Joshua 17:15 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Bible Comments

If thou be a great people Though Joshua was of their tribe he would not humour them, or abuse his authority to gratify their inclinations; but retorts their own argument: seeing thou art a great and numerous people, turn thy complaints into action, and enlarge thy borders by thy own hand, for which thou mayest confidently expect God's assistance. The wood country To the mountain, as it is called, (Joshua 17:17,) where among some towns there is much wood-land, which thou mayest without much difficulty possess, and so get the more room. And cut down The wood, for thy own advantage, in building more cities and towns, and preparing the land for pasture and tillage. The Perizzites Supposed to be a savage and brutish kind of people, that lived in woods and mountains. Giants Who lived in caves and mountains, now especially when they were driven out of their cities. If mount Ephraim Or, seeing mount Ephraim is too narrow for thee, as thou complainest; take to thyself the rest of that hilly and wood country. Mount Ephraim was a particular portion of the land, belonging to the tribe of Ephraim. And this seems to be here mentioned, for all the portion allotted to Ephraim and Manasseh, as appears from their complaint, which was not, that this part, but that their whole portion was too strait for them.

Joshua 17:15

15 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 Perizzites and of the giants,c if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.