- 1And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Beth-el,
- 2And goeth out from Beth-el to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth,
- 3And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Beth-horon the nether, and to Gezer: and the goings out thereof are at the sea.
- 4So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
- 5 And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth-addar, unto Beth-horon the upper;
- 6And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanath-shiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah;
- 7And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan.
- 8The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.
- 9And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.
- 10And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.
KING JAMES VERSION
JOSHUA 16
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
Joshua 16 — Joseph’s sons receive their inheritance, and Ephraim’s borders are set though the Canaanites remain in Gezer under tribute.
About this illustration
The route from Jordan highlands toward the sea is shown without labels. Gezer remains visibly occupied to preserve the chapter’s unfinished note.
Scripture basis: Joshua 16:1–10King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEInscription
Eleventh century BC, Iron Age I
The Izbet Sartah Ostracon
An inscribed potsherd recovered from an eleventh-century BC silo at Izbet Sartah preserves five lines of early alphabetic marks, including a nearly complete abecedary, making scribal experimentation at a small hill-country settlement more secure than any proposed translation of its upper lines.
1 Samuel 4:1–11 · Joshua 12:18 · Joshua 16:8–9
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEArchitecture
Iron Age IIA, tenth century BC, with later rebuilding
Gezer’s Six-Chambered Gate and Administrative City
Gezer’s six-chambered gate, casemate defenses, and adjoining administrative complex mark a planned Iron Age IIA city whose radiocarbon-supported tenth-century development is compatible with 1 Kings 9, though architecture and date cannot identify Solomon as its builder.
1 Kings 9:15–17 · Joshua 10:33 · Joshua 16:10
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCECult & worship
approximately 5th-6th century AD, commonly dated to the 6th century
The Na'aran Synagogue Mosaic near Jericho
A sixth-century synagogue floor near Jericho combines a Torah shrine, menorahs, zodiac imagery, donor inscriptions, animals, and later iconoclastic damage, preserving a layered witness to Jewish Scripture, worship, art, and communal memory.
Genesis 1:14–18 · Exodus 25:31–40 · Joshua 16:7