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Context No. 711 of 4322 · Joshua

Context · Reflection

Joshua 17:1-12: in context

1This was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. As for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. 2So this was for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: for the children of Abiezer, for the children of Helek, for the children of Asriel, for the children of Shechem, for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida. These were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families. 3But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4They came to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the princes, saying, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father. 5Ten parts fell to Manasseh, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan; 6because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh. 7The border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem. The border went along to the right hand, to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. 8The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh; but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. 9The border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook. These cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook, and ended at the sea. 10Southward it was Ephraim’s, and northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea was his border. They reached to Asher on the north, and to Issachar on the east. 11Manasseh had three heights in Issachar, in Asher Beth Shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns. 12Yet the children of Manasseh couldn’t drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

This is Manasseh's share of the land, and two very different things happen in it. The tribe descends from Joseph's firstborn, and part of it had already taken Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan. As the western portion is being handed out, a family with no sons steps forward. Zelophehad had five daughters, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, and they come to Eleazar the priest and Joshua and say plainly: the LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers. They are holding the new leader to a ruling the old one had made, and they get their land.

They had to come and claim it. The promise existed, recorded years earlier when they first brought their case to Moses, but it did not fall into their laps; they walked up and asked for what was already theirs. The end of the passage shows the other side of that. When it comes to the fortified valleys, Manasseh could not drive out the Canaanites, and the Canaanites stayed in the land. Five daughters pressed their claim and received the full promise. The tribe around them settled for less than it was given, and left part of its inheritance in other hands.

The daughters received the promise because they came and claimed it, while the tribe left part of its own unclaimed. What has already been promised to me that I have simply never gone and asked for?

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