10 Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea was his border. They reached to Asher on the north, and to Issachar on the east.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
Southward - i. e. of the river Kanah.
Render, "they (i. e. the two kindred tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the northern border being treated here as common to the two) reached unto Asher." (See the map.) The northern border is only indicated in general terms, perhaps because the Israelites were not yet completely masters of this part of the country, and so had not precisely determined it.
They met together in Asher on the north - The tribe of Asher extended from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Carmel, Joshua 19:26, and the tribe of Manasseh extended to Dor and her towns, (see the following verse, Joshua 17:11 (note)), which were in the vicinity of Carmel; and thus it appears that these two tribes formed a junction at the Mediterranean Sea. This may serve to remove the difficulties in this verse; but still it does appear that in several cases the tribes were intermingled; for Manasseh had several towns, both in Issachar and in Asher, see Joshua 17:11. In like manner, Judah had towns in Daniel and Simeon; and Simeon had towns in Judah; and what is spoken of the boundaries of the tribes, may be sometimes understood of those towns which certain tribes had within the limits of others. For, in several cases, towns seem to be interchanged, or purchased, by mutual consent, so that in some instances the possessions were intermingled, without any confusion of the tribes or families.
Southward [it was] Ephraim's, and northward [it was] Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in (f) Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east.
(f) In the tribe of Asher, and tribe of Issachar.
Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's,.... As Ephraim lay to the south of Manasseh, Manasseh lay to the north of Ephraim:
and the sea is his border; the Mediterranean sea was their boundary on the west:
and they met together in Asher on the north; that is, on the northwest towards the Mediterranean sea, as, at Mount Carmel:
and in Issachar on the east; towards Jordan.
His border - Manasseh's, whose portion is here described, and whose name was last mentioned. In Asher - That is, upon the tribe of Asher; for though Zebulon came between Asher and them for the greatest part of their land; yet it seems there was some necks of land, both of Ephraim's and of Manasseh's, which jutted out farther than the rest, and touched the borders of Asher. And it is certain there were many such incursions of the land of one tribe upon some parcels of another, although they were otherwise considerably distant one from the other.
*More commentary available at chapter level.