Commentary - Joshua 16:5-9

Bird's-eye view

After the initial conquest of the land under Joshua, the narrative shifts to the crucial task of allocation. This section of Joshua is not merely a collection of dry geographical details for an ancient land survey. Rather, it is a demonstration of God's meticulous faithfulness. He promised this land to Abraham centuries before, and now we see the deed being formally recorded. These chapters are the title work, the legal description of the inheritance God is giving to His people. Specifically, this passage details the boundaries for the tribe of Ephraim, one of the two powerful tribes descended from Joseph. The drawing of these lines on the map is a profoundly theological act. It shows that God's grace is not abstract; it takes up real space. It has borders and names. God is sovereign over geography just as He is sovereign over salvation. This inheritance, while a tangible blessing, also came with the responsibility to possess it fully by driving out the remaining Canaanites, a task at which Ephraim would prove to be partially disobedient.

The specificity of these verses ought to impress upon us the reality of God's promises. He doesn't just promise "blessings;" He promises particular blessings, in a particular place, for a particular people. For the Christian, this detailed account of a physical inheritance serves as a type and shadow of our spiritual inheritance in Christ. Our inheritance is just as real, just as specific, and just as graciously given. It has been secured for us by the greater Joshua, the Lord Jesus, who leads us into a promised rest that is not a plot of land, but fellowship with God Himself.

Outline

Context In Joshua

This passage sits in the third major section of the book of Joshua. The first section detailed the crossing into the land (Josh. 1-5), and the second detailed the conquest of the land (Josh. 6-12). Now, in chapters 13-21, we have the allocation of the conquered land. This is the peaceful and administrative side of the conquest. The fighting is largely done, and now the tribes are to receive their portions by lot before the Lord at Shiloh. Judah, the royal tribe, received its inheritance first (Ch. 15). Now the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, who received the double portion of the birthright from Jacob, are given their allotment. This section is the tangible fulfillment of the promises made to the patriarchs. God is not just a spiritual deliverer; He is a God who gives His people real estate. The detailed lists of towns and borders underscore the historicity of the event and the concrete nature of God's covenant faithfulness.

Key Issues

God the Cartographer

It is easy for our eyes to glaze over when we come to passages like this. We read a string of ancient place names, Ataroth-addar, Michmethath, Taanath-shiloh, and our minds drift. But we must resist this temptation. Why did the Holy Spirit inspire the inclusion of such detailed geographical records? It is because God is the one drawing the lines. Psalm 78:55 says that God "drove out the nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents." Acts 17:26 tells us that God "determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place."

God is a God of order, not chaos. He is a God of specifics. When He gives a gift, He defines it. The drawing of these property lines is a divine act. It teaches us that God cares about the material world, about places and borders. Our lives are not lived in a vague spiritual ether; they are lived in particular houses, on particular streets, in particular nations whose boundaries God Himself has ultimately determined. For Ephraim, this list of towns was not boring; it was their charter, their deed of trust, given to them by the Lord of all the earth. It was a tangible expression of His grace and favor toward them.

Verse by Verse Commentary

5 Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon.

The text begins by identifying the recipients: the sons of Ephraim, organized according to their families. This is not a grant to an abstract entity, but to a collection of real families. The inheritance is personal. The description of the border starts on the east, at a place called Ataroth-addar, and runs to upper Beth-horon. These places had history. Beth-horon was the site of a significant victory where God fought for Joshua, casting down hailstones on the Amorites (Josh. 10:11). So, the very boundary markers of their new home were reminders of God's miraculous power on their behalf. Their inheritance was not just land; it was land freighted with the memory of God's deliverance.

6 Then the border went westward at Michmethath on the north, and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and passed on beyond it to the east of Janoah.

The description continues, moving now to the northern border. The language is that of a surveyor walking the land. It goes this way, then it turns that way. This is not a vague "somewhere over there." It is precise. The border went west, then it turned back east. This might seem confusing, but it reflects the reality of geography, following ridges, valleys, and other natural markers. The point for us is the meticulous care with which the inheritance is defined. God's grace to us in Christ is equally precise. He has saved us from specific sins and for specific good works which He prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10). Our inheritance is not a nebulous fog of goodwill; it is a well-defined reality.

7 And it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah and reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan.

The boundary line now descends, heading south and east. It goes down from the hill country toward the Jordan valley. It "reached Jericho," the very first city they conquered, the place where God showed them that the battle was His. And it terminates at the Jordan River, the place of their miraculous entry into the land. Again, the boundaries are not just lines on a map; they are a story. They are a constant reminder of where they came from and how they got there. Every time an Ephraimite farmer walked the edge of his property, he was walking through the narrative of God's faithfulness.

8 From Tappuah the border continued westward to the brook of Kanah, and it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families,

Here the western border is defined. It runs along a brook, or wadi, all the way to the Mediterranean Sea. The brook itself has a name, Kanah, which means "reedy." God knows the name of the brook that marks the edge of Ephraim's land. He is intimately acquainted with the details. The verse then concludes with a summary statement, a legal declaration: This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim. It is settled. It is declared. This land now belongs to them by divine decree. It is their inheritance, a gift, not something they earned or deserved. All true inheritance is by grace.

9 together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

This final verse adds an interesting complication. Ephraim was also given certain cities that were geographically located within the territory of their brother tribe, Manasseh. This arrangement of exclaves would have necessitated a close relationship and cooperation between the two tribes. They were distinct, with their own borders, but they were also intertwined. This was a built-in mechanism to foster unity. It prevented a hard, isolationist tribalism. They were one people, and God arranged their geography to remind them of that fact. Their destinies were linked. This is a picture of the church, where we have our individual callings and gifts, but we are all members of one body, dependent upon one another.

Application

First, we should learn to see the hand of God in the boundaries of our own lives. God has given each of us an inheritance. This includes our family, our nation, our talents, our resources, and our station in life. Like the borders of Ephraim, these things are specifically allotted to us by a sovereign and good God. Our task is not to covet the inheritance of Manasseh, but to faithfully possess and cultivate the one God has given to us. Contentment begins with recognizing that the lines have fallen for us in pleasant places (Ps. 16:6).

Second, this passage is a picture of a greater reality. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that Joshua gave Israel a physical land, but he could not give them true rest (Heb. 4:8). That first inheritance was a type, a shadow, of the true inheritance that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the greater Joshua. He has gone before us and conquered our enemies, sin and death. He has secured for us an inheritance that is "imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you" (1 Pet. 1:4). Our inheritance is not a piece of land in the Middle East, but a full and complete salvation, a restored relationship with our Creator, and a place in His eternal kingdom.

Finally, just as Ephraim was given cities within Manasseh to bind them together, so too are we bound to our brothers and sisters in the church. Our spiritual lives are not a solo venture. God has placed us in a body, and we need each other. Your inheritance in Christ is intertwined with mine. We are called to bear one another's burdens, to rejoice with those who rejoice, and to weep with those who weep. The unity of the church is not an optional extra; it is woven into the very fabric of our inheritance, just as the cities of Ephraim were woven into the fabric of Manasseh.