Joshua 17:5

Jos 17:5 And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which [were] on the other side Jordan;

Ver. 5. And there fell ten portions to Manasseh.] Six to his six sons, {Jos 17:2} and the rest to Zelophehad’s daughters.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

In the land of Canaan: five to the males: and other five to the daughters of Zelophehad.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 5. There fell ten portions to Manasseh] The Hebrew word חבלי chabley, which we translate portions, signifies literally cords or cables, and intimates that by means of a cord, cable, or what we call a chain, the land was divided. We have but little account of the arts and sciences of the Hebrews, yet from the sketches which we find in different parts of the Old Testament it appears that their minds were in many respects well cultivated; nor could the division, which is mentioned in this book, have been made without such a measure of geographical knowledge, as we find it difficult to grant them. Suppose even in this case, the land was not measured with a chain, which in some cases would have been impracticable, because the ancient inhabitants still occupied the places which were allotted to certain tribes or families; yet the allusion to this mode of measurement shows that it was well known among them.

As there were six sons and five daughters, among whom this division was to be made, there should be eleven portions; but Zelophehad, son of Hepher, having left five daughters in his place, neither he nor Hepher is reckoned. The lot of Manasseh therefore was divided into ten parts; five for the five sons of Gilead, who were Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, and Shemida; and five for the five daughters of Zelophehad, viz., Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.-CALMET.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

5. And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, etc The children of Manasseh are in this passage classed under seven stems. Machir, the first-born, is placed apart; the other six follow. Here the question arises, How was the inheritance divided into ten parts? Some expositors cunningly disguise the difficulty; others, because they are unable to solve it, indulge in the merest trifling. It is certainly very absurd that four portions should be given to five daughters; and it is not a whit more congruous that their share should be doubled because their father was the first-born. It is beyond all controversy, that Gilead, son of Machir, and great-grandfather of the females of whom we are now speaking, chose his settlement in mount Gilead and Bashan. Therefore, seeing he had already obtained an inheritance by privilege without lot, he ought not to have obtained one by lot in the land of Canaan, unless perhaps he settled only a part of his family beyond the Jordan. For Hepher was one of his sons, but not the only one; and likewise the offspring of five other brothers might be distinguished into several heads according to the number of which the allocation by lot might be made. For it is not known in what degree families whose portion fell in the land of Canaan were taken. And all we read here is, that ten lots were east among the sons of Manasseh in addition to the country which they had formerly acquired for themselves beyond the Jordan. It is thus vain to dispute concerning the number, which cannot be ascertained with certainty from the present narrative, because the first thing necessary to be known is the exact number of families to whom the division was common. Nay, it is not impossible that the daughters of Selophead obtained their patrimony there. They are said, indeed, to have dwelt among the brethren of their father; but the place is not given. Be this as it may, I have no doubt that mutual equity was observed, and that after provision was made for others, the land which had been submitted to lot was distributed among ten families whose names are here omitted.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

5. And there fell] The inheritance they claimed was now allotted them.

ten portions] The land allotted to the Manassites had to be divided into ten portions. The male descendants consisted of five families, and these five received five shares. The sixth family, that of Hepher, was again subdivided into five families, viz., those of his five granddaughters, the daughters of Zelophehad. They married husbands from the other families of their tribe (Num_36:1-12), and each now received her special share of the land. See Keil’s Commentary.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan,.... The lot which fell to the half tribe of Manasseh was divided into ten parts: according to the Jewish writers, the six families before mentioned had six parts, and the daughters of Zelophehad had four parts; one on the account of Zelophehad their father, two on the account of their grandfather Hepher, who they say was the firstborn, and one on account of their uncle, their father's brother, who died in the wilderness without children; so Jarchi and Kimchi relate from the Talmud (k); but the true case seems to be this, there were six portions for the six families, but there being no sons in Hepher's family, his part was divided into five, and given to the five daughters of Zelophehad:

beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan: which were given to the other half tribe, as before observed, Jos 13:29.

(k) T. Bab. Bava Bathra, fol. 118. 2. & 119. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Ten portions - i. e. five for the five families descended from the male children of Gilead, and five others for the five daughters of Zelophehad, who represented the sixth family, the Hepherites.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Jordan. Some of the families, which had possessions there already, were permitted to have a share on the west side also. Here Manasses had ten portions, schœnus, or cords, which Herodotus (ii. 6,) reckons to contain each 60 stadia; so that he would have 600 stadia, (Calmet) or at least half of that quantity, chap. xv. 58. (Herodotus ii.) (Haydock) --- There were six sons and five daughters to be provided for. But the portion of Hepher, the father of Salphaad, being given to his granddaughters, his is not counted. (Masius) --- The Jews say the five daughters had only four portions, two for their grandfather, who, they say, was the eldest of the family; one for their father, and another for their uncle, who died without children. (Selden) --- But of this no proof is adduced. (Calmet) --- The five daughters would only have the one portion, which would have been enjoyed by the father. (Menochius) See 1 Paralipomenon v. 23.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Ten portions; either,

1. Six portions for the six sons, whereof one was Hepher; and because he had no sons, his part was subdivided into five equal parts, for each of the daughters. Or,

2. Ten portions, five for the sons, and five for the daughters; for as for Hepher, both he and his son Zelophehad were dead, and that without sons, and therefore he had no portion; but his daughters had several portions allotted to them.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

[5. Ten portions — Or, ten measurements, alluding to the custom of measuring off land with a line or a chain. Since each of the five daughters of Zelophehad obtained a portion, neither Hepher nor Zelophehad are reckoned.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And there fell ten portions. Literally, and the measured portions of Manasseh fell ten (in number). It will be observed that the descendants of Manasseh, exclusive of Hepher, are five in number. These, with the five portions allotted to the family of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, made up ten.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ten portions - Five for the sons, and five for the daughters; for as for Hepher, both he and his son Zelophehad was dead, and that without sons, and therefore had no portion; but his daughters had several portions allotted to them.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Ten parcels of land were assigned

This can be stated in active form. AT: "Joshua assigned ten parcels of land" (See: Active or Passive)

Ten parcels

"Ten portions"

received an inheritance

The land is spoken of as if it were an inheritance that they received as a permanent possession. AT: "received land as an inheritance" (See: Metaphor)

The land of Gilead was assigned

This can be stated in active form. AT: "Joshua assigned the land of Gilead" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

Manasseh

Gilead

Bashan

Jordan River

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

Ten portions of land fell to Menashe. Six portions went to the family divisions mentioned above, and four went to the daughters of Tselophchod, not because each of them was considered an individual family division but rather because they took these four portions: the portion of their father who was one of those who went out of Egypt; since according to the number of those who went out of Egypt was the land divided; the portion their father shared with his brothers in the property of their father, Cheifer, since he too was one of those who went out of Egypt; and since their father, Tselophchod, was the firstborn, he received two portions [of Cheifer’s property]; and an additional portion from their father’s brother who died in the wilderness, without children and they received the inheritance of his share. This was stated by our Sages in Bava Basra. It was unnecessary for Scripture to relate to us the number of the daughters’ share, except to teach us that they took the share of the firstborn, and to inform us that Eretz Yisroel was an actual inheritance to them [since it was considered] the actual possession of their fathers, for the firstborn does not receive an extra portion in potential property as he does in actual property.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.