Joshua 16:5
New International Version
This was the territory of Ephraim, according to its clans: The boundary of their inheritance went from Ataroth Addar in the east to Upper Beth Horon

New Living Translation
The following territory was given to the clans of the tribe of Ephraim. The boundary of their homeland began at Ataroth-addar in the east. From there it ran to Upper Beth-horon,

English Standard Version
The territory of the people of Ephraim by their clans was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was Ataroth-addar as far as Upper Beth-horon,

Berean Standard Bible
This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar in the east to Upper Beth-horon

King James Bible
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 Atarothaddar, unto Bethhoron the upper;

New King James Version
The border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus: The border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth Addar as far as Upper Beth Horon.

New American Standard Bible
Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon.

NASB 1995
Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon.

NASB 1977
Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon.

Amplified Bible
Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: on the east side the border of their inheritance was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon.

Christian Standard Bible
This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar on the east to Upper Beth-horon.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar on the east of Upper Beth-horon.

American Standard Version
And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, unto Beth-horon the upper;

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And the border of the children of Aphreim for their families, the border of their inheritance was Atruth Erad unto Bayth Khuran the upper

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the borders of the children of Ephraim were according to their families, and the borders of their inheritance were eastward to Ataroth, and Eroc as far as Baethoron the upper, and Gazara.

Contemporary English Version
The following is a description of the land that was divided among the clans of the Ephraim tribe. Their southern border started at Ataroth-Addar and went west to Upper Beth-Horon

Douay-Rheims Bible
And the border of the children of Ephraim was according to their kindreds: and their possession towards the east was Ataroth-addar unto Beth-horon the upper.

English Revised Version
And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, unto Beth-horon the upper;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
This is the territory for the families descended from Ephraim. The eastern border of the land they inherited is from Ataroth Addar to Upper Beth Horon.

Good News Translation
This was the territory of the Ephraimite families: their border ran from Ataroth Addar eastward to Upper Beth Horon,

International Standard Version
This was the territory allocated to the descendants of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance on the east was Ataroth-addar as far as upper Beth-horon.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus; even the border of their inheritance eastward was Atroth-addar, unto Beth-horon the upper.

Literal Standard Version
And the border of the sons of Ephraim is by their families; and the border of their inheritance is on the east, Atroth-Addar to the upper Beth-Horon;

Majority Standard Bible
This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar in the east to Upper Beth-horon

New American Bible
the dividing line for the heritage of the Ephraimites by their clans ran from east of Ataroth-addar to Upper Beth-horon

NET Bible
The territory of the tribe of Ephraim by its clans included the following: The border of their assigned land to the east was Ataroth Addar as far as upper Beth Horon.

New Revised Standard Version
The territory of the Ephraimites by their families was as follows: the boundary of their inheritance on the east was Ataroth-addar as far as Upper Beth-horon,

New Heart English Bible
This was the border of the people of Ephraim according to their families. The border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth Addar, to Upper Beth Horon.

Webster's Bible Translation
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-adar, to Beth-horon the upper:

World English Bible
This was the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families. The border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth Addar, to Beth Horon the upper.

Young's Literal Translation
And the border of the sons of Ephraim is by their families; and the border of their inheritance is on the east, Atroth-Addar unto Beth-Horon the upper;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Ephraim's Inheritance
4So Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, received their inheritance. 5This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar in the east to Upper Beth-horon 6and out toward the Sea. From Michmethath on the north it turned eastward toward Taanath-shiloh and passed by it to Janoah on the east.…

Cross References
Joshua 10:10
And the LORD threw them into confusion before Israel, who defeated them in a great slaughter at Gibeon, pursued them along the ascent to Beth-horon, and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah.

Joshua 18:13
From there the border crossed over to the southern slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth-addar on the hill south of Lower Beth-horon.

1 Chronicles 7:24
His daughter was Sheerah, who built Lower and Upper Beth-horon, as well as Uzzen-sheerah.

Ezekiel 48:5
Ephraim will have one portion bordering the territory of Manasseh from east to west.


Treasury of Scripture

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 Atarothaddar, to Bethhoron the upper;

Ataroth-addar

Joshua 16:2
And goeth out from Bethel to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth,

Joshua 18:13
And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward; and the border descended to Atarothadar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Bethhoron.

Jump to Previous
Addar Ataroth Ataroth-Adar Ataroth-Addar At'aroth-Ad'dar Atroth-Addar Beth Border Children Clan East Eastward Ephraim E'phraimites Heritage Higher Horon Inheritance Limit Marked Side Territory Upper Way
Jump to Next
Addar Ataroth Ataroth-Adar Ataroth-Addar At'aroth-Ad'dar Atroth-Addar Beth Border Children Clan East Eastward Ephraim E'phraimites Heritage Higher Horon Inheritance Limit Marked Side Territory Upper Way
Joshua 16
1. The general borders of the sons of Joseph
5. The border of the inheritance of Ephraim
10. The Canaanites of Gezer not conquered














(5-8) The border (of Ephraim's inheritance) on the east side.--The words "on the east side" are not easy to understand. If Ataroth-addar is rightly identified as Ed-Darieh, and Mickmethah as the plain of Mukhnah, then the line from Ataroth-addar and Beth-horon to Michmethah is a line running due north, and separating the territory of Ephraim on the east from that of Dan on the west. The line from Michmethah to Taanath-shiloh (Tana, sheet 12) and Janohah (Yan-n, south of T'ana, sheet 15), and so to Jordan, is a line running from north-west to south-east. The brook Kanah is (roughly) continuous with this line, but in a westerly direction, and leads us towards the sea. We thus obtain for the territory of Ephraim four boundary-lines--viz.: (a) the plain of Jordan on the east; (b) the line of hills bordering the Shephelah on the west; (c) the brook Kanah, and the line passing through Taanath-shiloh and Janohah to Jordan on the north; and (d) the north border of Benjamin (Joshua 16:1-3, and Joshua 18:12-14) on the south.

Verse 5. - The border of the children of Ephraim. The Hebrew word is translated indifferently by coast and border in our translation. The border of Joseph is very slightly traced out by the historian. It is difficult to give a reason for this fact, when we remember that Joseph, consisting as it did of the preponderating tribe of Ephraim, together with half the tribe of Manasseh, constituted by far the most important portion of Jewish territory. See, however, Introduction for the bearing of this fact on the authorship of the book. It is by no means easy to define the boundaries of the tribes; but, with the utmost deference to the authority of one so long engaged in the actual survey of the Holy Land as Mr. Conder, I feel unable to accept the maps he has given us in his 'Handbook' as an accurate account of them. Sometimes, perhaps, an eager attempt at the identification of certain places may lead astray those who are most familiar with their subject. But there are certain plain statements of the Book of Joshua which cannot be lightly set aside. Thus the extremity (תֹצְאֹת) of the border of Ephraim is distinctly stated in ver. 8 to be the sea. To translate "westward" would rob the expression תֹצאֹת of all meaning, even if ימה had not the article. Thus Dan can only have approached towards Joppa, but cannot have reached it. And it will be observed in Joshua 19:46, in accordance with this view, that the outgoings of the Danite border are not said to have been the sea. Next, it would seem that the Ataroth of ver. 2 (not of ver. 7) and Ataroth-addar are either the same place or close together, and that the present verse gives a small portion of the southeastern boundary as far as Beth-horon. Why the boundary is not traced out further ("the author only gives the western part of the southern border, and leaves out the eastern," Knobel) we cannot tell, but the natural translation of ver. 6 is, "and the western border ran to Michmethah on the north" (so Knobel). There was so small a portion of Ephraim on the sea that the line of the Wady Kanah in a northeasterly direction to Michmethah, near Shechem, might be called a western, as it certainly was a northwestern, border. Then the border deflected (נָסַב) and ran in a southwesterly direction to Jericho. Manasseh seems to have been bounded by Asher on the north and Issachar on the east, from the borders of Asher to Michmethah, and its western boundary the sea from the Wady Kanah to the neighbourhood of Dor. It seems impossible, with the distinct statement that Dor was in Asher (Joshua 17:11) - it could hardly have been in Issachar - and that Carmel was part of its western border (Joshua 19:26), to thrust a wedge of Zehulun between Manasseh and Asher, as Mr. Conder has done. The invention of an Asherham-Michmethah must not be allowed to set aside the plain statement (Joshua 17:10) that Manasseh impinged (פגע) upon Asher in a northerly direction - that is, was bounded on the north by that tribe. Then, as Asher was the northern, so it would seem from the passage just cited that Issachar was, as has been suggested, the eastern boundary, and that Issachar was bounded by the Jordan eastward, Manasseh westward, and by Ephraim to the southwest, and some distance further south than is usually supposed. Yet Joshua 17:11 must not he forgotten in fixing the boundary of Issachar (see note on Joshua 19:17-23). Its northern border, comprehending Jezreel, and bounded by Tabor, was thrust in between Zebulun and Naphtali. Tabor was evidently the border of these three tribes. It is with much diffidence that I venture to offer these suggestions, but they appear to have the sanction of the plain statements of the sacred writer. It would seem as though the comparative smallness of the territory assigned to Joseph led to the cession of some of the towns northward of the Wady Kanah by Manasseh to Ephraim, Manasseh receiving compensation by receiving Beth-shean, Ibleam, Dor, Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo from Issachar and Asher. The possession of Beth-shean by Manasseh may be due to the fact that the boundary of Manasseh ran along the chain of mountains bordering the great plain of Esdraelon, until it almost reached the Jordan. Additional reasons for entertaining these opinions will be given in the following notes. On the east side was Ataroth-addar. It is hardly possible to avoid the conclusion that a passage has been omitted here by the transcriber. If so, it must have been at a very early period, since the LXX. shows no sign of it, save that some copies add "and Gezer." But this is probably added from ver. 3, and is in no sense an eastern border.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
This was
וַיְהִ֛י (way·hî)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

the territory
גְּב֥וּל (gə·ḇūl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1366: A cord, a boundary, the territory inclosed

of the descendants
בְּנֵֽי־ (bə·nê-)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Ephraim
אֶפְרַ֖יִם (’ep̄·ra·yim)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 669: Ephraim -- a son of Joseph, also his descendants and their territory

by their clans:
לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָ֑ם (lə·miš·pə·ḥō·ṯām)
Preposition-l | Noun - feminine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4940: A family, circle of relatives, a class, a species, sort, a tribe, people

The border
גְּב֤וּל (gə·ḇūl)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1366: A cord, a boundary, the territory inclosed

of their inheritance
נַחֲלָתָם֙ (na·ḥă·lā·ṯām)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 5159: Something inherited, occupancy, an heirloom, an estate, patrimony, portion

went from Ataroth-addar
אַדָּ֔ר (’ad·dār)
Preposition
Strong's 5853: Ataroth-addar -- a place on the border between Ephraim and Benjamin

in the east
מִזְרָ֔חָה (miz·rā·ḥāh)
Noun - masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 4217: Place of sunrise, the east

to Upper
עֶלְיֽוֹן׃ (‘el·yō·wn)
Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 5945: An elevation, lofty, as title, the Supreme

Beth-horon
חוֹרֹ֖ן (ḥō·w·rōn)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 1032: Beth-horon -- 'place of a hollow', two adjoining cities in Palestine


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OT History: Joshua 16:5 This was the border of the children (Josh. Jos)
Joshua 16:4
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