Bible Strands
Joshua 17:9
From there the border continued southward to the Brook of Kanah. There were cities belonging to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh, but the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook and ended at the Sea.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua records the territorial allocation to the tribes of Israel, specifically delineating the boundary between Ephraim and Manasseh. This occurs during the final distribution of the Promised Land following the military conquest.
The words — The passage emphasizes נַחַל (nachal), translated as wadi or brook, and גְבוּל (gevul), meaning border. These terms function as the primary geographical markers that separate the two tribal inheritances.
The thread — This landmark reappears in Joshua 16:8 as the western edge of Ephraim’s allotment and resurfaces in Joshua 19:29 near the border of Asher. The repeated reference maintains a consistent topographical framework across the tribal records.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to note how intermingled cities and shared waterways necessitated explicit legal boundaries. It asks for a clear understanding of how territorial disputes were resolved through documented lines rather than unilateral claims.
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 coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea:
Cross-references
- Joshua 16:3 Then it descended westward to the border of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth-horon and on to Gezer, and it ended at the Sea.
- Joshua 16:8 From Tappuah the border went westward to the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Sea. This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Ephraim,
- Joshua 19:29 The border then turned back toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Achzib,