Joshua 19:1-9. The Territory of the Tribe of Simeon
1. _And the second lot_ drawn at Shiloh, fell to the tribe of Simeon,
which, during the journey through the wilderness, marched on the south
side of the Sacred Tent, with Reuben and Gad for its associates.
_for the tribe of the children of Simeon... [ Continue Reading ]
_And they had in their inheritance First Group_. 1. _Beersheba_, see
note ch. Joshua 15:28; or _Shema_, so ch. Joshua 15:26: comp. 1
Chronicles 4:28 with Genesis 26:33; Genesis 2. _Moladah = el-Milh_,
see ch. Joshua 15:26, about four English miles from _Tel Arad_,
eighteen from Hebron, and nine or t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hazar-shual_ Between Beer-sheba and Hazar-gaddah; see 1 Chronicles
4:28; 1 Chronicles 4. _Balah_, see ch. Joshua 15:29; in 1 Chronicles
4:29 it is called _Bilhah_; 5. _Azem_, elsewhere called _Ezem_, 1
Chronicles 4:29;... [ Continue Reading ]
_Eltolad_ See ch. Joshua 15:30 and 1 Chronicles 4:29; 1 Chronicles 7.
_Bethul_, which in the parallel lists, ch. Joshua 15:30 and 1
Chronicles 4:30, appears under the forms of _Chesil_or _Bethuel_; 8.
_Hormah_, or Zephath (Judges 1:17), reduced by Joshua, was originally
included in the territory of... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ziklag_ See ch. Joshua 15:31, identified by Rowlands and Wilton
(_Negeb_, p. 209) with _Asloodg_or _Kasloodg_; (_a_) Achish bestowed
the town upon David; (_b_) here David resided upwards of one year and
four months (1Sa 27:7; 1 Samuel 30:14; 1 Samuel 30:26); (_c_) here he
received the news of Saul'... [ Continue Reading ]
_Beth-lebaoth_ contrasted with _Lebaoth_above, Joshua 15:32, is called
_Beth-birei_in 1 Chronicles 4:31; 1 Chronicles 13. _Sharuhen =
Shilhim_in Joshua 15:32 = _Shaaraim_, 1 Chronicles 4:31.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Second Group_. 1. _Ain_= an "_eye_" and also in the vivid imagery of
the East, a spring or natural burst of living water, always
distinguished from the artificial "well" or "tank" = _Beer_or _Bor_.
It generally occurs in combination with other words, defining the
locality as _En-gedi, En-gannim, En... [ Continue Reading ]
_and all the villages that were round about_ i.e. Simeon, not merely
certain cities in the territory of Judah, but the whole country round
the cities named, together with all the villages that were situated
near them.
_to Baalath-beer_ See above, ch. Joshua 15:24 or 29, = _Baal_in 1
Chronicles 4:33... [ Continue Reading ]
_of the children of Simeon_ In this "_Negeb_" or "_land of the
south_," Simeon now took up his abode. Like Reuben on the east of
Jordan, the tribe was destined to have little influence on the
subsequent history, to be _divided in Jacob and scattered in
Israel_(Genesis 49:5-7). In the prophecy of Mos... [ Continue Reading ]
The Territory of the Tribe of Zebulun
10. _And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun_ The tribe
descended from the tenth of the sons of Jacob (Genesis 30:19-20), and
the sixth and last of the sons of Leah (Genesis 35:23; Genesis 46:14).
During the journey from Egypt to Palestine, the tr... [ Continue Reading ]
_and went up_ From Sarid the southern border _went up toward the sea
in a westerly direction, and that as far as Maralah_, somewhere on the
mountains of Carmel, _and touched upon Dabbasheth_(_Camel's hump_),
the site of which is unknown, _the stream which is before Jokneam_. In
ch. Joshua 12:22, Jok... [ Continue Reading ]
_and turned from Sarid eastward_ As the border turned from Sarid
westward, so also it turned from the same point _toward the east,
toward the sunrising_, unto the border of
_Chisloth-tabor_ now _Iksâl_, a rocky height two miles and a half to
the west of Mount Tabor. Robinson's _Bib. Res_. iii. 182.... [ Continue Reading ]
_to Gittah-hepher_ From Japhia the border ran still in an easterly
direction, "toward the rising of the sun," "to Gittah-hepher, to
Ittah-kazin, and went out unto Remmon, which stretches to Neah."
_Gittah-hepher_ or _Gath-hepher_, was not far from _Yâfa_, and has
been identified with the modern _el... [ Continue Reading ]
_and the border compasseth it_ The meaning seems to be "and the border
went round it (Neah) northward to Hannathon; and the outgoings thereof
were in the valley of Jiphthah-el."
_compasseth it_ For "compass" see above, note on ch. Joshua 15:3.
_Hannathon_ ("pleasant"), which some have identified w... [ Continue Reading ]
_and Kattath_ The account of the cities here appears to be imperfect.
We have only the names of five cities given, though there are said to
have been "twelve cities and their villages." There is nothing to
which the list of terms here given, introduced by _and_, can be
attached.
_Kattath_ This also... [ Continue Reading ]
_This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun_ It is evidently
impossible in the present state of our knowledge exactly to define the
limits of this tribe. But it seems to have reached on the one side
nearly to the lake of Gennesareth, and on the other to Carmel and the
Mediterranean. It enclo... [ Continue Reading ]
Inheritance of the Tribe of Issachar
17. _And the fourth lot_ came forth to the tribe of Issachar, whose
place during the journey to Canaan had been on the east of the
tabernacle, side by side with his brothers Judah and Zebulun, the
group moving foremost in the march (Numbers 2:5; Numbers 10:15).... [ Continue Reading ]
_And their border_ lay above that of Manasseh, and, according to
Josephus, "extended in length from Carmel to the Jordan, and in
breadth to Mount Tabor."
_was toward Jezreel_ Observe in this verse that the description of the
boundaries of this tribe, though begun, is not continued. Instead, the
nam... [ Continue Reading ]
_Hapharaim_ is mentioned above as the residence of a Canaanitish king,
see ch. Joshua 12:17; _Shihon_is not found; _Anaharath_, too, has not
been identified.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Rabbith, Kishion_(1 Chronicles 6:72), _Abez, Remeth_(1 Chronicles
6:73), are all unknown.
_En-gannim = the spring of the gardens_, the modern _Jenîn_. Even now
it justifies its ancient name; for the village lies, according to
Robinson, _Bib. Res_. iii. 155, "in the midst of gardens of fruit
trees,... [ Continue Reading ]
_and the coast reacheth to Tabor_ Not the mountain, but a town upon
the mountain, given to the Levites (1 Chronicles 6:77), and to
_Shahazimah_and _Beth-shemesh_. The site of neither of these places is
known, for the Beth-shemesh here mentioned is not the town of that
name in the tribe of Judah (ch.... [ Continue Reading ]
_This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar_
Then, as it still is, among the richest land in Palestine. "Westward
was the famous plain which derived its name from its fertility. On the
north is Tabor, which even under the burning sun of the climate is
said to retain the glades... [ Continue Reading ]
The Inheritance of the Tribe of Asher
24. _And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of
Asher_ who were descended from the eighth son of Jacob, and in the
march through the desert closed the long procession side by side with
Dan and Naphtali, with the standard of Dan, an "eagle with... [ Continue Reading ]
_And their border_ The general position of the tribe was on the slope
of the Galilean mountains from Carmel northwards, with Manasseh on the
south, Zebulun and Issachar on the south-east, and Naphtali on the
north-east, a narrow, but beautiful and fertile region.
_And their border was Helkath_ The... [ Continue Reading ]
_Alammelech, and Amad_, are at present unknown. _Misheal_has been
identified with _Misalli_at the northern extremity of the plain of
Sharon.
_and reacheth to Carmel_ This boundary struck Carmel on the west and
Shihor-libnath, somewhere to the south of that range.
_Shihor-libnath_ Not, as some have... [ Continue Reading ]
_and turneth toward the sunrising_ From the _Shihor-libnath_, the
border, still keeping to the south of Carmel, turned in an easterly
direction towards _Beth-dagon_, of which we know as little as of the
Beth-dagon of Judah, above, Joshua 15:41.
_and reacheth to Zebulun_ Thence it trended in a north... [ Continue Reading ]
_and Hebron_ The main portion of Asher having been described, the
northern portion is now defined more particularly.
_Hebron_ Instead of Hebron we find Abdon in ch. Joshua 21:30, and 1
Chronicles 6:74. But twenty MSS. and all the ancient versions read
_Hebron_. See Keil's _Commentary_.
_Rehob, Ham... [ Continue Reading ]
_and then the coast turneth to Ramah_ Having reached Zidon by Kanah,
the boundary bent southward by Ramah, and so turned to the "strong,"
or "fortified city" of Tyre. Robinson would identify Ramah with
_Rameh_, south-east of Tyre, on a solitary hill in the midst of a
basin of green fields, and surro... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ummah also_ Of the three cities here mentioned, _Ummah, Aphek_, and
_Rehob_, the first and third are unknown. Aphek apparently lay in the
extreme north of Asher, and is probably the same place as that alluded
to above, ch. Joshua 13:4, beyond Sidon, the Aphaca of classical, and
the Afka of modern,... [ Continue Reading ]
_the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher_ The territory
of Asher extended from the _Nahr Zerka_on the south, to Zidon on the
north, and contained some of the richest soil of the country, and the
maritime portion of the fertile plain of Esdraelon, and commanded all
approaches to Palesti... [ Continue Reading ]
The Territory of the Tribe of Naphtali
32. _The sixth lot_ fell out to the tribe descended from Naphtali, the
fifth son of the patriarch Jacob, which, during the march through the
wilderness, occupied a position north of the Tabernacle, side by side
with Dan and Asher (Numbers 2:25-31), and at the... [ Continue Reading ]
_And their coast_ The territory appropriated to the tribe was bounded
(_a_) on the _west_by Asher, (_b_) on the _south_by Zebulun and
Issachar, (_c_) on the _east_by the Sea of Gennesaret and the Jordan,
while (_d_) on the _north_it reached far up into Cœle-Syria, "the
splendid valley which separate... [ Continue Reading ]
_and then the coast turneth_ From the Jordan on the east, the southern
border of Naphtali turned westward to Aznoth-tabor, not identified,
but probably a border town on the line which separated this tribe from
Issachar, and "struck," or coincided with, Zebulun on the south and
Asher on the west. The... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the fenced cities_ Note the expression and the number of them in
this locality. "It was no doubt good policy to protect the northern
frontier by a belt of fortresses, as the south was protected by the
fenced cities of Judah." _The Speaker's Commentary_in loc. _Ziddim_and
_Zer_are unknown.
_Hamm... [ Continue Reading ]
_Adamah_ is unknown, as also _Ramah_, which must not be mistaken for
the Ramah of Joshua 19:29.
_Hazor_ See above, Joshua 11:1; Joshua 11:6-10. Dr Robinson would
identify it with _Tel Khuraibeh_, Captain Wilson and Anderson with
_Tel Hara_. "Here were found the remains of an ancient fortress, a
city... [ Continue Reading ]
_Kedesh_ or _Kedesh Naphtali_(_=_" _the Holy Place of Naphtali_"), see
above, ch. Joshua 12:22, originally, as we have seen, was a royal, and
probably a sacred city of the Canaanites. It was conquered by Joshua
(ch. Joshua 12:22), and made subsequently "a city of refuge." Here
(_a_) Barak was born;... [ Continue Reading ]
_Iron_ has not been identified. _Migdal-el_has been by some supposed
to be the Magdala of Matthew 15:39, the place of which is now occupied
by a miserable collection of hovels known as _el-Mejdel_, on the
western side of the Lake of Gennesareth, and at the S. E. corner of
the plain. Neither _Horem,... [ Continue Reading ]
_This is the inheritance_ The territory appropriated to Naphtali was
thus enclosed on three sides by that of other tribes. (_a_) On the
_west_was Asher, (_b_) on the _south_Zebulun, (_c_) and on the
_east_Manasseh beyond the Jordan. Cut off from the great plain of
Esdraelon by the mass of the mounta... [ Continue Reading ]
The Inheritance of the Tribe of Dan
40. _the seventh lot_ came out to the smallest of all the tribes, that
of Dan, descended from the fifth son of Jacob. The position of the
tribe during the march through the wilderness had been on the north
side of the Tabernacle, the hindmost of the long processi... [ Continue Reading ]
_And the coast_ allotted to the tribe, in spite of the numbers just
mentioned, was the smallest of all. Compressed into the narrow space
between the north-western hills of Judah and the Mediterranean, it was
surrounded by the three most powerful tribes of the whole confederacy,
Ephraim and Benjamin... [ Continue Reading ]
_Shaalabbin =_" _the place of foxes_;" comp. the story of Samson,
Judges 15:4. It appears in 1 Kings 4:9 as the home of one of David's
"mighty men." For _Ajalon_see above, ch. Joshua 10:12; _Jethlah_has
not been identified.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Elon_ The site of this place is still undiscovered. For
_Thimnathah_see above, ch. Joshua 15:1; for _Ekron_, Joshua 13:3.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Eltekeh, and Gibbethon_ occur as Levitical cities in ch. Joshua
21:23. The sites are not identified; _Baalath_may be _Deir Balût_. It
was fortified by Solomon (1 Kings 9:18), and is placed by Josephus
near Gezer. See Jos. _Ant_. viii. 6. 1.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jehud_ may, it is thought, be still traced in the village of
_El-Yehudiyeh_in the district of Lydda. Robinson's _Bib. Res_. iii.
45. _Bene-berak_has not been identified; _Gath-rimmon_we find (ch.
Joshua 21:24) given to the Levites, but the site is unknown.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Me-jarkon, and Rakkon_ still remain to be discovered.
_with the border before Japho_ i.e. with the whole district extending
to the suburbs opposite to Japho.
_Japho_ ("_beauty_") is the Hebrew form of the more familiar Joppa (2
Chronicles 2:16; Ezekiel 3:7). It was situated on the south-west coast... [ Continue Reading ]
_went out too little for them_ The words "too little" are inserted in
our Version. They are not found in the original Hebrew, which
literally means, THE BORDER OF THE CHILDREN OF DAN WENT OUT FROM THEM,
i.e. THE BORDER OF THE CHILDREN OF DAN WAS EXTENDED. "Squeezed into
the narrow strip between the... [ Continue Reading ]
_This is the inheritance of the tribe … of Dan_ In length it extends
but 14 miles from Joppa to Ekron, but it was one of the most fertile
tracts in the land, the cornfield and garden of southern Palestine.
The dying Jacob had said of the tribe (Genesis 49:16):
"Dan shall _judge_his people,
As one... [ Continue Reading ]
The Inheritance Assigned to Joshua
49. _When they had made an end_ After all the tribes had been provided
for, a modest inheritance was assigned to their noble-hearted leader,
who with unselfish generosity was contented with far less than many
others would have claimed under similar circumstances.... [ Continue Reading ]
_according to the word of the Lord_ We do not find any Divine
injunction in the Pentateuch to the effect that Joshua was to receive
a special portion in the Land of Canaan. But as Caleb had received a
definite promise of the same kind, which is not to be found in its
literal form in the Pentateuch,... [ Continue Reading ]