Michmethath

Michmethath ("the hiding place") was a boundary point dividing the inheritance of Ephraim from the half-tribe of Manasseh, "east of Shechem" (Joshua 16:6, 17:7). The border described in Joshua 17:7 begins at Asher, runs to Michmethath east of Shechem, then turns southward to En-tappuah. The site is generally identified with Khirbet el-Makhneh el-Fauqa about three miles southeast of Shechem in the central Samarian highlands. Manasseh held the territory north of this line; Ephraim the territory south — through the natural pass connecting the central highlands with the descent to the Jordan Valley.