“The border of M’nasheh began at Asher and went to Mikhm’tat, which is across from Sh’khem; next the border went along to the right, to the people of ‘Ein-Tapuach.”-Joshua 17:7
From verse 7, we’re given a description of the borders for the Tribe of Manasseh and as I mentioned yesterday, boy was it huge!
The land given to Manasseh bordered right along Ephraim’s territory and there’s an interesting reason why.
When the lots were being drawn for Ephraim and Manesseh, there was only ONE lot drawn up for the both of them.
Why?
Because they were paired together and viewed as the tribe of Joseph.
This actually irritated Ephraim and Manasseh because they each wanted to be considered individually as large and powerful tribes in their own right.
Remember a region was matched up based on the population of a tribe.
This is all pretty confusing, isn’t it?
Well, I’ve got news for you.
It was equally as confusing and a pain in the neck for Ephraim and Manesseh as well.
Call it ego or pride, but Ephraim and Manasseh were two of the biggest tribes in Israel and they didn’t want to be lumped together under the name of “Joseph” even if Joseph was their father.
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