1 The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south.
2 Their south border was from the uttermost part of the Salt Sea, from the bay that looks southward;
3 and it went out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea, and passed along by Hezron, and went up to Addar, and turned about to Karka;
4 and it passed along to Azmon, and went out at the brook of Egypt; and the goings out of the border were at the sea: this shall be your south border.
5 The east border was the Salt Sea, even to the end of the Jordan. The border of the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the end of the Jordan;
6 and the border went up to Beth Hoglah, and passed along by the north of Beth Arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben;
7 and the border went up to Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is over against the ascent of Adummim, which is on the south side of the river; and the border passed along to the waters of En Shemesh, and the goings out of it were at En Rogel;
8 and the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom to the side of the Jebusite southward (the same is Jerusalem); and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the uttermost part of the valley of Rephaim northward;
9 and the border extended from the top of the mountain to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron; and the border extended to Baalah (the same is Kiriath Jearim);
10 and the border turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and passed along to the side of Mount Jearim on the north (the same is Chesalon), and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed along by Timnah;
11 and the border went out to the side of Ekron northward; and the border extended to Shikkeron, and passed along to Mount Baalah, and went out at Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea.
12 The west border was to the great sea, and the border [of it]. This is the border of the children of Judah round about according to their families.
13 To Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a portion among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of Yahweh to Joshua, even Kiriath Arba, [which Arba was] the father of Anak (the same is Hebron).
14 Caleb drove out there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.
15 He went up there against the inhabitants of Debir: now the name of Debir before was Kiriath Sepher.
16 Caleb said, He who strikes Kiriath Sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.
17 Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter as wife.
18 It happened, when she came [to him], that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she alighted from off her donkey; and Caleb said, What would you?
19 She said, Give me a blessing; for that you have set me in the land of the South, give me also springs of water. He gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.
20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.
21 The uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the South were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur,
22 and Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adadah,
23 and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,
24 Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,
25 Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth, Hezron (the same is Hazor),
26 Amam, and Shema, and Moladah,
27 and Hazar Gaddah, and Heshmon, and Beth Pelet,
28 and Hazar Shual, and Beersheba, and Biziothiah,
29 Baalah, and Iim, and Ezem,
30 and Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah,
31 and Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah,
32 and Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages.
33 In the lowland, Eshtaol, and Zorah, and Ashnah,
34 and Zanoah, and En Gannim, Tappuah, and Enam,
35 Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah,
36 and Shaaraim, and Adithaim, and Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages.
37 Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdal-gad,
38 and Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,
39 Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon,
40 and Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Chitlish,
41 and Gederoth, Beth Dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.
42 Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan,
43 and Iphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,
44 and Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.
45 Ekron, with its towns and its villages;
46 from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages.
47 Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its villages; to the brook of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border [of it].
48 In the hill-country, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh,
49 and Dannah, and Kiriath Sannah (the same is Debir),
50 and Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim,
51 and Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages.
52 Arab, and Dumah, and Eshan,
53 and Janim, and Beth Tappuah, and Aphekah,
54 and Humtah, and Kiriath Arba (the same is Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.
55 Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Jutah,
56 and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.
58 Halhul, Beth Zur, and Gedor,
59 and Maarath, and Beth Anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages.
60 Kiriath Baal (the same is Kiriath Jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.
61 In the wilderness, Beth Arabah, Middin, and Secacah,
62 and Nibshan, and the City of Salt, and En Gedi; six cities with their villages.
63 As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah couldn't drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem to this day.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Joshua 15
Commentary on Joshua 15 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 15
Jos 15:1-12. Borders of the Lot of Judah.
1. This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah—In what manner the lot was drawn on this occasion the sacred historian does not say; but it is probable that the method adopted was similar to that described in Jos 18:10. Though the general survey of the country had not been completed, some rough draft or delineation of the first conquered part must have been made, and satisfactory evidence obtained that it was large enough to furnish three cantons, before all the tribes cast lots for them; and they fell to Judah, Ephraim, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The lot of Judah came first, in token of the pre-eminence of that tribe over all the others; and its destined superiority thus received the visible sanction of God. The territory, assigned to it as a possession, was large and extensive, being bounded on the south by the wilderness of Zin, and the southern extremity of the Salt Sea (Nu 34:3-5); on the east, by that sea, extending to the point where it receives the waters of the Jordan; on the north, by a line drawn nearly parallel to Jerusalem, across the country, from the northern extremity of the Salt Sea to the southern limits of the Philistine territory, and to the Mediterranean; and on the west this sea was its boundary, as far as Sihor (Wady El-Arish).
2. the bay—Hebrew, "tongue." It pushes its waters out in this form to a great distance [Robinson].
3. Maaleh-akrabbim—Hebrew, "the ascent of scorpions"; a pass in the "bald mountain" (see on Jos 11:17), probably much infested by these venomous reptiles.
5. the end—that is, the mouth of the Jordan.
6. Beth-hogla—now Ain Hajla, a fine spring of clear and sweet water, at the northern extremity of the Dead Sea, about two miles from the Jordan [Robinson].
Beth-arabah—"the house," or "place of solitude," in the desert of Judah (Jos 15:61).
stone of Bohan the son of Reuben—the sepulchral monument of a Reubenite leader, who had been distinguished for his bravery, and had fallen in the Canaanite war.
7. Achor—(see on Jos 7:26).
Adummim—a rising ground in the wilderness of Jericho, on the south of the little brook that flowed near Jericho (Jos 16:1).
En-shemesh—"the fountain of the sun"; "either the present well of the apostle, below Bethany, on the road to Jericho, or the fountain near to St. Saba" [Robinson].
En-rogel—"the fuller's fountain," on the southeast of Jerusalem, below the spot where the valleys of Jehoshaphat and Hinnom unite.
Jos 15:13-15. Caleb's Portion and Conquest.
13. unto Caleb he gave a part among the children of Judah—(See on Jos 14:6).
14. drove thence the three sons of Anak—rather three chiefs of the Anakim race. This exploit is recorded to the honor of Caleb, as the success of it was the reward of his trust in God.
15. Debir—"oracle." Its former name, Kirjath-sepher, signifies "city of the book," being probably a place where public registers were kept.
Jos 15:16-20. Othniel, for His Valor, Has Achsah to Wife.
16-20. He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher—This offer was made as an incentive to youthful bravery (see on 1Sa 17:25); and the prize was won by Othniel, Caleb's younger brother (Jud 1:13; 3:9). This was the occasion of drawing out the latent energies of him who was destined to be the first judge in Israel.
18, 19. as she came unto him—that is, when about to remove from her father's to her husband's house. She suddenly alighted from her travelling equipage—a mark of respect to her father, and a sign of making some request. She had urged Othniel to broach the matter, but he not wishing to do what appeared like evincing a grasping disposition, she resolved herself to speak out. Taking advantage of the parting scene when a parent's heart was likely to be tender, she begged (as her marriage portion consisted of a field which, having a southern exposure, was comparatively an arid and barren waste) he would add the adjoining one, which abounded in excellent springs. The request being reasonable, it was granted; and the story conveys this important lesson in religion, that if earthly parents are ready to bestow on their children that which is good, much more will our heavenly Father give every necessary blessing to them who ask Him.
Jos 15:21-63. Cities of Judah.
21-63. the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah—There is given a list of cities within the tribal territory of Judah, arranged in four divisions, corresponding to the districts of which it consisted—the cities in the southern part (Jos 15:21-32), those in the lowlands (Jos 15:33-47), those in the highlands (Jos 15:48-60), and those in the desert (Jos 15:61, 62). One gets the best idea of the relative situation of these cities by looking at the map.