13. When the Israelites grew stronger, they made the Canaanites in these towns work as their slaves, though they never did force them to leave.
14. One day the Joseph tribes came to Joshua and asked, “Why didn't you give us more land? The Lord has always been kind to us, and we have too many people for this small region.”
15. Joshua replied, “If you have so many people that you don't have enough room in the hill country of Ephraim, then go into the forest that belonged to the Perizzites and the Rephaim. Clear out the trees and make more room for yourselves there.”
16. “Even if we do that,” they answered, “there still won't be enough land for us in the hill country. And we can't move down into Jezreel Valley, because the Canaanites who live in Beth-Shan and in other parts of the valley have iron chariots.”
17. “Your tribes do have a lot of people,” Joshua admitted. “I'll give you more land. Your tribes are powerful,
18. so you can have the rest of the hill country, but it's a forest, and you'll have to cut down the trees and clear the land. You can also have Jezreel Valley. Even though the Canaanites there are strong and have iron chariots, you can force them to leave the valley.”