John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Joshua 13:1



INTRODUCTION JOSHUA 13



In this chapter Joshua is informed by the Lord, or put in mind, that part of the land of Canaan remained unconquered, and which it was; and is directed to divide the whole land among the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh, Jos 13:1; and since the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the other half tribe of Manasseh, had received their inheritance on the other side Jordan, Jos 13:8; that is described in general, Jos 13:9; and, then the particular portion of Reuben,

Jos 13:15; and of Gad, Jos 13:24; and of the half tribe of Manasseh, Jos 13:29.



Ver. 1. Now Joshua was old, [and] stricken in years,.... How old he was cannot be said precisely, but it is very probable he was now about an hundred years of age, for he lived to be an hundred ten; and the land of Canaan was seven years in dividing, as the Jews generally say, and it seems as if he did not live long after that:



and the Lord said unto him: either spoke to him out of the tabernacle, or appeared to him in a dream or vision:



thou art old, [and] stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed: that is, very much of the land of Canaan, which God had promised to Abraham, yet remained unconquered by Joshua, and unpossessed by the children of Israel; and the old age of Joshua is observed, to intimate to him that through it, and the infirmities of it, he was unable to go out to war, and to finish this work, which must be left to be done by others hereafter; and that he should with all expedition set about another work he was capable of doing, before he died, which was the division of the land among the tribes of Israel.





Joshua 13:2



Ver. 2. This [is] the land that yet remaineth,.... Unconquered and not enjoyed, namely, what is after described; and this account is given for Joshua's information, that he might know what to divide, and for the people of Israel's sake, that they might know what they had a right to a claim upon; what they should endeavour to possess themselves of, and what the Lord would deliver into their hands, provided they were obedient to his will, for, because they were not, hence many of these places never came into their possession, though divided to them by lot:



all the borders of the Philistines; whose country bordered and lay upon the shores of the Mediterranean sea, in the southwest of the land of Canaan:



and all Geshuri; the principal city belonging to it is said to be in Syria, 2Sa 15:8; and had a king over it in the times of David, 2Sa 3:3; and seems never to have come into the hands of the Israelites.





Joshua 13:3



Ver. 3. From Sihor, which [is] before Egypt,.... Which Jarchi and Kimchi interpret of the river Nile, and so that river is called, Jer 2:18; it seems to have this name from the waters of it being black and turbid; and hence it was called by the Greeks "Melas"; and by the Latins "Melo"; though it is thought, that not properly the river itself is here meant, which did not reach to the borders of Palestine, but a branch of it, a rivulet from it, for so a traveller {a} writes,



"in a journey of about five days from Gaza towards Egypt, the hithermost arm of the Nile is received by the sea, and is commonly called Carabus?''



even unto the borders of Ekron northward: that is, from the southwest of Palestine, near to which was the river Nile, to the northern part of it, where stood the principality of Ekron, one of the five which belonged to the Philistines:



[which] is counted to the Canaanite; which was reckoned as belonging to the posterity of Canaan, though the Philistines got possession of it, who descended from Mizraim; and indeed it was only accounted as belonging to Canaan and his sons; of right, and according to the grant of God, it belonged to the seed of Abraham:



five lords of the Philistines; who had not kings, as other countries and cities in the land of Canaan had, and their cities were called lordships, principalities, and not kingdoms, and are as follow:



the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites,

and the Ekronites: so called from Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, the cities they were in possession of:



also the Avites; it is not certain whether these were a distinct principality from the other five, or a people dispersed among them; which seems most likely, since those were the original inhabitants, but were driven out or destroyed by the Philistines, though it seems some remained and dwelt among them; see De 2:23.



{a} Jodocus a Gistella apud Drusium in loc.





Joshua 13:4



Ver. 4. From the south, all the land of the Canaanites,.... That is, of those Canaanites who were particularly so called, in distinction from those of the other nations or tribes, and who dwelt in several parts of the land, some in the east and others in the west, see

Jos 11:3; and, as it seems here, some in the south: now on the side of the south, as Kimchi interprets it, all the land of the Canaanites was left, that is, remained unconquered and not possessed:



and Mearah that [is] beside the Sidonians; the inhabitants of Sidon, and parts adjacent: what this place was, which belonged to the Sidonians, for so it may better be rendered, is not certain; some take it to be a cave belonging to them: Sandys {b} speaks of a number of caves cut out of the rock in those parts, called the caves of the Sidonians, and afterwards the caves of Tyre; so it is interpreted by the Targum, and in the Syriac and Arabic versions others take it to be the river Magoras, Pliny {c} makes mention of as on the borders of Lebanon near Zidon and Berytus: mention is made of the waters of Mearah along with the waters of Tiberias in Jewish writings {d}; but rather something of more importance than a cave or a river is meant; most likely a tract of land near Sidon, and which belonged to it, and reached



unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites; of this place,

See Gill on "Jos 12:18".



{b} Travels, l. 3. p. 169. Ed. 5. {c} Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 20. {d} Misn. Sabbat. c. 22. sect. 5. T. Hieros. Sabbat, fol. 6. 1.





Joshua 13:5



Ver. 5. And the land of the Giblites,.... This was another country that remained unconquered; the Greeks call it Byblus, and near to which Pliny {e} speaks of a place called Gabale, and is now called Gibyle; it is {f} said to be



"pleasantly situated by the seaside, and at present it contains but a little extent of ground, but yet more than enough for the small number of its inhabitants:''



it was in greater splendour, and its inhabitants of more fame, in the times of Ezekiel, Eze 27:9;



and all Lebanon toward the sunrising; or east of the land; all that inhabited that mountain remained unconquered, though the conquest was carried as far as the borders thereof:



from Baalgad, under Mount Hermon; of which see Jos 11:17;



unto the entering into Hamath: which was the north border of the land; see Nu 34:8.



{e} Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 20.) {f} Maundrel's Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 33.





Joshua 13:6



Ver. 6. All the inhabitants of the hill country,.... Not in Judea, but in and about Lebanon, as follows:



from Lebanon unto Misrephothmaim; of which see Jos 11:8;



[and] all the Sidonians; the inhabitants of the ancient city of Sidon, and the villages and lands belonging to it: these remained unconquered, and never were possessed by the Israelites:



them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: which, though it may have a special respect unto the Sidonians, with whom the clause is closely connected, yet may include all the above lands unconquered, out of which, as well as Sidon, the Lord promises to drive the inhabitants, to make way for the children of Israel; that is, on condition of their obedience, for it appears that not only the Sidonians, but many others, even the chief, and most of those mentioned, were never possessed by them:



only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance; that is, the whole land, as Abarbinel rightly remarks, both what was subdued and what was not; that was the business, and all the business, Joshua had now to do; he was not to be employed in making any further conquests, but leave them to others, and apply himself to the division of the land, by lot, to the tribes that as yet had no portion assigned them:



as I have commanded thee; now, at this time.





Joshua 13:7



Ver. 7. Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance,.... Having the command and authority of God for it, he was to set about it at once, with all diligence and application:



unto the nine tribes: of Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, Dan, Ephraim, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali, in which order they are placed, when the Lord gave to Moses the names of the men that should divide the land under Eleazar and Joshua, Nu 34:16;



and the half tribe of Manasseh; that half which had no inheritance on the other side Jordan, and for which a prince of the children of Joseph was appointed to divide, Nu 34:23.





Joshua 13:8



Ver. 8. With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance,.... That is, along with the half tribe of Manasseh, but not with that half of it before mentioned, who was to haven division of a part with the nine tribes, but with the other half of the tribe settled beyond Jordan; with them the tribes of Reuben and Gad had received their portion at their own request, and so were to have no share in the present distribution:



which Moses gave them beyond Jordan eastward; at their desire,

Nu 32:1, and upon certain conditions to be performed by them,

Nu 32:20;



[even] as Moses the servant of the Lord gave them; this character of Moses, as the "servant of the Lord", seems to be observed to show that he gave the said tribes their inheritance: according to the will of God, and in obedience to it: here end the words of the Lord to Joshua, and next follows an account of the land given to the two tribes and a half described by the writer of this book.





Joshua 13:9



Ver. 9. From Aroer, that [is] on the bank of the river Arnon,.... A city belonging to Moab, from whence the description begins, the river Arnon, on which it was situated, being the border between Moab and the Amorites, Nu 21:13;



and the city that [is] in the midst of the river; or "even the city"; meaning the same city of Aroer, it lying both on the bank of it, and in the middle of it, or it was a double city, as may seem from Isa 17:2; and so differently situated at that river:



and all the plains of Medeba unto Dibon; of these two places, see

Nu 21:30; between them lay a plain, which some take to be the plain of Moab; but it rather seems to be a plain that was between these two places, and, according to Jos 13:17, Dibon itself was in a plain.





Joshua 13:10



Ver. 10. And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon,.... A city he took from the Moabites, and made it his royal seat, Nu 21:26:



unto the border of the children of Ammon; which was the river Jabbok, De 3:16.





Joshua 13:11



Ver. 11. And Gilead,.... The land of Gilead, which was part of the kingdom of Og, half of which was given to Reuben, and the other half to Gad:



and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites; of which see De 3:14;



and all Mount Hermon; called also Sirion, Shenir, and Sion, De 3:9;



and all Bashan unto Salcah; another part of the dominions of Og, De 3:10.





Joshua 13:12



Ver. 12. All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei,.... See Gill on "Jos 12:4";



who remained of the remnant of the giants; was descended from those that remained in Ashtaroth, after the rest were cut off by Chedorlaomer, Ge 14:5; called there the Rephaim, as here:



for these did Moses smite, and cast them out: that is, not only the giants, but the inhabitants of the above kingdom, the greatest part of them; for the Geshurites and the Maachathites are excepted in

Jos 13:13.





Joshua 13:13



Ver. 13. Nevertheless, the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites,.... Neither in the times of Moses, nor in the times of Joshua:



but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day: in full possession of their cities unmolested; yea, in later times they became separate and distinct kingdoms; for we read both of the king of Geshur, and of the king of Maachah, 2Sa 3:3.





Joshua 13:14



Ver. 14. Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance,.... Neither the Lord, nor Moses by his order, nor did he appoint any inheritance for them, either beyond Jordan, or on this side it, for the Lord was to be their inheritance, Nu 18:20;



the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire [are] their inheritance, as he said unto them; De 18:1; and which are put for the whole of what was granted to them for their subsistence, as tithes, firstfruits, &c.





Joshua 13:15



Ver. 15. And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben [inheritance] according to their families. According to the number of them, and sufficient for them.





Joshua 13:16



Ver. 16. And their coast was from Aroer that [is] on the bank of the river Arnon,.... As the country of Sihon is described, Jos 13:9; from whence it appears that it was his country which was given to Reuben, though not all of it:



and the city that [is] in the midst of the river;

See Gill on "Jos 13:9";



and all the plain by Medeba; which reached unto Dibon, Jos 13:9.





Joshua 13:17



Ver. 17. Heshbon, and all her cities that [are] in the plain,.... Which was by Medeba, and reached to Dibon:



Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and Bethbaalmeon; Dibon was rebuilt by Gad, though it belonged to Reuben, and perhaps was inhabited by both, being on the borders of each; and Bamothbaal signifies the high places of Baal; see Nu 22:41; perhaps this is the same with Bamoth in the valley, Nu 21:20; and Bethbaalmeon is the same with Baalmeon in

Nu 32:38; where it is highly probable was a temple of Baal, since both "beth" signifies an house, and "meon" an habitation.





Joshua 13:18



Ver. 18. And Jahazah,.... Called Jahaz, Nu 21:23, where the battle was fought between Sihon and Israel:



and Kedemoth; near to which was a wilderness, which took its name from it, from whence Moses sent messengers with words of peace to Sihon, De 2:26;



and Mephaath; thought to be the Maipha of Ptolemy {f}; here Jerom says {g}, in his time was a garrison of Roman soldiers, because of the desert that was near. It was a city, with its suburbs, given to the Levites, as were the two preceding, Jos 21:36; Adrichomius {h} takes it to be the same with Malle, which, Josephus says, {i} was called the city of the strangers.



{f} Geograph. l. 6. c. 7. {g} De loc Heb. fol. 93. D. {h} Theatrum Ter. Sanct. p. 179. {i} Antiqu. l. 12. c. 8. sect. 3.





Joshua 13:19



Ver. 19. And Kirjathaim,.... Of which See Gill on "Nu 32:37";



and Sibmah; of which See Gill on "Nu 32:3" and

See Gill on "Nu 32:38";



and Zarethshahar, in the mount of the valley; which was built on one of the mountains that looked over the valley of Moab, as did Nebo, Pisgah, Abarim; perhaps it is the same place Josephus {k} calls Zara, to which he joins the valley of the Cilicians, and mentions it along with Heshbon, Medeba, and other cities of Moab; according to Adrichomius {l}, it was in the mount of the valley of Bethpeor, which next follows.



{k} Antiqu. l. 13. c. 15. sect. 4. {l} Ut supra, (Theatrum Ter. Sanct.) p. 130.





Joshua 13:20



Ver. 20. And Bethpeor,.... So called from Peor, the idol of the Moabites, and where very likely there had been a temple built to the honour of it; over against this place was a valley, where Israel abode some time, De 3:29;



and Ashdodpisgah; of which see De 3:17;



and Bethjeshimoth; of which see Nu 33:49.





Joshua 13:21



Ver. 21. And all the cities of the plain,.... In the champaign country, as well as those in the mountainous part:



and all the kingdom of Sihon; or, as Masius renders the words, "which all had been the kingdom of Sihon"; for the whole kingdom of Sihon was not given to Reuben, only a part of it, and the rest to Gad, as in

Jos 13:27;



king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon; as in Jos 13:10;



whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur,

and Hur, and Reba; not at the same time that Sihon was smitten by him, but afterwards in a war with Midian, Nu 31:8; where their names are given as here; and there they are called kings of Midian, petty kings, and, as it seems by what follows, were subject to Sihon, and therefore are here mentioned:



[which were] dukes of Sihon dwelling in the country; for Midian, as Kimchi supposes, and not without reason, was under the government of Sihon, and these were his nobles, though they dwelt in the land of Midian.





Joshua 13:22



Ver. 22. Balaam also, the son of Beor the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword,.... At the same time that the princes of Midian were slain, and which is also observed, See Gill on "Nu 31:8". Kimchi supposes that he returned to Midian, on hearing that the counsel he gave to them, to ensnare Israel with their daughters, had taken effect, in order to receive his wages, and so received his righteous doom and just reward; it is commonly said by the Jews {m}, that he was slain by Phinehas:



among them that were slain by them; among the above princes, and the common soldiers, of which there was a great slaughter; even all the males of Midian were slain, Nu 31:7.



{m} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 106. 2. Kimchi in loc.





Joshua 13:23



Ver. 23. And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border [thereof],.... As their border eastward was Aroer on the river Arnon, so their border westward was the river Jordan:



this [was] the inheritance of the children of Reuben, after their families, the cities and the villages thereof; which Moses gave them on the other side Jordan; and next follow an account of the inheritance of the tribe of Gad in those parts.





Joshua 13:24



Ver. 24. And Moses gave [inheritance] unto the tribe of Gad,.... On the other side Jordan, as he did to Reuben:



[even] unto the children of Gad, according to their families: according to the number and largeness of them, dividing to each their part and portion.





Joshua 13:25



Ver. 25. And their coast was Jazer,.... Their southern coast; of Jazer, see Nu 21:32; where it is called Jaazer, and is mentioned in

Isa 16:8; and in Jer 48:32, where it is spoken of as a city of Moab, as it was in the days of those prophets:



and all the cities of Gilead; which lay in those parts, for the whole was not given to this tribe, half of Gilead was given to the half tribe of Manasseh, Jos 13:31;



and half the land of the children of Ammon; not what then belonged to them, but what had been taken from them by the Amorites; and which Israel taking from them, had a right to retain, though they were forbid meddling with any of their land in present possession; see De 2:19

Jud 11:13;



unto Aroer that [is] before Rabbath; Aroer was a city of Moab, situated on the river Arnon, Jos 13:9; and stood over against Rabbath, a city of the Amorites, since called Philadelphia, the same that Joab took,

2Sa 12:26; though Reland thinks {n}, that according to the situation of these cities another Aroer must be here meant, and which belonged to the Amorites.



{n} Palestin. Illustrat. tom. 2. p. 583.





Joshua 13:26



Ver. 26. And from Heshbon unto Ramathmizpeh, and Betonim,.... This was their coast from the south to the north, and so describes their eastern border, which reached from Heshbon, given to the tribe of Reuben,

Jos 13:7; to these places mentioned; Ramathmizpeh, the same with Ramothgilead, which Jerom {o} says was a village in his time, and lay two miles from Philadelphia or Rabbath before mentioned, to the east; it should be to the west; of Betonim we nowhere else read, it seems to have been near to Ramath:



and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir; the former of these was the place where the angels met Jacob, and who gave it the name from thence; and in later times a city of this name was built there, and was near the river Jabbok, Ge 32:2; Debir is different from that in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:15; in the Septuagint version here it is called Daibon, perhaps the same with Dibon, the tribe of Gad rebuilt, and is called Dibongad, Nu 32:34; unless Lidbar here should be the same with Lodebar in Gilead, 2Sa 17:27.



{o} De loc. Heb. fol. 99. A.





Joshua 13:27



Ver. 27. And in the valley, Betharam,.... The same with Bethharan,

See Gill on "Nu 32:36":



and Bethnimrah; sometimes called Nimrah, Nu 32:3; near to which were some waters, called the waters of Nimrim, Isa 15:6; It was in Jerom's {p} time a large village; it seems to have its name from leopards, which perhaps had their haunts hereabout:



and Succoth: the place where Jacob pitched his tent after he had passed over Jabbok; it is called in the Jerusalem Talmud {q} Thaarabah:



and Zaphon; which in the same Talmud is Amatho or Amathus, which Jerom says {r} is a village beyond Jordan, twenty one miles from Pella to the south, though he places it in the tribe of Reuben:



the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon; which was not given to the tribe of Reuben, Jos 13:21;



Jordan and [his] border; that is, the cities which were near it, as Kimchi; or that were upon the bank of it, as Jarchi;



[even] unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth; the same with the lake of Gennesaret, Lu 5:1;



on the other side Jordan eastward; the other from that in which the inheritance of Gad lay, which was beyond Jordan, from the land of Canaan.



{p} De loc. Heb. fol. 93. I. {q} T. Hieros. Sheviith, fol. 38. 4. {r} De loc. Heb. fol. 88. E.





Joshua 13:28



Ver. 28. This [is] the inheritance of the children of Gad, after their families,.... As described in Jos 13:27:



the cities and their villages; the cities given them, some of which are mentioned by name, and the villages adjacent and belonging to them were included in them.





Joshua 13:29



Ver. 29. And Moses gave [inheritance] unto the half tribe of Manasseh,.... Whether at their request or of himself, there being land enough for them, and the two tribes of Gad and Reuben, is not certain:



and [this] is [the possession] of the half tribe of Manasseh, by their families; which is after related and described.





Joshua 13:30



Ver. 30. And their coast was from Mahanaim,.... A place in the tribe of Gad, Jos 13:26; which was the boundary of the half tribe that way:



all Bashan; so famous for its oxen, and for pasturage for them, and for its oaks, called by Josephus Batanea:



all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan; which, besides Bashan, took in the kingdom of Argob or Trachonitis, half the land of Gilead, all which was possessed by the half tribe of Manasseh: see De 3:13;



and all the towns of, Jair which [are] in Bashan, threescore cities; of Jair, and his relation to Manasseh, and of his taking these cities, and the number of them, see Nu 33:41.





Joshua 13:31



Ver. 31. And half Gilead,.... The other half not given to the Gadites, who had that half of it which Sihon possessed, and the tribe of Manasseh that half of it which Og possessed, see De 3:12;



and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan; which are particularly mentioned, because royal cities, Jos 13:10; see De 1:4;



[were pertaining] unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh; and who was his only son; however, to his posterity only was this inheritance given, though not to them all:



[even] to one half of the children of Machir, by their families; which seems to confirm it that Manasseh had no other son, since his whole posterity, both the half tribe on the other side, as well as that in the land of Canaan, were denominated from him; though he seems to have had another son, who perhaps died without issue, 1Ch 7:14.





Joshua 13:32



Ver. 32. These [are the countries] which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab,.... Which is particularly described, that each might know their proper portion:



on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward; of the land of Canaan; of Jordan by Jericho, See Gill on "Nu 22:1".





Joshua 13:33



Ver. 33. But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not [any] inheritance,.... Neither on the other side Jordan, nor did he order them any in Canaan; but expressly declared they were to have no part in the division of it, though they were his own tribe; which shows him to be a disinterested man, that he faithfully observed the orders and instructions the Lord gave him:



the Lord God of Israel [was] their inheritance, as he said unto them; what was given to the Lord out of the sacrifices, and the tithes, and firstfruits, that were theirs; see Nu 18:20.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Joshua 14:1



INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 14



This chapter proceeds to give an account of the countries divided to the children of Israel in the land of Canaan, Jos 14:1; but previous to that division relates the claim of Caleb to Hebron, through a promise made unto him by Moses forty five years ago, upon his report of the good land, whither he was sent a spy by him, Jos 14:6; and the grant which Joshua made of it to him, with his blessing, Jos 14:13.



Ver. 1. And these [are the countries] which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan,.... Of which an exact account is given in the following chapters, particularly in the Jos 15:1;



which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for an inheritance unto them; namely, ten princes, one of each tribe, who, with Eleazar and Joshua, were appointed of the Lord by name to do this business, even seven years ago, before their entrance into the land of Canaan, Nu 34:17.





Joshua 14:2



Ver. 2. By lot [was] their inheritance,.... Every tribe had its part and portion assigned to it, by the casting of lots; which was done to prevent any future quarrels, animosities and strifes among the tribes, the disposition being of the Lord; and to show the exact agreement between the lot and the divine predictions by Jacob and Moses; and to make it appear that the division of the land was not owing to the private combination of the above men, and their private settlement of it; but to the providence of God, the directors of the lot; their chief business was to see that the lot was executed in a faithful manner, and that every tribe had its allotment according to it. In this Canaan was a type of the heavenly inheritance, which the saints obtain by lot, in and through Christ, the antitypical Joshua, Eph 1:11;



as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, Nu 26:55;



for the nine tribes, and [for] the half tribe; see Jos 13:7; the reason why this number of them is particularly mentioned follows.





Joshua 14:3



Ver. 3. And Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes, and an half tribe, on the other side Jordan,.... The two tribes of Gad and Reuben, and the half tribe of Manasseh, whose inheritance is described in

Jos 13:8:



but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them; this is frequently observed, that it might be taken notice of, to show the disinterestedness of Moses in this affair, Levi being his own tribe; and to recommend the care of the Levites to the other tribes, according to the provision God had made for them.





Joshua 14:4



Ver. 4. For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim,.... For the birthright being forfeited by Reuben, was given to Joseph, who had the double portion, the privilege of the firstborn; by which means the number of the twelve tribes was kept up in the division of the land, though that of Levi had no share in it; and which is also a reason why they had none, that Joseph's two sons might be reckoned two tribes:



therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land; to make way for the sons of Joseph to have the double portion:



save cities to dwell [in]; and that only, for they might not sell them, as other Israelites could theirs:



with their suburbs, for their cattle, and for their substance; the Targum is,



"for all their beasts, and for their cattle;''



that is, for convenient places to put them into, and for pasturage for, them; which Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret of their larger and lesser cattle, their herds and their flocks, their oxen and sheep.





Joshua 14:5



Ver. 5. As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did,.... Particularly with respect to the division of the land, and making provision for the Levites; this they did by their heads and representatives, the high priest and chief ruler, and the princes of the several tribes:



and they divided the land; met about it, and began to take measures in order to do it; they prepared for it, though as yet it was not actually done, and previous to it was the following incident.





Joshua 14:6



Ver. 6. Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal,.... Whither he was returned after the conquest of the kings and their kingdoms; these were not the whole tribe of Judah, but some of the chief men of it who accompanied Caleb, for the honour of him, as Ben Gersom observes, he being their prince; and to second his petition, and to show their consent unto, and an approbation of such an assignment to him as he desired;



and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, said unto him; whether Caleb or Jephunneh called the Kenezite, and what the reason of the name, are not very material; and of which See Gill on "Nu 32:12"; and as Caleb was personally and singly concerned in the following affair, he alone dressed Joshua, attended with some principal men of his tribe:



thou knowest the thing the Lord said unto Moses the man of God,

concerning thee and me, in Kadeshbarnea; the place from whence the spies were sent, and whither they returned to Moses there, of whom Caleb speaks with great respect and veneration, which he knew would be very pleasing and endearing to Joshua, who could not but remember what had been said by him concerning himself and Caleb, though it was now forty five years ago; it being so very striking and memorable, that only two of that generation then present should enter into the land of Canaan; the fulfilment of which, in all its circumstances, they had lived to see.





Joshua 14:7



Ver. 7. Forty years old [was] I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land,.... Not he alone, but eleven more with him, one out of every tribe; his age he mentions, and of which, or near it, it is highly probable the rest of the spies were, to show that he and they were in the prime of their days, both as to bodily strength and intellectual capacity, which were requisite for such service as to spy out the land, of what quality that and its inhabitants were; and Moses he calls the servant of the Lord, because it was by the order and appointment of God, signified to Moses, that this was done; and the place from whence they were sent forth is named, which ascertains what that Kadesh was, where Israel was encamped when the spies were sent, Nu 13:26;



and I brought him word again, as [it was] in mine heart; that is, he gave to Moses upon his return a sincere, honest and faithful representation of the land, and its inhabitants, as it appeared to him.





Joshua 14:8



Ver. 8. Nevertheless, my brethren that went up with me,.... Meaning the rest of the spies, excepting Joshua, that went up with him into the land of Canaan to spy it, which they might be properly said to do, since they went up a hill or mountain, in order to go into it,

Nu 13:17;



made the heart of the people melt; discouraged them, filled them with fears, sunk their spirits, that their hearts flowed, and became as weak as water, having no strength left in them, or hope of possessing the land; being told what stout and gigantic men the inhabitants of it were, and how strongly fortified were their cities:



but I wholly followed the Lord my God; and did not join with them in an ill report of the good land; but having the fear of God before his eyes, walked after that, and delivered in his report faithfully, according to the dictates of his conscience, and the real sentiments of his mind; of this phrase, See Gill on "Nu 14:24".





Joshua 14:9



Ver. 9. And Moses sware on that day, saying,.... Or declared the oath of the Lord, for it was the Lord that sware to what follows; see De 1:34;



surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever: not the whole land of Canaan, nor all the parts of it Caleb travelled through, but particularly Hebron; which though not expressly mentioned in the aforesaid oath, yet was understood and known to be the meaning of it, and which Joshua by the following grant owned, and it is elsewhere expressly affirmed, Jud 1:20; and it is remarked, that it is not said "they", but "he" came to Hebron, Nu 13:22; that is Caleb, so that it was literally true that his feet had trodden there: now the reason of this oath, and the inheritance assured by it to Caleb, was,



because thou hast wholly followed the Lord thy God; in all his ways, and with full purpose of heart, and particularly had acted the upright and faithful part in the report he made of the good land;

See Gill on "Nu 14:24".





Joshua 14:10



Ver. 10. And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said,.... Had upheld him in life, and preserved him from many dangers in the wilderness; and had continued him not only in life, but in health to that day, according to his promise to him, that he would bring him into the land of Canaan, and that he should see and possess it, Nu 14:24 De 1:36;



these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, and while [the children] of Israel wandered in the wilderness; not that the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness forty five years, but it was while they were in the wilderness this word or promise, concerning Caleb, was spoken by the Lord to Moses; and it was in the second year of their coming out of Egypt, after which they wandered in the wilderness thirty eight years, so that they had now been in the land of Canaan seven years; and from hence the Jewish chronologers {s} gather, that the land was seven years in subduing, and which their commentators in general take notice of. Maimonides {t} seems to be displeased with the Arabs for calling the wilderness, through which the Israelites travelled, "the desert of wandering"; but it appears from hence to be a very proper epithet of it; and Kadesh the place where they were first threatened, that they should be wanderers in the wilderness for such a time, had the additional name of Barnea, which signifies the son of a wanderer:



and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old; being forty years of age when sent a spy into the land, Jos 14:7; thirty eight years he was with Israel in the wilderness, and seven years more since they entered into the land, in all eighty five; there is no necessity of understanding it that this was his precise birth day, but that about this time, or that he was now completely of such an age, which was more by fifteen years than the age of man in common at that time, see

Ps 90:10.



{s} Seder Olam Rabba, c. 11. p. 31. {t} Moreh Nevochim, par. 3. c. 50. p. 512.





Joshua 14:11



Ver. 11. As yet I [am as] strong this day as [I was] in the day that Moses sent me,.... To spy the land, forty five years ago; suggesting that he was as sound in his mind, understanding, judgment and memory, and as hale, strong, and robust in his body now, as he had been so long ago; which was a wonderful instance of the care of divine Providence over him in upholding him in life, and continuing him in vigour and health at such an age, when the carcasses of so many thousands had pined away and fell in the wilderness:



as my strength [was] then, even so [is] my strength now for war; he had the same strength of body and courage of mind to engage in warlike enterprises as he had so many years ago; and this he the rather mentions, to prevent any objection Joshua might make to the giving of Hebron to him, since being inhabited by giants, it required a large share of strength and courage to attempt the conquest of it: but Caleb had strength



both to go out, and to come in; to do any civil business, to preside over his tribe, or to govern any city, and its appendages, that should be put into his hands.





Joshua 14:12



Ver. 12. Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day,.... The mountainous part of the country, the hill country of Judea, in which Hebron, Debir, and other cities were; for it was not one particular city only that Caleb requested, but a large tract of ground;



for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims [were] there, and [that] the cities [were] great and fenced; that the giants, called Anakims, dwelt in the mountainous country, and their cities, Hebron, Debir, and Anab, were very large, and well fortified; this Joshua heard at the time the spies were sent into the land, he being one of them; and this he heard, not from the report of the spies, but from the people of the country, and therefore must know that to conquer these men, and subdue their cities, was an arduous undertaking; but since he had strength and courage, he hoped his request would be granted:



if so be the Lord [will be] with me; which he spake not as doubting of his presence and power to be with him, and assist him, but as placing his confidence therein, and, distrusting his own power and ability, having no dependence or that, but believing that the Lord, or, as the Targum, the Word of the Lord, would be with him for his help:



then, says Caleb,



I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said; that is, to drive the Anakims out of their cities, or out of the mountains, the caves and dens there, to which they betook themselves, since the taking of Hebron, Debir, and Anab, by Joshua, Jos 11:22; and he relied upon the promise of God to enable him to do this, and not upon his natural strength and courage, or the number and prowess of the warlike tribe of Judah, of which he was prince.





Joshua 14:13



Ver. 13. And Joshua blessed him,.... By granting him his request, congratulating him upon it, and praying for and wishing him success in his attempt to drive out the giants, and possess their country:



and gave unto Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, Hebron for an inheritance; being satisfied of the justness of his suit, of its being the will of God, and the order of Moses, that he should have this for an inheritance, which he had heard himself, had knowledge of, and well remembered: this is to be understood not of the city of Hebron itself, for that was given to the Levites, and was a city of refuge, but the country round about in the fields and villages annexed to it, as appears from Jos 21:12.





Joshua 14:14



Ver. 14. Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day,.... The time of the writing of this book:



because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel; as in

Jos 14:8; Hebron signifies fellowship or communion; and this in a spiritual sense is very desirable by all the people of God, as Hebron was by Caleb, even communion with God, Father, Son and Spirit, with angels and saints, both now and hereafter; and they are willing to engage with their spiritual enemies in the name and strength of Christ, though ever so potent, may they but enjoy this blessing, and which is more or less granted, to all the hearty, sincere, and faithful followers of Christ; see Joh 14:21.





Joshua 14:15



Ver. 15. And the name of Hebron before [was] Kirjatharba,.... According to Jerom {u}, it had its name of Hebron from a son or grandson of Caleb of that name, 1Ch 2:42; and if so, then it is here, and in some other places, so called by anticipation: Kirjatharba may be rendered "the city of the four"; and had its name, as some think, from the four couple buried there, or near it, Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah; or from four eminent persons, who formerly dwelt there, Aner, Eshcol, Mamre, and Abraham; or rather from four persons that more lately dwelt there, Anak and his three sons, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai; or Arba is the name of some great man, to whom this city belonged, and so was called the city of Arba, which is the sense of our version, as appears by the following supplement:



[which Arba was] a great man among the Anakims; both in stature and in dignity, and in authority, which some take to be Anak himself, the father of the Anakims; so Jarchi and Kimchi:



and the land had rest from war; as is observed in Jos 11:23; after Joshua had finished his conquest; and here again it is remarked just before the division of the land, as being now a proper time for it.



{u} De loc. Heb. fol. 87. F.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Joshua 15:1



INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 15



In this chapter are related the boundaries of the lot of the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:1; and the assignment of Hebron to Caleb, from whence he drove out the giants, and of Debir, which was taken by Othniel his brother, to whom, on that account, he gave his daughter in marriage, who made a further request to her father, which was granted,

Jos 15:13; and then follows an account of the several cities by name, which fell to the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:20.



Ver. 1. This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families,.... The land of Canaan was divided by lot to the several tribes, and the tribe of Judah had its lot first; of the manner of casting lots, See Gill on "Nu 26:55"; It seems as if the lot was first cast for the tribes of Judah and Joseph, when the former had the southern, and the latter the northern part of the land for their portion, which was done in Gilgal; after this lots were cast in Shiloh for the other seven tribes, who had the land divided among them, which lay between Judah and Joseph, or between the southern and northern parts of the land, see Jos 18:1, &c. and it seems that not only the land was divided to the tribes by lot, but that the portion of land which belonged to each tribe was divided in the same way to the several families and households belonging thereunto; as is here suggested, with respect to the tribe of Judah, whose lot reached



[even] to the border of Edom; or Idumea, which lay to the south of the land of Canaan:



the wilderness of Zin southward [was] the uttermost part of the south coast; the same with Kadesh, and lay upon the borders of Edom; see

Nu 33:36.





Joshua 15:2



Ver. 2. And their south border was from the shore of the salt sea,.... Sometimes called the dead sea, the sea of Sodom, and the lake Asphaltites, which, as Jarchi observes, was southeast of the land of Israel:



from the bay that looketh southward; or the "tongue", as the Hebrew, which the Targum and Kimchi interpret of a rock or promontory, the point that ran out into the sea, looking to the southeast.





Joshua 15:3



Ver. 3. And it went out to the south side of Maalehacrabbim,.... Or the ascent of Akrabbim, as it is called, See Gill on "Nu 34:4":



and passed along to Zin, and ascended upon the south side unto Kadeshbarnea; which perfectly agrees with the southern border of the land, as described in Nu 34:4;



and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar; which two places being near to one another, as is very likely, are put together, as if one place, and called Hazaraddar, Nu 34:4; and mention is made of Hezron, which is Hazor, Jos 15:25; but not of Adar:



and fetched a compass to Karkaa; which Jerom {w} calls Acchara, a village in the wilderness; and if the same with Carcaria, it was according to him a day's journey from Petra in Idumea; but that is not likely; see Jud 8:10.



{w} De loc. Heb. fol. 88. E. 90. C.





Joshua 15:4



Ver. 4. [From thence] it passed towards Azmon, and went out unto the river of Egypt,.... In like manner is this coast described,

Nu 34:5; it is called by Jerom {x} Asemona, and said to be a city in the desert, to the south of Judah, dividing Egypt, and the lot of the tribe of Judah, leading to the sea:



and the outgoings of that coast were at the sea; the Mediterranean sea; or to the west, as the Targum; this was the utmost border of the tribe of Judah this way:



this shall be your south coast; of the lot that fell to the tribe of Judah.



{x} De loc. Heb. fol. 87. K.





Joshua 15:5



Ver. 5. And the east border [was] the salt sea, [even] unto the end of Jordan,.... To the place where Jordan fell into it; so that this border was the whole length of the salt sea, which Josephus says {y} was five hundred eighty furlongs; and, according to Pliny {z}, an hundred miles:



and [their] border in the north quarter [was] from the bay of the sea,

at the uttermost part of Jordan; this northern border began where the eastern ended, at the bay or creek of the sea, where Jordan fell into it.



{y} De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 4. {z} Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 16.





Joshua 15:6



Ver. 6. And the border went up to Bethhoglah,.... A place in the tribe of Benjamin, mentioned along with Jericho, and probably near it,

Jos 18:21; Jerom {a} speaks of a place called Betagla, in his time, which was three miles from Jericho, and two from Jordan, and perhaps is this same place:



and passed along by the north of Betharabah; another city belonged to Benjamin, Jos 18:22; and lay in a as its name shows; or in a plain, as the Targum:



and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben; by whom, or on whose account, it was placed, either as a sepulchral stone, he being buried there, or in memory of some famous exploit done by him there, he being one of those of the tribe of Reuben, that came with Joshua to assist in the war against the Canaanites; or it was set for a sign of the border, as Kimchi thinks, it being the boundary between Judah and Benjamin, Jos 18:17. Bunting says {b} it is near Bahurim, in the valley just in the king's way, and is of an extraordinary greatness, shining like marble.



{a} De loc. Heb. fol. 87. G. {b} Travels, &c. p. 144.





Joshua 15:7



Ver. 7. And the border went up towards Debir,.... This was neither the Debir in the tribe of Gad, on the other side Jordan, Jos 13:26; nor that in the tribe of Judah near Hebron, Jos 15:15; but a third city of that name, and was not far from Jericho:



from the valley of Achor; where Achan was put to death, and had its name from thence; which, according to Jarchi, lay between the stone of Bohan and Debir:



and so northward, looking towards Gilgal; not the place where Israel were encamped when this lot was made, but it seems to be the same that is called Geliloth, Jos 18:17;



that [is], the going up to Adummim; which, Jerom says {c}, was formerly a little village, now in ruins, in the lot of the tribe of Judah, which place is called to this day Maledomim; and by the Greeks "the ascent of the red ones", because of the blood which was there frequently shed by thieves: it lies on the borders of Judah and Benjamin, as you go from Jerusalem to Jericho, where there is a garrison of soldiers for the help of travellers, and is supposed to be the place where the man fell among thieves in his way from the one to the other, Lu 10:30. It was four miles distant from Jericho to the west, according to Adrichomius {d}, and was a mountain, and part of the mountains of Engaddi:



which [is] on the south side of the river; which some take to be the brook Kidron; but that is not very likely, being too near Jerusalem for this place: it may be rendered "the valley", so Jarchi, either the valley of Achor, before mentioned, or however a valley that ran along by the mount or ascent of Adummim, which lay to the south of it:



and the border passed to the waters of Enshemesh: or the "fountain of the sun"; but of it we have no account what and where it was. It might be so called, because dedicated to the sun by the idolatrous Canaanites, or because of the sun's influence on the waters of it. Our city, Bath, is, by Antoninus {e}, called "aquae solis", the waters of the sun; though there is a fountain in Cyrene, so called, for a reason just the reverse, it being, as Mela {f} and Pliny {g} affirm, hottest the middle of the night, and then grows cooler by little and little; and when it is light is cold, and when the sun is risen is colder still, and at noon exceeding cold; and, according to Vossius {h}, it is the same with the fountain of Jupiter Ammon; and so it appears to be from Herodotus {i}, by whom it is also called the "fountain of the sun", and which he places in Thebes, though Pliny distinguishes them:



and the goings out thereof were at Enrogel; which signifies "the fountain of the fuller"; so the Targum renders it, and probably was a fountain where fullers cleansed their clothes; and was called Rogel, as Jarchi and Kimchi say, because they used to tread them with their feet when they washed them. This was a place near Jerusalem, as appears from 1Ki 1:9; near to which perhaps was the fuller's monument, at the corner tower of Jerusalem, Josephus {k} speaks of, as there was also a place not far from it called the fuller's field, Isa 7:3; according to Bunting {l}, it had its name from travellers washing their feet here.



{c} De loc. Heb. fol. 88. E. F. {d} Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 14. {e} Vid. Cambden's Britannia, p. 141. {f} De Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 8. {g} Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 103. {h} Observat. in Pompon. Mel. ut supra. (De Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 8.) {i} Melpomene, sive, l. 4. c. 181. {k} De Bello Jud. l. 5. c. 4. sect. 2. {l} Travels, p. 148.





Joshua 15:8



Ver. 8. And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom,.... Which belonged to a man of that name formerly; and was near Jerusalem, placed by Jerom {l} to the east of it; but Reland {m} rather thinks it is to the south. It was infamous for the sacrifices of children to Moloch in it, by burning them, or causing them to pass through fire: hence, in allusion to it, hell fire is often in the New Testament called "Geenna", Mt 5:22

Lu 12:5; this border from the salt sea, and from Jordan, is all along said to "go up", because from hence to Jerusalem was an ascent, that lying on higher ground:



unto the south side of the Jebusite; of the place the Jebusite inhabited:



the same is Jerusalem; which was formerly called Jebus, from the inhabitants of it; yea, Jebusi, as here, and so may intend not the inhabitants, but the place, see Jos 18:28; and here the Jebusites lived, at least in some part of it, until the time of David, 2Sa 5:6;



and the border went up to the top of the mountain that [lieth] before the valley of Hinnom westward: which is generally supposed to be the mount Moriah:



which is at the end of the valley of the giants, northward: the valley of Rephaim, as it is called 2Sa 5:18, and here Mount Moriah, as it was to the west of the valley of Hinnom, it was to the north of the valley of Rephaim; which valley, as Josephus {n} says, was not far from Jerusalem, twenty furlongs from it. Some late travellers {o} tell us it lies in the way from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, and is not above two hours' ride from the former. From this account it appears, as Jarchi remarks, that Jerusalem was not within the line, and was not in the border of Judah, but of Benjamin, which tribe lay to the north of Judah: it seems indeed to have been one part of it in the tribe of Judah, and the other in the tribe of Benjamin; though the Jews frequently say it did not belong to either tribe.



{l} De loc. Heb. fol. 91. B. {m} Palest. lllustrat. tom. 1. p. 253. {n} Antiqu. l. 7. c. 4. sect. 1. & 12. 4. {o} Egmont and Heyman's Travels, vol. 1. p. 370.





Joshua 15:9



Ver. 9. And the border was drawn from the top of the hill,.... Mount Moriah, and went round in a circuit, so Jarchi and Kimchi:



unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah; which lay at the bottom of it; which, according to the Jewish writers, is the same with the fountain of Etam, from whence a stream flowed to the dipping room in the water gate of the temple, where the high priest for the first time dipped himself on the day of atonement {p};



and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron; Jerom {q} speaks of an Ephron in the tribe of Judah, which was a very large village in his time, and went by the name of Ephraea, and was twenty miles from Aelia or Jerusalem to the north; and which Eusebius better places eight miles from it; and Jarchi observes, that the line went to the north side, and the border enlarged to this place; near to this mountain were cities, and it is not improbable that one of them might have its name from it; but whether this, or what mountain is here meant, is uncertain: some have thought of Ephraim, with its towns, mentioned in 2Ch 13:19; which seems to have been in the tribe of Ephraim; though Reland {r} places it in the tribe of Benjamin:



and the border was drawn to Baalah, which [is] Kirjathjearim; called Kirjathbaal, or the city of Baal, Jos 15:60; where it is probable there was a temple of Baal; and when it came into the hands of the Israelites, they changed its name to Kirjathjearim, or the city of the woods, because of the great number of trees which grew about it; for which reason it might have been pitched upon by the Heathens for their idolatrous service; it was one of the cities of the Gibeonites, Jos 9:17; and, according to Eusebius and Jerom {s}, it was nine or ten miles from Jerusalem, as you go to Lydda; it is also called Baalah in 1Ch 13:6; and Baale of Judah, 2Sa 6:2.



{p} T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 31. 1. & Gloss. in ib. & T. Bab. Zebachim, fol. 54. 2. Kimchi in loc. {q} De loc. Heb. fol. 91. A. {r} Palestin. Illustrat. tom. 2. p. 765. {s} Apud ib. tom. 1. p. 488.





Joshua 15:10



Ver. 10. And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto Mount Seir,.... Not that in Idumea, so famous for its being the seat of Esau, which lay remote from hence, but a third of that name near Kirjathjearim; and which Adrichomius {t} places on the borders of Azotus and Ashkelon: this compass is fetched from the north to the west:



and passed along unto the side of the mount Jearim, which [is] Chesalon, on the north side; that is, on the north side of the mount, which went by both those names; and which Jerom {u} places on the borders of Aelia or Jerusalem; but it seems to be at a distance from thence, and near to Kirjathjearim, and had its name, as that, from the multitude of trees that grow on it:



and went down to Bethshemesh; there were several cities of this name; but this, according to Jerom {w}, was a Levite's city in the tribe of Benjamin, and in his day was shown as you go from Eleutherepolis to Nicopolis or Emmaus, ten miles to the east; according to Burchard {x}, it was five miles from Kirjathjearim to the south; and Bunting {y} places it four miles from Jerusalem westward, taking it for a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos 21:16;



and passed on to Timnah; which, in Jerom's time, was a large village on the borders of Lydda, as you go to Jerusalem, in the tribe of Judah, or Dan {z}; his placed in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:57; though thought to be afterwards given to Dan; here Judah sheared his sheep,

See Gill on "Ge 38:12".



{t} Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 24. {u} De loc. Heb. fol. 90. F. {w} Ib. fol. 89. H. {x} Apud Masium in loc. {y} Travels, p. 124. {z} De loc. Heb. fol. 95. C.





Joshua 15:11



Ver. 11. And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward,.... Which was one of the principalities of the Philistines; and which, though it fell to the lot of Judah, Jos 15:45, was not possessed by them:



and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to Mount Baalah; of which places we have no account elsewhere:



and went unto Jabneel; which Masius makes no doubt was one of the Jamnias, and particularly that which was a seaport; which Strabo says {a} was distant from Azotus and Ashkelon about two hundred furlongs, or twenty five miles:



and the goings out of the border were at the sea; the Mediterranean sea; here the northern border ended.



{a} Geograph. l. 16. p. 522.





Joshua 15:12



Ver. 12. And the west border [was] to the great sea, and the coast [thereof],.... The western border of the tribe of Judah went along by the Mediterranean sea, which lay west to the land of Canaan; and this border reached from Jabneel to the river of Egypt, where the southern border ended, Jos 15:4;



this [is] the coast of the children of Judah round about according to their families; but being too large, some part of it was afterwards given to Simeon, and some particular cities of it were given to Dan and Benjamin: it was bounded on the west by the tribes of Simeon and Dan towards the Mediterranean sea, and by the tribe of Benjamin on the north, and by the wilderness of Paran on the south, and by the dead sea and Jordan on the east.





Joshua 15:13



Ver. 13. And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a part among the children of Judah,.... That is, Joshua gave it to him. This account is inserted before the cities in the lot of the tribe of Judah were enumerated, to show what was to be excepted from them, and which had been given to Caleb previous to the lot:



according to the commandment of the Lord to Joshua; for as he had declared this to Moses, De 1:36; so it seems he also gave the same order to Joshua, who, it is not improbable, might consult the Lord about it when Caleb made his request, Jos 14:12;



[even] the city of Arba the father of Anak, which [city is] Hebron;

See Gill on "Jos 14:15".





Joshua 15:14



Ver. 14. And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak,.... Some think this was after the death of Joshua, and is here inserted by some other person divinely inspired, and thoroughly acquainted with this fact, that the gift and the possession of this place might appear in one view; but it rather seems to be done before:



Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak; the very same giants Caleb saw at Hebron, when he was sent a spy into the land,

Nu 13:22; for these may as well be supposed to have lived to this time as himself, unless it can be thought that they were the sons of those men, called by their fathers' names; and though they were driven out when Joshua took Hebron, yet while he was engaged in making other conquests, or however before he died, they regained the possession of that city, and of the parts adjacent to it, from whence Caleb, with the help of his tribe, expelled them, conquered, and slew them, Jud 1:10.





Joshua 15:15



Ver. 15. And he went up from thence to the inhabitants of Debir,.... Having conquered Hebron, and got possession of that, Caleb marched to Debir, a city not many miles from Hebron, and seems to have been in the country, and part of the land, which was given him; of which

See Gill on "Jos 10:38";



and the name of Debir before [was] Kirjathsepher; or "the city of books"; either a place of literature, a sort of an academy, or where was a public library; the Targum calls it Kirjatharche, or the city of the archives, in which were laid up the public records of the Canaanites; the same is called Kirjathsannah for the like reason,

See Gill on "Jos 15:49".





Joshua 15:16



Ver. 16. And Caleb said, he that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it,.... Which he ordered to be proclaimed through the army that was under his command; and which was done not so much on the account of the difficulty of taking the place, through the number of the inhabitants of it, and its fortifications, which it seems had fallen again into the hands of the Canaanites, since it was taken by Joshua; nor through inactivity, diffidence, and timorousness in himself; but that others, who were officers, and men of valour under him, might gather some laurels as well as himself; and chiefly being under a divine impulse, he ordered this declaration to be made, whereby his brother Othniel, who was to be a judge in Israel, might appear a great man, and fit for such an office; and as an encouragement, he promises as follows:



to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife; and to be married into the family of the chief prince of the tribe of Judah was a very great honour, as well as no doubt a very large dowry might be expected, and was given with her, and very probably the city of Debir was promised that should be taken. This Achsah seems to be a daughter of Caleb by a concubine, 1Ch 2:48.





Joshua 15:17



Ver. 17. And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it,.... The relation of Othniel to Caleb is a little intricate, and, as it is understood, occasions objections to the marriage of Caleb's daughter to him; it seems, at first sight, that he was Caleb's own brother, a younger brother, and so uncle to his daughter, and such marriages were forbidden, Le 18:14. Jarchi thinks he was the brother of Caleb by his mother's side; Kimchi, both by father and mother's side; but not to observe, that besides the word "brother" sometimes signifies only a kinsman, or near relation, and not precisely a brother; it is not Othniel that is called the brother of Caleb, but Kenaz, who was the father of Othniel; so that Caleb was Othniel's uncle, and Achsah and Othniel were brothers' children, or first cousins, between whom marriage was allowed of:



and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife; according to the tenor of his proclamation, and the promise he made.





Joshua 15:18



Ver. 18. And it came to pass, as she came [unto him],.... To her husband, being conducted from her father's house to his, in order to consummate the marriage, just as we may suppose when she was got to her husband's house, before she lighted off the beast on which she rode:



that she moved him to ask of her father a field; or persuaded him to make such a request to him, or that he would give her leave to make it; that is, Achsah put Othniel her espoused husband upon it, to entreat her father Caleb, or suffer her to use her interest with him to obtain a field of him, over and above, and something better, than what he had already given;



and she lighted off [her] ass; she leaped or threw herself from it; or bowing herself, she fell off on her feet, as Jarchi interprets it, and in an humble manner made her obeisance to her father; though De Dieu, from the use of the word in the Ethiopic language, gives a different sense, as if she continued on her ass, and did not alight, waiting the success of her husband's request; or that her father, taking notice of this, might ask the reason of it, which would give her an opportunity of asking the favour of him, which she judged was a proper time of doing it; and there are some versions which seem to countenance this sense the Septuagint version is,



"she cried from off the ass;''



and the Vulgate Latin version,



"she sighed as she sat upon the ass:''



and Caleb said unto her, what wouldest thou? what wouldest thou have? what is thy request for he perceived, by the posture she put herself in, that she had something to say to him.





Joshua 15:19



Ver. 19. Who answered, give me a blessing,.... By which she meant not a paternal benediction, or that he would wish and pray for a blessing on her; nor food, or a maintenance, as Jarchi, that her husband would provide for her; but rather an inheritance or possession, as the Targum; or a gift, as Abendana, a present, or something over and above what he had already given her; or an addition to her portion, as Kimchi: the word is sometimes used for a fish pool, as well as a blessing, and so glances at what she had in view, pools of water, or a well watered land:



for thou hast given me a south land; a dry land, as the Jewish writers {a} generally interpret this word, otherwise all the land belonging to the tribe of Judah was south land, and Caleb could give her no other; but Debir, as Hebron was, was in the hill country, was mountainous and so dry, and wanted watering:



give me also springs of water; she means land in which there were springs of water; for unless she was possessed of the land in which they were, she would have no command of the springs, and so have little or no use of them:



and he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs; such as were in the higher grounds, and such as were in the lower ones, that she might have a sufficiency to water all her lands and fields; or as she moved her husband to ask a field, and he put her on doing the same, Caleb gave her a field, in the upper part of which were springs, and also in the lower part; though he seems to have given more than she requested.



{a} So Jarchi and Kimchi in loc. R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 34. 1.





Joshua 15:20



Ver. 20. This [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah, according to their families. The general description of which is given in the preceding part of the chapter, as the particular cities belonging to it are enumerated in the following part; the account of the gift of Hebron to Caleb, and the taking of Debir by Othniel, with the request of Achsah, and the grant of it, are inserted between them, and stand as it were in a parenthesis.





Joshua 15:21



Ver. 21. And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah,.... That is, those cities which were the outward part of the tribe of Judah, the southern border of it; for the midland cities are not in this part, of the description reckoned, which reaches from hence to the end of Jos 15:32;



toward the coast of Edom southward: it begins about the dead sea, and goes on in that part of the land of Canaan which bordered on Idumea, and so proceeds on westward towards Gaza, and the Mediterranean sea: the cities in this part of the tribe



were Kabzeel, called Jekabzeel, Ne 11:25; and was the native place of Benaiah, one of David's mighty men, 2Sa 23:20;



and Eder and Jagur; of which we have no mention elsewhere.





Joshua 15:22



Ver. 22. And Kinah,.... Of this city we read of nowhere else;



and Dimonah; the second city is thought to be the same with Dibon,

Ne 11:25; and Jerom {b} observes, that a place elsewhere was indifferently called in his time Dibon and Dimon;



and Adadah; the last of these cities is nowhere met with.



{b} Comment. in Esaiam, c. 15. 9.





Joshua 15:23



Ver. 23. And Kedesh,.... The first of these cities seems to be Kadeshbarnea, which was to the south of the land, and on the borders of Edom, from whence the spies were sent, Nu 32:8;



and Hazor is another city from that which is mentioned, Jos 11:1; and was in the tribe of Naphtali;



and Ithnan, which Jerom {c} calls Jedna, was, according to him, six miles from Eleutheropolis, as you go to Hebron; the Greek version joins this and the former city together, and makes them one.



{c} De loc. Heb. fol. 92. H.





Joshua 15:24



Ver. 24. Ziph,.... Ziph was of the tribe of Judah in the south, on the borders of Eleutheropolis, as Jerom says {d} and was eight miles from Hebron to the east; and in his time a village was shown, where David was hid; but that Ziph seems to be in another part of this tribe near Carmel, and from whence a wilderness had its name; see Jos 15:55;



and Telem is supposed to be the same with Telaim, 1Sa 15:4;



and Bealoth; of this city we read nowhere else.



{d} De loc. Heb. fol. 95. G.





Joshua 15:25



Ver. 25. And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, [and] Hezron, which [is] Hazor. According to the Targum, two cities only are here meant, which reads, "and Hazorhadattah, and Keriothhezron, which is Hazor"; and this reading seems to be right; there were three Hazors in this tribe, one in Jos 15:23, and two more here, which are distinguished; the first is called Hazorhadattah, or new Hazor; of which Jerom says {e}, there is a village at this day called Asor, in the borders of Ashkelon, to the east of it, which fell to the lot of the tribe of Judah; the Scripture makes mention of it, calling: it new Asor, to distinguish it from the old; and Keriothhezron is the same with Hezron, Jos 15:3; and had also the name of Hezron. From this place Judas Iscariot is thought to have his name, being Ishceriot, a man of Keriot.



{e} De. loc. Heb. fol. 88. B.





Joshua 15:26



Ver. 26. Amam,.... Of Amam we read nowhere else;



and Shema is thought by some to be the same with Sheba, though wrongly, given afterwards to the tribe of Simeon, as was also Moladah, mentioned with it, Jos 19:2;



and Moladah; it is also spoken of in 1Ch 4:28, and seems to be the same with Malathi or Malatis, about twenty miles from Hebron {f}.



{f} Vid. Reland. Palest. Illustrat. tom. 2. p. 885, 886.





Joshua 15:27



Ver. 27. And Hazargaddah,.... The first of these, it is probable, is the same, Jerom {g} calls Gadda, in the tribe of Judah, which was in his day a village in the extreme borders of Daroma to the east, hanging over the dead sea;



and Heshmon is met with nowhere else;



and Bethpalet is in Ne 11:26, where it is called Bethphelet.



{g} Ut supra, (De loc. Heb.) fol. 92. B.





Joshua 15:28



Ver. 28. And Hazarshual,.... The first of these seems to have its name from an haunt of foxes here, and was given to the tribe of Simeon,

Jos 19:3; and is mentioned as here with Beersheba, 1Ch 4:28

Ne 11:27;



and Beersheba was a city well known in the extreme border of the land of Canaan southward; hence the phrase "from Dan to Beersheba",

Jud 20:1, of which Jerom says {h}, Bersabee, in the tribe of Judah or Simeon, is at this day a large village, twenty miles from Hebron to the south, in which there is a Roman garrison; and from hence the borders of the land of Judea begin, and go on to Dan, which is by Paneas;



and Bizjothjah, of which mention is made elsewhere.



{h} lbid. fol. 89. E. F.





Joshua 15:29



Ver. 29. Baalah,.... Baalah was given to the tribe of Simeon,

Jos 19:3; for Baalah is the same with Balah there, as it is with Bilba, 1Ch 4:29; though according to the Jerusalem Talmud {i} it is the same with Baalah, given to the tribe of Dan, Jos 19:44; and was one of those places whose houses were in Judah and their fields in Dan;



and Azem was also given to the tribe of Simeon, Jos 19:3; it is the same with Ezem, 1Ch 4:29;



and Iim, of which we read nowhere else.



{i} Hieros. Sanhedrin, fol. 18. 3.





Joshua 15:30



Ver. 30. And Eltolad,.... The first of these cities is called Tolad, 1Ch 4:29;



and Chesil seems to be the same with Bethul and Bethuel, Jos 19:4 1Ch 4:30; and here the Greek version calls it Baithel;



and Hormah is the same with Zephath, Jud 1:17. All these three cities were given to the tribe of Simeon, Jos 19:4.





Joshua 15:31



Ver. 31. And Ziklag,.... Ziklag was also given to the tribe of Simeon, Jos 19:5, it was in the bands of the king of Gath, in the times of David, who gave it to him; it bordered on the Amalekites, and is placed by Jerom {c} in Daroma, on the south of the lot of Judah or Simeon.



and Madmannah, according to the same writer {d}, was in his time called Menois, a town near the city Gaza;



and Sansannah, of which no mention is made elsewhere.



{c} De loc. Heb. fol. 94. I. {d} Ibid. fol. 93. E.





Joshua 15:32



Ver. 32. And Lebaoth,.... Whether Lebaoth is the same with Bethlebaoth, given to the tribe of Simeon, Jos 19:6; is not certain;



and Shilhim is nowhere else spoken of;



and Ain seems to be the same with that in Nu 34:11; also

See Gill on "Nu 34:11"



and Rimmon, the place Jerom {e} calls Eremmon, which he says was a large village of the Jews, sixteen miles from Eleutheropolis to the south, in Daroma; this and the preceding are joined together as one, and called Enrimmon, Ne 11:29. It is probable they were near to each other, and in process of time the buildings of each might increase, so as to meet and join each other:



all the cities [are] twenty and nine, with their villages; but according to our version, and as we point them, they are thirty eight; some make them thirty six, others thirty seven; the Jews generally make thirty eight of them, as we do, and account for the difference of number thus; that nine of these cities were given to the tribe of Simeon, Jos 19:1; and these being taken out of the thirty eight, there remain twenty nine; so Jarchi and Kimchi account for it; but as the number of the cities is uncertain, and this account is given before the separation of the nine, and they are all reckoned together, this does not seem to be satisfactory; rather, as Abarbinel observes, the twenty nine of the places enumerated were cities, and the other were villages, unwalled towns, or not of so much note as the twenty nine.



{e} De loc. Heb. fol. 91. C.





Joshua 15:33



Ver. 33. [And] in the valley,.... In Jos 15:33 are enumerated the several cities belonging to the tribe of Judah which lay in the valley. Jerom {f} says, that now all the plain and champaign country near Eleutheropolis, which verges to the north and west, is called "Sephela", or the valley:



Eshtaol; the two first of these seem to be given afterwards to the tribe of Dan, Jos 19:41; between these two places Samson was born and buried, Jud 13:2; they were both at the same distance from Eleutheropolis, according to Jerom; of Eshtaol he says {g}, it is showed to this day ten miles from Eleutheropolis, to the north, as you go to Nicopolis or Emmaus;



and Zoreah, of which he calls Saara, he says {h} it is a village on the borders of Eleutheropolis, as you go to Nicopolis, about ten miles of it in the tribe of Dan or Judah;



and Ashnah, of which no mention is made elsewhere; there was another place of the same name, but different from this, Jos 15:43.



{f} De. loc. Heb. fol. 94. M. {g} Ibid. fol. 91. C. {h} lbid. fol. 94. I.





Joshua 15:34



Ver. 34. And Zanoah,.... The first of these, Jerom says {i}, is in the borders of Eleutheropolis, as you go to Aelia (or Jerusalem); there is at this day a village called Zanua;



and Engannim, which signifies a fountain of gardens, is now (according to the same writer {k}) a village near Bethel;



and Tappuah was a royal city, of which see Jos 12:17. Enaim, in the tribe of Judah, Jerom says {l} in his day was the village Bethenim, about the turpentine tree, or oak of Mamre; but that seems to be the same with Ain, Jos 15:32; of which he says the same under that word, and makes it to be two miles from the oak, and four from Hebron. Masius thinks it is the same with Enam, near to Timnath, of which

See Gill on "Ge 38:14"; it following Tappuah one would be tempted to think with Jarchi it was the same with Entappuah, but that that was on the borders of Manasseh, Jos 17:7;



and Enam; it has an h prefixed to it, and may be read "that Enam", as pointing out some known and remarkable place, though now unknown.



{i} De loc. Heb. fol. 95. G. {k} Ibid. fol. 91. E. {l} Ibid. fol. 91. E.





Joshua 15:35



Ver. 35. Jarmuth, and Adullam,.... The two first of these were royal cities, of which see Jos 10:3;



Socoh; Jerom says {m} there were two little villages in his day of the name of Socho, as you go to Aelia (or Jerusalem), from Eleutheropolis, in the ninth mile on the public way, one in the mountain, and the other in the plain, (the same with this,) both of which were called Socoth: of this place was Antigonus, president of the sanhedrim, and successor of Simeon the just, called in the Misnah {n} a man of Socho;



and Azekah; See Gill on "Jos 10:10"; it appears to be near to Socoh from 1Sa 17:1, where the Philistines are said to pitch their camp between them.



{m} De loc. Heb. fol. 94. I. {n} Pirke Abot, c. 1. sect. 3.





Joshua 15:36



Ver. 36. And Sharaim,.... Sharaim seems to be the Saara of Jerom, which he describes as a village on the borders of Eleutheropolis, to the north as you go to Nicopolis (or Emmaus), about ten miles from it in the tribe of Dan or Judah {o}; there was a place called Bethshaaraim, where the sanhedrim sometimes sat {p}, and where R. Judah was buried {q}. This seems to be the same with Shaaraim in 1Sa 17:52;



and Adithaim; Jerom observes {r}, under the word "Adithaim", that there is a village called Adia, near Gaza, and another Aditha, near Diospolis (or Lydda), to the east;



and Gederah, which seems to be the same Jerom calls Gaddera, in the tribe of Judah {s}, now, he says, called a village belonging to the country of Aelia (or Jerusalem), by the name of Gadera, about the turpentine tree.



and Gederothaim, of which we nowhere else read; Kimchi thinks Gederah and Gederothaim were one city:



fourteen cities with their villages; but, upon counting them, it will appear there are fifteen, which may be reduced to fourteen, if with Kimchi we take the two last to be but one, who in this way reconciles it; or with Jarchi make Tappuah and Enam to be one also, called Entappuah, which is the way he takes to solve the difficulty; but perhaps the case is this, that one of the places in the account was not a city, but a village.



{o} Ut supra. (De loc. Heb. fol. 88. E.) {p} T. Bab. Roshhashauah, fol. 31. 2. {q} Gloss. in T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 47. 1. {r} Ut supra, (De loc. Heb.) fol. 88. F. {s} De loc. Heb. fol. 92. B.





Joshua 15:37



Ver. 37. Zenan,.... Here begins another list or catalogue of the cities in the valley or plain. Zenan perhaps is the same with Zaanan, Mic 1:11;



and Hadashah was so small a city in Judea in the times of the Misnic doctors, that they say {t} it had but fifty dwellings in it; and Jerom speaks {u} of a place called Adasa, in the tribe of Judah, in his times a village near Guphua; it should be Taphna;



and Migdalgad, of which we nowhere else read; some think it had its name from some famous exploit done here by one of the tribe of Gad, who came over with Joshua to assist in the war, as the stone of Bohan the Reubenite, Jos 15:6.



{t} Misn. Eruvim, c. 5. sect. 6. {u} De loc. Heb. fol. 88. F.





Joshua 15:38



Ver. 38. And Dilean,.... Of the first of these nothing is to be said;



and Mizpeh, of which name there were cities in other tribes; this in the tribe of Judah was in the times of Jerom {w} called Mapha, on the borders of Eleutheropolis to the south, as you go to Aelia, or Jerusalem;



and Joktheel, of which nothing is to be said.



{w} De loc. Heb. fol. 93. D.





Joshua 15:39



Ver. 39. Lachish,.... Lachish and Eglon were royal cities, of which see Jos 10:3;



and Bozkath, is called Boscath, of which place was the mother of King Josiah, 2Ki 21:1; some take it to be the same with Bascana, as in the Apocrypha:



"And when he came near to Bascama he slew Jonathan, who was buried there.'' (1 Maccabees 13:23)



and Eglon also was a royal city, of which see Jos 10:3.





Joshua 15:40



Ver. 40. And Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Kithlish. Cities of which we can give no account, not being mentioned elsewhere.





Joshua 15:41



Ver. 41. And Gederoth,.... Gederoth is reckoned among the cities of the low country, and south of Judah, 2Ch 28:18;



and Bethdagon; in it very probably was a temple of Dagon, which was a principal deity of the Philistines, 1Sa 5:2; Jerom says {x} in his time was shown a large village called Capherdagon, between Diospolis and Jamnia; of Naamah, the same writer says nothing, only that it was a city of the tribe of Judah;



and Makkedah; see Jos 10:10; it was a royal city, Jos 12:16;



sixteen cities with their villages; and is the exact number of them, as before enumerated.



{x} De loc. Heb. fol. 89. F.





Joshua 15:42



Ver. 42. Libnah,.... Here begins another division or list of the cities of Judah, in the valley or plain. Libnah is the same with Libnah, a royal city; see Jos 10:29;



and Ether was given to the tribe of Simeon, Jos 19:7; and under Ether of the lot of Simeon, Jerom writes {y}, there is now a very large village called Jethira, in interior Daroma, near Malatha, twenty miles from Eleutheropolis;



and Ashan also was given to the tribe of Simeon, Jos 19:7; and the above writer relates {z}, that there was in his times a village called Bethasan, belonging to Aelia, or Jerusalem, fifteen miles from it.



{y} De loc. Heb. fol. 91. C. & 92. I. {z} De loc. Heb. fol. 88. G.





Joshua 15:43



Ver. 43. And Jiphtah,.... Jiphtah is nowhere else mentioned;



and Ashnah; there was another Ashnah of this tribe, and which was in the vale also, met with already in Jos 15:33;



and Nezib was in Jerom's {a} times called Nasib, seven miles from Eleutheropolis, as you go to Hebron.



{a} De loc. Heb. fol. 93. I.





Joshua 15:44



Ver. 44. And Keilah,.... The first of these is a well known city, which David saved from the hands of the Philistines, 1Sa 23:1, &c. In Jerom's time it was a little village to the east of Eleutheropolis, about eight miles from it, as you go to Hebron; in which was shown the sepulchre of the Prophet Habakkuk {b}.



And Achzib is said to be on the borders of Asher, Jos 19:29, and is supposed the same with Chezib, Ge 38:5; and the Ecdippa of Josephus and others, and now called Zib; See Gill on "Mic 1:14";



and Mareshah; Jerom says {c}, only the ruins of it were to be seen two miles from Eleutheropolis:



nine cities with their villages; which is just their number.



{b} De loc. Heb. fol. 90. A. {c} lbid. fol. 93. E.





Joshua 15:45



Ver. 45. Ekron, with her towns and her villages. One of the five principalities of the Philistines, which with two more next mentioned, though they fell to the lot of the tribe of Judah, were never possessed by them; for which reason perhaps Gath and Ascalon are not mentioned, and these are put for the rest; see Jos 13:3.





Joshua 15:46



Ver. 46. From Ekron even unto the sea,.... The Mediterranean sea, or the west, as the Targum:



all that [lay] near Ashdod, with their villages; this is the Azotus of the New Testament, Ac 8:40, another of the principalities of the Philistines, of which and Ekron See Gill on "Am 1:8" and

See Gill on "Zep 2:4".





Joshua 15:47



Ver. 47. Ashdod with her towns and, her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages,.... Gaza was another of the principalities of the Philistines, of which See Gill on "Am 1:7";

See Gill on "Zep 2:4";

See Gill on "Ac 8:26"; these, with the two other principalities not mentioned, Gath and Ashkelon, were in the western border of the tribe of Judah, which reached from Ekron, the first that is mentioned,



unto the river of Egypt; of which see Jos 15:4;



and the great sea, and the border [thereof]; the Mediterranean sea, called so in comparison of the lesser seas in Judea, the salt sea, and the sea of Tiberias; whose border was its shore, and the cities upon it, and not the isles in the sea, as Jarchi.





Joshua 15:48



Ver. 48. And in the mountains,.... The hill country of Judea, as it is called Lu 1:39, in which were the following cities:



Shamir: the Alexandrian copy of the Greek version reads Sophir as the name, of the first of these cities; and Jerom says {d} there was a village of this name in the mountainous parts, situated between Eleutheropolis, and Ashkelon in the tribe of Judah; see Mic 1:11;



and Jattir the same writer calls Jether, in the tribe of Judah; and says {e} there was in his time a very large village called Jethira, twenty miles from Eleutheropolis, the inhabitants of which were then all Christians: it was situated in interior Daroma, near Malatha;



and Socoh is different from Socoh in Jos 15:35; that was in the plain, this in the mountain; See Gill on "Jos 15:35".



{d} De loc. Heb. fol. 94. I. {e} Ibid. fol. 92. l.





Joshua 15:49



Ver. 49. And Dannah,.... Dannah is not mentioned elsewhere,



and Kirjathsannah, which [is] Debir; Kirjathsannah had three names, this and Debir, and Kirjathsepher; See Gill on "Jos 15:15"; all which are of much the same signification; for "Sanna" with the Arabs {f}, and so with the Phoenicians, signifies law, doctrine, and manner of life; and with the Mahometans the secondary law to the Koran, and answers to the Jewish Misnah; and the Greek version interprets this name "the city of letters". Jerom {g} calls it Daenna, and seems to confound it with Dannah.



{f} "mos vivendi, lex", Golius, col. 1221. Castell. col. 2567. Vid. Bochart. Canaan, 50:2. c. 17. col. 771. {g} De loc. Heb. fol. 90. I.





Joshua 15:50



Ver. 50. And Anab,.... Of Anab, See Gill on "Jos 11:21";



and Eshtemoh Jerom calls {h} Astemech, a village in the tribe of Judah, and belongs to the Jews in Daroma, and is to the north of a place called Anem, perhaps the same with Anim here;



and Anim Jerom says is the village Anea, near another of the same name; which he places to the south of Hebron, as he does this to the east, the inhabitants of which in his time were all Christians.



{h} De loc. Heb. fol. 88. G.





Joshua 15:51



Ver. 51. And Goshen,.... Of Goshen in the land of Canaan,

See Gill on "Jos 10:41";



and Holon, of which there is no other mention;



and Giloh was the city of Ahitophel, 2Sa 15:12;



eleven cities with their villages; the number agrees; this is the first division of cities in the mountains; a second follows.





Joshua 15:52



Ver. 52. Arab,.... Arab is the same Jerom {i} calls Ereb, and was in his time a village in the south, and was called Heromith;



and Dumah; Duma, Jerom says {k}, was a large village in the south, also on the borders of Eleutheropolis, seventeen miles from it;



and Eshean, of which we have no account.



{i} De loc. Heb. fol. 91. B. {k} Ibid. fol. 90. K.





Joshua 15:53



Ver. 53. And Janum,.... Under the word "Janum", Jerom writes {l}, there is a village called Janua, three miles from Legion to the south, but seems not to be what is written;



and Bethtappuah is by Jerom called Bethaphu {m}, and said to be a village in the tribe of Judah, fourteen miles beyond Raphia, as you go to Egypt, which is the border of Palestine;



and Aphekah; Jerom speaks {n} of a large castle in his time called Apheca, near the town of Palestine; there were several places of the name of Aphek; See Gill on "Jos 12:18". As for Bethtappuah, it seems to be a place which was dedicated to a deity to which apples were sacred, in memory of the apple by which mankind was seduced; there was in later times a goddess called Pomona from hence.



{l} De loc. Heb. fol. 92. I. {m} Ibid. fol. 89. F. {n} Ibid. fol. 88. D.





Joshua 15:54



Ver. 54. And Humtah,.... Of Humtah we nowhere else read;



and Kirjatharba, which [is] Hebron; of Kirjatharba we read frequently;

See Gill on "Jos 14:15";



and Zior; Jerom says {o}, that in his time there was a village shown by the name of Sihor, between Aelia (or Jerusalem) and Eleutheropolis, in the tribe of Judah:



nine cities with their villages; which is exactly their number, as expressed; here ends the second division, or of the cities in the hill country of Judea; a third follows.



{o} De loc. Heb. fol. 94. H.





Joshua 15:55



Ver. 55. Maon, Carmel,.... Maon was the dwelling place of Nabal the Carmelite, whose possessions were in Carmel, and were not far from one another, 1Sa 25:2. It gave name to a wilderness near where David hid himself from Saul, 1Sa 23:25; Jerom {p} places it to the east of Daroma, who also informs {q} us, that there was in his time a village that went by the name of Carmelia, ten miles from Hebron towards the east, and where was a Roman garrison.



and Ziph, according to the same writer {r}, was eight miles from Hebron to the east; and there was a village shown in his time where David was hid; this gave name to a wilderness also, 1Sa 23:14;



and Juttah, which Jerom calls {s} Jeshan, was in his time a large village of the Jews, eighteen miles from Eleutheropolis, to the southern part in Daroma. Reland {t} conjectures that this was the native place of John the Baptist; and that, instead of "a city of Judah", it should be read "the city Juta", Lu 1:39.



{p} De loc. Heb. fol. 93. E. {q} lbid. fol. 92. C. {r} Ibid. fol. 95. G. {s} Ibid. fol. 92. I. {t} Palestin. Illustrat. tom. 2. p. 870.





Joshua 15:56



Ver. 56. And Jezreel,.... This Jezreel in the tribe of Judah is different from that which was once a royal seat of some of the kings of Israel, and from whence the famous valley of Jezreel or Esdraelon had its name: of this we have no other account elsewhere;



and Jokdeam; of which we have no other mention;



and Zanoah is a distinct place from the city of the same name in the valley, Jos 15:34.





Joshua 15:57



Ver. 57. Cain,.... Cain, or Hakain, "that Cain", we nowhere else read of; whether the name was given it by the old Canaanites, in memory of Cain, the son of Adam, is not certain:



Gibeah; there were other places that went by the name of Gibeah; there was a Gibeah in Benjamin, Jud 20:4, and another in the same tribe called Gibeah of Saul, 1Sa 11:4, to distinguish it from that; but this was in the tribe of Judah. Masius conjectures it is the same with that in

1Sa 23:19 which was near Ziph; and not amiss. Jerom {u} makes mention of Gabaha and Gabatha, little villages to the east of Daroma; and of another Gabatha, near Bethlehem, in the tribe of Judah; but whether either of these are meant it is doubtful;



Timnah, of this city, See Gill on "Jos 15:10";



ten cities with their villages; the number agrees with the names of them.



{u} Ut supra, (De loc. Heb.) fol. 92. C.





Joshua 15:58



Ver. 58. Halhul,.... Here begins a fourth division, or list, of the cities in the mountains. Halhul Jerom calls Ehul, and says {w} there was in his time in the country belonging to Aelia (or Jerusalem) a village by the name of Ahula, near Hebron; and



Bethzur, Jerom says {x}, was then called Bethseron, a village as you go from Aelia to Hebron, in the twentieth mile, near which was a fountain at the bottom of a mount, where it is said the eunuch was baptized by Philip: he makes mention of another village called Bethsur in the tribe of Judah, a mile from Eleutheropolis. In the Apocrypha:



"So he came to Judea, and drew near to Bethsura, which was a strong town, but distant from Jerusalem about five furlongs, and he laid sore siege unto it.'' (2 Maccabees 11:5)



it is said to be but five furlongs from Jerusalem, but it must have been at a greater distance;



Gedor, of this city, See Gill on "Jos 12:13".



{w} De loc. Heb. fol. 91. B. {x} De loc. Heb. fol. 89. G.





Joshua 15:59



Ver. 59. And Maarath, and Bethanoth, and Eltekon,.... Of these cities we have no account elsewhere; only mention is made of Eltekeh, in the tribe of Dan, Jos 19:44;



six cities with their villages; these were all in the mountainous part of Judea, as were the two following.





Joshua 15:60



Ver. 60. Kirjathbaal, (which [is] Kirjathjearim,),.... Of Kirjathbaal, and its several names, See Gill on "Jos 15:9";



and Rabbah, of which we nowhere else read; for this is a very different city from the Rabbah of the children of Ammon, 2Sa 12:26;



two cities with their villages; why these are reckoned by themselves is not certain.





Joshua 15:61



Ver. 61. In the wilderness,.... The wilderness of Judea, which was not a desert and uninhabited but had many cities and villages in it, those that follow:



Betharabah; the first of these seems to be in the borders of Judah and Benjamin, and so is ascribed to both; see Jos 15:6;



Middin, and Secacah; of the two last we read nowhere else, only in Jud 5:10; what we translate "ye that sit in judgment", Kimchi interprets, "ye that dwell by Middin", and says it is the name of a place in Joshua, and mentions this passage.





Joshua 15:62



Ver. 62. And Nibshan,.... Of Nibshan no mention is made elsewhere;



and the city of Salt some take to be Zoar, so called because near the salt sea, or where Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt,

Ge 19:22; but rather this city might be so called, because salt was made here.



and Engedi, or Engaddi, is a well known place, near the salt sea;

See Gill on "Eze 47:10". Jerom says {y}, there was a very large village of Jews in his time called Engaddi, near the dead sea, from whence comes the opobalsam; the same place is called Hazazontamar, from the palm trees which grew there, 2Ch 20:2. It was famous for vineyards also, So 1:14; it lay, according to Josephus {z}, three hundred furlongs or about forty miles from Jerusalem:



six cities with their villages; the sum total agrees with the particulars.



{y} De loc. Heb. fol. 91. B. {z} Antiqu. l. 9. c. 1. sect. 2.





Joshua 15:63



Ver. 63. As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem,.... From whom the city was called Jebus, Jud 19:10. The Jews say, that these Jebusites were not those of the seven nations; but there was a man whose name was Jebus, and he was of the Philistines, of the seed of Abimelech, and the place was called by his name Jebus; and the men of that family that dwelt at Jerusalem, their names were called Jebusites, having their descent from him; so Araunah, the Jebusite, was king of that place: and the fort of that place was Zion, which was at Jerusalem: so Kimchi relates from their Rabbins, and with whom Jarchi agrees, but without any foundation; there is no doubt to be made of it, that these Jebusites were Canaanites:



the children of Judah could not drive them out; according to the above Jewish writers they could have done it, but it was not fit and proper they should, because of the oath of Abraham to Abimelech, from whom they suppose these Jebusites sprung; but the case was this; though Joshua slew the king of this place, and took his land with the rest,

Jos 10:1; and though the men of Judah retook it after his death, it having been got into the hands of the Jebusites again, Jud 1:8; yet either the fort of Zion was never taken by either of them, or if taken, the Jebusites got possession of it again, and held it until the times of David; see 2Sa 5:6;



but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day; the one in the fort of Zion, and the other in the city of Jerusalem, properly so called, and thus they continued unto the writing of this book; by which it should seem, that the Jebusites were not dispossessed of their fort, or a part of the city, by Joshua; or this might be added and inserted by some inspired man afterwards; or however it must be done before the times of David: and from the whole it appears, that the city of Jerusalem, at least a part of it, belonged to the tribe of Judah, as another part did to that of Benjamin, to which it is ascribed, Jos 18:28; see Jud 1:21.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

Joshua 16:1



INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 16



This chapter gives us an account of the lot of the children of Joseph, Ephraim, and the half tribe of Manasseh, one half having settled on the other side Jordan; and first the borders of the whole lot in general are given, Jos 16:1; and then the borders of the tribe of Ephraim in particular, Jos 16:4; and it is observed, that this tribe had besides separate cities among the children of Manasseh, and that there were some Canaanites, particularly in Gezer, not driven out by the Ephraimites, Jos 16:9.



Ver. 1. And the lot of the children of Joseph fell,.... Or, "went out" {a}; of the pot or urn, this being the next lot that was drawn to that of Judah, the government being Judah's, and the birthright Joseph's, 1Ch 5:2; and by his children are here meant the tribe of Ephraim, and the tribe of Manasseh: or the line and border according to the lot went forth



from Jordan by Jericho unto the water of Jericho on the east; by which it appears, that this was the southern border of the lot; for the tribe of Benjamin, in which Jericho was, lay between Judah and Ephraim, and the border began at Jordan, where it flowed near Jericho, and proceeded to a water which belonged to that city, and is generally thought to be the waters Elisha healed, 2Ki 2:19;



to the wilderness that goeth up throughout Mount Bethel; this was the wilderness of Bethaven, Jos 18:12; Jarchi interprets it of the border that went up through Mount Bethel; which is true, and so might the wilderness also, for which the Targum is express; mention is made of a mountain on the east of Bethel, Ge 12:8.



{a} auyw "et egressa est", Pagninus, Montanus; "exivit", Piscator.





Joshua 16:2



Ver. 2. And goeth out from Bethel to Luz,.... For though these two places in time became one, yet they were originally distinct. Bethel, at which Jacob stopped, and who gave it its name, was a field adjacent to the city of Luz, Ge 38:11; and therefore with propriety may be, as they here are, distinguished:



and passeth along unto the borders Archi to Ataroth; or to Archiataroth; these two words being the name of one and the same place, and to be joined as they are, in the Greek version, and others; and is the same with Atarothaddar, Jos 16:5. Ataroth was its proper name, but it had these additional epithets to distinguish it from another Ataroth; see Jos 16:7; Jerom {b} makes mention of Atharoth by Ramma, in the tribe of Joseph, and of another in the tribe of Ephraim, now a village at the north of Sebaste, or Samaria, four miles from it, called Atharus; the former is here meant.



{b} De loc. Heb. fol. 88. G.





Joshua 16:3



Ver. 3. And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti,.... This place is now unknown, though no doubt well known to the sons of Joseph, when this lot fell to them, and its border was described:



unto the coast of Bethhoron the nether: so called to distinguish it from Bethhoron the upper, Jos 16:5; this was about twelve miles from Jerusalem; See Gill on "Jos 10:10"; and to Gezer: which was about a day's journey from Bethhoron, as appears from the passages in the Apocrypha:



"39 So Nicanor went out of Jerusalem, and pitched his tents in Bethhoron, where an host out of Syria met him. 40 But Judas pitched in Adasa with three thousand men, and there he prayed, saying, ... 45 Then they pursued after them a day's journey, from Adasa unto Gazera, sounding an alarm after them with their trumpets.'' (1 Maccabees 7)



Jerom {c} says in his time it was a village called Gazara, four miles from Nicopolis, or Emmaus. It is the same with Gadara, as it is sometimes called by Josephus, who says {d}, the tribe of Ephraim took in the land from the river Jordan to Gadara; this was a royal city; see

Jos 10:33;



and the outgoings thereof are at the sea: the Mediterranean sea.



{c} De loc. Heb. fol. 92. A. {d} Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 22.





Joshua 16:4



Ver. 4. So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance. As it fell to them by the lot; by Manasseh is meant the half tribe of Manasseh, one half of that tribe having been settled by Moses on the other side Jordan; and next follows an account of the borders of the inheritance of Ephraim in particular, as that of the half tribe of Manasseh is given in Jos 17:1.





Joshua 16:5



Ver. 5. And the border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was [thus],.... Or what follows is the description of it:



even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Atarothaddar, unto Bethhoron the upper; the first was on the south of the inheritance, and the latter on the north, as Masius has placed them: who has given us a type of this description, by which it appears that this lot is here described in its breadth from south to north.





Joshua 16:6



Ver. 6. And the border went out towards the sea,.... The Mediterranean sea:



to Michmethah on the north side; of the border, the same on which Bethhoron was, from whence the border proceeded on to this place, of which we have no other account but in Jos 17:7; by which it appears to have been near Shechem, and in sight of it;



and the border went about eastward unto Taanathshiloh; this seems to be the same Jerom {e} calls Thenath in the tribe of Joseph; and who observes there was in his day a village of this name ten miles from Neapolis (or Shechem) to the east, as you go down to Jordan:



and passed by it on the east to Janohah: which the above writer {f} wrongly calls Janon, and says, that in his time a village of this name was shown in the country of Acrabatena, twelve miles to the east from Neapolis or Shechem; the border passed by Taanath on the east of it, and went on this place.



{e} De loc. Heb. fol. 95. C. {f} Ibid. fol. 92. I.





Joshua 16:7



Ver. 7. And it went down from Johanan to Ataroth,.... This is different from Ataroth before mentioned, Jos 16:2; there were several places of this name, as before observed; this seems to be that which Jerom places four miles from Sebaste or Samaria,

See Gill on "Jos 16:2";



and to Naarath; Jerom {g} says, that Naarath was in his time called Naorath, a village of the Jews, five miles from Jericho; and is the village Josephus {h} calls Neara, where was a water, half of which Archelaus turned, and led to the field planted with palm trees, near Jericho; and, according to the Jewish writers {i}: there was a place called Noaran near to Jericho, which seems to be this:



and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan; where it ended this way, which was eastward.



{g} De loc. Heb. fol. 93. I. {h} Antiqu. l. 17. c. 15. sect. 1. {i} Vajikra Rabba, sect. 23. fol. 164. 3. Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 9. 3. Echa Rabbati, fol. 50. 4.





Joshua 16:8



Ver. 8. The border went out from Tappuah westward,.... Which was different from the Tappuah in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:34; this was in the tribe of Ephraim on the border of Manasseh, Jos 17:8;



unto the river Kanah; supposed by some to be the brook Cherith, by which Elijah hid himself, 1Ki 17:3; though objected to by others; it seems to have had its name from the reeds which grew in it, or on the banks of it:



and the goings out thereof were at the sea; if the river Kanah was the brook Cherith, this must be the dead or salt sea: but that is never called "the sea", rather the Mediterranean sea is meant, and consequently Kanah could not be Cherith, which was at too great a distance from this sea:



this [is] the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families; that is, this is the description of the border of it; for the cities within are not mentioned, and the descriptions in general are very obscure.





Joshua 16:9



Ver. 9. And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim,.... The tribe of Ephraim, being much larger than the half tribe of Manasseh, besides the lot that fell to it, described before by its boundaries, had several particular and distinct cities given to it: which



[were] among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh; some that were upon the borders of Ephraim, and within the territory of Manasseh, and it may be where it jetted out in a nook or corner, see

Jos 17:8;



all the cities with their villages; not the separate cities only, but the little towns adjacent to them.





Joshua 16:10



Ver. 10. And they drove not out the Canaanites which dwelt in Gezer,.... Which was the border of their tribe length ways, and was near the sea, Jos 16:3; in this they did not obey the command of God, and either they did not drive them out, because they could not, God not delivering them up into their hands, because of their sins; or through their slothfulness, or it may be through covetousness, being willing to make some advantage to themselves by them, being a trading people, which seems to be intended in the next clause:



but the Canaanites dwelt among the Ephraimites unto this day; which Joshua, the writer of this book, might truly say, and be no objection to it, since the same is observed after his death, Jud 1:29; and indeed they continued to dwell there until the times of Solomon, when it was taken by Pharaoh king of Egypt, and given as a present to his daughter, the wife of Solomon, 1Ki 9:15; and though this clause does not furnish out an argument against the writing of this book by Joshua, yet, from the instance given, it appears it must have been written before the times of Solomon, and so not by Ezra, as some:



and serve under tribute; so that they were under their power, and therefore could have driven them out, or slain them, as by the command of God they should; but they spared them for the sake of the tribute they received from them, which seems to agree with the character of the Ephraimites, Ho 12:8.

 

John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.

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