Joshua 17:18 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Joshua 17:18
But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.
a mountain or range of hills (sometimes used figurative… · noun, common masculine singular absolute
wood
יַ֣עַרYa.'ar
H3293
a copse of bushes · noun, common masculine singular absolute
down
וּבֵ֣רֵאת֔וֹu.Ve.re.To
H1254
(absolutely) to create · conjunction + verb, piel sequential perfect, 2nd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
outgoings
תֹּֽצְאֹתָ֑יוto.tze.'o.Tav
H8444
(only in plural collective) exit · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
out
תוֹרִ֣ישׁto.Rish
H3423
to occupy (by driving out previous tenants · verb, hiphil imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
Canaanites
הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֗יha.ke.na.'a.Ni
H3669
a Kenaanite or inhabitant of Kenaan · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
iron
בַּרְזֶל֙bar.Zel
H1270
iron (as cutting) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
chariots
רֶ֤כֶבRe.khev
H7393
a vehicle · noun, common masculine singular construct
strong
חָזָ֖קcha.Zak
H2389
strong (usu. in a bad sense · adjective, masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Hebrews 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Romans 8:31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
Deuteronomy 20:1-4 When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for…
Numbers 14:6-9 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
Isaiah 41:10-16 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee…
Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Joshua 15:9 And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; an…
Joshua 17:15-16 And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Joshua 17:14–end
Here, I. The children of Joseph quarrel with their lot; if they had had any just cause to quarrel with it, we have reason to think Joshua would have relieved them, by adding to it, or altering it, which it does not appear he did. It is probable, because Joshua was himself of the tribe of Ephraim, they promised themselves that they should have some particular favour shown them, and should not be confined to the decision of the lot so closely as the other tribes; but Joshua makes them know that in the discharge of his office, as a public person, he had no more regard to his own tribe than to any other, but would administer impartially, without favour or affection, wherein he has left an excell…
chariots of iron--unusually strengthened with that metal, and perhaps armed with projecting scythes.
Next: Joshua Chapter 18
Adam Clarke on Joshua 17:18
The outgoings of it shall be thine - Clear away the wood, occupy the mountain, and you shall soon be able to command all the valleys; and, possessing all the defiles of the country, you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron: your situation will be advantageous, your numbers very respectable, and the hand of God will be upon you for good.
1. From the whole history of the Israelites we find that it was difficult to please them; they had a dissatisfied mind, and hence were rarely contented. From the above account we learn that the children of Joseph were much inclined to quarrel with Joshua, because they had not such a lot as they wished; though they could not be ign…
But the mountains shall be thine,.... Or "for" (s) it shall be thine; thou shalt get the possession of it, though attended with difficulties that seem insuperable:
for, or "if, though" (t).
it is a wood; the habitation of the Perizzites, and giants, and so dangerous to go un to it, and full of trees, and so seems unprofitable and useless:
and thou shalt cut it down; both the inhabitants of it, and the trees of it, and clear it of both, and make it both safe and commodious to dwell in, which would be a fine enlargement for them:
and the outgoings of it shall be thine; all it produces when cultivated, and all the parts adjacent to it:
for thou shall drive out the Canaanites; this Joshua a…
The Church Fathers
But what is it that Jesus added: "if you clean out," he says, "the wood, it shall also be yours, when you have exterminated the Canaanite"? We have already said above how the Canaanite, when placed with us, first only "pays tribute," second is made "obedient" and "subject," but third, in the mortification of our members, is said even to be "exterminated." If we understand these things rightly — and the Lord has granted us through his grace to understand them thus — let it be something worth the effort to have brought forth these things from the secret and hidden into the open, and to have come to our recognition of things that were kept covered; and let us endeavor, according to these things which we have said, to subject to ourselves more quickly the Canaanite who is with us and to "make him obedient," and after this even to "exterminate" him; for if we let him go and neglect him, "Pharaoh will come out of Egypt" and will begin to "give our place as a dowry to his daughter" and to "hand us over captive to the law of sin." But far be it from Israelite nobility that an Israelite should serve "Pharaoh's daughter" — one whom "God has already led out of the land of Egypt" — that he should again serve that Pharaoh who was "drowned in the Red Sea." Let us therefore take heed, just as Jesus here also says, that we may prevail against the Canaanites, lest, if perchance they grow strong over us and overpower us, they make Canaanites of us out of Israelites, just as that man too became one whom the enticement of the flesh had overcome, to whom it is said by the prophet: "seed of Canaan and not of Judah, beauty has seduced you." Let it not befall us, then, to hear "seed of Canaan," for: "cursed be the boy Canaan; he shall be a servant to his brothers." But may the Lord grant us that we be sons of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, "heirs according to the promise," and for this "raised up out of the stones," that we may be sons of Abraham, by Christ Jesus our Lord, "to whom is glory and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen!"
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Chariot — A vehicle generally used for warlike purposes. Sometimes, though but rarely, it is spoken of as used for peaceful purposes. The first mention of the chariot is when Joseph, as a mark of distinction,…
Ephraim, Mount — The central mountainous district of Palestine occupied by the tribe of Ephraim (Josh. 17:15; 19:50; 20:7), extending from Bethel to the plain of Jezreel. In Joshua’s time (Josh. 17:18) these hills…
Forest — Heb. ya’ar, meaning a dense wood, from its luxuriance. Thus all the great primeval forests of Syria (Eccl. 2:6; Isa. 44:14; Jer. 5:6; Micah 5:8). The most extensive was the trans-Jordanic forest of…
Gibeon — Hill-city, “one of the royal cities, greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty” (Josh. 10:2). Its inhabitants were Hivites (11:19). It lay within the territory of Benjamin, and became a…
Iron — Tubal-Cain is the first-mentioned worker in iron (Gen. 4:22). The Egyptians wrought it at Sinai before the Exodus. David prepared it in great abundance for the temple (1 Chr. 22:3: 29:7). The…
Avarice · .The — .The
Canaanites · Not expelled — Not expelled
Chariot · Ma — Ma
Cowardice · .Ephraimites and Manassehites — .Ephraimites and Manassehites
Ephraim · .Territory allotted to, after the conquest of — .Territory allotted to, after the conquest of
Iron · Chariot — Chariot
Samaria, Ancient · The territory of Ephraim and Manasseh properly so called
Joshua 17:11-18
11. And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries.
11. Fuitque ipsi Manasse in Issachar, et in Aser, Beth-sean, et oppida ejus: et Ibleam, et oppida ejus: et habitatores Dor, et oppida ejus: et habitatores Endor, et oppida ejus: et habitatores Thaanach, et oppida ejus: et habitatores Magiddo, et oppida ejus, tres regiones.
12. Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would…
Complaint of the Descendants of Joseph respecting the inheritance allotted to them. - Jos 17:14. As the descendants of Joseph formed two tribes (Ephraim and Manasseh), they gave utterance to their dissatisfaction that Joshua had given them ("me," the house of Joseph, Jos 17:17) but one lot, but one portion (חבל, a measure, then the land measured off), for an inheritance, although they were a strong and numerous people. "So far hath Jehovah blessed me hitherto." עד־אשׁד, to this (sc., numerous people), is to be understood de gradu; עד־כּה, hitherto, de tempore. There was no real ground for this complaint. As Ephraim numbered only 32,500 and Manasseh 52,700 at the second census in the time of…
Rather than rebuke the people for their fear, Joshua repeated his instructions to clear forest land for settlement. His promise that the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh would eventually drive out the Canaanites gave them a hope by which they could enlarge their faith and conquer their fear. • Much of the hill country was forested, and Canaanite settlement was sparse there. If Ephraim and Manasseh had contented themselves with land already cleared, they would have had little room for settlement. With the introduction of iron technology at about this time, including iron axe heads, the people of these tribes could clear the virgin forests and open up new land for settlement. Joshua might have s…
For the mountain will be yours. The mountain of which I said to you “Go up to the forest.”
For it is a forest and you will cut it down. For it is a forest and it is only fitting for a multitude of people, that will cut it down and clear it.
And you will cut it down. You who are a multitude of people.
And as far as it extends will be yours. For you will drive out the Canaanites. Because you are a multitude of people.
Even though they possess iron chariots. None of the other tribes have sufficient man power to fight them.
Even though they are stong. You have the ability and will drive them out. Our Rabbis explained [the meaning of] ‘Go up to the forest— Hide yourselves in the forest and t…
— The territory of Ephraim and Manasseh properly so called
Zabdi · 1. Father of — 1. Father of
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
