Joseph's descendants ask for more land
14 Joseph's descendants asked Joshua, ‘Why have you given only one part of the land for us to live in? The Lord has blessed us with many children, so there are many people in our tribe.’
15 Joshua said to them, ‘Because there are so many of you, you may take more land. If the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, move into the forest that belongs to the Perizzites and the Rephaites. Cut down trees there to make a place to live.’
16 They replied, ‘The hill country is certainly not big enough for us. But the Canaanites who live in Beth Shan and its villages, and in the valley of Jezreel, have iron chariots.’
17 Joshua said to the men from the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, ‘You have very many strong men who can fight. I will give you more land than the part that you have already received. 18 You may take the whole of the hill country as your land. You can cut down the trees of the forests and live there. It is true that the Canaanites are strong fighters and they have iron chariots. But you will be strong enough to chase them out.’