יהושע, פרק ט״ז, פסוק א׳

As the division of the land of Israel continues, the next phase begins after the tribe of Judah receives its territory. A second region is marked out, located in the northern part of the area conquered by Joshua. This placement intentionally leaves a large gap between the new northern territory and Judah's land in the south, creating space for other tribes, such as Benjamin, to eventually settle in the middle [רש״י]. Much like Judah's territory, this newly drawn land spans the entire width of Israel, stretching continuously from the east to the west [מצודת דוד].

This land is designated for the descendants of Joseph. Because Joseph's lineage actually consists of two distinct tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim, a unique lottery system is used to assign their borders. Joshua initially casts a single, shared lot for both tribes under the collective name of Joseph. This guarantees that their assigned lands will sit directly next to each other. Once this broad region is secured, a second lottery takes place to divide the territory internally between Ephraim and Manasseh [חומת אנך, אברבנאל].

The southern border of this territory follows a clear path, moving generally from east to west [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The boundary begins at the section of the Jordan River that directly faces the city of Jericho [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. From there, it extends to the eastern side of the springs of Jericho. Upon reaching this easternmost point, the borderline turns and heads westward [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The path then climbs upward from the waters of Jericho into the surrounding desert [מצודת דוד], continuing its westward journey along a mountainous route [רש״י, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Finally, the border reaches the mountain of Bethel. Notably, this location is not the famous city of Bethel named by Jacob, which was originally called Luz, but rather a completely different site that happens to share the exact same name [מצודת דוד, אברבנאל].