Joshua 15

¹This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast.

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).

²And their south border was from the shore of the salt sea, from the bay that looketh southward:

2. the bay--Hebrew, “tongue.” It pushes its waters out in this form to a great distance [Robinson].

³And it went out to the south side to Maalehacrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadeshbarnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa:

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.

⁵And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the end of Jordan. And their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan:

5. the end--that is, the mouth of the Jordan.

⁶And the border went up to Bethhogla, and passed along by the north of Betharabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben:

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.

⁷And the border went up toward Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is before the going up to Adummim, which is on the south side of the river: and the border passed toward the waters of Enshemesh, and the goings out thereof were at Enrogel:

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.

¹³And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a part among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, even the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron.

13. unto Caleb he gave a part among the children of Judah--(See on Jos 14:6).

¹⁴And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.

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.

¹⁵And he went up thence to the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher.

15. Debir--“oracle.” Its former name, Kirjath-sepher, signifies “city of the book,” being probably a place where public registers were kept.

¹⁶And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

¹⁷And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

¹⁸And it came to pass, as she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou?

¹⁹Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs.

²⁰This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.

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.

²¹And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur,

²²And Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adadah,

²³And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,

²⁴Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,

²⁵And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, and Hezron, which is Hazor,

²⁶Amam, and Shema, and Moladah,

²⁷And Hazargaddah, and Heshmon, and Bethpalet,

²⁸And Hazarshual, and Beersheba, and Bizjothjah,

²⁹Baalah, and Iim, and Azem,

³⁰And Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah,

³¹And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah,

³²And Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty and nine, with their villages:

³³And in the valley, Eshtaol, and Zoreah, and Ashnah,

³⁴And Zanoah, and Engannim, Tappuah, and Enam,

³⁵Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah,

³⁶And Sharaim, and Adithaim, and Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages:

³⁷Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdalgad,

³⁸And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,

³⁹Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon,

⁴⁰And Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Kithlish,

⁴¹And Gederoth, Bethdagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages:

⁴²Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan,

⁴³And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,

⁴⁴And Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages:

⁴⁵Ekron, with her towns and her villages:

⁴⁶From Ekron even unto the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages:

⁴⁷Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof:

⁴⁸And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh,

⁴⁹And Dannah, and Kirjathsannah, which is Debir,

⁵⁰And Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim,

⁵¹And Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages:

⁵²Arab, and Dumah, and Eshean,

⁵³And Janum, and Bethtappuah, and Aphekah,

⁵⁴And Humtah, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, and Zior; nine cities with their villages:

⁵⁵Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Juttah,

⁵⁶And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,

⁵⁷Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages:

⁵⁸Halhul, Bethzur, and Gedor,

⁵⁹And Maarath, and Bethanoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages:

⁶⁰Kirjathbaal, which is Kirjathjearim, and Rabbah; two cities with their villages:

⁶¹In the wilderness, Betharabah, Middin, and Secacah,

⁶²And Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and Engedi; six cities with their villages.

⁶³As 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 unto this day.

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.