill country, and came out at the wilderness of Beth-aven.
- Joshua 8:15 Joshua and all Israel let themselves be beaten back before them, and they fled toward the wilderness.
- 2 Kings 2:19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Please note, our lord, that the city’s location is good, as you can see. But the water is bad and the land is unfruitful.”
- Joshua 15:61 These were in the wilderness: Beth-arabah, Middin, Secacah,