13 And it came to pass when the children of Israel were become strong, that they made the Canaanites tributary; but they did not utterly dispossess them.
And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then all the people that are found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. And if it will not make peace with thee, but will make war with thee, then thou shalt besiege it; and when Jehovah thy God delivereth it into thy hand, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: only the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that shall be in the city, all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take as booty for thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities that are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations. But of the cities of these peoples which Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth, but shalt utterly devote them to destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee; that they teach you not to do according to all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods, so that ye sin against Jehovah your God.
All the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, who were not of Israel, their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel had not destroyed, upon them did Solomon impose tribute-service until this day.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Joshua 17
Commentary on Joshua 17 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 17
The half tribe of Manasseh comes next to be provided for; and here we have,
Jos 17:1-6
Manasseh was itself but one half of the tribe of Joseph, and yet was divided and subdivided.
Jos 17:7-13
We have here a short account of the lot of this half tribe. It reached from Jordan on the east to the great sea on the west; on the south it lay all along contiguous to Ephraim, but on the north it abutted upon Asher and Issachar. Asher lay north-west, and Issachar north-east, which seems to be the meaning of that (v. 10), that they (that is, Manasseh and Ephraim, as related to it, both together making the tribe of Joseph) met in Asher on the north and Issachar on the east, for Ephraim itself reached not those tribes. Some things are particularly observed concerning this lot:-