Joshua 17

This chapter continues the tradition of the last couple: a description of the lands assigned to some of the Israelites; in this case, the two tribes of Joseph - Ephraim and Manasseh. They had grown quite large, though, and apparently wanted more than the initial amount of territory assigned to them. Joshua told them to go conquer some of the locals to increase their holdings, and while they were skeptical he assured them they could do it. What is it with the Israelites seeming afraid sometimes to try and fight the people God had told them they were to conquer? Aside from times of their own sinfulness, had He ever let them down?

Also, I was surprised to see the name "Noah" mentioned here as a girl's name. Having recently been through the process of naming my son, I am acutely aware of the gender of names - and I had thought that neutral names (which can be either male or female) was a pretty recent thing. I guess I was wrong :/