What is the meaning of Joshua 17:6? The daughters of Manasseh “because the daughters of Manasseh…” (Joshua 17:6) • Scripture names them Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah (Numbers 27:1; Joshua 17:3). • They approached Moses and the leaders, asking for a share in the promised land when their father Zelophehad died without sons (Numbers 27:2–4). • God affirmed their request, commanding, “You must certainly give them property as an inheritance” (Numbers 27:7). • Their story shows faith that God would keep His word about Canaan long before Israel actually crossed the Jordan (Hebrews 11:1, 11:22). Received an inheritance among his sons “…received an inheritance among his sons.” (Joshua 17:6) • The daughters were counted alongside male relatives, a rare legal precedent that honored God’s justice (Numbers 36:6–9; Joshua 17:4). • Practical outworking: – Each sister married within Manasseh, keeping tribal boundaries intact (Numbers 36:10–12). – Manasseh’s total allotment west of the Jordan expanded to accommodate them (Joshua 17:5). • The principle foreshadows how Christ grants an equal “inheritance among those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32; Galatians 3:28). And the land of Gilead belonged “And the land of Gilead belonged…” (Joshua 17:6) • Gilead sits east of the Jordan, a rugged, fertile plateau first conquered under Moses (Numbers 32:39–41; Deuteronomy 3:12–13). • Earlier, Moses had promised it to half of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad in exchange for helping the rest of Israel secure Canaan (Numbers 32:20–23). • The statement in Joshua reaffirms that nothing about the daughters’ inheritance altered the previously assigned eastern territory. To the rest of the sons of Manasseh “…to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.” (Joshua 17:6) • Manasseh effectively held a “double portion”—land on both sides of the Jordan—fulfilling Jacob’s prophetic blessing on Joseph’s line (Genesis 48:21–22; Joshua 14:4). • Distribution snapshot: – East: the clans of Machir received Gilead and Bashan (Joshua 13:29–31). – West: other clans, plus Zelophehad’s daughters, inherited territory stretching from the Jordan Valley to the Mediterranean (Joshua 17:7–10). • God’s orderly apportionment underscores His covenant faithfulness (Joshua 21:43–45). summary Joshua 17:6 demonstrates God’s meticulous justice. By granting Zelophehad’s daughters land “among his sons,” the Lord honors faith and upholds equity without overturning earlier promises. Manasseh’s dual inheritance—Gilead to the east, Canaanite territories to the west—reveals a God who keeps every detail of His word, protecting both individual rights and tribal boundaries. The account reminds believers that the same faithful God secures our eternal inheritance in Christ. |
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