Joshua 17:18

Rather than rebuking the people for their fear, Joshua repeated his instructions to clear forest land for settlement. He promised that the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh would eventually drive out the Canaanites. This promise gave them hope. It also helped them grow in faith and overcome their fear.

Much of the hill country was covered with forests, and only a few Canaanites lived there. If Ephraim and Manasseh had settled only on land that was already cleared, they would have had little room to grow. Around this time, people began to use iron tools, including iron axe heads. With these tools, the tribes could cut down the forests and prepare new land for settlement.

Joshua may have set an example by doing this himself. He settled at Timnath-serah, which was in a forested area of the hill country of Ephraim (19:50).

Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim (Genesis 41:50–52). Half of those descended from Manasseh received their inheritance east of the Jordan River. The tribe of Ephraim and the rest of Manasseh's tribe now received their land. This made the total number of land portions twelve, fulfilling Jacob's blessing to Joseph (Genesis 49:22–26). Like Judah in the south, Joseph’s tribes led from their central position in the north.

• The allotment of land to the tribes on the west side of the Jordan describes what God intended for each tribe to possess.

• The one narrating the story begins this section with Caleb receiving land and ends with Joshua receiving land (14:6–15; 19:49–51). Only Caleb and Joshua had shown faith in God that Israel could conquer the land (Numbers 13:30; 14:6–9).

• As he had promised, God brought Israel into the land. Joshua then focused on dividing the land among Israel's tribes.

• The tribal allowances made the covenant of the Israelites with God real. It showed the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Since God owned the land, giving it to the tribes was a gift. God gave them the land to live in and guided its distribution.

• In these lists of tribal allowances, the author describes some borders in great detail, allowing them to be mapped. With others, they are less plainly defined.