Next to receive their allotment are the one and a half Joseph tribes (16:1–17:18). Notice that, although the allotment will be further divided between Ephraim and the remaining half tribe of Manasseh, the two portions appear to be regarded as a single allotment (cf. 17:14). The description of the allotment begins in 16:1–3 with a delineation of its southern boundary. This is followed by descriptions of the actual territories of Ephraim (16:5–10) and Manasseh (17:1–13).

The boundaries of Ephraim are very roughly delineated, with its southern boundary first described briefly (16:5–6a; cf. 16:1–3), followed by its eastern boundary going from north to south (16:6b–7), and its northern boundary going from east to west, ending at the Mediterranean Sea (16:8). Joshua 16:9 further discloses that…