Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 16:8
The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.
8. The border ] In this verse the western half of the northern border is described.
from Tappuah ] It ran from Tappuah, which has not yet been met with at all in the central district of Palestine, south of Shechem, “westward unto the river Kanah,” or rather “the brook of reeds.” This is probably the modern Nahr el Khassab, which reaches the Sea between Joppa and Csarea, under the name of Nahr Falaik, or as some think, the Nahr el Aujeh, just below the last-mentioned city.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 8. Tappuah] This was a city in the tribe of Manasseh, and gave name to a certain district called the land of Tappuah. See Jos 17:8.
The sea] The Mediterranean, as before.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
8. from Tappuah westward unto theriver KanahIt is retraced from east to west, to describe theprospective and intended boundary, which was to reach to the sea.Kanah (“reedy”) flows into the Mediterranean.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The border went out from Tappuah westward,…. Which was different from the Tappuah in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:34; this was in the tribe of Ephraim on the border of Manasseh, Jos 17:8;
unto the river Kanah; supposed by some to be the brook Cherith, by which Elijah hid himself, 1Ki 17:3; though objected to by others; it seems to have had its name from the reeds which grew in it, or on the banks of it:
and the goings out thereof were at the sea; if the river Kanah was the brook Cherith, this must be the dead or salt sea: but that is never called “the sea”, rather the Mediterranean sea is meant, and consequently Kanah could not be Cherith, which was at too great a distance from this sea:
this [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families; that is, this is the description of the border of it; for the cities within are not mentioned, and the descriptions in general are very obscure.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The western half of the northern boundary went from Tappuah westwards to the Cane-brook, and terminated at the sea. Tappuah, called En-tappuah in Jos 17:7, as the southern boundary of Manasseh, which is there described, and which ran from Michmethah to En-tappuah, coincides with the northern boundary of Ephraim, must not be identified with the royal town of that name mentioned in Jos 12:17, and therefore was not Kefr Kud (Capercota), on the west of Jenin (Gina). This place was so far to the north, viz., seven hours to the north of Nabulus, that the boundary from Michmethah, in the neighbourhood of Shechem (Nabulus) onwards, would have run from south to north instead of in a westerly direction. Still less can En-tappuah be found, as Van de Velde supposes, in the old well of the deserted village of Atf, five hours to the east of Nabulus. It must have been to the west of Shechem; but it has not yet been discovered, as the country to the west of Nabulus and Sebastieh has “not been examined” ( Van de Velde). The Cane-brook is no doubt the brook of that name mentioned by Bohad. (vita Salad. pp. 191, 193); only it is not quite clear “whether the Abu Zabura is intended, or a brook somewhat farther south, where there is still a Nahr el Kassab.”
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
8. From Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah This is a completion of the northern boundary westward from the central ridge of Palestine. The site of Tappuah is unknown. The river Kanah is uncertain. Robinson identifies it with a wady still bearing the name Kanah, which rises south of Shechem and runs southwest, and empties into the Mediterranean four miles north of Joppa. But this is too far south to be a boundary between Ephraim and Manasseh. Compare Jos 17:8-9. It is more probably identical with the Wady Kassab, (stream of reeds,) which falls into the sea nearly west of Shechem.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ From Tappuah the border went along westward to the brook of Kanah, and its goings out were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families, together with the cities which were separated for the children of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.’
The line from Michmethath to Tappuah is not mentioned but assumed (compare Jos 17:7-9). The author had many surveyor’s records and reports to select from, many probably made on Joshua’s campaigns, and he did so to present a certain picture without too much repetition. Tappuah (meaning ‘quince’) is possibly modern Sheikh Abu Zarad, about twelve kilometres (eight miles) south of Shechem. Its Canaanite king was defeated by Joshua (Jos 12:17) but nothing is said about the actual town. The Wadi Qanah ran west from the watershed at the head of the Michmethath valley, eight kilometres (five miles) south west of Shechem. This was its lower course which ran on to the Great Sea.
“This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families.” These are the technical descriptions that finish off the allotment to each of the twelve tribes apart from Levi, whose inheritance was YHWH, and Manasseh who were counted with Ephraim, indicating the early date of the descriptions (see on Jos 15:20). Note that Ephraim and Manasseh were conjoined in that Ephraim had cities within Manasseh indicating joint rule.
“Together with the cities which were separated for the children of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Manasseh.” We are not told why this was so. Possibly it occurred through Ephraimite assistance to Manasseh at an early point, but it confirms the oneness between them and suggests combined rule to some extent.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jos 16:8 The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.
Ver. 8. The border went out from Tappuah. ] So called from the plenty of apples that grew there: as Perton in Worcestershire is from the plenty of pears.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Tappuah: Jos 12:17, Jos 17:8
river Kanah: Jos 17:9, Jos 19:28
the sea: Jos 16:3-6, Num 34:6