“Adjoining the territory
Of Reuben,
From the east side
To the west side,
Judah was
One portion.”
Once again, in a very summary fashion of east to west, the territory of Judah was next to Reuben. In Joshua, chapter 15, Judah got the largest portion of land. Here, it is treated like the other tribes, as if it were not superior to them.
“Adjoining the territory
Of Ephraim,
From the east side
To the west side,
Reuben was
One portion.”
Once again, in a very summary fashion of east to west, the territory of Reuben was next to Ephraim. However, in Joshua, chapter 13, Reuben was an east bank territory and had no land on the west side of the Jordan River. Somehow it would be south of Ephraim, maybe in the old Dan territory or the Benjamin territory. From this description, it is hard to tell.
“Adjoining the territory
Of Manasseh,
From the east side
To the west side,
Ephraim was
One portion.”
Once again, in a very summary fashion of east to west, the territory of Ephraim was next to Manasseh. This then would be a clear indication that this is the west Jordan area, since Ephraim did not have any territory on the east side of the Jordan River. Obviously, this is a very short summary of what appeared in Joshua, chapter 16.
“Adjoining the territory
Of Naphtali,
From the east side
To the west side,
Manasseh was
One portion.”
Once again, in a very summary fashion of east to west, the territory of Manasseh was next to Naphtali. However, instead of having two portions as in Joshua, chapters 13 and 17, there is only one portion mentioned here. Even that is not clear, whether it is on the east side of the Jordan River or the west side. The assumption might be that it is only on the west side, since there was no talk of any east bank settlements.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 