Verses 1-4 describe the southern boundary of Ephraim; since it bordered on the territory of the tribe of Benjamin, the geographical information here is similar to that given for the northern boundary of Benjamin (18.12-14a).

Good News Translation retains some of the redundancy and ambiguity of the Hebrew text. For example, went into the desert is left dangling at the end of the sentence in Good News Translation, and it is impossible to determine from Good News Translation the geographical relationship between the desert and Jericho. It may be possible to restructure for clarity and fewer words, and at the same time to indicate the general westerly movement of the border line. For example:

• The southern boundary of the land assigned to the descendants of Joseph started east of the springs of Jericho near the Jordan River. It then moved past Jericho in a northwesterly direction through the desert and into the hill country as far as Bethel.

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Newman, Barclay M. A Handbook on Joshua. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1983. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .