Bible Strands
Joshua 17:1
Now this was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn son, namely for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh and father of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because Machir was a man of war.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua records the territorial division to the assembled tribes of Israel as the narrative shifts from military conquest to administrative distribution.
The words — הַ/גּוֹרָל (ha/goral) translates literally as “the lot,” designating the divinely determined inheritance. בְּכ֣וֹר (bechor) means “firstborn,” establishing Machir’s primary claim within the tribe.
The thread — The designation of Manasseh as Joseph’s firstborn appears in Genesis 41:51 and Genesis 46:20, while the specific listing of the Machirite and Gileadite clans aligns with Numbers 26:29.
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to map the precise inheritance boundaries of Manasseh and acknowledge Machir’s direct grant of Gilead and Bashan based solely on the stated lineage and administrative record.
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
There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.
Cross-references
- Genesis 41:51 Joseph named the firstborn Manasseh, saying, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s household.”
- Numbers 26:29 These were the descendants of Manasseh: The Machirite clan from Machir, the father of Gilead, and the Gileadite clan from Gilead.
- Genesis 46:20 Manasseh and Ephraim were born to Joseph in the land of Egypt by Asenath daughter of Potiphera, priest of On.
- Genesis 50:23 He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation, and indeed the sons of Machir son of Manasseh were brought up on Joseph’s knees.
- Genesis 48:18 “Not so, my father!” Joseph said. “This one is the firstborn; put your right hand on his head.”
- Numbers 32:39 The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there.
- Numbers 27:1 Now the daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. These were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. They approached
- Numbers 32:33 So Moses gave to the Gadites, to the Reubenites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan—the land including its cities and the territory surrounding them.
- Deuteronomy 3:13 To the half-tribe of Manasseh I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan, the kingdom of Og. (The entire region of Argob, the whole territory of Bashan, used to be called the land of the Rephaim.)
- Deuteronomy 21:17 Instead, he must acknowledge the firstborn, the son of his unloved wife, by giving him a double portion of all that he has. For that son is the firstfruits of his father’s strength; the right of the firstborn belongs to him.