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 ]