Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
the first-born of Joseph." On this account, in addition to the territory already given to
him in Gilead and Bashan, he received a second allotment of territory in Canaan
proper. With the word lªmaakiyr (OT:4353) (for Machir) the more minute account of
the division of the Manassites commences. wgw' lªmaakiyr (OT:4353) is first of all
written absolutely at the beginning of the sentence, and then resumed in low
(OT:3807a ) wayªhiy (OT:1961): "to Machir, the first-born of Manasseh...to him
were Gilead and Bashan assigned, because he was a man of war," i.e., a warlike
man, and had earned for himself a claim to the inheritance of Gilead and Bashan
through the peculiar bravery which he had displayed in the conquest of those lands.
By Machir , however, we are not to understand the actual son of Manasseh, but his
family; and hagilª`aad (OT:1568) 'abiy (OT:2) does not mean "father of Gilead," but
lord (possessor) of Gilead , for Machir's son Gilead is always called gilª`aad
(OT:1568) without the article (vid., Josh 17:3; Num 26:29-30; 27:1; 36:1; 1 Chron
7:17), whereas the country of that name is just as constantly called hagilª`aad
(OT:1568) (see v. 1, the last clause, v. 5; Josh 13:11,31; Num 32:40; Deut 3:10ff.).
"And there came , i.e., the lot fell (the lot is to be repeated from v. 1), to the other
descendants of Manasseh according to their families," which are then enumerated as
in Num 26:30-32. "These are the male descendants of Manasseh." hazªkaariym
(OT:2145) must not be altered, notwithstanding the fact that it is preceded and
followed by hanowtaariym (OT:3498); it is evidently used deliberately as an
antithesis to the female descendants of Manasseh mentioned in v. 3.
Verse 3-6. Among the six families of Manasseh (v. 2), Zelophehad , a descendant of
Hepher , left no son; but he had five daughters, whose names are given in v. 3 (as in
Num 26:33; 27:1; 36:10). These daughters had petitioned Moses for a separate
portion in the promised land, and their request had been granted (Num 27:2ff.,
compared with ch. 36). They therefore came before the committee appointed for
dividing the land and repeated this promised, which as at once fulfilled. Consequently
there were ten families of Manasseh who had received portions by the side of
Ephraim, five male and five female. "And (v. 5) there fell the measurements of
Manasseh (as) ten," i.e., ten portions were assigned to the Manassites (on the west of
the Jordan), beside the land of Gilead, because (as is again observed in v. 6) the
http://207.44.232.113/~bible/comment/ot/k&d/josh/jos107.html (1 of 3) [13/08/2004 01:18:53 p.m.]