Matthew Poole and continuators on Joshua 17:15

15 And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people , then get thee up to the woodcountrey , and cut down for thy self there in the land of the Perizzites , and of the giants , if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee .

He reports their own Argument; Seeing thou art a great and numerous People, turn thy Complaints into Actions and valiant Exploits, and enlarge thy Borders by thy own hand▪ to which thou maist confidently expect Gods assistance.

To the Mountain, as it is called v. 17. where among some Towns there is much Wood-land, which thou maist without much difficulty possess, and so get the more room.

Either the Wood, v. 18. for thy own advantage and use; partly in building more Cities and Towns; and partly in preparing the Land for the use of Pasture and Tillage.

Supposed to be a savage and brutish kind of people, that lived in Woods and Mountains.

Who lived in Caves and Mountains, now especially when they were driven out of their Cities.

Or, seeing Mount Ephraim is too narrow for thee, as thou complainest; take to thy self the rest of that Hilly and Wood Countrey. Mount Ephraim was a particular and eminent Portion of the Land, belonging to the Tribe of Ephraim, as appears from Iosh. 19. 50. and 20. 7. and 21. 21. Iudg. 4. 5. And this seems to be here mentioned Synecdochically, for all the Portion allotted to Ephraim and Manasseh, as appears from their complaint, which was not, that this part, but that their whole Portion was too strait for them.

Marginal references: Or, Rephaims.