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So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
Joshua 16:4 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB The children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
  • BSB So Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, received their inheritance.
  • NKJV So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
  • NASB The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.
  • NLT This was the homeland allocated to the families of Joseph’s sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, take their inheritance. The two sons of Joseph receive their portions together.

Overview

Manasseh and Ephraim, Joseph's sons whom Jacob adopted and blessed as his own, here receive their inheritance as full tribes (Genesis 48:5). Joseph thus effectively gained a double portion among Israel. This fulfills the patriarchal blessing and shows God's faithful ordering of the tribes He had foretold.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 1

  • Josh 17:14And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto?

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Joshua videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Joshua 16:4YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on JoshuaMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.

How Joshua 16:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.