Sin, or Sina, (ver. 3,) bordering upon Idumea, where the city of Cades-barne was situated, Numbers xiii. 22. It is now impossible to ascertain the precise situation of all the place mentioned in Scripture, as the land of Chanaan has been subject to so many changes. But this inconvenience attends all... [ Continue Reading ]
_Bay, ( lingua,) tongue. Chaldean, "a promontory," or rather a gulf. (Calmet)_... [ Continue Reading ]
_Scorpion. A mountain infested with those creatures, by which people travelled from Idumea into Chanaan, leaving Sina on the left._... [ Continue Reading ]
_Asemona, which lies nearest to the river of Egypt of all the cities of Juda, Numbers xxxiv. 4., chap. xiii. 3._... [ Continue Reading ]
_Jordan, where it discharges itself into the Dead Sea, or mixes its waters with the latter; which, as we observe, (chap. v. 16,) does not take place for three miles. (Haydock) --- the north-western part of this sea belonged to Benjamin._... [ Continue Reading ]
_Stone. It is not certain that this was a city._... [ Continue Reading ]
_Galgal. Hebrew Gilgal, may designate "the limits." The valley of Achor lay south of Galgal. --- Sun. Hebrew, "Hen-Shemesh." It was not "a city." --- Rogel, "of the fuller." This fountain was in the king's gardens, running eastward from Sion into the torrent of Cedron. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] vii.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Ennom. Hebrew, Ge-ben-Hinnom, or simply Ge-ennom, whence Gehanan has probably been formed. In this vale, children were immolated to Moloc: the beating of drums, to hinder their lamentations from being heard, caused it perhaps to be called Tophet. It was to the east of Jerusalem, (Calmet) inclining... [ Continue Reading ]
_Bethsames, "the house of the sun," was at the same distance, westward. Here the sight of the ark proved so fatal to 50,070 of the inhabitants, 1 Kings vi. 19. (Calmet)_... [ Continue Reading ]
_Arbe, who was the father, and the greatest man of the race of Enac, chap. xiv. 15. (Haydock)_... [ Continue Reading ]
_Enac. These three giants were at Hebron when the spies came thither, Numbers xiii._... [ Continue Reading ]
CHAPTER XV. _ Letters, as the Septuagint render it. St. Jerome adds this interpretation. (Haydock) --- It means literally "the city of the book." Senna, may also mean "instruction," ver. 49. Here probably a famous school was kept, before the arrival of the Israelites; or the archive of the nation m... [ Continue Reading ]
_Wife. Parents had full authority to do this. Saul promised his daughter to the person who should overcome Goliah[Goliath]. Something was required by way of dowry for the lady. (Grotius) (1 Kings xvii. 25.)_... [ Continue Reading ]
Brother. It is not clear in the original whether this relates to Cenez or to Othoniel, (Haydock) as younger is not found in [the] Hebrew but it is in the Syriac, Septuagint, and Judges i. 13. Many think that Cenez was the brother of Caleb. If Othoniel had been brother of the latter, they say he coul... [ Continue Reading ]
_Was moved; as the Syriac, Arabic, Junius, &c., represent the matter. Others render the Hebrew in a different sense: "she moved him to ask of her father a field, and she lighted off her ass, and Caleb said unto her," &c., which seems very abrupt, as she herself is represented as soliciting for the f... [ Continue Reading ]
_Blessing, or "favour, present," &c., 1 Kings xxv. 27. (Calmet) --- And dry. This is a farther explanation of southern; as the lands in that situation being exposed to the sun-beams, in Palestine, are often destitute of sufficient moisture, which is the cause of the sterility of Mount Hebal, &c. ---... [ Continue Reading ]
_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 Arab... [ Continue Reading ]
_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._... [ Continue Reading ]
_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._... [ Continue Reading ]
_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... [ Continue Reading ]
_Plains. Hebrew Schephela, near Eleutheropolis, chap. x. 40. --- Estaol was afterwards given to Dan. Samson was buried near it and Sarea, Judges xvi._... [ Continue Reading ]
_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._... [ Continue Reading ]
_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._... [ Continue Reading ]
_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._... [ Continue Reading ]
_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 sch\'9cnus, or cords, each of which consisted of at least 30 stadia. (Cellarius)_... [ Continue Reading ]
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 Kar... [ Continue Reading ]
_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 ar... [ Continue Reading ]
_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, (Haydoc... [ Continue Reading ]