Discovery BoxJoshua 17:16 
Context17:16 The descendants of Joseph said, “The whole hill country 1 is inadequate for us, and the Canaanites living down in the valley in Beth Shean and its surrounding towns and in the Valley of Jezreel have chariots with iron-rimmed wheels.” 2
Joshua 18:16
Context18:16 The border then descended to the edge of the hill country near the Valley of Ben Hinnom located in the Valley of the Rephaites to the north. It descended through the Valley of Hinnom to the slope of the Jebusites to the south and then down to En Rogel.
Joshua 22:19
Context22:19 But if your own land 3 is impure, 4 cross over to the Lord’s own land, 5 where the Lord himself lives, 6 and settle down among us. 7 But don’t rebel against the Lord or us 8 by building for yourselves an altar aside from the altar of the Lord our God.
Joshua 23:16
Context23:16 If you violate the covenantal laws of the Lord your God which he commanded you to keep, 9 and follow, worship, and bow down to other gods, 10 the Lord will be very angry with you and you will disappear 11 quickly from the good land which he gave to you.”
1 tn The Hebrew text has simply “the hill country,” which must here include the hill country of Ephraim and the forest regions mentioned in v. 15.
2 tn Heb “and there are iron chariots among all the Canaanites who live in the land of the valley, to those who are in Beth Shean and its daughters and to those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” Regarding the translation “chariots with iron-rimmed wheels” see Y. Yadin, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands, 255 and R. Drews, “The ‘Chariots of Iron’ of Joshua and Judges,” JSOT 45 (1989): 15-23.
3 tn Heb “the land of your possession.”
4 sn The western tribes here imagine a possible motive for the action of the eastern tribes. T. C. Butler explains the significance of the land’s “impurity”: “East Jordan is impure because it is not Yahweh’s possession. Rather it is simply ‘your possession.’ That means it is land where Yahweh does not live, land which his presence has not sanctified and purified” (Joshua [WBC], 247).
5 tn Heb “the land of the possession of the
6 tn Heb “where the dwelling place of the
sn The phrase where the
7 tn Heb “and take for yourselves in our midst.”
8 tc Heb “and us to you rebel.” The reading of the MT, the accusative sign with suffix (וְאֹתָנוּ, vÿ’otanu), is problematic with the verb “rebel” (מָרַד, marad). Many Hebrew
9 tn Heb “when you violate the covenant of the
10 tn Heb “and you walk and serve other gods and bow down to them.”
11 tn Or “perish.”
