Text -- Joshua 15:21-63 (NET)

15:21 These cities were located at the southern extremity of Judah’s tribal land near the border of Edom: Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, 15:22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, 15:23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, 15:24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, 15:25 Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), 15:26 Amam, Shema, Moladah, 15:27 Hazar Gaddah, Heshbon, Beth Pelet, 15:28 Hazar Shual, Beer Sheba, Biziothiah, 15:29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem, 15:30 Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, 15:31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, 15:32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon– a total of twenty-nine cities and their towns. 15:33 These cities were in the lowlands: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 15:34 Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, 15:35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, 15:36 Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim)– a total of fourteen cities and their towns. 15:37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, 15:38 Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, 15:39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, 15:40 Cabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish, 15:41 Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah– a total of sixteen cities and their towns. 15:42 Libnah, Ether, Ashan, 15:43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, 15:44 Keilah, Aczib, and Mareshah– a total of nine cities and their towns. 15:45 Ekron and its surrounding towns and settlements; 15:46 from Ekron westward, all those in the vicinity of Ashdod and their towns; 15:47 Ashdod with its surrounding towns and settlements, and Gaza with its surrounding towns and settlements, as far as the Stream of Egypt and the border at the Mediterranean Sea. 15:48 These cities were in the hill country: Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, 15:49 Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir), 15:50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, 15:51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh– a total of eleven cities and their towns. 15:52 Arab, Dumah, Eshan, 15:53 Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, 15:54 Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), and Zior– a total of nine cities and their towns. 15:55 Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, 15:56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, 15:57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah– a total of ten cities and their towns. 15:58 Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, 15:59 Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon– a total of six cities and their towns. 15:60 Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah– a total of two cities and their towns. 15:61 These cities were in the desert: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, 15:62 Nibshan, the city of Salt, and En Gedi– a total of six cities and their towns. 15:63 The men of Judah were unable to conquer the Jebusites living in Jerusalem. The Jebusites live with the people of Judah in Jerusalem to this very day.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Jos 15:32

Here are thirty seven or thirty eight cities named before; how then are they only reckoned twenty nine? There were only twenty nine of them, which either, properly belonged to Judah; the rest fell to Simeon's lot; or Were cities properly so called, that is, walled cities, or such as had villages under them, as it here follows; the rest being great, but unwalled towns, or such as had no villages under them.

Wesley: Jos 15:48

That is, in the higher grounds called mountains or hills, in comparison of the sea - coast.

Wesley: Jos 15:55

Which gave its name to the neighbouring mountains, 1Sa 26:1.

Wesley: Jos 15:62

So called either from the salt sea, which was near it; or from the salt which was made in, or about it.

Wesley: Jos 15:63

For though Jerusalem was in part taken by Joshua before this; yet the upper and stronger part of it, called Zion, was still kept by the Jebusites, even until David's time; and it seems from thence they descended to the lower town called Jerusalem, and took it so that the Israelites were forced to win it a second time; yea, and a third time also: for afterwards it was possessed by the Jebusites, Jdg 19:11; 2Sa 5:6-7.

Wesley: Jos 15:63

Namely, because of their unbelief, as Christ could do no mighty work, because of the peoples unbelief, Mar 6:5-6; Mat 13:58, and because of their sloth, and cowardice, and wickedness, whereby they forfeited God's help.

Wesley: Jos 15:63

The same things which are here said of the children of Judah, are said of the Benjamites, Jdg 1:21. Hence ariseth a question, To which of the tribes Jerusalem belonged? It seems probable, that part of it, and indeed the greatest part, stood in the tribe of Benjamin; and hence this is mentioned in the list of their cities, and not in Judah's list; and part of it stood in Judah's share, even mount Moriah, on which the temple was built; and mount Sion, when it was taken from the Jebusites.

Wesley: Jos 15:63

When this book was written, whether in Joshua's life, which continued many years after the taking of Jerusalem; or after his death, when this clause was added by some other man of God. But this must be done before David's time, when the Jebusites were quite expelled, and their fort taken.

Clarke: Jos 15:24

Ziph - There were two cities of this name in the tribe of Judah, that mentioned here, and another Jos 15:55. One of these two is noted for the refuge of David when persecuted by Saul; and the attempts made by its inhabitants to deliver him into the hands of his persecutor. See 1Sa 23:14-24.

Clarke: Jos 15:28

Beer-sheba - A city, famous in the book of Genesis as the residence of the patriarchs Abraham and Jacob, Gen 22:19; Gen 28:10; Gen 46:1. See the note on Gen 21:31. It lay on the way between Canaan and Egypt, about forty miles from Jerusalem.

Clarke: Jos 15:30

Hormah - A place rendered famous by the defeat of the Hebrews by the Canaanites. See Num 14:45, Deu 1:44.

Clarke: Jos 15:31

Ziklag - The Philistines seem to have kept possession of this city till the time of David, who received it from Achish, king of Gath, 1Sa 27:6; after which time it remained in the possession of the kings of Judah.

Clarke: Jos 15:32

All the cities are twenty and nine, with their villages - But on a careful examination we shall find thirty-eight; but it is supposed that nine of these are excepted; viz., Beersheba, Moladah, Hazarshual, Baalah, Azem, Hormah, Ziklag, Ain, and Rimmon, which were afterwards given to the tribe of Simeon. This may appear satisfactory, but perhaps the truth will be found to be this: Several cities in the promised land are expressed by compound terms; not knowing the places, different translations combine what should be separated, and in many cases separate what should be combined. Through this we have cities formed out of epithets. On this ground we have thirty-eight cities as the sum here, instead of twenty-nine.

Clarke: Jos 15:33

Eshtaol, and Zoreah - Here Samson was buried, it being the burial-place of his fathers; see Jdg 16:31. These places though first given to Judah, afterwards fell to the lot of Dan, Jos 19:41.

Clarke: Jos 15:35

Jarmuth - See the note on Jos 10:3

Clarke: Jos 15:35

Adullam - See the note on Jos 12:15

Clarke: Jos 15:35

Socoh - It was near this place that David fought with and slew Goliath, the champion of the Philistines, 1Sa 17:1.

Clarke: Jos 15:36

Gederah - See the note on Jos 12:13

Clarke: Jos 15:36

Fourteen cities - Well reckoned, we shall find fifteen cities here; but probably Gederah and Gederothaim (Jos 15:36) are the same. See the note on Jos 15:32.

Clarke: Jos 15:39

Lachish - and Eglon - See on Jos 10:3 (note).

Clarke: Jos 15:41

Beth-dagon - The house or temple of Dagon. This is a well known idol of the Philistines, and probably the place mentioned here was in some part of their territories; but the situation at present is unknown.

Clarke: Jos 15:42

Libnah - See the note on Jos 10:29

Clarke: Jos 15:42

Ether - From Jos 19:7 we learn that this city was afterwards given to the tribe of Simeon.

Clarke: Jos 15:44

Keilah - This town was near Hebron, and is said to have been the burying-place of the prophet Habakkuk. David obliged the Philistines to raise the siege of it; (see 1Sa 23:1-13); but finding that its inhabitants had purposed to deliver him into the hands of Saul, who was coming in pursuit of him, he made his escape. See this remarkable case explained in the note on Deu 32:15 (note)

Clarke: Jos 15:44

Mareshah - Called also Maresheth and Marasthi; it was the birth-place of the prophet Micah. Near this place was the famous battle between Asa, king of Judah, and Zera, king of Cush or Ethiopia, who was at the head of one thousand thousand men, and three hundred chariots. Asa defeated this immense host and took much spoil, 2Ch 14:9-15.

Clarke: Jos 15:46

Ekron - One of the five Philistine lordships; see the note on Jos 13:3.

Clarke: Jos 15:47

Ashdod - Called also Azotus, Act 8:40

Clarke: Jos 15:47

Unto the river of Egypt - The Pelusiac branch of the Nile, or Sihor. But see on Jos 15:4 (note)

Clarke: Jos 15:47

The great sea - The Mediterranean.

Clarke: Jos 15:48

Socoh - See a town of this name, Jos 15:35 (note).

Clarke: Jos 15:49

Kirjath-sannah - See the note on Jos 15:15.

Clarke: Jos 15:51

Goshen - See the note on Jos 10:41

Clarke: Jos 15:51

Giloh - The country of the traitor Ahithophel, 2Sa 15:12.

Clarke: Jos 15:53

Beth-tappuah - The house of the apple or citron tree. Probably a place where these grew in great abundance and perfection

Clarke: Jos 15:53

Aphekah - See the note on Jos 12:18.

Clarke: Jos 15:54

Kirjath-arba - See the note on Jos 14:15.

Clarke: Jos 15:55

Maon - In a desert to which this town gave name, David took refuge for a considerable time from the persecution of Saul; and in this place Nabal the Carmelite had great possessions. See 1Sa 23:24, 1Sa 23:25; 1Sa 25:2

Clarke: Jos 15:55

Carmel - Not the celebrated mount of that name, but a village, the residence of Nabal. See 1Sa 25:2. It was near Maon, mentioned above, and was about ten miles eastward of Hebron. It is the place where Saul erected a trophy to himself after the defeat of the Amalekites; see 1Sa 15:12

Clarke: Jos 15:55

Ziph - See on Jos 15:24 (note).

Clarke: Jos 15:57

Timnah - A frontier town of the Philistines; it was in this place that Samson got his wife, see Judges 14:1-15:20.

Clarke: Jos 15:58

Gedor - See the note on Jos 12:13. In this place the Alexandrian MS. of the Septuagint and the Codex Vaticanus add the eleven following towns: Theca, and Ephratha, (that is, Bethlehem), and Phagor, and Etan, and Kulon, and Tatam, and Thebes, and Karam, and Galam, and Thether, and Manocho; eleven cities and their villages. St. Jerome, on Mic 5:1, mentions them, so that we find they were in the copies he used. Dr. Kennicott contends that they should be restored to the text, and accounts thus for their omission: "The same word וחצרויהן vechatsreyhen , and their villages, occurring immediately before this passage and at the end of it, the transcriber’ s eye passed from one to the other by mistake. A similar accident has caused the omission of two whole verses, the 35th and 36th of Joshua 21."See the note on Jos 21:35, Jos 21:36.

Clarke: Jos 15:60

Kirjath-baal - The same as Baalah. See on Jos 15:9 (note).

Clarke: Jos 15:62

The city of Salt - Or of Melach. This city was somewhere in the vicinity of the lake Asphaltites, the waters of which are the saltest perhaps in the world. The whole country abounds with salt: see the note on Gen 19:25. Some suppose that it is the same as Zoar, the place to which Lot escaped after the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

Clarke: Jos 15:62

En-gedi - The well of the kid: it was situated between Jericho and the lake of Sodom or Dead Sea.

Clarke: Jos 15:63

The Jebusites dwell - at Jerusalem unto this day - The whole history of Jerusalem, previously to the time of David, is encumbered with many difficulties. Sometimes it is attributed to Judah, sometimes to Benjamin, and it is probable that, being on the frontiers of both those tribes, each possessed a part of it. If the Jebusites were ever driven out before the time of David, it is certain they recovered it again, or at least a part of it - what is called the citadel or strong hold of Zion, (see 2Sa 5:7), which he took from them; after which the city fell wholly into the hands of the Israelites. This verse is an additional proof that the book of Joshua was not written after the times of the Jewish kings, as some have endeavored to prove; for when this verse was written, the Jebusites dwelt with the children of Judah, which they did not after the days of David; therefore the book was written before there were any kings in Judea

It is very likely, not only that many cities have by the lapse of time changed their names or been totally destroyed, (see the note on Jos 15:1), but that the names of those in the preceding catalogue have been changed also, several of them repeated that should have been mentioned but once, and not a few confounded with the terms by which they are described. But we must not suppose that every repetition of the name is through the carelessness of copyists; for there are often two places which bear the same name, which is frequently the case in England. But besides this, villages are mentioned as being apparently in the tribe of Judah, which afterwards appear to have been in an other tribe. The reason appears to be this: many towns are mentioned which were frontier towns, and when the limits of a tribe are pointed out, such places must necessarily be mentioned, though allotted to a different tribe. This consideration will serve to remove several difficulties which occur in the reading of this and the following chapters.

Calvin: Jos 15:63

63.As for the Jebusites, etc This furnishes no excuse for the people, nor is it set down with that view; for had they exerted themselves to the full measure of their strength, and failed of success, the dishonor would have fallen on God himself, who had promised that he would continue with them as their leader until he should give them full and free possession of the land, and that he would send hornets to drive out the inhabitants. Therefore, it was owing entirely to their own sluggishness that they did not make themselves masters of the city of Jerusalem. This they were not able to do; but their own torpor, their neglect of the divine command from a love of ease, were the real obstacles.

This passage is deserving of notice: we ought to learn from it to make vigorous trial of our strength in attempting to accomplish the commands of God, and not to omit any opportunity, lest while we are idly resting the door may be shut. A moderate delay might have been free from blame; but a long period of effeminate ease in a manner rejected the blessing which God was ready to bestow. ¹⁵²

Defender: Jos 15:32

There are evidently listed in Jos 15:21-32 a total of thirty-six "cities ... with their villages." Apparently Joshua included the names of seven "villages" as well as the twenty-nine "cities" (note "Hazor" is also mentioned three times)."

Defender: Jos 15:63

Joshua had defeated "the king of Jerusalem" (Jos 12:7, Jos 12:10), but apparently did not destroy the Jebusites. The Jebusites later returned to reoccupy their city. It was not until David's time that they were finally expelled permanently from Jerusalem (2Sa 5:5-9)."

Defender: Jos 15:63

Jerusalem was actually in the territory assigned to the tribe of Benjamin (Judah was the southernmost tribe, with Benjamin just north of Judah); however, it was close to Judah's border. Eventually David, of the tribe of Judah, was able to drive out the Jebusites (2Sa 5:6-9), and then make it his capital."

TSK: Jos 15:21

Kabzeel : Neh 11:25

Eder : Gen 35:21

TSK: Jos 15:23

Kedesh : Jos 12:22; Num 33:37; Deu 1:19

Hazor : The LXX read Ασοριωναιν , for Hazar-Ithnan, regarding these two as one city.

TSK: Jos 15:24

Ziph : Eusebius and Jerome say, that Ziph was a village in their time eight miles east from Hebron. 1Sa 23:14, 1Sa 23:19, 1Sa 23:24; Psa 54:1 *title

Telem : 1Sa 15:4

TSK: Jos 15:25

Hazor : Or, rather, Hazar-hadattah, or, as the LXX, Alexandrian, and Vulgate render Ασωρ η καινη , Asor nova , ""New Hazor,""to distinguish it from the preceding (Jos 15:28), and following Hazor. Eusebius and Jerome say it was a village in their time, on the eastern confines of Askelon.

Kerioth : Or, rather, Kerioth-Hezron: LXX αι πολεις (Alex. πολις ) Ασερων , ""the cities (city) of Hezron.""Jos 15:25

TSK: Jos 15:26

Moladah : Probably the same as Malatha, a city frequently mentioned by Eusebius; from whom it appears to have been situated in the southern border of Judah, about twenty miles from Hebron. 1Ch 4:28

TSK: Jos 15:27

Hazargaddah : This is apparently the city which Eusebius calls Ασερ ; which he says, was, in his time, a town situated between Askalon and Ashdod.

Bethpalet : Neh 11:26

TSK: Jos 15:28

Hazarshual : Jos 19:3; 1Ch 4:28

Beersheba : Jos 19:2; Gen 21:14, Gen 21:31-33, Gen 26:33

Bizjothjah : Instead of Bizjothjah, the LXX read, ""and their towns and villages.""

TSK: Jos 15:29

Baalah : Jos 15:9-11, Jos 19:3

Azem : 1Ch 4:29

TSK: Jos 15:30

Hormah : Jos 19:4; Num 14:45; Deu 1:44; Jdg 1:17

TSK: Jos 15:31

Ziklag : Jos 19:5; 1Sa 27:6, 1Sa 30:1; 1Ch 12:1

TSK: Jos 15:32

Ain : Probably the βηθανιν of Eusebius, four miles from Hebron. Num 34:11

Rimmon : Neh 11:29

TSK: Jos 15:33

Eshtaol : This town is placed by Eusebius ten mile from Eleutheropolis, towards Nicopolis, and it is supposed to be a wretched village, called Esdad, about 15 miles south of Yebna. Jos 19:41; Num 13:23; Jdg 13:25, Jdg 16:31

Zoreah : A town near to Eshtaol, placed at ten miles’ distance n of Eleutheropolis by Eusebius.

TSK: Jos 15:34

Tappuah : Jos 15:53, Jos 12:17

TSK: Jos 15:35

Jarmuth : Jos 10:3, Jos 10:23, Jos 12:11; Neh 11:29

Adullam : Jos 12:15; 1Sa 22:1; Mic 1:15

Socoh : Eusebius says, there were two cities of Socoh, an upper and lower, nine miles from Eleutheropolis, towards Jerusalem. Jos 15:48; 1Sa 17:1; 1Ch 4:18

Azekah : Eusebius and Jerome say there was a town of this name in their time, between Jerusalem and Eleutheropolis. Jos 10:10; 1Sa 17:1

TSK: Jos 15:36

Sharaim : 1Sa 17:52

Adithaim : Eusebius mentions two cities, called Adatha, one towards Gaza, and the other east of Lydda.

and Gederothaim : or, or, fourteen cities, There are fifteen in all; but the two last seem to be only two names of the same city.

TSK: Jos 15:38

Mizpeh : Gen 31:48, Gen 31:49; Jdg 20:1, Jdg 21:5; 1Sa 7:5, 1Sa 7:6, 1Sa 7:16, 1Sa 10:17

Joktheel : 2Ki 14:7

TSK: Jos 15:39

Lachish : Jos 10:3, Jos 10:31, Jos 10:32, Jos 12:11; 2Ki 18:14, 2Ki 18:17, 2Ki 19:8

Bozkath : 2Ki 22:1

Eglon : Jos 10:3, Jos 12:12

TSK: Jos 15:41

Makkedah : Jos 10:21, Jos 10:28, Jos 12:16

TSK: Jos 15:42

Libnah : Jos 10:29, Jos 12:15; 2Ki 8:22

Ether : Jos 19:7

TSK: Jos 15:44

Keilah : 1Sa 23:1-14

Achzib : Gen 38:5; Mic 1:14

Mareshah : Mic 1:15

TSK: Jos 15:45

Ekron : Jos 13:3; 1Sa 5:10, 1Sa 6:17; Amo 1:8; Zep 2:4; Zec 9:5-7

TSK: Jos 15:46

near : Heb. by the place of, 1Sa 5:1, 1Sa 5:6; 2Ch 26:6; Neh 13:23, Neh 13:24; Isa 20:1; Amo 1:8

TSK: Jos 15:47

Gaza : Judg. 16:1-21; Jer 47:1, Jer 47:5; Amo 1:6, Amo 1:7; Zep 2:4; Act 8:26

the river : Jos 15:4, Jos 13:3; Exo 23:31; Num 34:5, Num 34:6

TSK: Jos 15:48

Jattir : Jos 21:14

TSK: Jos 15:49

Kirjathsannah : Jos 15:15; Jdg 1:11

TSK: Jos 15:51

Goshen : Jos 10:41, Jos 11:16

Giloh : 2Sa 15:12

TSK: Jos 15:52

Dumah : Isa 21:11

TSK: Jos 15:53

Janum : or, Janus, Jos 15:53

TSK: Jos 15:54

Kirjatharba : Jos 15:13, Jos 14:15; Gen 23:2

TSK: Jos 15:55

Maon : 1Sa 23:25, 1Sa 25:2, 1Sa 25:7; 2Ch 26:10; Isa 35:2

Carmel : 1Ki 18:42

Ziph : Jos 15:24; 1Sa 23:14, 1Sa 23:15, 1Sa 26:1, 1Sa 26:2

TSK: Jos 15:57

Timnah : Jos 15:10; Gen 38:12; Jer 14:1

TSK: Jos 15:58

Gedor : 1Ch 4:39

TSK: Jos 15:60

Kirjathbaal : Jos 18:14; 1Sa 7:1

TSK: Jos 15:61

Betharabah : Jos 15:6, Jos 18:18

TSK: Jos 15:62

the city of : This city was situated somewhere in the vicinity, west of the lake Asphaltites; and supposed by some to be the same as Zoar.

Engedi : En-gedi, or Hazazon-Tamar, was situated, according to Eusebius, in the desert west of the Dead Sea. Josephus says it was 300 stadia from Jerusalem, and not far from the lake Asphaltites; and consequently it could not have been far from Jericho and the mouth of the Jordan. It was celebrated for the abundance of its palm-trees. 1Sa 23:29; 2Ch 20:2

TSK: Jos 15:63

Jdg 1:8, Jdg 1:21; 2Sa 5:6-9; 1Ch 11:4-8; Rom 7:14-21

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Jos 15:21-63

List of the towns of the tribe of Judah. These are arranged in four divisions, according to the natural features of the district; namely,, those of the Negeb or south country Jos 15:21-32; of "the valley,"or "the plain"("Shephelah", Jos 15:33-47); of "the mountains"Jos 15:48-60; and of "the wilderness"Jos 15:61-62. Many of the identifications are still conjectural only.

Jos 15:21-32. The Negeb was for the most part rocky and arid, and cannot have been at any time very thickly populated.

Jos 15:21

Kabzeel was the native place of Benaiah 2Sa 23:20, who was famous as a slayer of lions. The Negeb was a principal haunt of these beasts.

Jos 15:24

Telem may be the Telaim of 1Sa 15:4, where Saul mustered his army for the expedition against the Amalekites. It is possibly to be looked for at "El-Kuseir", a spot where the various routes toward different parts of the Negeb converge, and which is occupied by the Arab tribe the "Dhullam", a word identical with Telem in its consonants. Bealoth is probably the "Baalath-beer - Ramath of the south"Jos 19:8, and was one of the towns afterward assigned to the Simeonites. It is identified with the modern Kurnub.

Jos 15:25

And Hezron which is Hazor - In this verse are the names of two towns only, not of four. Two places bearing the common topographical appellation, Hazor ("enclosure") are here mentioned and distinguished as "Hazor Hadattah"and "Kerioth-Hezron,"otherwise termed Hazor, simply: the former has been identified by some with "El-Hudhera"; the latter is probably the modern "El-Kuryetein". Kerioth, prefixed to a name, bespeaks military occupation, as Hazor points to pastoral pursuits. The place would therefore seem to be an ancient pastoral settlement which had been fortified by the Anakims, and called accordingly Kerioth; to which name the men of Judah, after they had captured it, added that of Hezron, in honor of one of their leading ancestors (compare Gen 46:12; Rth 4:18). Kerioth was the home of Judas the traitor, if the ordinary derivation of Iscariot (= קריות אישׁ 'ı̂ysh qerı̂yôth ), i. e. man of Kerioth) be accepted: Mat 10:4.

Jos 15:26

Moladah is probably the modern "El-Milh", and like Hazar-shual ("Berrishail"near Gaza) ( "enclosure of foxes") occurs Jos 19:2-3; 1Ch 4:28, as a town belonging to Simeon, and Neh 11:26-27 as a place occupied by Jews after the captivity.

Jos 15:29-32

Baalah Jos 19:3 is found in the modern "Deir-el-Belah", near Gaza. Iim, i. e. "ruinous heaps"or "conical hills"(Num 21:11 note) is by some connected with Azem; and the compound name, "Ije Azem", is traced in El-Aujeh, in the country of the Azazimeh Arabs, in whose name the ancient Azem may perhaps be traced. Eltolad is connected with "Wady-el-Thoula", in the extreme south of the Negeb. Chesil appears to be the town called Bethul Jos 19:4, and probably the Bethel 1Sa 30:27 situated not far from Ziklag. The name Chesil ( "fool") was most likely bestowed by way of opprobrium (compare the change of Bethel, house of God, into Bethaven, house of vanity, Hos 4:15). As Chesil signifies the group of stars known as Orion (compare Job 38:31; Amo 5:8), probably it was the worship of the heavenly bodies in particular that was carried on here. Bethel may have been the ancient name, and the spot was perhaps the very one near Beer-sheba where Abraham planted a tamarisk tree Gen 21:33.

The place is probably "El Khulasah", the Elusa of ecclesiastical writers, situated some fifteen miles southwest of Beer-sheba. Jerome testifies to the fact, that the worship of Venus as the morning star was practiced there, and Sozomen appears to be speaking of this place, when he mentions a Bethel Βηθελια Bēthelia in the territory of Gaza, populous and famous for an ancient and splendid temple. The site of Ziklag is uncertain. Madmannah and Sansannah correspond to Beth-marcaboth ( "house of chariots") and Hazar-susah ("horse enclosure") in Jos 19:5 1Ch 4:31. The latter names point to two stations of passage on or near the high road between Egypt and Palestine, and are represented by the modern "Minyay"and "Wady-es-Suny", on the caravan route south of Gaza. Shilhim or Sharuhen, Jos 19:6, and Shaaraim 1Ch 4:31 is traced in "Khirbet-es-Seram", near El Aujeh. Ain and Rimmon were possibly originally two towns, but in process of time became so connected as to be treated as one name Neh 11:29. The place is probably the present "Um-er-Rummamim,"i. e. "mother of pomegranates,"a place about ten miles north of Beer-sheba.

Jos 15:32

Twenty and nine - The King James Version gives 34 names. The difference is due either to the confusion by an early copyist of letters similar in form which were used as numerals; or to the separation in the King James Version of names which in the original were one (e. g. Jos 15:25).

Jos 15:33-47

"The valley"or the Shephelah, is bounded on the south by the Negeb, on the west by the Mediterranean, on the north by the plain of Sharon, on the east by "the mountains"Jos 15:48. It is a well-defined district, of an undulating surface and highly fertile character, thickly dotted, even at the present time, with villages, which are for the most part situated on the different hills. The towns in this district, like those in the Negeb, are classed in four groups.

Jos 15:33-36

First group of fourteen towns: these belong to the northeastern portion of the Shephelah. Eshtaol and Zoreah were afterward assigned to the tribe of Dan, and inhabited by Danites Jdg 13:25; Jdg 18:2, Jdg 18:8,Jdg 18:11. The latter place was the home of Samson Jdg 13:2. It was one of the cities fortified by Rehoboam 2Ch 11:10, and was re-occupied by the Jews after the captivity Neh 11:29. It is probably the modern Surah. (Eshtaol has been identified with Eshua (Conder)). Both places were in later times partly populated by Judahites from Kirjath-jearim; perhaps after the departure of the colony of Danites for Dan-Laish. Zanoah is the present "Zanna", not far from Surah. Socoh is the modern "Shuweikah". Sharaim is perhaps to be sought in the modern "Zakariya". Gederah ("wall"or "fortress") was a name borne with various terminations by several places.

Jos 15:37-41

Second group of towns, containing those in the middle portion of the Shephelah, and of which some only Jos 10:3, Jos 10:10 can be identified.

Jos 15:42-44

Third group; towns in the south of the Shephelah. For Libnah see Jos 10:29. Mareshah is believed to be near Beit-jibrin, the ancient "Eleutheropolis."

Jos 15:45-47

Fourth group: the towns of the Philistine seacoast: see Jos 13:3.

Jos 15:48-60

This highland district extends from the Negeb on the south to Jerusalem, and is bounded by the Shephelah on the west, and the "wilderness"Jos 15:61-62 on the east. The mountains, which are of limestone, rise to a height of near 3,000 feet. At present, the highlands of Judah present a somewhat dreary and monotonous aspect. The peaks are for the most part barren, though crowned almost everywhere with the ruins of ancient towns, and bearing on their sides marks of former cultivation. Many of the valleys, especially toward the south, are, however, still very productive. The towns here enumerated are given in six groups.

Jos 15:48-51

First group: towns on the southwest. Dannah (is identified with "Idnah"(Conder)). Jattir ("Attir"), and Eshtemoh ("Semua") were priestly cities Jos 21:14; 1Ch 6:57, and the place to which David, after routing the Amalekites, sent presents 1Sa 30:27-28. Socoh is "Suweikeh."

Jos 15:52-54

Second group of nine towns, situated somewhat to the north of the last mentioned. Of these Dumah is perhaps the ruined village "Ed Daumeh,"in the neighborhood of Hebron; and Beth-tappuah, i. e. "house of apples,""Teffuh,"a place which has still a good number of inhabitants, is conspicuous for its olive groves and vineyards, and bears on every side the traces of industry and thrift.

Jos 15:55-57

Third group; lying eastward of the towns named in the last two, and next to "the wilderness."

Jos 15:55

The four towns retain their ancient names with but little change. Maon 1Sa 23:24; 1Sa 25:2, the home of Nabal, is to be looked for in the conical hill, "Main,"the top of which is covered with ruins. It lies eight or nine miles southeast of Hebron Carmel 1Sa 25:2, the modern "Kurmul,"is a little to the north of "Main."The name belongs to more than one place Jos 12:22. Ziph gave its name to "the wilderness"into which David fled from Saul 1Sa 23:14.

Jos 15:58, Jos 15:59

Fourth group. Towns north of the last mentioned, of which Beth-zur and Gedor are represented by "Beit-sur"and "Jedur."

After Jos 15:59 follows in the Greek version a fifth group of eleven towns, which appears to have dropped in very ancient times out of the Hebrew text, probably because some transcriber passed unawares from the word "villages"at the end of Jos 15:59, to the same word at the end of the missing passage. The omitted group contains the towns of an important, well-known, and populous district lying immediately south of Jerusalem, and containing such towns as Tekoah 2Sa 14:2; Neh 3:5, Neh 3:27; Amo 1:1; Bethlehem, the native town of David and of Christ Gen 35:19; and Aetan, a Grecised form of Etam 2Ch 11:6.

Jos 15:61, Jos 15:62

This district, including the towns in "the wilderness,"the scene of David’ s wanderings (1Sa 23:24; Psa 63:1-11 title), and of the preaching of the Baptist Mat 3:1, and perhaps of our Lord’ s temptation Matt. 4, extended from the northern limit of Judah along the Dead Sea to the Negeb; it was bounded on the west by that part of "the mountains"or highlands of Judah, which adjoined Bethlehem and Maon. It abounds in limestone rocks, perforated by numerous caverns, and often of fantastic shapes. It is badly supplied with water, and hence, is for the most part barren, though affording in many parts, now quite desolate, clear tokens of former cultivation. It contained only a thin population in the days of Joshua.

Jos 15:62

"The city of Salt"is not mentioned elsewhere, but was no doubt connected with "the valley of salt"2Sa 8:13. The name itself, and the mention of En-gedi (Gen 14:7 note) suggest that its site must be looked for near the Dead Sea.

Poole: Jos 15:21

The uttermost cities those which were on the borders of the land, not the midland cities. It is apparent that all the cities belonging to this tribe are not mentioned in this catalogue.

Kabzeel called Jekabzeel , Neh 11:25 .

Poole: Jos 15:25

Hazor, Hadattah possibly it should be read as one word, Hazor-hadattah , as there is Hazar-gaddah , Jos 15:27 , and Hazar-shual , Jos 15:28 , such compounded proper names being usual; and this may seem the more probable, because if Hazor and Hadattah were two different cities, the conjunction and would have been put between them, as it is generally in the rest.

Which is Hazor or, which also is called Hazor ; but to distinguish it from the other Hazor , Jos 15:23 , this was called also Hezron .

Poole: Jos 15:32

Object Here are thirty-seven or thirty-eight cities named before; how then are they only reckoned twenty-nine?

Answ There were only twenty-nine of them, which either,

1. Properly belonged to Judah; the rest fell to Simeon’ s lot; or,

2. Were cities properly so called, i.e. walled cities, or such as had villages under them, as it here follows, the rest being great but unwalled towns, or such as had no villages under them.

Poole: Jos 15:36

Object There are fifteen numbered.

Answ Either one of them was no city strictly called; or

Gederah and

Gederothaim is put for Gederah or Gederothaim , so called, possibly, because the city was double, as there want not instances of one city divided into two parts, called the old and the new city. So the conjunction and is put for the disjunctive or, whereof examples have been given before.

Poole: Jos 15:42

Libnah Heb. Libnah . See Jos 10:29

Poole: Jos 15:45

Here and in the following verses are contained all the cities of the Philistines, among which are Gath and Askelon, which peradventure are here omitted, because they were not at this time places of such power and eminency as afterwards they were, but were the daughters of some of these following cities, though afterwards the daughter might overtop the mother, as is usual.

Her towns , Heb. her daughters , i.e. lesser cities, or great towns, subject to Ekton’ s jurisdiction.

Her villages , i.e. lesser towns or hamlets.

Poole: Jos 15:47

i.e. The sea-coast, and all other cities, towns, and villages upon it.

Poole: Jos 15:48

i.e. In the higher grounds, called mountains or hills, in comparison of the sea-coast.

Poole: Jos 15:49

Debir is also called Kirjath-sepher , above, Jos 15:15 . So this city had three names.

Poole: Jos 15:51

Goshen Jos 10:41

Poole: Jos 15:55

Maon of which see 1Sa 23:25 25:2 .

Carmel Nabal’ s country, 1Sa 25 .

Ziph which gave its name to the neighbouring mountain, 1Sa 26:1 .

Poole: Jos 15:61

The wilderness; so the Hebrews call places either uninhabited by men, or having but few inhabitants.

Poole: Jos 15:62

The city of Salt so called either from the Salt Sea, which was near it; or from the salt which was made in it, or about it.

Poole: Jos 15:63

For though Jerusalem was in part taken by Joshua before this, yet the upper and stronger part of it, called Zion , was still kept by the Jebusites, even until David’ s time; and it seems from thence they descended to the lower town called Jerusalem, and took it; so that the Israelites were forced to win it a second time; yea, and a third time also, for afterwards it was possessed by the Jebusites, Jud 19:11 2Sa 5:6,7 .

Could not drive them out namely, because of their unbelief, as Christ could do no mighty work— because of the people’ s unbelief, Mar 6:5,6 Mt 13:58 , and because of their sloth, and cowardice, and wickedness, whereby they forfeited God’ s help, and then they must needs be impotent; but this inability was wilful, and brought upon them by themselves.

Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem: the same things which are here said of the children of Judah, are said of the Benjamites, Jud 1:21 . Hence ariseth a question, To which of the tribes Jerusalem belonged? whether to Benjamin, as is gathered from Gen 49:27 Deu 33:12 Jer 6:1 , or to Judah, as is implied here, and Psa 78:68,69 . Some think, that being in the borders of both, it was common to both, and promiscuously inhabited by both; and it is certain that after the captivity it was possessed by both, Neh 11:4 . But for the present, though it did belong to Benjamin, yet the children of Judah being possibly very active in the first taking of it by Joshua, as they certainly were after his death, Jud 1:8 , they might thereby get some right share with the Benjamites in the possession of it. It seems most probable that part of it, and indeed the greatest part and main body of it, stood in the tribe of Benjamin; and hence this is mentioned in the list of their cities, and not in Judah’ s list: and part of it stood in Judah’ s share, even Mount Moriah, on which the temple was built; and Mount Sion, when it was taken from the Jebusites.

Unto this day ; when this book was written, whether in Joshua’ s life and old age, which continued many years after the taking of Jerusalem; or after his death, when this clause was added here and elsewhere in this book by some other man of God, which must needs be done before David’ s time, when the Jebusites were quite expelled, and their fort taken.

Haydock: Jos 15:25

New Asor, to distinguish it from the capital of Jabin, in the north. This was dependent on Ascalon. (Eusebius) ---

Hebrew, "and Hazor, Hadatta, and (or) Kerioth ("the towns") of Hezron, which is Hazor." The Septuagint only specify the same town of Asor by different names. There was one towards Arabia, Numbers xi. 35.

Haydock: Jos 15:28

Bersabee, noted for the residence of Abraham, &c. It is attributed to Simeon, (chap. xix. 2,) with some other of these towns, as the two tribes lived intermixed, and some changes might be made in the first regulation, to bring things to a greater equality, and as circumstances might require.

Haydock: Jos 15:31

Siceleg. The Philistines kept possession of it till king Achis gave it to David; and it continued afterwards the property of the kings of Juda.

Haydock: Jos 15:32

Villages. Twenty-nine of the former cities were of greater note; the six, or taking in the three belonging to Caleb, the nine others which are mentioned, (Calmet) were only villages. (Menochius) ---

Others think that these nine towns are not numbered here, because they were allotted to the tribe of Simeon, chap. xix. 2, &c.

Haydock: Jos 15:33

Plains. Hebrew Schephela, near Eleutheropolis, chap. x. 40. ---

Estaol was afterwards given to Dan. Samson was buried near it and Sarea, Judges xvi.

Haydock: Jos 15:36

Fourteen. One of those mentioned above, may have been a village. (Menochius) ---

Others think that Enaim may be the name of a fountain, near which perhaps Juda met Thamar, Genesis xxxviii. 14.

Haydock: Jos 15:44

Ceila, which David took from the Philistines, and were he was nearly betrayed into the hands of Saul, 1 Kings xxiii. Habacuc was buried here, on the road between Eleutheropolis and Hebron.

Haydock: Jos 15:55

Carmel. Not where Elias dwelt, but a city and mountain 10 miles east of Eleutheropolis. Nabal rendered it famous by his imprudence, (1 Kings xxv.) and Saul by a triumphal arch, 1 Kings xv. 12.

Haydock: Jos 15:58

Bessur. About 20 miles from Jerusalem, fortified by Simon, 1 Machabees xiv. 33. It is there said to be only five stadia distant from that city. But the Alexandrian copy reads five schœnus, or cords, each of which consisted of at least 30 stadia. (Cellarius)

Haydock: Jos 15:59

Eltecon: given afterwards to the tribe of Dan, (chap. xix. 44,) and then to the Levites, chap. xxi. 13. The Alexandrian Septuagint here add many cities, which are omitted in Hebrew. (Calmet) ---

"Theco and Ephrata, (this is Bethlehem) and Phagor, and Artam, and Koulon, and Tatami, and Sores, and Karem, and Gallim, and Baither, and Manocho, eleven cities and their villages." (Haydock) See St. Jerome in Micheas v. 1. (Calmet) (Deuteronomy xxvii. 4.) ---

Dr. Wall says, "these cities were doubtless in the Hebrew copy of the Septuagint" and "they are of such a nature, that it is scarcely possible to think them an interpolation." The former critic thinks "the omission in the Hebrew was occasioned by the word villages occurring immediately before, and at the end of the words thus omitted; and indeed the same word occurring in different places, has been the cause of many and great omission in the Hebrew manuscripts. He thinks it less likely that the Jews should have designedly omitted Bethlehem here, because that place is mentioned as belonging to Juda, in several other parts of Scripture." But is Ephrata ever joined with it, except in this passage, and in the text of Micheas? "And, therefore, though this remarkable omission was probably owing, at first, to some transcriber's mistake, its not being reinserted might be owing to the reason specified by St. Jerome, out of malice to Christianity." (Kennicott, 2 Diss. 56.) ---

Reland is astonished to find a place which was to be rendered so famous by the birth of the Messias, not enumerated in this place among the cities of Juda. But he observes that it is found in the Alexandrian version, p. 643. (Palest.) ---

St. Jerome will not decide absolutely whether the Jews have erased these cities, or the Septuagint have inserted them. As he undertook to translate the Hebrew as he found it, he has not admitted these cities into his translation, though there seems to be abundant reason for supposing that they are genuine. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jos 15:62

Salt. Bonfrere supposes it is Segor, which was preserved for Lot's sake. ---

Engaddi, which was famous for its balm and palm-trees, in the desert of Jericho. (Solin. xxxv.) ---

We may here remark that in the preceding catalogues, many towns are repeated like Zanoe, (ver. 34., and 56,) and others are left out. Some are also afterwards attributed to other tribes. Hence some have inferred that alterations have been made in the original copies. But we may rather believe that the reason of these variations is, because the cities were parceled out among the 10 families of Juda, (1 Paralipomenon ii. 3,) as was the case in the distribution of land to Manasses; (chap. xvii. 2,) and hence the same cities were sometimes given to two different families. They are also attributed to different tribes, because many families of the respective tribes dwelt in them. The priests, for example, lived along with their brethren of other tribes. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jos 15:63

Jerusalem. The Benjamites claimed the northern part of this city; (Haydock) and they did not drive out the Jebusites, but lived with them, Judges i. 21. The tribe of Juda had burnt a part of the city, Judges i. 8. But it seems the Jebusites kept their hold, (Calmet) at least in the citadel, (Haydock) and frequently in the lower town, till they were entirely banished by David, 2 Kings v. 7. See Judges xix. 11. In latter times, the Jews considered this place as the common city of all the nation, to which none of the tribes had an exclusive right; and hence, in the last siege, there was no head, and all the Jews were admitted without examination. (Josephus, Jewish Wars iv. 5, &c.) (Calmet) ---

Day, and even till the reign of David. The author of this observation must have lived before that period. Josue might have made this and may other similar remarks, when he finished this work, towards the end of his life. (Haydock)

Gill: Jos 15:21

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, Neh 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.

Gill: Jos 15:22

And Kinah,.... Of this city we read of nowhere else:

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

Gill: Jos 15:23

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, Num 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.

Gill: Jos 15:24

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.

Gill: Jos 15:25

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.

Gill: Jos 15:26

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.

Gill: Jos 15:27

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 Neh 11:26, where it is called Bethphelet.

Gill: Jos 15:28

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 Neh 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", Jdg 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.

Gill: Jos 15:29

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.

Gill: Jos 15:30

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, Jdg 1:17. All these three cities were given to the tribe of Simeon, Jos 19:4.

Gill: Jos 15:31

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.

Gill: Jos 15:32

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 Num 34:11; also See Gill on Num 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, Neh 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.

Gill: Jos 15:33

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, Jdg 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.

Gill: Jos 15:34

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 Gen 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 ה prefixed to it, and may be read "that Enam", as pointing out some known and remarkable place, though now unknown.

Gill: Jos 15:35

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.

Gill: Jos 15:36

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.

Gill: Jos 15:37

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.

Gill: Jos 15:38

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.

Gill: Jos 15:39

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.

Gill: Jos 15:40

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

Gill: Jos 15:41

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.

Gill: Jos 15:42

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.

Gill: Jos 15:43

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.

Gill: Jos 15:44

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, Gen 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.

Gill: Jos 15:45

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.

Gill: Jos 15:46

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, Act 8:40, another of the principalities of the Philistines, of which and Ekron See Gill on Amo 1:8 and See Gill on Zep 2:4.

Gill: Jos 15:47

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 Amo 1:7; See Gill on Zep 2:4; See Gill on Act 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.

Gill: Jos 15:48

And in the mountains,.... The hill country of Judea, as it is called Luk 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.

Gill: Jos 15:49

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.

Gill: Jos 15:50

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.

Gill: Jos 15:51

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.

Gill: Jos 15:52

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.

Gill: Jos 15:53

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.

Gill: Jos 15:54

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.

Gill: Jos 15:55

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", Luk 1:39.

Gill: Jos 15:56

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.

Gill: Jos 15:57

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, Jdg 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.

Gill: Jos 15:58

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.

Gill: Jos 15:59

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.

Gill: Jos 15:60

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.

Gill: Jos 15:61

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 Jdg 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.

Gill: Jos 15:62

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, Gen 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, Son 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.

Gill: Jos 15:63

As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem,.... From whom the city was called Jebus, Jdg 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, Jdg 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 Jdg 1:21.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jos 15:21

¹ tn Heb “and the cities were at the end of the tribe of the sons of Judah, at the border of Edom, to the south.”

NET Notes: Jos 15:23

¹ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

NET Notes: Jos 15:32

¹ tn The total number of names in the list is thirty-six, not twenty-nine. Perhaps (1) some of the names are alternatives (though the text appears to delineate clearly such alternative names here and elsewhere, see vv. 8, 9, 10, 13, 25b) or (2), more likely, later scribes added to a list originally numbering twenty-nine and failed to harmonize the concluding summary statement with the expanded list.

NET Notes: Jos 15:33

¹ tn The words “these cities were” have been supplied for English stylistic reasons.

² tn Or “the foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”

NET Notes: Jos 15:45

¹ tn Heb “daughters.”

NET Notes: Jos 15:47

¹ tn See the note on this place name in 15:4.

² tn Heb “the Great Sea,” the typical designation for the Mediterranean Sea.

NET Notes: Jos 15:48

¹ tn The words “These cities were” have been supplied in the translation for English stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: Jos 15:52

¹ tc Some Hebrew mss and some mss of the LXX read “Rumah” in place of “Dumah.”

NET Notes: Jos 15:61

¹ tn The words “These cities were” have been supplied for English stylistic reasons.

NET Notes: Jos 15:63

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

² sn The statement to this very day reflects the perspective of the author, who must have written prior to David’s conquest of the Jebusites (see 2 Sam 5:6-7).

Geneva Bible: Jos 15:30

And Eltolad, and Chesil, and ^{( h )} Hormah,

^{( h )} Which before was called Zephath, (Jdg 1:17).

Geneva Bible: Jos 15:47

Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the ^{( i )} river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border [thereof]:

^{( i )} Meaning, the Nile (Jos 13:3).

Geneva Bible: Jos 15:49

And Dannah, and ^{( k )} Kirjathsannah, which [is] Debir,

^{( k )} Which is also called Kirjath-sepher, (Jos 15:15).

Geneva Bible: Jos 15:62

And Nibshan, and the ^{( l )} city of Salt, and Engedi; six cities with their villages.

^{( l )} Of this city the salt sea has it's name.

Geneva Bible: Jos 15:63

As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them ^{( m )} out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day.

^{( m )} That is, utterly, though they slew the most part, and burnt their city, (Jdg 1:8).

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Jos 15:1-63

1 The borders of the lot Judah.

13 Caleb's portion and conquest.

16 Othniel, for his valour, hath Achsah, Caleb's daughter, to wife.

18 She obtains a blessing of her father.

21 The cities of Judah.

63 The Jebusites unconquered.

MHCC: Jos 15:20-63

Here is a list of the cities of Judah. But we do not here find Bethlehem, afterwards the city of David, and ennobled by the birth of our Lord Jesus in it. That city, which, at the best, was but little among the thousands of Judah, Mic 5:2, except that it was thus honoured, was now so little as not to be accounted one of the cities.

Matthew Henry: Jos 15:20-63

We have here a list of the several cities that fell within the lot of the tribe of Judah, which are mentioned by name, that they might know their own, and both keep it and keep to it, and might neither through cowardice nor sloth lose the possession of what was their own.

I. The cities are here named, and numbered in several classes, which they then could account for the reason of better than we can now. Here are, 1. Some that are said to be the uttermost cities towards the coast of Edom, Jos 15:21-32. Here are thirty-eight named, and yet said to be twenty-nine (Jos 15:32), because nine of these were afterwards transferred to the lot of Simeon, and are reckoned as belonging to that, as appears by comparing Jos 19:2, etc.; therefore those only are counted (though the rest are named) which remained to Judah. 2. Others that are said to be in the valley (Jos 15:33) are counted to be fourteen, yet fifteen are named; but it is probable that Gederah and Gederathaim were either two names or two parts of one and the same city. 3. Then sixteen are named without any head of distinction, Jos 15:37-41, and nine more, Jos 15:42-44. 4. Then the three Philistine-cities, Ekron, Ashdod, and Gaza, Jos 15:45-47. 5. Cities in the mountains, eleven in all (Jos 15:48-51), nine more (Jos 15:52-54), ten more (Jos 15:55-57), six more (Jos 15:58, Jos 15:59), then two (Jos 15:60), and six in the wilderness, a part of the country not so thick of inhabitants as some others were.

II. Now here, 1. We do not find Bethlehem, which was afterwards the city of David, and was ennobled by the birth of our Lord Jesus in it. But that city, which at the best was but little among the thousands of Judah (Mic 5:2), except that it was thus dignified, was now so little as not to be accounted one of the cities, but perhaps was one of the villages not named. Christ came to give honour to the places he was related to, not to receive honour from them. 2. Jerusalem is said to continue in the hands of the Jebusites (Jos 15:63), for the children of Judah could not drive them out, through their sluggishness, stupidity, and unbelief. Had they attempted it with vigour and resolution, we have reason to think God would not have been wanting to them to give them success; but they could not do it, because they would not. Jerusalem was afterwards to be the holy city, the royal city, the city of the great King, the brightest ornament of all the land of Israel. God has designed it should be so. It may therefore be justly looked upon as a punishment of their neglect to conquer other cities which God had given them that they were so long kept out of this. 3. Among the cities of Judah (in all 114) we meet with Libnah, which in Joram's days revolted, and probably set up for a free independent state (2Ki 8:22), and Lachish, where king Amaziah was slain (1Ki 14:19); it led the dance in idolatry (Mic 1:13); it was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Zion. Giloh, Ahithophel's town, is here mentioned, and Tekoa, of which the prophet Amos was, and near which Jehoshaphat obtained that glorious victory, 2Ch 20:20, etc., and Maresha, where Asa was a conqueror. Many of the cities of this tribe occur in the history of David's troubles. Adullam, Ziph, Keilah, Maon, Engedi, Ziklag, here reckoned in this tribe, were places near which David had most of his haunts; for, though sometimes Saul drove him out from the inheritance of the Lord, yet he kept as close to it as he could. The wilderness of Judah he frequented much, and in it John Baptist preached, and there the kingdom of heaven commenced, Mat 3:1. The riches of this country no doubt answered Jacob's blessing of this tribe, that he should wash his garments in wine, Gen 49:11. And, in general, Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise, not envy.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 15:21-63

In vv. 21-63 there follows a list of the towns of the tribe of Judah, arranged in the four districts into which the land was divided, according to the nature of the soil, viz., the south-land ( negeb ), the lowland ( shephelah ) on the Mediterranean Sea, the mountains, and the desert of Judah.

Jos 15:21-32

The towns in the south land . - Negeb (south-land) was the name given to the southernmost district of Canaan in its full extent, from the Arabah, at the southern end of the Dead Sea, right across to the coast of the Mediterranean, and from the southern border of Canaan, as described in Jos 15:2-4, as far north as Wady Sheriah , below Gaza, on the western side, and up to the mountains and desert of Judah on the east, stretching across the wadys of es Seba, Milh, and Ehdeib , above which that part of Palestine commences where rain is more abundant, and to which, as we have already observed at Num 13:17, the Negeb formed a kind of intermediate link between the fertile land and the desert. It was a line of steppe-land, with certain patches here and there that admitted of cultivation, but in which tracts of heath prevailed, for the most part covered with grass and bushes, where only grazing could be carried on with any success. The term which Eusebius and Jerome employ for Negeb in the Onom. is Daromas , but they carry it farther northwards than the Negeb of the Old Testament (see Reland , Pal. Ill. pp. 185ff.). The numerous towns mentioned in Jos 15:21-32 as standing in the Negeb , may none of them have been large or of any importance. In the list before us we find that, as a rule, several names are closely connected together by the copula vav, and in this way the whole may be divided into four separate groups of towns.

Jos 15:21-23

First group of nine places. - Jos 15:21. The towns "from," i.e., at "the end of the tribe-territory of Judah, towards the territory of Edom." Kabzeel : the home of the hero Benaiah (2Sa 23:20), probably identical with Jakabzeel , which is mentioned in Neh 11:25 in connection with Dibon , but has not been discovered. This also applies to Eder and Jagur .

Jos 15:22

Kinah : also unknown. Knobel connects it with the town of the Kenites , who settled in the domain of Arad, but this is hardly correct; for which the exception of Jdg 1:16, where the Kenites are said to have settled in the south of Arad, though not till after the division of the land, the Kenites are always found in the western portion of the Negeb (1Sa 15:6; 1Sa 27:10; 1Sa 30:29), whereas Kinah is unquestionably to be looked for in the east. Dimonah , probably the same as Dibon (Neh 11:25); possibly the ruins of el Dheib , on the south side of the wady of the same name, to the north-east of Arad ( V. de Velde , Mem. p. 252), although Robinson (Pal. ii. p. 473) writes the name Ehdeib . Adadah is quite unknown.

Jos 15:23

Kedesh , possibly Kadesh-barnea (Jos 15:3). Hazor might then be Hezron, in the neighbourhood of Kadesh-barnea (Jos 15:3). Ithnan is unknown.

Jos 15:24-25

Second group of five or six places. - Of these, Ziph and Telem are not met with again, unless Telem is the same as Telaim , where Saul mustered his army to go against the Amalekites (1Sa 15:4). Their situation is unknown. There was another Ziph upon the mountains (see Jos 15:55). Knobel supposes the one mentioned here to be the ruins of Kuseifeh , to the south-west of Arad ( Rob. Pal. ii. p. 620). Ziph would then be contracted from Ceziph; but the contraction of Achzib (Jos 19:29) into Zib does not present a corresponding analogy, as in that case the abbreviated form is the later one, whereas in the case of Ziph a lengthening of the name must have taken place by the addition of a D. Bealoth , probably the same as the Simeonitish Baaloth-beer (Jos 19:8), which is called Baal simply in 1Ch 4:33, and which was also called Ramath-negeb (Jos 19:8) and Ramoth-negeb (1Sa 30:27). It is not to be identified with Baalath , however (Jos 19:45; 1Ki 9:18), as V. de Velde supposes (Reise, ii. pp. 151-2). Knobel fancies it may be the ridge and place called Kubbet el Baul , between Milh and Kurnub ( Rob. ii. p. 617); but Baul and Baal are very different. Hazor Hadatta ( Chazor Chadathah ), i.e., new Hazor, might be the ruins of el Hudhaira on the south of Jebel Khulil ( Rob. Appendix). Kenoth was supposed by Robinson (Pal. ii. p. 472, and Appendix) to be the ruins of el Kuryetein , on the north-east of Arad and at the foot of the mountains, and with this V. de Velde agrees. Reland (Pal. p. 708) connects the following word Hezron with Kenoth , so as to read Kenoth-hezron , i.e., Hezron's towns, also called Hazor . This is favoured by the Sept . and Syriac , in which the two words are linked together to form one name, and probably by the Chaldee as well, also by the absence of the copula vav ( and ) before Hezron, which is not omitted anywhere else throughout this section, except at the beginning of the different groups of towns, as, for example, before Ziph in Jos 15:24, and Amam in Jos 15:26, and therefore ought to stand before Hezron if it is an independent town. The Masoretic pointing cannot be regarded as a decisive proof of the contrary.

Jos 15:26-28

Third group of nine towns. - Jos 15:26. Amam is not mentioned again, and is quite unknown. Shema , which is called Sheba in Jos 19:2, and is mentioned among the towns of the Simeonites between Beersheba and Moladah, is supposed by Knobel to the ruins of Saâwe ( Sâweh ) between Milh and Beersheba (see V. de Velde , ii. p. 148). Molada , which was given to the Simeonites (Jos 19:2; 1Ch 4:28) and was still inhabited by Jews after the captivity (Neh 11:26), was the later Μάλαδα , an Idumaean fortress ( Josephus , Ant. 18:6, 2), which Eusebius and Jerome describe as being twenty Roman miles, i.e., eight hours, to the south of Hebron on the road to Aila (Elath). It has been identified by Robinson (Pal. ii. p. 621) in the ruins of el Milh , by the Wady Malath or Malahh .

Jos 15:27

Hazar-gaddah , Heshmon , and Beth-palet have not yet been identified. The last of the three is mentioned again in Neh 11:26, by the side of Molada, as still inhabited by Judaeans.

Jos 15:28

Hazor-shual , i.e., fox-court, which was assigned to the Simeonites (Jos 19:3) and still inhabited after the captivity (Neh 11:27), answers, so far as the name if concerned, to the ruins of Thâly ( Rob. Pal. iii. App.). Beersheba , which was a well-known place in connection with the history of the patriarchs (Gen 21:14., Jos 22:19, etc.), and is frequently mentioned afterwards as the southern boundary of the land of Israel (Jdg 20:1; 2Sa 17:11, etc.), was also given up to the Simeonites (Jos 19:2), and still inhabited after the captivity (Neh 11:27). It is the present Bir es Seba on the Wady es Seba (see at Gen 21:31). Bizjothjah is unknown.

Jos 15:29-32

The four groups of thirteen towns in the western portion of the Negeb.

Jos 15:29

Baalah , which was assigned to the Simeonites, is called Balah in Jos 19:3, and Bilhah in 1Ch 4:29. Knobel identifies it with the present Deir Belah , some hours to the south-west of Gaza Rob. iii. App.; Ritter , Erdk. xvi. pp. 41, 42); but it cannot have been so far to the west, or so near the coast as this. Iim (or Ivvim, according to the Αυεἴμ of the lxx) is probably the ruins of Beit-auwa ( Rob. iii. App.). Azem , which was also given up to the Simeonites (Jos 19:3; 1Ch 4:29), is supposed by Knobel to be Eboda , the present Abdeh , eight hours to the south of Elusa , a considerable mass of ruins on a ridge of rock ( Rob. i. p. 287), because the name signifies firmness or strength, which is also the meaning of the Arabic name-a very precarious reason.

Jos 15:30-31

Eltolad , which was given to the Simeonites (Jos 19:4), and is called Tolad (without the Arabic article) in 1Ch 4:29, has not been discovered. Chesil , for which the lxx have Βαιθήλ , is probably, as Reland supposes, simply another name, or as Knobel suggests a corrupt reading for, Bethul or Bethuel , which is mentioned in Jos 19:4 and 1Ch 4:30, between Eltolad and Hormah , as a town of the Simeonites, and the same place as Beth-el in 1Sa 30:27. As this name points to the seat of some ancient sanctuary, and there was an idol called Khalasa worshipped by the Arabs before the time of Mohamet, and also because Jerome observes ( vita Hilar . c. 25) that there was a temple of Venus at Elusa , in which the Saracens worshipped Lucifer (see Tuch , Deutsch. Morgenl. Ztschr. iii. pp. 194ff.), Knobel supposes Bethul ( Chesil ) to be Elusa, a considerable collection of ruins five hours and a half to the south of Beersheba (see Rob. i. p. 296): assuming first of all that the name el Khulasa , as the Arabs called this place, was derived from the Mahometan idol already referred to; and secondly, that the Saracen Lucifer mentioned by Jerome was the very same idol whose image and temple Janhari and Kamus call el Khalasa . Hormah : i.e., Zephoth , the present Sepata (see at Jos 12:14). Ziklag , which was assigned to the Simeonites (Jos 19:5; 1Ch 4:30), burnt down by the Amalekites (1Sa 30:1.), and still inhabited after the captivity (Neh 11:28), is supposed by Rowland to be the ancient place called Asluj or Kasluj , a few hours to the east of Zepata, with which Knobel , however, in a most remarkable manner, identifies the Asluj to the south-west of Milh on the road to Abdeh, which is more than thirty-five miles distant (see Rob. Pal. ii. p. 621). Both places are too far to the south and east to suit Ziklag, which is to be sought for much farther west. So far as the situation is concerned, the ruins of Tell Sheriah or Tell Mellala , one of which is supposed by V. de Velde to contain the relics of Ziklag, would suit much better; or even, as Ritter supposes (Erdk. xvi. pp. 132-3), Tell el Hasy , which is half an hour to the south-west of Ajlan, and in which Felix Fabri found the ruins of a castle and of an ancient town, in fact of the ancient Ziklag, though Robinson (i. pp. 389ff.) could discover nothing that indicted in any way the existence of a town or building of any kind. Madmannah and Sansannah cannot be traced with any certainty. Madmannah , which is confounded in the Onom. ( s. v. Medemena ) with Madmena , a place to the north of Jerusalem mentioned in Isa 10:31, though elsewhere it is correctly described as Menois oppidum juxta civitatem Gazam , has probably been preserved in the present Miniay or Minieh , to the south of Gaza. Sansannah , Knobel compares with the Wady Suni , mentioned by Robinson (i. p. 299), to the south of Gaza, which possibly received its name from some town in the neighbourhood. But in the place of them we find Beth-marcaboth (i.e., carriage-house) and Hazar-susa (i.e., horse-court) mentioned in Jos 19:5 and 1Ch 4:31 among the towns of the Simeonites, which Reland very properly regards as the same as Madmannah and Sansannah, since it is very evident from the meaning of the former names that they were simply secondary names, which were given to them as stations for carriages and horses.

Jos 15:32

Lebaoth , one of the Simeonite towns, called Beth-lebaoth (i.e., lion-house) in Jos 19:6, and Beth-birei in 1Ch 4:31, has not been discovered yet. Shilchim , called Sharuchen in Jos 19:6, and Shaaraim in 1Ch 4:31, may possibly have been preserved in Tell Sheriah , almost half-way between Gaza and Beersheba ( V. de Velde , ii. p. 154). Ain and Rimmon are given as Simeonite towns, and being written without the copula, are treated as one name in Jos 19:7 and 1Ch 4:32, although they are reckoned as two separate towns in Jos 19:7. But as they were also called En Rimmon after the captivity, and are given as one single place in Neh 11:29, they were probably so close together that in the course of time they grew into one. Rimmon , which is mentioned in Zec 14:10 as the southern boundary of Judah, probably the Eremmon of the Onom. ("a very large village of the Judaeans, sixteen miles to the south of Eleutheropolis in Daroma"), was probably the present ruin called Um er Rummanim , four hours to the north of Beersheba ( Rob. iii. p. 8). Not more than thirty or thirty-five minutes distant from this, between Tell Khuweilifeh ( Rob. iii. p. 8) or Chewelfeh ( V. de Velde ) and Tell Hhora , you find a large old but half-destroyed well, the large stones of which seem to belong to a very early period of the Israelitish history ( V. de Velde , ii. p. 153). This was mentioned as a very important drinking-place even in the lifetime of Saladin, whilst to the present day the Tilâlah Arabs water their flocks there (see Rob. iii. p. 8). To all appearance this was Ain (see V. de Velde , Mem. p. 344). "All the cities were twenty and nine, and their villages." This does not agree with the number of towns mentioned by name, which is not twenty-nine, but thirty-six; to that the number twenty-nine is probably an error of the text of old standing, which has arisen from a copyist confounding together different numeral letters that resembled one another.

(Note: Some commentators and critics explain this difference on the supposition that originally the list contained a smaller number of names (only twenty-nine), but that it was afterwards enlarged by the addition of several other places by a different hand, whilst the number of the whole was left just as it was before. But such a conjecture presupposes greater thoughtlessness on the part of the editor than we have any right to attribute to the author of our book. If the author himself made these additions to his original sources, as Hävernick supposes, or the Jehovist completed the author's list from his second document, as Knobel imagines, either the one or the other would certainly have altered the sum of the whole, as he has not proceeded in so thoughtless a manner in any other case. The only way in which this conjecture could be defended, would be by supposing, as J. D. Michaelis and others have done, that the names added were originally placed in the margin, and that these marginal glosses were afterwards interpolated by some thoughtless copyist into the text. But this conjecture is also rendered improbable by the circumstance that, in the lists of towns contained in our book, not only do other differences of the same kind occur, as in v. 36, where we find only fourteen instead of fifteen, and in Jos 19:6, where only thirteen are given instead of fourteen, but also differences of the very opposite kind, - namely, where the gross sum given is larger than the number of names, as, for example, in Jos 19:15, where only five names are given instead of twelve, and in Jos 19:38, where only sixteen are given instead of nineteen, and where it can be shown that there are gaps in the text, as towns are omitted which the tribes actually received and ceded to the Levites. If we add to this the fact that there are two large gaps in our Masoretic text in Jos 15:59-60, and Jos 21:35, which proceed from copyists, and also that many errors occur in the numbers given in other historical books of the Old Testament, we are not warranted in tracing the differences in question to any other cause than errors in the text.)

Jos 15:33-47

Towns in the lowland or shephelah . - The lowland ( shephelah ), which is generally rendered ἡ πεδινή in the Sept. , rarely τὸ πεδιόν (Deu 1:7), but which is transferred as a proper name ἡ Σεφηλά in Oba 1:19; Jer 32:44; Jer 33:13, as well as in 1 Macc. 12:38, where even Luther has Sephela , is the name given to the land between the mountains of Judah and the Mediterranean Sea, - a broad plain of undulating appearance, intersected by heights and low ranges of hills, with fertile soil, in which corn fields alternate with meadows, gardens, and extensive olive groves. It is still tolerably well cultivated, and is covered with villages, which are situated for the most part upon the different hills. Towards the south, the shephelah was bounded by the Negeb _(Jos 15:21); on the north, it reached to Ramleh and Lydda, or Diospolis, where the plain of Sharon began, - a plain which extended as far as Carmel, and was renowned for the beauty of its flowers. Towards the east the hills multiply and shape themselves into a hilly landscape, which forms the intermediate link between the mountains and the plain, and which is distinguished from the shephelah itself, in Jos 10:40 and Jos 12:8, under the name of Ashedoth , or slopes , whereas here it is reckoned as forming part of the shephelah . This hilly tract is more thickly studded with villages than even the actual plain (See Rob. Pal. ii. p. 363, and iii. p. 29.) The towns in the shephelah are divided into four groups.

Jos 15:33-36

The first group contains the towns in the northern part of the hilly region or slopes, which are reckoned as forming part of the lowland: in all, fourteen towns. The most northerly part of this district was given up to the tribe of Dan on the second division (Jos 19:41.). Eshtaol and Zoreah , which were assigned to the tribe of Dan (Jos 19:41), and were partly inhabited by Danites (Jdg 13:25; Jdg 18:2, Jdg 18:8,Jdg 18:11) and partly by families of Judah, who had gone out from Kirjath-jearim (1Ch 1:53; 1Ch 4:2), probably after the removal of the 600 Danites to Laish-Dan (Jos 19:47; Jdg 18:1), were situated, according to the Onom. ( s. v. Esthaul and Saara ), ten Roman miles to the north of Eleutheropolis, on the road to Nicopolis. Zoreah , the home of Samson, who was buried between Zoreah and Eshtaol (Jdg 13:2; Jdg 16:31), was fortified by Rehoboam, and still inhabited by Judaeans after the captivity (2Ch 11:10; Neh 11:29); it has been preserved in the ruins of Surá , at the south-western end of the mountain range which bounds the Wady es Surar on the north ( Rob. ii. p. 341, and Bibl. Res. p. 153). Eshtaol has probably been preserved in Um Eshteiyeh , to the south-west ( Rob. ii. p. 342). Ashnah is possibly to be read Ashvah , according to the lxx, Cod. Vat. ( Ἄσσα ). In that case it might resemble a town on the east of Zorea ( Tobler , p. 180), as Knobel supposes.

Jos 15:34

Zanoah was still inhabited by Judaeans after the captivity (Neh 11:30; Neh 3:13), and is the present Zanua , not far from Zoreah, towards the east (see Rob. ii. p. 343). Engannim and Tappuah are still unknown. Enam , the same as Enaim (Gen 38:14 : rendered "an open place"), on the road from Adullam to Timnah on the mountains (Jos 15:57), has not yet been discovered.

Jos 15:35

Jarmuth , i.e., Jarmûk ; see Jos 10:3. Adullam has not yet been discovered with certainty (see at Jos 12:15). Socoh , which was fortified by Rehoboam, and taken by the Philistines in the reign of Ahaz (2Ch 11:7; 2Ch 28:18), is the present Shuweikeh by the Wady Sumt , half an hour to the south-west of Jarmûk , three hours and a half to the south-west of Jerusalem (see Rob. ii. pp. 343, 349). The Onom. ( s. v. Socoh ) mentions two viculi named Sochoth , one upon the mountain, the other in the plain, nine Roman miles from Eleutheropolis on the road to Jerusalem. On Azekah , see at Jos 10:10.

Jos 15:36

Sharaim , which was on the west of Socoh and Azekah, according to 1Sa 17:52, and is called Σακαρίμ or Σαργαρείμ in the Sept. , is probably to be sought for in the present Tell Zakariya and the village of Kefr Zakariya opposite, between which there is the broad deep valley called Wady Sumt, which is only twenty minutes in breadth ( Rob. ii. p. 350). This is the more probable as the Hebrew name is a dual. Adithaim is unknown. Gederah is possibly the same as the Gederoth which was taken by the Philistines in the time of Ahaz (2Ch 28:18), and the Gedrus of the Onom. ( s. v. Gaedur , or Gahedur ), ten Roman miles to the south of Diospolis, on the road to Eleutheropolis, as the Gederoth in Jos 15:41 was in the actual plain, and therefore did not stand between Diospolis and Eleutheropolis. Gederothaim is supposed by Winer , Knobel , and others, to be an ancient gloss. This is possible no doubt, but it is not certain, as neither the omission of the name from the Sept. , nor the circumstance that the full number of towns is given as fourteen, and that this is not the number obtained if we reckon Gederothaim, can be adduced as a decisive proof, since this difference may have arisen in the same manner as the similar discrepancy in Jos 15:32.

Jos 15:37-41

The second group, containing the towns of the actual plain in its full extent from north to south, between the hilly region and the line of coast held by the Philistines: sixteen towns in all.

Jos 15:37

Zenan , probably the same as Zaanan (Mic 1:11), is supposed by Knobel to be the ruins of Chirbet-es-Senat , a short distance to the north of Beit-jibrin ( Tobler , Dritte Wand. p. 124). Hadashah , according to the Mishnah Erub. v. vi. the smallest place in Judah, containing only fifty houses, is unknown, and a different place from the Adasa of 1 Macc. 7:40, 45, and Joseph . Ant. xii. 10, 5, as this was to the north of Jerusalem ( Onom. ). - Migdal-gad is unknown. Knobel supposes it to be the small hill called Jedeideh , with ruins upon it, towards the north of Beit-jibrin ( V. de Velde , R. ii. pp. 162, 188).

Jos 15:38

Dilean is unknown; for Bet Dula , three full hours to the east of Beit-jibrin , with some relics of antiquity ( Tobler , pp. 150-1), with which Knobel identifies it, is upon the mountains and not in the plain. Mizpeh , i.e., specula , a different place from the Mizpeh of Benjamin (Jos 18:26), was on the north of Eleutheropolis, according to the Onom. ( s. v. Maspha ), and therefore may possibly be the castle Alba Specula , or Alba Custodia of the middle ages, the present Tell es Saphieh , in the middle of the plain and upon the top of a lofty hill, from which there is an extensive prospect in all directions (see Rob. ii. p. 363). Joktheel has possibly been preserved in the ruins of Keitulaneh ( Rob. Pal. iii. App.), which are said to lie in that neighbourhood.

Jos 15:39

Lachish , i.e., Um Lakis (see at Jos 10:3). Bozkath is unknown: according to Knobel , it may possibly be the ruins of Tubakah , on the south of Um Lakis and Ajlan ( Rob. ii. pp. 388, 648). Eglon , i.e., Ajlan ; see at Jos 10:3.

Jos 15:40

Cabbon , probably the heap of ruins called Kubeibeh or Kebeibeh , "which must at some time or other have been a strong fortification, and have formed the key to the central mountains of Judah"( v. de Velde , R. ii. p. 156), and which lie to the south of Beit-jibrin, and two hours and a half to the east of Ajlan ( Rob. Pal. ii. p. 394). Lachmas : according to Knobel a corruption of Lachmam, which is the reading given in many MSS and editions, whilst the Vulgate has Leheman , and Luther (and the Eng. Ver). Lahmam . Knobel connects it with the ruins of el Lahem to the south of Beit-jibrin ( Tobler ). Kithlish ( Chitlis ) is unknown, unless it is to be found in Tell Chilchis , to the S.S.E. of Beit-jibrin ( V. de Velde , R. ii. p. 157).

Jos 15:41

Gederoth , Beth-dagon , and Naamah have not yet been traced. The village mentioned in the Onom. ( s. v. Beth-dagon ) as grandis vicus Capher-dagon , and said to lie between Diospolis and Jamnia , the present Beit-dejan ( Rob. iii. p. 30), was far beyond the northern boundary of the tribe of Judah. Makkedah : see at Jos 10:10.

Jos 15:42-44

The third group, consisting of the towns in the southern half of the hilly region: nine towns.

Jos 15:42

Libnah : see at Jos 10:29. Ether and Ashan , which were afterwards given to the Simeonites (Jos 19:7), and are probably to be sought for on the border of the Negeb, have not yet been discovered. The conjecture that Ether is connected with the ruins of Attârah ( Rob. iii. App.) in the province of Gaza, is a very uncertain one. Ashan , probably the same as Kor-ashan (1Sa 30:30), became a priests' city afterwards (1Ch 6:44; see at Jos 21:16).

Jos 15:43

Jiphtah , Ashnah , and Nezib have not yet been traced. Beit-nesib , to the east of Beit-jibrin on the Wady Sur ( Rob. ii. p. 344, and iii. p. 13), the Neesib of the Onom. , seven Roman miles to the east of Eleutheropolis, does not suit this group so far as its situation is concerned, as it lies within the limits of the first group.

Jos 15:44

Keilah , which is mentioned in the history of David (1 Sam 23), and then again after the captivity (Neh 3:17), is neither the Κεελά , Ceila of the Onom. , on the east of Eleutheropolis, the present Kila ( Tobler , Dritte Wand. p. 151), which lies upon the mountains of Judah; nor is it to be found, as Knobel supposes, in the ruins of Jugaleh ( Rob. iii. App.), as they lie to the south of the mountains of Hebron, whereas Keilah is to be sought for in the shephelah , or at all events to the west or south-west of the mountains of Hebron. Achzib (Mic 1:14), the same as Chesib (Gen 38:5), has been preserved in the ruins at Kussâbeh , a place with a fountain ( Rob. ii. p. 391), i.e., the fountain of Kesâba, about five hours south by west from Beit-jibrin. Mareshah , which was fortified by Rehoboam (2Ch 11:8; cf. Mic 1:15), and was the place where Asa defeated Zerah the Ethiopian (2Ch 14:9), the home of Eliezer (2Ch 20:37), and afterwards the important town of Marissa (see v. Raumer , Pal. pp. 211-12), was between Hebron and Ashdod, since Judas Maccabaeus is represented in 1 Macc. 5:65-68 (where the reading should be Μαρίσσαν instead of Σαμάρειαν , according to Joseph . Ant. xii. 8, 6) as going from Hebron through Marissa into the land of the Philistines, and turning to Ashdod . According to the Onom. ( s. v. Mareshah ), it was lying in ruins in the time of Eusebius , and was about two Roman miles from Eleutheropolis-a description which applies exactly to the ruins of Maresh , twenty-four minutes to the south of Beit-jibrin , which Robinson supposes for this reason to be Maresa ( Rob. ii. p. 422), whereas Knobel finds it in Beit-mirsim, a place four hours to the south of Beit-jibrin.

(Note: Knobel founds his opinion partly upon 2Ch 14:9, according to which Mareshah was in the valley of Zephatah, which is the bason-like plain at Mirsim , and partly upon the fact that the Onom. also places Moraste on the east (south-east) of Eleutheropolis; and Jerome (ad Mich. Jos 1:1) describes Morasthi as haud grandem viculum juxta Eleutheropolin, and as sepulcrum quondam Micheae prophetae nunc ecclesiam (ep. 108 ad Eustoch. §14); and this ecclesia is in all probability the ruins of a church called Santa Hanneh , twenty minutes to the south-east of Beit-jibrin, and only ten minutes to the east of Marash , which makes the assumption a very natural one, that the Maresa and Morasthi of the fathers are only different parts of the same place, viz., of Moreseth-gath , the home of Micah (Mic 1:1, Mic 1:14; Jer 26:18). But neither of these is decisive. The valley of Zephatah might be the large open plain which Robinson mentions (ii. p. 355) near Beit-jibrin; and the conjecture that Morasthi , which Euseb. and Jer. place πρὸς ἀνατολὰς , contra orientem Eleutheropoleos , is preserved in the ruins which lie in a straight line towards the south from Beit-jibrin, and are called Marash , has not much probability in it.)

Jos 15:45-47

The fourth group, consisting of the towns of the Philistine line of coast, the northern part of which was afterwards given up to the tribe of Dan (Dan Jos 19:43), but which remained almost entirely in the hands of the Philistines (see at Jos 13:3).

(Note: There is no force in the reasons adduced by Ewald , Bertheau , and Knobel , for regarding these verses as spurious, or as a later interpolation from a different source. For the statement, that the "Elohist"merely mentions those towns of which the Hebrews had taken possession, and which they held either partially or wholly in his own day, and also that his list of the places belonging to Judah in the shephelah never goes near the sea, are assertions without the least foundation, which are proved to be erroneous by the simple fact, that according to the express statement in Jos 15:12, the Mediterranean Sea formed the western boundary of the tribe of Judah; and according to Jos 13:6, Joshua was to distribute by lot even those parts of Canaan which had not yet been conquered. The difference, however, which actually exists between the verses before us and the other groups of towns, namely, that in this case the "towns"(or daughters) are mentioned as well as the villages, and that the towns are not summed up at the end, may be sufficiently explained from the facts themselves, namely, from the circumstance that the Philistine cities mentioned were capitals of small principalities, which embraced not only villages, but also small towns, and for that very reason did not form connected groups, like the towns of the other districts.)

Jos 15:45

Ekron , i.e., Akir (see Jos 13:3). " Her daughters "are the other towns of the principality of Ekron that were dependent upon the capital, and חצרים the villages and farms.

Jos 15:46

Judah was also to receive " from Ekron westwards all that lay on the side of Ashdod and their (i.e., Ekron's and Ashdod's) villages. "The different places in this district are not given, because Judah never actually obtained possession of them.

Jos 15:47

Ashdod , now Esdûd , and Gaza , now Ghuzzeh : see at Jos 13:3. Also " the daughter towns and villages, unto the brook of Egypt (Wady el Arish : see Jos 15:4), and the great sea with its territory ,"i.e., the tract of land lying between Gaza and the coast of the Mediterranean. Gath and Askalon are not mentioned, because they are both of them included in the boundaries named. Askalon was between Ashdod and Gaza, by the sea-coast (see at Jos 13:3), and Gath on the east of Ekron and Ashdod (see Jos 13:3), so that, as a matter of course, it was assigned to Judah.

Jos 15:48-60

The towns on the mountains are divided into five, or more correctly, into six groups. The mountains of Judah, which rise precipitously from the Negeb, between the hilly district on the west, which is reckoned as part of the shephelah , and the desert of Judah, extending to the Dead Sea on the east (Jos 15:61), attain the height of 3000 feet above the level of the sea, in the neighbourhood of Hebron, and run northwards to the broad wady of Beit-hanina, above Jerusalem. They are a large rugged range of limestone mountains, with many barren and naked peaks, whilst the sides are for the most part covered with grass, shrubs, bushes, and trees, and the whole range is intersected by many very fruitful valleys. Josephus describes it as abounding in corn, fruit, and wine; and to the present day it contains many orchards, olive grounds, and vineyards, rising in terraces up the sides of the mountains, whilst the valleys and lower grounds yield plentiful harvests of wheat, millet, and other kinds of corn. In ancient times, therefore, the whole of this district was thickly covered with towns (see Rob. ii. pp. 185, 191-2, and C. v. Raumer , Pal. pp. 45ff.).

Jos 15:48-51

The first group consists of eleven towns on the south-west of the mountains.

Jos 15:48

Shamir has probably been preserved in the ruins of Um Shaumerah , mentioned by Robinson (iii. App.), though the situation of these ruins has not yet been precisely determined. Jattir , which was given up to the priests (Jos 21:14), and is mentioned again in 1Sa 30:27, is described in the Onom. ( s. v. Jether ) as a large placed inhabited by Christians, twenty miles from Eleutheropolis, in interiori Daroma juxta Malathan , - a description which suits the ruins of Attir , in the southern portion of the mountains (see Rob. ii. p. 194; called Ater by Seetzen , R. iii. p. 6). Socoh , two hours N.W. of this, the present Shuweikeh ( Rob. ii. p. 194), called Suêche by Seetzen (R. iii. p. 29), a village about four hours from Hebron.

Jos 15:49

Dannah ( Sept. , Syr ., Renna ) is unknown. Knobel imagines that Dannah should be Danah , for Deanah , plur. Deanoth , which would then be suggestive of Zanute , the last inhabited place upon the mountains, five hours from Hebron, between Shuweikeh and Attir (see Rob. ii. p. 626; Seetzen , iii. p. 27, 29). Kirjath-sannah , or Debir , has not been traced (see at Jos 10:38).

Jos 15:50

Anab , on the north-east of Socoh (see at Jos 11:21). Eshtemoh , or Eshtemoa , which was ceded to the priests (Jos 21:14; 1Ch 6:42), and is mentioned again in 1Sa 30:28; 1Ch 4:17, 1Ch 4:19, is the present Semua , an inhabited village, with remains of walls, and a castle of ancient date, on the east of Socoh ( Rob. ii. pp. 194, 626; Seetzen , iii. 28; and v. Schubert , R. ii. p. 458). Anim , contracted, according to the probable conjecture of Wilson , from Ayanim (fountains), a place still preserved in the ruins of the village of el Ghuwein , on the south of Semua , though Robinson erroneously connects it with Ain (Jos 15:32 : see Rob. Pal. ii. p. 626).

Jos 15:51

Goshen , Holon , and Giloh , are still unknown. On Goshen , see at Jos 10:41. Holon was given up to the priests (Jos 21:15; 1Ch 6:43); and Giloh is mentioned in 2Sa 15:12 as the birth-place of Ahithophel.

Jos 15:52-54

The second group of nine towns, to the north of the former, in the country round Hebron.

Jos 15:52

Arab is still unknown; for we cannot connect it, as Knobel does, with the ruins of Husn el Ghurab in the neighbourhood of Semua ( Rob. i. p. 312), as these ruins lie within the former group of towns. Duma , according to Eusebius the largest place in the Daromas in his time, and seventeen miles from Eleutheropolis, is probably the ruined village of Daumeh , by the Wady Dilbeh ( Rob. i. p. 314), which is fourteen miles in a straight line to the south-east of Eleutheropolis according to the map. Es'an ( Eshean ) can hardly be identified with Asan (1Ch 4:32), as Van de Velde supposes, but is more likely Korasan (1Sa 30:30). In that case we might connect it with the ruins of Khursah , on the north-west of Daumeh, two hours and a half to the south-west of Hebron ( Rob. iii. p. 5). As the Septuagint reading is Σομά , Knobel conjectures that Eshean is a corrupt reading for Shema (1Ch 2:43), and connects it with the ruins of Simia , on the south of Daumeh ( Seetzen , iii. 28, and Rob. iii. App.).

Jos 15:53

Janum is still unknown. Beth-tappuah has been preserved in the village of Teffuh , about two hours to the west of Hebron ( Rob. ii. p. 428). Apheka has not been discovered.

Jos 15:54

Humtah is also unknown. Kirjath-arba , or Hebron : see at Jos 10:3. Zior has also not been traced; though, "so far as the name is concerned, it might have been preserved in the heights of Tugra , near to Hebron"( Knobel ).

Jos 15:55-57

The third group of ten towns, to the east of both the former groups, towards the desert.

Jos 15:55

Maon , the home of Nabal (1Sa 25:2), on the border of the desert of Judah, which is here called the desert of Maon (1Sa 23:25), has been preserved in Tell Maîn , on a conical mountain commanding an extensive prospect, east by north of Semua, three hours and three-quarters to the S.S.E. of Hebron ( Rob. ii. p. 193). Carmel , a town and mountain mentioned in the history of David, and again in the time of Uzziah (1Sa 15:12; 1Sa 25:2.; 2Ch 26:10). In the time of the Romans it was a large place, with a Roman garrison ( Onom. ), and is the present Kurmul , on the north-west of Maon, where there are considerable ruins of a very ancient date ( Rob. ii. pp. 196ff.). Ziph, in the desert of that name, to which David fled from Saul (1Sa 23:14., 1Sa 26:2-3), was fortified by Rehoboam (2Ch 11:8), and has been preserved in the ruins upon the hill Ziph, an hour and three-quarters to the south-east of Hebron ( Rob. ii. p. 191). Juttah, which was assigned to the priests (Jos 21:16), and was a vicus praegrandis Judaeorum in the time of the fathers ( Onom. s. v. Jethan ), was eighteen Roman miles to the south (south-east) of Eleutheropolis, and is the present Jutta or Jitta , a large Mahometan place with ruins, an hour and three-quarters to the south of Hebron ( Seetzen , iii. p. 8; Rob. ii. p. 191, 628).

Jos 15:56

Jezreel , the home of Ahinoam (1Sa 25:43; 1Sa 27:3, etc.), a different place from the Jezreel in the plain of Esdraelon, has not yet been discovered. This also applies to Jokdeam and Zanoah , which are only met with here.

Jos 15:57

Cain ( Hakkain ) is possibly the same as Jukin , on the south-east of Hebron ( Rob. ii. p. 449). Gibeah cannot be the Gabatha near Bethlehem, mentioned in the Onom. ( s. v. Gabathaon ), or the Gibea mentioned by Robinson (ii. p. 327), i.e., the village of Jeba , on a hill in the Wady el Musurr, as this does not come within the limits of the present group; it must rather be one of the two places ( Gebaa and Gebatha ) described as viculi contra orientalem plagam Daromae , though their situation has not yet been discovered. Timnah , probably the place already mentioned in Gen 38:12., has not been discovered.

Jos 15:58-59

The fourth group of six towns, on the north of Hebron or of the last two groups. - Halhul , according to the Onom. ( s. v. Elul ) a place near Hebron named Alula , has been preserved in the ruins of Halhûl , an hour and a half to the north of Hebron ( Rob. i. p. 319, ii. p. 186, and Bibl. Res. p. 281). Beth-zur , which was fortified by Rehoboam (2Ch 11:7), and is frequently mentioned in the time of the Maccabees as a border defence against the Idumaeans (1 Macc. 4:29, 61, etc.), was twenty (? fifteen) Roman miles from Jerusalem, according to the Onom. ( s. v. Beth-zur ), on the road to Hebron. It is the present heap of ruins called Beit-zur on the north-west of Halhûl ( Rob. Bibl. Res. pp. 276-7; Ritter , Erdk. xvi. pp. 236, 267-8). Gedor , the ruins of Jedûr , an hour and a half to the north-west ( Rob. ii. p. 338; Bibl. Res. pp. 282-3).

Jos 15:59

Maarath and Eltekon have not yet been discovered. Beth-anoth (probably a contraction of Beth-ayanoth ) has been discovered by Wolcott in the ruins of Beit-anum , on the east of Halhûl ( Rob. Bibl. Res. p. 279; cf. Pal. ii. p. 186).

Between Jos 15:59 and Jos 15:60, the fifth group of towns given in the Septuagint is wanting in the Masoretic text. This group lay to the north of the fourth, and reached as far as Jerusalem, It comprised a district in which even now there are at least fifteen places and ruins, so that we have not an arbitrary interpolation made by the lxx, as Jerome assumed, but rather a gap in the Hebrew text, arising from the fact that an ancient copyist passed by mistake from the word וחצריהן in Jos 15:59 to the same word at the close of the missing section. In the Alexandrian version the section reads as follows in Cod. Al. and Vat.: Θεκώ καὶ Ἐφραθά, αὕτη ἐστὶ Βαιθλέεμ, καὶ Φαγώρ καὶ Αἰτὰν καὶ Καολὸν καὶ Τατὰμ καὶ Θωβἠς ( Cod. Al. Σωρὴς ) καὶ Καρέμ καὶ Γαλὲμ καὶ Θεθὴρ ( Cod. Al. Βαιθῆρ ) καὶ Μαμοχώ, πόλεις ἕνδεκα καὶ αἱ κῶμαι αὐτῶν. - Theko , the well-known Tekoah, the home of the wise woman and of the prophet Amos (2Sa 14:2; Amo 1:1), was fortified by Rehoboam, and still inhabited after the captivity (2Ch 11:6; Neh 3:5, Neh 3:27). It is the present Tekua , on the top of a mountain covered with ancient ruins, two hours to the south of Bethlehem ( Rob. ii. pp. 181-184; Tobler , Denkbl. aus Jerus. pp. 682ff.). Ephratah , i.e., Bethlehem , the family seat of the house of David (Rth 1:1; Rth 4:11; 1Sa 16:4; 1Sa 17:12.; Mic 5:2), was fortified by Rehoboam (2Ch 11:6), and is a place frequently mentioned. It was the birth-place of Christ (Mat 2:1.; Luk 2:4), and still exists under the ancient name of Beit-lahm , two hours to the south of Jerusalem ( Seetzen , ii. pp. 37ff.; Rob. ii. pp. 159ff.; Tobler , Topogr. v. Jerus. ii. pp. 464ff.). Bethlehem did not receive the name of Ephratah for the first time from the Calebite family of Ephrathites (1Ch 2:19, 1Ch 2:50; 1Ch 4:4), but was known by that name even in Jacob's time (Gen 35:19; Gen 48:7). Phagor , which was near to Bethlehem according to the Onom. ( s. v. Fogor ), and is also called Phaora , is the present Faghur , a heap of ruins to the south-west of Bethlehem ( Rob. Bibl. Res. p. 275). Aetan was fortified by Rehoboam (2Ch 11:6), and has been preserved in the Wady and Ain Attan between Bethlehem and Faghur ( Tobler , Dritte Wand. pp. 88, 89). Kulon , the present village of Kulomeh , an hour and a half west by north from Jerusalem on the road to Ramleh (see Rob. ii. p. 146; Bibl. Res. p. 158: it is called Kolony by Seetzen , ii. p. 64). Tatam cannot be traced. Sores (for Thobes appears to be only a copyist's error) is probably Saris , a small village four hours to the east of Jerusalem, upon a ridge on the south of Wady Aly ( Rob. Bibl. Res. pp. 154-5). Karem , now Ain Karim , a large flourishing village two hours to the wets of Jerusalem, with a Franciscan convent dedicated to John the Baptist in the middle, and a fountain ( Rob. ii. p. 141; Bibl. Res. p. 271). Galem , a different place from the Gallim on the north of Jerusalem (Isa 10:30), has not yet been discovered. Baither , now a small dirty village called Bettir or Bittir , with a beautiful spring, and with gardens arrange din terraces on the western slope of the Wady Bittir, to the south-west of Jerusalem ( Rob. Bibl. Res. p. 266). Manocho , possibly the same place as Manachat (1Ch 8:6), has not been found.

Jos 15:60

The sixth group of only two towns, to the west of Jerusalem, on the northern border of the tribe of Judah. - Kirjath-baal , or Kirjath-jearim , the present Kureyet el Enab; see at Jos 15:9, and Jos 9:17. Rabbah ( Ha-rabbah , the great) is quite unknown.

Jos 15:61-62

The towns in the desert of Judah , which ran along the Dead Sea from the northern border of Judah (Jos 15:6, Jos 15:7) to Wady Fikreh on the south, and reached to the districts of Maon, Ziph, Tekoah, and Bethlehem towards the west. This tract of land is for the most part a terrible desert, with a soil composed of chalk, marl, and limestone, and with bald mountains covered with flint and hornstone, and without the slightest trace of vegetation on the side bordering on the Dead Sea (see v. Schubert , Reise, iii. pp. 94, 96; Rob. ii. pp. 202, 475, 477). Yet wherever there are springs even this desert is covered with a luxuriant vegetation, as far as the influence of the water extends ( Seetzen , ii. pp. 249, 258); and even in those parts which are now completely desolate, there are traces of the work of man of a very ancient date in all directions ( Rob. ii. p. 187). Six towns are mentioned in the verses before us. Beth-arabah: see at Jos 15:6. Middin and Secaca are unknown. According to Knobel , Middin is probably the ruins of Mird or Mardeh , to the west of the northern end of the Dead Sea ( Rob. ii. p. 270).

Jos 15:62

Nibsan , also unknown. The city of salt (salt town), in which the Edomites sustained repeated defeats (2Sa 8:13; Psa 60:2; 2Ki 14:7; 1Ch 18:12; 2Ch 25:11), was no doubt at the southern end of the Dead Sea, in the Salt Valley ( Rob. ii. p. 483). Engedi , on the Dead Sea (Eze 47:10), to which David also fled to escape from Saul (1Sa 24:1.), according to the Onom. ( s. v. Engaddi ) a vicus praegrandis , the present Ain-Jidi , a spring upon a shelf of the high rocky coast on the west of the Dead Sea, with ruins of different ancient buildings (see Seetzen , ii. pp. 227-8; Rob. ii. pp. 214ff.; Lynch , pp. 178-9, 199, 200).

Jos 15:63

In Jos 15:63 there follows a notice to the effect that the Judaeans were unable to expel the Jebusites from Jerusalem, which points back to the time immediately after Joshua, when the Judaeans had taken Jerusalem and burned it (Jdg 1:8), but were still unable to maintain possession. This notice is not at variance with either Jos 18:28 or Jdg 1:21, since it neither affirms that Jerusalem belonged to the tribe of Judah, nor that Judah alone laid claim to the possession of the town to the exclusion of the Benjamites (see the explanation of Jdg 1:8).

Constable: Jos 13:1--21:45

II. THE DIVISION OF THE LAND chs. 13--21

Chapters 13-24 describe how Joshua divided the land and the results of that division. Many if not all the Israelite tribes did not conquer or control all the land allotted to them (15:63; 16:10; 17:12-13). The record of the actual division of the land is in chapters 13-21, and the arrangements for settlement in it follow in chapters 22-24.

At the end of the seven-year period of conquest Israel occupied very little of the Promised Land. "Very much" of it remained for them to possess (v. 1).¹⁶⁰ Consequently dividing all the land among the tribes required faith that God would give His people all the land. Joshua had removed the significant military threats to Israel's existence. From now on each tribe was responsible to conquer and colonize its designated territory.

"Resisting the temptation to skip over this section of Joshua [chs. 13-21] can result in an appreciation of important features of God's covenant with Israel. Beyond the obvious detail of the content of these chapters and the means by which God blessed those who remained faithful in the conquest of the land, this passage also addresses the question why the land formed so significant a part of God's promises to the patriarchs and remained a key feature of the covenant."¹⁶¹

Constable: Jos 15:1-63

3. Judah's inheritance ch. 15

The tribe of Judah probably received first consideration in the text because it was the tribe that had received Jacob's special patriarchal blessing. It was also the largest tribe.

Ancient Near Easterners used natural landmarks (rivers, mountains, deserts, towns, etc.) to construct borders as well as artificial boundaries that they made by drawing lines between sites. Virtually all nations have used these methods, and they are still common today.

Judah was the southernmost tribe west of the Jordan. Caleb's family and the Simeonites lived within Judah's territory. Simeon was the smallest tribe except Levi and lost its territorial identity within Judah shortly after the conquest (cf. Gen. 49:7). For this reason some maps of the tribal allotments do not include Simeon.

Constable: Jos 15:21-62

The towns in Judah 15:21-62

The writer grouped the towns in Judah according to that tribe's four districts. This part of Canaan contained four distinct regions: the southern Negev, the lowland plain (Shephelah), the mountains (hill country), and the desert.

15:21-32 The Negev (south land) formed a region between the more fertile parts of Judah to the north and the desert to the south. The writer listed four groups of towns: the first nine (vv. 21-23), the second five (vv. 24-25), the third nine (vv. 26-28), and the fourth 13 (vv. 29-32).

15:33-47 The Shephelah (lowland) was the area between the Coastal Plain to the west and the hill country of Judah to the east. The Negev lay to its south. The writer grouped the towns in this area also. He named 14 towns in the northern part of the Shephelah (vv. 33-36), 16 in the northwest (vv. 37-41), nine in the south (vv. 42-44), and three in the southwest (vv. 45-47).

15:48-60 Five groups of cities stood in the mountainous hill country of Judah north of the Negev, east of the Shephelah, and west of the wilderness of Judah. This area became home to a large number of Judahites. Eleven towns stood in the southwest section (vv. 48-51) and nine to the north of these (near Hebron, vv. 52-54). Ten more stood to the east of both former groups toward the desert wilderness (vv. 55-57), six to the north of Hebron (vv. 58-59), and two on Judah's northern border (v. 60).

15:61-62 The wilderness of Judah was the northeastern part of the tribal inheritance. It bordered the hill country to the west, the Dead Sea to the east, and the Negev to the south. Six cities occupied this area.

15:63 Even though the Israelites defeated the king of Jerusalem (10:1-27) they were not able to exterminate the Jebusites who lived there. This city remained an island of Canaanite domination on the northern border of the Judahites.

Guzik: Jos 15:1-63

Joshua 15, 16, 17 - The Inheritance of Judah, Ephraim and Western Manasseh

A. The inheritance of Judah.

1. (15:1-12) The borders of the province of Judah.

So this was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families: The border of Edom at the Wilderness of Zin southward was the extreme southern boundary. And their southern border began at the shore of the Salt Sea, from the bay that faces southward. Then it went out to the southern side of the Ascent of Akrabbim, passed along to Zin, ascended on the south side of Kadesh Barnea, passed along to Hezron, went up to Adar, and went around to Karkaa. From there it passed toward Azmon and went out to the Brook of Egypt; and the border ended at the sea. This shall be your southern border. The east border was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan. And the border on the northern quarter began at the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan. The border went up to Beth Hoglah and passed north of Beth Arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. Then the border went up toward Debir from the Valley of Achor, and it turned northward toward Gilgal, which is before the Ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the valley. The border continued toward the waters of En Shemesh and ended at En Rogel. And the border went up by the Valley of the Son of Hinnom to the southern slope of the Jebusite city (which is Jerusalem). The border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the Valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the Valley of Rephaim northward. Then the border went around from the top of the hill to the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and extended to the cities of Mount Ephron. And the border went around to Baalah (which is Kirjath Jearim). Then the border turned westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the side of Mount Jearim on the north (which is Chesalon), went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed on to Timnah. And the border went out to the side of Ekron northward. Then the border went around to Shicron, passed along to Mount Baalah, and extended to Jabneel; and the border ended at the sea. The west border was the coastline of the Great Sea. This is the boundary of the children of Judah all around according to their families.

a. All this may seem tedious to us, but it certainly was not tedious to those who would possess this land.

2. (13-19) The land allotted the Caleb and his family.

Now to Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a share among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, namely, Kirjath Arba, which is Hebron (Arba was the father of Anak). Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak from there: Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak. Then he went up from there to the inhabitants of Debir (formerly the name of Debir was Kirjath Sepher). And Caleb said, "He who attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife." So Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it; and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife. Now it was so, when she came to him, that she persuaded him to ask her father for a field. So she dismounted from her donkey, and Caleb said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered, "Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water." So he gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

a. He who attacks Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter as wife: Caleb was not only a man of great and bold deeds (the driving out of the children of Anak), but also a man who encouraged others to great and bold deeds. He did this by offering his daughter in marriage to the man who was bold enough to conquer a city to have her.

b. Give me a blessing; since you have given me land in the South, give me also springs of water: As well, Caleb's daughter imitates her father's boldness in asking for blessing. She did not hesitate to ask her father for some choice springs.

3. (20-62) The cities, villages, and regions occupied by the tribe of Judah.

This was the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families: The cities at the limits of the tribe of the children of Judah, toward the border of Edom in the South, were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, Hazor, Hadattah, Kerioth, Hezron (which is Hazor), Amam, Shema, Moladah, Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Bizjothjah, Baalah, Ijim, Ezem, Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages. In the lowland: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, Sharaim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim: fourteen cities with their villages; Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, Cabbon, Lahmas, Kithlish, Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah: sixteen cities with their villages; Libnah, Ether, Ashan, Jiphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah: nine cities with their villages; Ekron, with its towns and villages; from Ekron to the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages; Ashdod with its towns and villages, Gaza with its towns and villages; as far as the Brook of Egypt and the Great Sea with its coastline. And in the mountain country: Shamir, Jattir, Sochoh, Dannah, Kirjath Sannah (which is Debir), Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, Goshen, Holon, and Giloh: eleven cities with their villages; Arab, Dumah, Eshean, Janum, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, Humtah, Kirjath Arba (which is Hebron), and Zior: nine cities with their villages; Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah: ten cities with their villages; Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon: six cities with their villages; Kirjath Baal (which is Kirjath Jearim) and Rabbah: two cities with their villages. In the wilderness: Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi: six cities with their villages.

4. (63) An incomplete occupation: Jerusalem remains in Canaanite hands.

As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out; but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.

a. The inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: We can understand why Jerusalem was a city hard to conquer. The fact that it was set on a hill made it easy to defend.

b. Yet, no matter how hard the struggle, with God's promise, and God's help, we can triumph - there is really no good excuse for why this city must stay in Canaanite hands until the time of David (2 Samuel 5:6-10).

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Contradiction: Jos 15:63

25. Joshua and the Israelites did (Joshua 10:23,40) or did not (Joshua 15:63) capture Jerusalem?

(Category: misread the text)

The short answer is, not in this campaign. The verses given are in complete harmony and the confusion arises solely from misreading the passage concerned.

In Joshua 10, it is the king of Jerusalem that is killed: his city is not captured (verses 16-18 and 22-26). The five Amorite kings and their armies left their cities and went to attack Gibeon. Joshua and the Israelites routed them and the five kings fled to the cave at Makkedah, from which Joshua's soldiers brought them to Joshua, who killed them all. Concerning their armies, verse 20 states: 'the few who were left reached their fortified cities', which clearly indicates that the cities were not captured. So it was the kings, not their cities, who were captured.

Joshua 10:28-42 records the rest of this particular military campaign. It states that several cities were captured and destroyed, these being: Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron and Debir. All of these cities are south-west of Jerusalem. The king of Gezer and his army were defeated in the field whilst helping Lachish (v.33) and in verse 30 comparison is made to the earlier capture of Jericho, but neither of these last two cities were captured at this time. Verses 40 & 41 delineate the limits of this campaign, all of which took place to the south and west of Jerusalem. Importantly, Gibeon, the eastern limit of this campaign, is still approximately 10 miles to the north-west of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is, therefore, not stated as captured in Joshua 10. This agrees completely with Joshua 15:63, which states that Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites in Jerusalem.

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Joshua (Book Introduction)

JOSHUA. The title of this book is derived from the pious and valiant leader whose achievements it relates and who is commonly supposed to have been its author. The objections to this idea are founded chiefly on the clause, "unto this day," which occurs several times (Jos 4:9; Jos 6:25; Jos 8:28). But this, at least in the case of Rahab, is no valid reason for rejecting the idea of his authorship; for assuming what is most probable, that this book was composed toward the close of Joshua's long career, or compiled from written documents left by him, Rahab might have been still alive. A more simple and satisfactory way of accounting for the frequent insertion of the clause, "unto this day," is the opinion that it was a comment introduced by Ezra, when revising the sacred canon; and this difficulty being removed, the direct proofs of the book having been produced by a witness of the transactions related in it, the strong and vivid descriptions of the passing scenes, and the use of the words "we" and "us," (Jos 5:1-6), viewed in connection with the fact, that, after his farewell address to the people, Joshua "wrote these words in the book of the law of God" [Jos 24:26] --all afford strong presumptive proof that the entire book was the work of that eminent individual. Its inspiration and canonical authority are fully established by the repeated testimonies of other Scripture writers (compare Jos 6:26 with 1Ki 16:34; compare Jos 10:13 with Hab 3:11; Jos 3:14 with Act 7:45; Jos 6:17-23 with Heb 11:30; Jos. 2:1-24 with Jam 2:25; Psa 44:2; Psa 68:12-14; Psa 78:54-55). As a narrative of God's faithfulness in giving the Israelites possession of the promised land, this history is most valuable, and bears the same character as a sequel to the Pentateuch, that the Acts of the Apostles do to the Gospels.

JFB: Joshua (Outline)

• THE LORD APPOINTS JOSHUA TO SUCCEED MOSES. (Jos. 1:1-18)
• RAHAB RECEIVES AND CONCEALS THE TWO SPIES. (Jos 2:1-7)
• THE COVENANT BETWEEN HER AND THEM. (Jos 2:8-21)
• JOSHUA COMES TO JORDAN. (Jos 3:1-6)
• THE LORD ENCOURAGES JOSHUA. (Jos 3:7-8)
• JOSHUA ENCOURAGES THE PEOPLE. (Jos 3:9-13)
• THE WATERS OF JORDAN ARE DIVIDED. (Jos 3:14-17)
• TWELVE STONES TAKEN FOR A MEMORIAL OUT OF JORDAN. (Jos 4:1-8)
• TWELVE STONES SET UP IN THE MIDST OF JORDAN. (Jos 4:9)
• THE PEOPLE PASS OVER. (Jos 4:10-13)
• GOD MAGNIFIES JOSHUA. (Jos 4:14-24)
• THE CANAANITES AFRAID. (Jos 5:1)
• CIRCUMCISION IS RENEWED. (Jos 5:2-12)
• AN ANGEL APPEARS TO JOSHUA. (Jos 5:13-15)
• JERICHO SHUT UP. (Jos 6:1-7)
• THE CITY COMPASSED SIX DAYS. (Jos 6:8-19)
• THE WALLS FALL DOWN. (Jos 6:20-21)
• RAHAB IS SAVED. (Jos 6:22-25)
• THE REBUILDER OF JERICHO CURSED. (Jos 6:26-27)
• ACHAN'S TRESPASS. (Jos 7:1)
• THE ISRAELITES SMITTEN AT AI. (Jos. 7:2-26)
• GOD ENCOURAGES JOSHUA. (Jos. 8:1-28)
• THE KING HANGED. (Jos 8:29)
• JOSHUA BUILDS AN ALTAR. (Jos 8:30-31)
• THE KINGS COMBINE AGAINST ISRAEL. (Jos. 9:1-27)
• FIVE KINGS WAR AGAINST GIBEON. (Jos 10:1-5)
• JOSHUA RESCUES IT. (Jos 10:6-9)
• GOD FIGHTS AGAINST THEM WITH HAILSTONES. (Jos 10:10-11)
• THE SUN AND MOON STAND STILL AT THE WORD OF JOSHUA. (Jos 10:12-15)
• DIVERS KINGS OVERCOME AT THE WATERS OF MEROM. (Jos 11:1-9)
• THE TWO KINGS WHOSE COUNTRIES MOSES TOOK AND DISPOSED OF. (Jos 12:1-6)
• THE ONE AND THIRTY KINGS ON THE WEST SIDE OF JORDAN, WHICH JOSHUA SMOTE. (Jos. 12:7-24)
• BOUNDS OF THE LAND NOT YET CONQUERED. (Jos. 13:1-33)
• THE NINE TRIBES AND A HALF TO HAVE THEIR INHERITANCE BY LOT. (Jos 14:1-5)
• CALEB BY PRIVILEGE REQUESTS AND OBTAINS HEBRON. (Jos 14:6-15)
• BORDERS OF THE LOT OF JUDAH. (Jos 15:1-12)
• CALEB'S PORTION AND CONQUEST. (Jos 15:13-15)
• OTHNIEL, FOR HIS VALOR, HAS ACHSAH TO WIFE. (Jos 15:16-20)
• THE GENERAL BORDERS OF THE SONS OF JOSEPH. (Jos 16:1-4)
• THE BORDERS OF THE INHERITANCE OF EPHRAIM. (Jos 16:5-9)
• LOT OF MANASSEH. (Jos 17:1-6)
• THIS COAST. (Jos 17:7-11)
• CANAANITES NOT DRIVEN OUT. (Jos 17:12-13)
• THE CHILDREN OF JOSEPH ASK FOR ANOTHER LOT. (Jos 17:14-18)
• THE TABERNACLE SET UP AT SHILOH. (Jos 18:1)
• THE REMAINDER OF THE LAND DESCRIBED. (Jos 18:2-9)
• DIVIDED BY LOT. (Jos 18:10)
• THE LOT OF SIMEON. (Jos 19:1-9)
• OF ZEBULUN. (Jos 19:10-16)
• OF ISSACHAR. (Jos 19:17-23)
• OF ASHER. (Jos 19:24-31)
• OF NAPHTALI. (Jos 19:32-39)
• OF DAN. (Jos 19:40-48)
• THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL GIVE AN INHERITANCE TO JOSHUA. (Jos 19:49-51)
• THE LORD COMMANDS THE CITIES OF REFUGE. (Jos 20:1-6)
• THE ISRAELITES APPOINT BY NAME THE CITIES OF REFUGE. (Jos 20:7-9)
• EIGHT AND FORTY CITIES GIVEN BY LOT OUT OF THE OTHER TRIBES UNTO THE LEVITES. (Jos 21:1-8)
• GOD GAVE THEM REST. (Jos 21:43-45)
• JOSHUA DISMISSES THE TWO TRIBES AND A HALF, WITH A BLESSING. (Jos 22:1-9)
• THEY BUILD THE ALTAR OF TESTIMONY ON THEIR JOURNEY. (Jos 22:10)
• THE DEPUTIES SATISFIED. (Jos 22:30-34)
• JOSHUA'S EXHORTATION BEFORE HIS DEATH. (Jos 23:1-2)
• BY FORMER BENEFITS. (Jos 23:3)
• BY PROMISES. (Jos 23:5-11)
• BY THREATENINGS IN CASE OF DISOBEDIENCE. (Jos 23:12)
• JOSHUA ASSEMBLING THE TRIBES. (Jos 24:1)
• RELATES GOD'S BENEFITS. (Jos 24:2-13)
• HIS AGE AND DEATH. (Jos 24:29-30)

TSK: Joshua (Book Introduction)

The Book of Joshua is one of the most important documents in the Old Testament. The rapid conquest of the Promised Land, and the actual settlement of the Israelites in it, afford a striking accomplishment of the Divine predictions to Abraham and the succeeding patriarchs; and at the same time bear the most unequivocal and ample testimony to the authenticity of this sacred book. Several of the transactions related in it are confirmed in a very extraordinary manner, by the traditions current among heathen nations, and preserved by ancient profane historians of undoubted character. Thus there are monuments still in existence, which prove that the Carthaginians were a colony of Syrians who escaped from Joshua; as also that the inhabitants of Leptis, in Africa, came originally from the Sidonians, who abandoned their country on account of the calamities with which it was overwhelmed. Procopius relates that the Phoenicians fled before the Hebrews into Africa, and spread themselves abroad as far as the pillars of Hercules; and adds, " In Numidia, where now stands the city Tigisis (Tangiers), they have erected two columns, on which, in Phoenician characters, is the following inscription: " We are the Phoenicians who fled from the face of Jesus (Joshua) the son of Naue" (Nun).

TSK: Joshua 15 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Jos 15:1, The borders of the lot Judah; Jos 15:13, Caleb’s portion and conquest; Jos 15:16, Othniel, for his valour, hath Achsah, Caleb’s daughter, to wife; Jos 15:18, She obtains a blessing of her father; Jos 15:21, The cities of Judah; Jos 15:63, The Jebusites unconquered.

Poole: Joshua (Book Introduction)

BOOK OF JOSHUA

THE ARGUMENT

IT is not material to know who was the penman of this book, whether Joshua, as seems most probable from Jos 24:26 , or some other holy prophet. It is sufficient that this book was a part of the Holy Scriptures, or oracles of God, committed to and carefully kept by the Jews, and by them faithfully delivered to us, as appears by the concurring testimony of Christ and his apostles, who owned and approved of the same Holy Scriptures which the church of the Jews did. But this is certain, that divers passages in this book were put into it after Joshua’ s death, as Jos 10:13 , compared with 2Sa 1:18 Jos 19:47 , compared with Jud 18:1 ; and Jos 24:29,30 . And such like insertions have been observed in the five books of Moses.

Poole: Joshua 15 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 15

The borders of the lot of Judah, Jos 15:1-12 . Among them Kirjath-arba , Caleb’ s inheritance: he drives thence the three sons of Anak; promises to give his daughter in marriage to him who should smite Kirjath-sepher; which Othniel does, and obtains her: she requests of her father some land for a dowry; which he grants, Jos 15:13-19 . The cities of Judah, Jos 15:20-62 . The Jebusites could not be conquered by them, Jos 15:63 .

For the general understanding of this business, it must be known,

1. That this work of casting lots was transacted with great seriousness and solemnity, in God’ s presence, with prayer and appeal to him for the decision of the matter.

2. That although an exact survey of this land was not taken till Jos 18:4,5 , yet there was, and must needs be, a general description of it, and a division thereof into nine parts and a half; which as far as they could guess, were equal either in quantity or in quality.

3. That the lot did not at this time so peremptorily and unchangeably determine each tribe, that their portion could neither be increased nor diminished; as is manifest, because after Judah’ s lot was fixed, Simeon’ s lot was taken out of it, Jos 19:9 , though after the land was more distinctly known and surveyed, Jos 18 , it is likely the bounds were more certain and fixed.

4. That the lot determined only in general what part or quarter of the land belonged to each tribe, but left the particulars to be determined by Joshua and Eleazar, &c. For the manner of this lottery, it is probably conceived that there were two urns or pots, into one of which were put the names of all the tribes, each in a distinct paper, and into the other the names of each portion described; then Eleazar, or some other person, drew out first the name of one of the tribes out of one pot, and then the name of one portion out of the other pot, and that portion was appropriated to that tribe; and so in the rest. And with respect to these pots, in the bottom of which the papers lay, these lots are oft said to come up , or come forth . The lot of the tribe of the children of Judah came out first by God’ s disposition, as a note of his preeminency above his brethren. Edom lay south-east from Judah’ s portion.

MHCC: Joshua (Book Introduction)

Here is the history of Israel's passing into the land of Canaan, conquering and dividing it, under the command of Joshua, and their history until his death. The power and truth of God in fulfilling his promises to Israel, and in executing his justly threatened vengeance on the Canaanites, are wonderfully displayed. This should teach us to regard the tremendous curses denounced in the word of God against impenitent sinners, and to seek refuge in Christ Jesus.

MHCC: Joshua 15 (Chapter Introduction)

(Jos 15:1-12) The borders of the lot of Judah.

(Jos 15:13-19) Caleb's portion, His daughter's blessing.

(v. 20-63) The cities of Judah.

Matthew Henry: Joshua (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of Joshua

I. We have now before us the history of the Jewish nation in this book and those that follow it to the end of the book of Esther. These books, to he end of the books of the Kings, the Jewish writers call the first book of the prophets, to bring them within the distribution of the books of the Old Testament, into the Law, the Prophets, and the Chetubim, or Hagiographa, Luk 24:44. The rest they make part of the Hagiographa. For, though history is their subject, it is justly supposed that prophets were their penmen. To those books that are purely and properly prophetical the name of the prophet is prefixed, because the credibility of the prophecies depended much upon the character of the prophets; but these historical books, it is probable, were collections of the authentic records of the nation, which some of the prophets (and the Jewish church was for many ages more or less continually blessed with such) were divinely directed and helped to put together for the service of the church to the end of the world; as their other officers, so their historiographers, had their authority from heaven. - It should seem that though the substance of the several histories was written when the events were fresh in memory, and written under a divine direction, yet, under the same direction, they were put into the form in which we now have them by some other hand, long afterwards, probably all by the same hand, or about the same time. The grounds of the conjecture are, 1. Because former writings are so often referred to, as the Book of Jasher (Jos 10:13, and 2Sa 1:18), the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and Judah, and the books of Gad, Nathan, and Iddo. 2. Because the days when the things were done are spoken of sometimes as days long since passed; as 1Sa 9:9, He that is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer. And, 3. Because we so often read of things remaining unto this day; as stones (Jos 4:9; Jos 7:26; Jos 8:29; Jos 10:27; 1Sa 6:18), names of places (Jos 5:9; Jos 7:26; Jdg 1:26; Jdg 15:19; Jdg 18:12; 2Ki 14:7), rights and possessions (Jdg 1:21; 1Sa 27:6), customs and usages (1Sa 5:5; 2Ki 17:41), which clauses have been since added to the history by the inspired collectors for the confirmation and illustration of it to those of their own age. And, if one may offer a mere conjecture, it is not unlikely that the historical books, to the end of the Kings, were put together by Jeremiah the prophet, a little before the captivity; for it is said of Ziklag (1Sa 27:6) that it pertains to the kings of Judah (which style began after Solomon and ended in the captivity) unto this day. And it is still more probable that those which follow were put together by Ezra the scribe, some time after the captivity. However, though we are in the dark concerning their authors, we are in no doubt concerning their authority; they were a part of the oracles of God, which were committed to the Jews, and were so received and referred to by our Saviour and the apostles.

In the five books of Moses we had a very full account of the rise, advance, and constitution, of the Old Testament church, the family out of which it was raised, the promise, that great charter by which it was incorporated, the miracles by which it was built up, and the laws and ordinances by which it was to be governed, from which one would conceive and expectation of its character and state very different from what we find in this history. A nation that had statutes and judgments so righteous, one would think, should have been very holy; and a nation what had promises so rich should have been very happy. But, alas! a great part of the history is a melancholy representation of their sins and miseries; for the law made nothing perfect, but this was to be done by the bringing in of the better hope. And yet, if we compare the history of the Christian church with its constitution, we shall find the same cause for wonder, so many have been its errors and corruptions; for neither does the gospel make any thing perfect in this world, but leaves us still in expectation of a better hope in the future state.

II. We have next before us the book of Joshua, so called, perhaps, not because it was written by him, for that is uncertain. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that Phinehas wrote it. Bishop Patrick is clear that Joshua wrote it himself. However that be, it is written concerning him, and, if any other wrote it, it was collected out of his journals or memoirs. It contains the history of Israel under the command and government of Joshua, how he presided as general of their armies, 1. In their entrance into Canaan, ch. 1-5. 2. In their conquest of Canaan, ch. 6-12. 3. In the distribution of the land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel, ch. 22-24. In all which he was a great example of wisdom, courage, fidelity, and piety, to all that are in places of public trust. But this is not all the use that is to be made of this history. We may see in it, 1. Much of God and his providence - his power in the kingdom of nature, his justice in punishing the Canaanites when the measure of their iniquity was full, his faithfulness to his covenant with the patriarchs, and his kindness to his people Israel, notwithstanding their provocations. We may see him as the Lord of Hosts determining the issues of war, and as the director of the lot, determining the bounds of men's habitations. 2. Much of Christ and his grace. Though Joshua is not expressly mentioned in the New Testament as a type of Christ, yet all agree that he was a very eminent one. He bore our Saviour's name, as did also another type of him, Joshua the high priest, Zec 6:11, Zec 6:12. The Septuagint, giving the name of Joshua a Greek termination, call him all along Iesous Jesus, and so he is called Act 7:45, and Heb 4:8. Justin Martyr, one of the first writers of the Christian church ( Dialog. cum Tryph. p. mihi 300), makes that promise in Exo 23:20, My angel shall bring thee into the place I have prepared, to point at Joshua; and these words, My name is in him, to refer to this, that his names should be the same with that of the Messiah. It signifies, He shall save. Joshua saves God's people from the Canaanites; our Lord Jesus saves them from their sins. Christ, as Joshua, is the captain of our salvation, a leader and commander of the people, to tread Satan under their feet, to put them in possession of the heavenly Canaan, and to give them rest, which (it is said, Heb 4:8) Joshua did not.

Matthew Henry: Joshua 15 (Chapter Introduction)

Though the land was not completely conquered, yet being (as was said in the close of the foregoing chapter) as rest from war for the present, and their armies all drawn out of the field to a general rendezvous at Gilgal, there they began to divide the land, though the work was afterwards perfected at Shiloh, Jos 18:1, etc. In this chapter we have the lot of the tribe of Judah, which in this, as in other things, had the precedency. I. The borders or bounds of the inheritance of Judah (Jos 15:1-12). II. The particular assignment of Hebron and the country thereabout to Caleb and his family (Jos 15:13-19). III. The names of the several cities that fell within Judah's lot (v. 20-63).

Constable: Joshua (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The name of this book in Hebrew, Greek, and English comes from the principle character in it rather than from the writer. Joshua may or may not have been the writer of this book.

The title is appropriate because "Joshua" means, "Yahweh saves." Joshua is the Hebrew name that translates into Aramaic as Jesus. What Jesus is to God's people in a larger sense Joshua was to the Israelites in a smaller sense. Joshua brought God's people into the realization of many of God's plans and purposes for them. This book is a record of God's deliverance of the Israelites into what He had promised them.

In the English Bible, Joshua is one of the historical books (Genesis through Esther). In the Hebrew Bible, it is in the second of the three main divisions of the Old Testament, namely, the Prophets. The Law and the Writings are the first and third divisions. Joshua is the first book in the first half of the Prophets, the Former Prophets. The Former Prophets section contains four books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) as does the second division, the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve [minor prophets]). The fact that the Hebrews included mainly historical books such as Joshua in the Prophets section reveals a basic attitude of God's people. They viewed what God revealed here not primarily as a historical record as much as an authoritative record of selected historical events designed to teach important spiritual lessons. We should recognize Joshua, therefore, not simply as a record of history but as a selective history intended to reveal God's will. In the Prophets section of the Old Testament, God revealed Himself through historical events as well as through the oracles of individual prophets.

"The Book of Joshua, like all other books of the Bible, is primarily a book of theology. Through it God has revealed himself and continues to do so."¹

Date and Writer

The Book of Joshua evidently came into being several years after the events recorded in the book took place. A number of statements point to a time of composition beyond the conquest and perhaps beyond the lifetime of Joshua. For example, the phrase "to this day" (4:9; 5:9; 6:25; 7:26; 8:28, 29; 9:27; 13:13; 14:14; 15:63; 16:10) refers to a time considerably after the events referred to happened. How much later is hard to say. These references point to a time of composition many years later than the actual occurrence of the events recorded.²

However the writer claims to have crossed the Jordan River when Israel entered the land (5:1 [marginal reading], 6). Therefore he must have written the book not too long after the conquest. This conclusion finds support in the general impression the reader receives that an eyewitness of the events recorded wrote the book. An editor may or may not have added the account of Joshua's death (24:29-33) to the book later (cf. Deut. 34:10-12). This depends on whether the writer wrote it before or after Joshua died.

According to Jewish tradition Joshua himself wrote the book.³ Many modern conservative Old Testament scholars believe that he did.⁴ However other good, conservative scholars believe the writer was not Joshua but a contemporary of his, possibly one of the elders of Israel.⁵ Many more scholars are unsure.⁶ I prefer the traditional view that Joshua wrote the book because I find the arguments of those who believe the writer could not have been Joshua unconvincing.

Scope

As I have explained previously, the date of the Exodus was about 1446 B.C. (cf. 1 Kings 6:1).⁷ Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness (Exod. 16:35; Num. 14:33-34). Thus Israel crossed the Jordan River and entered the land about 1406 B.C. The Book of Joshua therefore begins with events in or very close to the year 1406 B.C.

Josephus said the conquest of the land took five years.⁸ However when Caleb received his town of Hebron he said God had promised that he would enter Canaan 45 years earlier (14:10; cf. Num. 14:24). Since God gave that promise 38 years before Israel crossed the Jordan the conquest seems to have taken closer to seven years (ca. 1406-1399 B.C.). The record of this conquest occupies the first half of the Book of Joshua.

When Caleb said these words he was 85 years old (14:10). Joshua appears to have been about the same age as Caleb, perhaps a little younger. Joshua died when he was 110 (24:29). Assuming Joshua was 75 when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, the amount of time the Book of Joshua spans may be about 35 years.⁹

The first half of the book (chs. 1-12) covers about seven years. Most of this material, specifically, chapters 1-9, deals with events that probably happened in less than one full year.

Message¹⁰

Joshua reveals that God hates sin because He loves people. (This is the message statement.) Of course He also hates sin because it offends His holiness. However in Joshua I believe the emphasis is on God's concern for the Israelites more than the vindication of His holiness.

The writer of this book portrayed Yahweh as a God of war. This side of God's character has created problems for many people. How could God be loving and yet deal so severely with the Canaanites? In view of Jesus Christ's commands to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44) and be peacemakers (Matt. 5:9) how can we justify God's dealings with the Canaanites that this book records?

The righteous side of God's character is, of course, a consistent emphasis throughout Scripture. In the Pentateuch God dealt severely with all those who oppressed the patriarchs and their descendents (cf. Exod. 15:3). In the historical books we find the same thing. The psalmist referred to Yahweh as "mighty in battle" against the forces opposed to His will (e.g., Ps. 24:8; 45:3). The prophets, especially Jeremiah, warned that God will judge sin. In the Gospels we hear and see the wrath of God manifested in Jesus' words and works against the Pharisees for their sins. In the Book of Revelation, especially chapters 6-19, John pictured the wrath of God being poured out in judgment on the whole world. In Joshua, too, we see God commanding and leading the Israelites in violent mortal conflict with sinners.

The reason God wages war against sin and sinners is that He loves people and wants to save them from destruction by sin and its consequences (cf. Rom. 6:23). If God is not a God of war, then He cannot be a God of love.

We can see God's hatred of sin in His dealings with the Canaanites and in His dealings with the Israelites in Joshua.

In the Pentateuch we discovered many statements and warnings about the Canaanites. Their wickedness was great even in Abraham's day. The Sodomites were Canaanites (Gen. 19), but the measure of their iniquity was not yet full (Gen. 15:16; cf. Lev. 18:24-28). The Ras Shamra Tablets have shed much light on Canaanite religion and culture. Archaeologists discovered these written records in northwest Syria at the site of an ancient city, Ugarit. They date from the fourteenth century B.C., the time of the conquest by Joshua.

The Canaanites wrote them in the Ugaritic language in cuneiform script. These records reveal that Canaanite culture was extremely immoral and inhumane. The Canaanites practiced prostitution of both sexes, many kinds of sexual perversion, and human sacrifice widely. They were religious practices.

As Israel anticipated entering the land occupied by these people it was a case of destroy or be destroyed. In commanding the Israelites to annihilate the Canaanites God was performing surgery to remove a cancer from human society. He was not murdering an innocent primitive people as the liberal critics of the Bible used to say. God had been extremely patient with the Canaanite tribes. They had had hundreds of years to repent after the witness of Melchizedek, Abraham, and many other God-fearing people who had lived among them. Because they did not repent, God used Israel as a broom to sweep away their filth and purify the land. He did not drive the Canaanites out simply to make room for Israel. He did so also to remove this cancerous society and its malignant influence. Israel exercised considerable restraint in dealing with the Canaanites compared with the way some other ancient Near Eastern countries dealt with people they defeated. The Assyrians, for example, were very brutal.

God also manifested His hatred of sin in His dealings with the Israelites. We have seen this already in the Pentateuch as God disciplined His chosen people when they sinned. In Joshua, when Israel lusted after the things of Canaan He dealt with her severely. Achan's sin (ch. 7) affected the whole nation. God judged Achan as He did to teach the Israelites a strong lesson concerning how serious sin is. God's dealings with His own people were even more severe than His dealings with the Canaanites.

In short, Joshua reveals that God wages war against sin wherever He finds it. He patiently waits for people to repent, but if they do not judge sin themselves, He will judge it (Acts 17:30-31; 1 Cor. 11:31). God deals more severely with His own people than with others because privilege heightens responsibility.

Not only does Joshua reveal that God wages war against sin, but it also teaches us how He does it.

God uses the forces of nature to wage war against sin. He restrained the waters of a river, shook the walls of a city, sent hail from heaven, and lengthened the hours in a day to accomplish His purposes. God rarely works in as direct ways to judge sin today. This should not lead us to conclude that He never did or never will. He will again shake the heavens and the earth to bring down His wrath on sinners (cf. Rev. 6-19). We have the privilege of living in the day of His grace when God is being patient with sinners (2 Pet. 3:9-10). Nevertheless that day will end, and He will bring judgment on our world as He did on the world of the Canaanites.

God also uses people who are loyal to Him to wage war against sin. The people God used in Joshua were men and women of faith (Heb. 11:30). God's methods are unpredictable and often seem strange to His servants. They frequently appear foolish to us. Therefore God asks that we simply trust and obey Him. Faith in Joshua means refraining from what God forbids (e.g., at Ai) as well as doing all that God directs (e.g., at Jericho). Joshua is one of the clearest illustrations in the Bible that consistent trust in and obedience to the Word of God results in overcoming, victorious, powerful, successful living. Joshua clarifies three characteristics of faith.

1. Faith involves accepting God's standard of holiness. We tend to undervalue the need for personal and corporate holiness in our day because God is not judging sin immediately as He did in Joshua's day. This is the day of His patience. Nevertheless Joshua teaches that without holiness there can be no spiritual power or consistent victory in our experience (cf. 1:8; 24:19-25).

2. Faith also means abandonment to God's will. God has revealed in His Word how His people can experience all He wants them to have. Because God's ways are not the ways we would choose from our finite carnal viewpoint we have trouble trusting God and committing ourselves wholeheartedly to His will. The Israelites succeeded at Jericho as they did because they committed themselves completely to engaging in that battle as God had commanded. They did so even though it must have looked like suicide to obey.

3. Faith also involves achievement in God's might. It is God who wins the victories. Without God His people can do nothing productive (John 15:5). However with Him all things are possible (Matt. 19:26; Phil. 4:13). The Israelites learned this when they failed at Ai. Success does not really come as a result of our action as we obey God. It comes as a result of God's action working through instruments that He finds usable.

In summary, Joshua reveals that God hates sin. He is at war with it because it offends Him but also because it destroys the people He has created to have fellowship with Himself. God uses the forces of nature and people who are loyal to Him to root out sin and bring deliverance to His people. However the people He uses must accept His standard of holiness for themselves. They must abandon themselves to His way of doing things. They must also acknowledge that victories are the result of His might, not their own.

Constable: Joshua (Outline)

Outline

I. The conquest of the land chs. 1-12

A. Preparations for entering Canaan chs. 1-2

1. God's charge to Joshua 1:1-9

2. Joshua's charge to Israel 1:10-18

3. The spying out of Jericho ch. 2

B. Entrance into the land 3:1-5:12

1. Passage through the Jordan chs. 3-4

2. Circumcision and celebration of the Passover 5:1-12

C. Possession of the land 5:13-12:24

1. The conquest of Jericho 5:13-6:27

2. Defeat at Ai ch. 7

3. Victory at Ai 8:1-29

4. Renewal of the covenant 8:30-35

5. The treaty with the Gibeonites ch. 9

6. Victory over the Amorite alliance at Gibeon 10:1-27

7. Other conquests in southern Canaan 10:28-43

8. Conquests in northern Canaan 11:1-15

9. Summary of Joshua's conquests 11:16-12:24

II. The division of the land chs. 13-21

A. The land yet to be possessed 13:1-7

B. The land east of the Jordan 13:8-33

C. The land west of the Jordan chs. 14-19

1. The rationale for the allotments 14:1-5

2. Caleb's inheritance 14:6-15

3. Judah's inheritance ch. 15

4. Joseph's inheritance chs. 16-17

5. Survey of the remaining land 18:1-10

6. The inheritance of the remaining tribes 18:11-19:51

D. The special cities 20:1-21:42

1. The cities of refuge ch. 20

2. The cities of the Levites 21:1-42

E. The faithfulness of God 21:43-45

III. Joshua's final acts and death chs. 22-24

A. The return of the two and one-half tribes to their inheritances ch. 22

B. Joshua's farewell address to the Israelites ch. 23

1. A reminder of past blessings 23:1-13

2. A warning of possible future cursing 23:14-16

C. Israel's second renewal of the covenant 24:1-28

1. Preamble 24:1

2. Historical prologue 24:2-13

3. Covenant stipulations 24:14-24

4. Provisions for the preservation of the covenant 24:25-28

D. The death and burial of Joshua and Eleazar 24:29-33

Constable: Joshua

Joshua

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Horn, Siegfried H. Biblical Archaeology: A Generation of Discovery. Washington: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1985.

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Jacobsen, Henry. Claiming God's Promises. New ed. Bible Knowledge series. Wheaton: Scripture Press, 1963.

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Jefferys, William H. "Sun, Stand Thou Still': An Astronomical Critique of a Creationist Biblical Chronology." Creation/Evolution 21 (Summer 1987):18-30.

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Josephus, Flavius. The Works of Flavius Josephus. Translated by William Whiston. Antiquities of the Jews. London: T. Nelson and Sons, 1866.

Kallai, Zecharia. "The Conquest of Northern Palestine in Joshua and Judges." Proceedings of the Fifth World Congress of Jewish Studies. Vol 1. Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 1969.

Kearney, Peter J. "The Role of the Gibeonites in the Deuteronomic History." Catholic Biblical Quarterly 35:1 (1973):1-19.

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Kelso, J. L. Archaeology and Our Old Testament Contemporaries. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1966.

Kemp, Barry J. "Preliminary Report on the El-'Amarna Expedition, 1981-2." Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 69:5 (1983):5-24.

Kempinski, Aharon. "Joshua's Altar--An Iron Age I Watchtower." Biblical Archaeology Review 12:1 (January-February 1986):42, 44-49.

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_____. The Bible In Its World. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1977.

_____. "The Old Testament in its Context: 2 From Egypt to the Jordan." Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 60 (1971):3-11.

_____. "The Old Testament in its Context: 3 From Joshua to Solomon." Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 61 (1971):5-14.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Joshua (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION.

THE BOOK OF JOSUE.

This book is called Josue , because it contains the history of what passed under him, and, according to the common opinion, was written by him. The Greeks call him Jesus; for Josue and Jesus, in the Hebrew, are the same name, and have the same signification, viz., A Saviour. And it was not without a mystery, that he who was to bring the people into the land of promise, should have his name changed from Osee (for so he was called before, Numbers xiii. 17,) to Josue , or Jesus , to give us to understand, the Moses, by his law, could only bring the people within sight of the promised inheritance, but that our Saviour, Jesus , was to bring us into it. (Challoner) --- The Hebrews who had been so rebellious under Moses, behaved with remarkable fidelity and respect towards his successor; who, by these means, more forcibly represented the Christian Church, (Du Hamel) which will be ever obedient to her divine head and observe his directions. Josue had been trained up a long time under the hand of Moses, and God had given him the commission to govern his people, in so public a manner, that no one offered to claim that high and arduous office. In effect, the whole conduct of Josue before and after his exaltation, shewed him to be most deserving of command. (Haydock) --- Josue, says the Holy Ghost, (Ecclesiasticus xlvi. 1,) was successor of Moses among the prophets , or, according to the Greek, "in prophecies." Many explain this of the obligation incumbent on him, to continue the sacred history (Calmet) and revelations where Moses had left off. The last chapter of this book informs us that he did so. Perhaps some additions, by way of farther explication, have been made by subsequent inspired writers, though most of the passages which are adduced to prove this assertion, seem to be of little force. Respecting the death of Josue, we may make the same observations as on that of Moses. It may have been written by the author of the Book of Judges. Theodoret seems to have thought that the work before us, was compiled out of the public registers, which are quoted chap. x. under the name of the book of the Lord . See Numbers xxi. 14. The Samaritans have a book or chronicle of Josue, which relates in 39 or 47 chapters, many facts of scriptural history, (Haydock) down to the reign of Adrian, intermingled with a variety of fables. It seems to be of modern date. Hottinger undertook to publish it in Latin, but was prevented by death. (Calmet) --- The true history of Josue sets before us the passage of the Jordan, the conquest of Chanaan, and the distribution of the country. After the pious general had performed all that could be expected from him, after he had twice ratified the covenant between God and his people, and exhorted the latter, with his last breath, to observe an inviolable fidelity to the only Lord, he departed this life in peace, in the 110th year of his age, and was buried at Thamnath Sare, which he had built for the place of his abode. (Haydock) --- As the five books of Moses contain the law, intermixed with history, so this first of the historical books exhibits a variety of useful precepts and predictions. The prophetical and sapiential books must be considered in the same light. (Worthington) --- They all tend to promote true wisdom and the salvation of men, provided they be perused in the same spirit with which they were written. (Haydock)

Gill: Joshua (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA

The Jews distinguish the prophets into former and latter; the first of the former prophets is Joshua, or Sepher Joshua, the book of Joshua, as it is commonly called in the Hebrew copies; the Syriac inscription is,

"the book of Joshua, the son of Nun, the disciple of Moses:''

in the Arabic version it is reckoned a book of the judges, which adds,

"the first among the judges of the children of Israel was Joshua, the son of Nun, the twenty eighth from Adam, who reigned over Israel after the Prophet Moses.''

This book bears the name of Joshua, either because it is concerning him, his actions and exploits in the land of Canaan, or because it was written by him, or both; though some ascribe it to Ezra, and others to Isaiah; but it must have been written before the times of Ahab, as appears from 1Ki 16:34; and even before the times of David, as is clear from Jos 15:63, compared with 2Sa 5:6; for though mention is made in it of the mountains of Judah and of Israel, from whence some have concluded, that the writer must have lived after the times of Rehoboam, in whose days the kingdom was divided; yet we find the distinction of Israel and Judah took place before, even in the times of David and Asaph, Psa 76:1; It is most likely that this book was written by Joshua himself, as the Jews in their Talmud ^a assert; and, indeed, who more fit for it than himself? and if written or put together by another, it is most probable that it was taken out of his diary, annals, or memoirs; and though there are some things recorded in it, which were done after his death, these might be inserted under a divine direction and influence by Eleazar, or Phinehas, or Samuel, to each of whom some ascribe the writing of this book, just as Joshua is supposed to add some verses concerning Moses at the end of the Pentateuch: however, be it wrote by whom it may, there is no doubt to be made of the divine inspiration and authenticity of it by us Christians, since some histories recorded in it are taken from it, or referred to, in Heb 11:30; and the promise made to Joshua is quoted, and applied to every believer, Heb 13:5; and the Apostle James refers to the case of Rahab, her character and conduct in it, Jam 2:25. The subject matter of this book is Joshua's taking upon him the government of the children of Israel, after the death of Moses, by a divine commission, exhortation, and encouragement given him to engage in war with the Canaanites; his conquests of them, the division of the land of Canaan to the children of Israel, and their settlement in it. It is of great use not only to give us the geography of the land of Canaan, and the history of the church of God, from the death of Moses to the times of the judges; but shows the exact fulfilment of prophecy, and the faithfulness of God to his promises in giving the land of Canaan to Israel, according to those made to their fathers, and the justice of God in punishing the Canaanites for their abominable sins, as had been foretold; and the wonderful care, of God, and his love to the people of Israel in preserving and protecting them, and in settling them in such a good land, notwithstanding all their murmurings, ingratitude, and unbelief, in the wilderness; and may serve to lead us to Christ, whose type Joshua was in the whole affair here related: his name has the signification of the salvation of the Lord in and he is by the Greek writers, and so in the New Testament, called Jesus, a Saviour, Act 7:45, Heb 4:8; and as they agree in their name, so they do in their state, condition, and character; Joshua was a servant of Moses, Christ was made under the law, and became subject to it, both moral and ceremonial; and also in their office, Joshua was the governor of Israel, and the commander of their forces, for which he was well qualified with wisdom, courage, and integrity; Christ is King of saints, the Leader and Commander of the people, who has fought their battles for them, being abundantly qualified, having the spirit of wisdom, counsel, might, and of the fear of the Lord, resting on him. Joshua was a type of Christ in various actions of his; in leading the people through the river Jordan, an emblem either of baptism, or of afflictions, or of death itself, in which Christ is with his people, and carries them through; in saving Rahab and her family, so Christ saves the worst and chief of sinners; in receiving the Gibeonites, who submitted to him, as Christ does all that come to him; in his conquest of the several kings of the Canaanites, so Christ has conquered all the spiritual enemies of his people, sin, Satan, and the world; in bringing and settling the people of Israel in the land of Canaan, their rest, and dividing it to them by lot, which Moses might not do; so Christ only brings souls into the true rest, into spiritual rest here, and eternal rest hereafter; in whom they obtain the inheritance of the heavenly glory by lot, and by whom only they enjoy salvation and eternal life, and not by the works of the law. This book contains an history of Joshua, of his government, his acts and deeds, from the death of Moses to his own; how long that was is not certain; the Jewish chronologers ^b observe, that the time of his principality we find not in the text; though they ^c say he succeeded Moses when he was eighty two years of age, and governed Israel twenty eight years; Eupolemus ^d, an Heathen writer, says thirty years. Christian writers commonly make his reign to be twenty seven years ^e; but an Arabic writer ^f stretches it further to thirty one years; he says, he took the government of the people in the seventy ninth year of his age, and reigned thirty one; but it seems more probable that he was ninety three years of age when Moses died, who lived to be an hundred ten, so that only seventeen years intervened between the death of the one and of the other; seven years Joshua was in subduing the land, and ten years more were taken up in dividing it to the people, and settling them in it, and in the government of them; after which Eleazar might rule ten years more, whose death is mentioned in it; so indeed the book may be reckoned an history of twenty seven years, though Joshua lived only seventeen of them. The Chronicle, to which the Samaritans give the name of the book of Joshua, is a spurious work; an epitome of which Hottinger ^g has compiled, and translated out of the Arabic exemplar into Latin.

Gill: Joshua 15 (Chapter Introduction)

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.