Introduction to Joshua 17:11
This verse lists the cities and regions that fell to the tribe of Menashsheh within the territories of Yissakhar and Asher. It is a stylized territorial register that makes heavy use of construct chains, coordinated city-daughter formulas, and appositional listing. This lesson focuses on how construct structures and appositional geography operate in tribal allotment texts to define control, boundaries, and political-historical geography.
וַיְהִ֨י לִמְנַשֶּׁ֜ה בְּיִשָּׂשֶׂכָ֣ר וּבְאָשֵׁ֗ר בֵּית־שְׁאָ֣ן וּ֠בְנֹותֶיהָ וְיִבְלְעָ֨ם וּבְנֹותֶ֜יהָ וְֽאֶת־יֹשְׁבֵ֧י דֹ֣אר וּבְנֹותֶ֗יהָ וְיֹשְׁבֵ֤י עֵֽין־דֹּר֙ וּבְנֹתֶ֔יהָ וְיֹשְׁבֵ֤י תַעְנַךְ֙ וּבְנֹתֶ֔יהָ וְיֹשְׁבֵ֥י מְגִדֹּ֖ו וּבְנֹותֶ֑יהָ שְׁלֹ֖שֶׁת הַנָּֽפֶת׃
Analysis of Key Words and Structures
- וַיְהִ֨י לִמְנַשֶּׁ֜ה (vayehi limenashsheh) – “And to Menashsheh there was…”
– וַיְהִי is wayyiqtol from היה, forming a standard possessive construction with לְ: “X had Y.”
– לִמְנַשֶּׁ֜ה = “to Menashsheh.” - בְּיִשָּׂשֶׂכָ֣ר וּבְאָשֵׁ֗ר (beyissaskhar uveʾasher) – “in Yissakhar and in Asher.”
– These prepositional phrases locate Menashsheh’s holdings within these two tribal territories. - בֵּית־שְׁאָן וּבְנֹתֶיהָ (beit-sheʾan uvenoteha) – “Beit-Shean and its towns.”
– Construct chain בֵּית־שְׁאָן: “house of Sheʾan.”
– וּבְנֹתֶיהָ = “its daughters,” idiomatic for dependent towns or satellite villages. - וְיִבְלְעָ֨ם וּבְנֹותֶ֜יהָ (veyivleʿam uvenoteha) – “and Yivleʿam and its towns.”
– Same pattern continues: city + בָּנוֹת indicating subordinate settlements. - וְאֶת־יֹשְׁבֵ֧י דֹ֣אר וּבְנֹותֶ֗יהָ (veʾet-yoshvei dor uvenoteha) – “and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns.”
– יֹשְׁבֵי is the construct plural participle of יָשַׁב (“to dwell”), meaning “inhabitants of.”
– Introduced by אֶת because the phrase is the object of control or conquest. - וְיֹשְׁבֵ֤י עֵֽין־דֹּר֙… וְיֹשְׁבֵ֤י תַעְנַךְ֙… וְיֹשְׁבֵ֥י מְגִדֹּ֖ו
– Repetition of participial construct יֹשְׁבֵי with successive city names.
– Emphasizes the control Menashsheh had not only of places but of settled populations. - שְׁלֹ֖שֶׁת הַנָּֽפֶת (sheloshet hannaphet) – “the three regions (or districts).”
– שְׁלֹשֶׁת is the construct form of the number three.
– הַנָּפֶת (haphet) = “district, region.”
– Refers to a broader geopolitical classification of these cities under three regional groupings.
Construct Chains and Appositional Clarity in Land Distribution
This verse combines:
– Construct chains (e.g., בֵּית־שְׁאָן, יֹשְׁבֵי דֹאר)
– Coordinated noun phrases (e.g., וּבְנֹתֶיהָ)
– Geographical apposition (cities and their sub-regions)
This is typical of Israelite administrative geography, where a central city governs surrounding villages. In Hebrew, this is expressed as:
– City + daughters = central city and its dependents.
– Inhabitants + city = demographic designation under tribal jurisdiction.
The list proceeds with paratactic structure (repetition of וְ), rather than syntactic subordination, which is common in Hebrew lists for emphasis and oral clarity.
Why Construct Syntax Defines Territorial Control in Joshua
Joshua 17:11 shows how Biblical Hebrew uses construct chains and repetition to map tribal inheritance clearly and legally.
– The use of יֹשְׁבֵי + location reflects administrative control over people-groups, not just terrain.
– The repetition of וּבְנֹתֶיהָ anchors each city’s extended domain.
– The summary phrase שְׁלֹ֖שֶׁת הַנָּֽפֶת ties the entire list to regional organization.
Thus, grammar in Joshua is cartographic—construct phrases become coordinates, and participles map demographic realities. In this way, Hebrew syntax not only narrates conquest but records inheritance.
