If you are looking for Joshua 16 Bible study questions, this page gives you questions for observation, interpretation and application, along with a leader’s note under each one. It is built for a small group, a Sunday class or personal reading. You can work through the chapter in one session or spread it across two, and the key verses and closing prayer are ready to read aloud.
Joshua 16 at a Glance
Joshua 16 describes the allotment for the descendants of Joseph, the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, after the lot is cast. The chapter moves in a loop along the boundary of the tribe’s land, from the Jordan near Jericho up through the hill country to Bethel, west toward the coast at Gezer, and back along the northern edge. Along the way it names towns and landmarks, which is why the chapter can feel slow on first reading.
The chapter closes on a note of unfinished business. The Ephraimites are said not to have driven out the Canaanites living in Gezer, and those Canaanites remain among them, pressed into forced labor. The chapter is honest about the gap between what God has given and what has been fully taken.
Observation Questions
Use these first to get the group looking closely at the text before anyone offers an opinion. Ask people to find the answers in the verses before they speak, and resist the urge to explain too early.
Joshua 16:1-4
1 The lot came out for the children of Joseph from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. 2 It went out from Bethel to Luz, and passed along to the border of the Archites to Ataroth; 3 and it went down westward to the border of the Japhletites, to the border of Beth Horon the lower, and on to Gezer; and ended at the sea. 4 The children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
(WEB)
Read this opening passage to establish the setting: the lot, the children of Joseph, and the first landmarks on the boundary. Hearing it aloud helps the group settle into the chapter’s rhythm before the detailed names begin to blur.
Joshua 16:5-8
5 This was the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families. The border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth Addar, to Beth Horon the upper. 6 The border went out westward at Michmethath on the north. The border turned about eastward to Taanath Shiloh, and passed along it on the east of Janoah. 7 It went down from Janoah to Ataroth, to Naarah, reached to Jericho, and went out at the Jordan. 8 From Tappuah the border went along westward to the brook of Kanah; and ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim according to their families…
(WEB)
This section traces the boundary eastward, westward and back toward the Jordan. Reading it slowly lets people feel the movement of the border and see how the land is walked and described.
Joshua 16:9
Together with the cities which were set apart for the children of Ephraim in the middle of the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.
(WEB)
This verse notes cities set apart for Ephraim within Manasseh’s inheritance, a small detail that reveals how the two tribes’ portions were interwoven. Reading it helps the group see that God’s allotment was careful and shared.
Joshua 16:10
They didn’t drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell in the territory of Ephraim to this day, and have become servants to do forced labor.
(WEB)
This is the chapter’s most sobering verse, naming the Canaanites who remained and became forced laborers. Read it slowly and pause after it, because it is the emotional center of the chapter and deserves space for reflection.
Joshua 16:1
The lot came out for the children of Joseph from the Jordan at Jericho, at the waters of Jericho on the east, even the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel.
(WEB)
Use this opening verse to close the reading and return the group to the beginning of the allotment. Ending where the lot first comes out reminds people that the whole chapter rests on God’s direction.
Memory Verse for Joshua 16
Joshua 16:4
The children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
(WEB)
This verse is short and clear, and it names the children of Joseph receiving their inheritance. Memorizing it gives the group a simple anchor for the chapter’s main movement: God’s people taking what he has given them.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you that you are a God who gives real inheritance and names our places with care. Thank you for the way you marked out the land for Ephraim and Manasseh, down to every town and turn of the border. We confess that we, like Ephraim, sometimes settle for the convenient and leave parts of your work unfinished. Help us to see clearly where we have stopped short, and give us courage to take the next faithful step in the places you have entrusted to us. Teach us to trust your promises even when the work is still ahead of us. Keep us honest with one another, and remind us that you are faithful to finish what you have begun in us. Amen.
