Deeper Commentary
Jos 15:2 Their south border was from the uttermost part of the Salt Sea,
from the bay that looks southward-
This implies detailed geographical knowledge of the southern part of
the Dead Sea. It is doubtful anyone knew that area, and so we have here
the direct transmission of fact from God to man through His word.
Jos 15:3 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, went up to Addar, and turned about to Karka-
AV "Fetched a compass to Karka", literally "was deflected in the
direction of Karka". This implies a birds eye perspective, looking at
lines on a map. The perspective is clearly God's heavenly one.
Jos 15:4 and it passed along to Azmon, went out at the brook of Egypt; and
the border ended at the sea. This shall be your south border-
Jos 15:5 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-
The idea
Jos 15:6 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-
We note that the stone of a Reubenite was the boundary marker between
Judah and Benjamin (Josh. 18:17). We have here a typical example of how
despite the division of the tribes, with the intention that the people
remained within their given family inheritances, people were dissatisfied
with what God gave them; or for whatever reason moved away from them,
perhaps in search of something better. And yet the gift of the
inheritances was clearly meant to be by God.
Jos 15:7 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. The border passed along
to the waters of En Shemesh, and ended at En Rogel-
"Looking toward..." and similar language suggests the author was
there looking at the various towns and geographical features. The whole
perspective is God's bird's eye view of the land.
Jos 15:8 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 farthest part of the valley of the Rephaim northward-
The old name included the name Baal, and was renamed by faithful men
who wished to not hear the name Baal. There is no record at all of
Israel's obedience to the commands to destroy the local idols of the land,
although the change of name of Kiriath Baal to Kiriath Jearim (Josh.
15:60; 18:14) is evidence enough that there was some local attempt to
stamp out the name of Baal in that case. Instead the historical record is
full of evidence that they worshipped these gods. Although the name of
Baal Meon had been changed in Num. 32:38, by the time of Josh. 13:17 the
old name was still being used. Clearly Israel did not detest idolatry as
they ought to have done. Just as the names of idols should not have passed
the lips of Israel, so for us, the things of sexual impurity are not to be
named amongst us (Eph. 5:3). The allusion shows how Paul understood such
things to be the equivalent of idolatry in his day, and that remains a
fair interpretation even in our age. See on :15.
Jos 15:10 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-
"Beth Shemesh", house of the sun, was a name rooted in idolatry which
wasn't changed; see on :9.
Jos 15:11 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-
Ekron was a major Philistine city. "The side of Ekron" suggests God
again recalculated the inheritance to save them from having to attack and
possess this city; although it was God's initial intention that they take
it. Such is His desire to give us the Kingdom that He graciously makes
such concessions to inexcusable weakness.
"Baalah"
Jos 15:12 The west border was to the shore of the great sea. This is the
border of the children of Judah according to their families-
Jos 15:13 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, named after the father of Anak (the same is Hebron)-
Jos 15:14 Caleb drove out the three sons of Anak: Sheshai, and Ahiman, and
Talmai, the children of Anak-
Jos 15:15 He went up against the inhabitants of Debir: now the name of
Debir before was Kiriath Sepher-
"Debir" is the word usually translated "oracle", referring to the
sanctuary, which was centered around the word of God in the ark. The
previous name also means something similar, 'Place of the scroll / books'.
It's as if faithful Caleb renamed an idol shrine to a more Yahweh centered
name. This confirms the suggestion made on Josh. 15:9,10 that the names
associated with pagan worship were renamed by the faithful, but not
renamed by the unfaithful.
Jos 15:16 Caleb said, He who strikes Kiriath Sepher and takes it, to him
will I give Achsah my daughter as wife-
We wonder why Caleb himself didn't take Kiriath Sepher. Perhaps, at
85 years old, the strength he had boasted of was not quite as he had
imagined, and he was exhausted or weak after the conquest of Hebron. Or
maybe he wished to ensure his daughter married someone who had the same
spiritual ambition and faith which he had. And such men were apparently in
deficit, as Othniel his brother (Josh. 15:17) was the only one to come
forward for the challenge. As Caleb was then 85, Othniel would unlikely
have been a very young man, looking to marry a young woman.
Jos 15:17 Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it-
As noted above, Caleb was then 85, so Othniel was not a young man at
all; and Achsah was presumably a virgin. So valiant young, faithful men
were apparently not to be found. For surely they were the kind of
candidate Caleb was looking for.
The Hebrew implies she got "him", her husband Othniel, to ask Caleb.
And this is the sense given in Jud. 1:14.
The idea of being given a blessing is of receiving an inheritance, as
in Josh. 14:13 AV: “And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb… Hebron
for an inheritance”. "A south land" presumably refers to Debir, which was
apparently without a good water supply. Debir is on a hill, and there is a
valley at the foot of the hill with springs. The territory made presumably
been conquered by Caleb and was his own- but he gave away what he had
conquered.
Jos 15:20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah
according to their families-
For "families", see on :12.
Jos 15:21 The farthest cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward
the border of Edom in the South were Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur-
Jos 15:22 Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah-
Kinah could mean 'place of the Kenites'; see on :17. Perhaps this is
the equivalent of the note at Jud. 1:16 about the descendants of the
Kenites coming to live with Caleb's family is included to clarify the
point that Caleb was a Kenite or Kenizzite.
Jos 15:23 Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan-
This Hazor is not the same as the one in northern Israel.
Jos 15:24 Ziph, Telem, Bealoth-
Bealoth means 'possessors', perhaps named by some who faithfully
perceived the truths of :14.
Jos 15:25 Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (the same is Hazor)-
There were two towns called Hazor, but they were distinguished by
words added to them, Hadattah and Kerioth.
Jos 15:26 Amam, Shema, Moladah-
Moladah was given to Simeon (Josh. 19:2,3). Yet presumably that was
not God's original intention, as here it is a town of Judah. We see how He
is open to some recalculation of His purposes with us.
Jos 15:27 Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet-
None of these places has been very confidently identified. We have
here an example of where the Biblical record is preserved, even though it
had far more meaning for the immediate audience that it has ever had for
the millennia of believers who have subsequently read these words. This in
turn opens up the wider debate as to which parts of Biblical writings are
preserved as historical record, for our general learning; and which are
specifically commandments to us. As examples, I would argue that baptism
was not just a command for the first century but for us too- because of
the context and reasoning behind the command. Whereas the commandments
about head covering in Corinth would appear from the context to be a
historical account of a specific situation in that church at that time.
Jos 15:28 Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah-
Beersheba became effectively the southern border of Judah, hence the
common phrase "from Dan [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south]". But
this was not at all the southern border promised to Abraham, which was the
"river of Egypt". God effectively recalculated the boundaries for Israel,
as He came to realize that they simply didn't have the spiritual ambition
to go and possess the full extent of the land promised to Abraham. Thus
"the river" on the eastern boundary effectively was recalculated as the
Jordan and not the Euphrates; and likewise the southern border shifted
northwards from the brook of Egypt to Beersheba. God has a similar
flexibility with us too.
Jos 15:29 Baalah, Iim, Ezem-
For the retention of "Baal" in place names, see on :60.
Jos 15:30 Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah-
These were all given to Simeon (Josh. 19:4).
Jos 15:31 Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah-
Jos 15:32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon. All the cities are
twenty-nine, with their villages-
The total comes to 36. The difference may be because of the
definition of a "city", and some were listed but not counted as a city.
And it seems that in some cases, the same city was called by two names.
Jos 15:33 In the lowland, Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah-
Jos 15:34 Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam-
"Zanoah" is the word for being 'cast off' or rejected, and all 20
occurrences of it in the Bible are translated that way. 'Place of
rejection' sounds a strange name for a city- unless it was to celebrate
the rejection of idolatry there.
Jos 15:35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah-
We have to observe that the majority of these place names merely
reflect the topography or geographical features of the area. They may have
been no more than landmarks. We also note that the name of God or
spiritual things was not introduced into them. When there is a regime
change, it is typical that names of towns and streets are renamed, but
there is little evidence that Israel generally did this.
Jos 15:36 Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah (or Gederothaim); fourteen cities
with their villages-
Many versions give 15 cities by this point, but LXX omits Gederothaim
Jos 15:37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad-
"Gad" was the god of fortune, and the tower ["Migdal"] of Gad was
surely a reference to idolatry. But the name was apparently not changed;
see on
Jos 15:38 Dilean, Mizpeh, Joktheel-
Mizpeh means a watchtower, but as noted on :37, it typically is
associated with something else- the tower or watchtower of some
idol, typically. It could be that this is a commendable example of where
the name of an idol or god dropped out of a place name; see on :60.
Jos 15:39 Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon-
Jos 15:40 Cabbon, Lahmam, Chitlish-
"Cabbon", a heap of stones, was a reference to early altars. See on
:43,60.
Jos 15:41 Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with
their villages-
Beth Dagon means 'house of Dagon', and is another example of local
preexisting paganism continuing in the nomenclature of the land; see on
:43,60.
Jos 15:42 Libnah, Ether, Ashan-
"Libnah", place of poplar trees, has definite paganic associations;
the same word is found in Hos. 4:13; Gen. 30:37. See
Jos 15:43 Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib-
Jos 15:44 Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages-
Mareshah was where the prophet lived who criticized Jehoshaphat (2
Chron. 20:37), and it seems it is the Moresheth Gath of Mic. 1:14,15. Two
prophets came from the same small settlement. We reflect that local groups
do tend to hold on to the things of God's truth, often more effectively
and for longer periods than larger communities, such as that based around
the Jerusalem temple.
Jos 15:45 Ekron, with its towns and its villages-
I noted on :11 that the border is there stated to be "the side of
Ekron", suggesting God again recalculated the inheritance to save them
from having to attack and possess this city; although it was God's initial
intention that they take it. Such is His desire to give us the Kingdom
that He graciously makes such concessions to inexcusable weakness.
Jos 15:46 from Ekron even to the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod,
with their villages-
The Philistine areas now listed were never really permanently taken
by the Israelites. We note again the curious phrase "by the side of
Ashdod"; see on :45.
Jos 15:47 Ashdod, its towns and its villages; Gaza, its towns and its
villages; to the brook of Egypt, and the great sea with its coastline-
Judah would have heard or read these descriptions and thought "no,
too hard, not for me". And we must be challenged by their wrong attitude,
as we too survey the Kingdom that is so very possible for us.
Jos 15:48 In the hill country, Shamir, Jattir, Socoh-
Jattir was given to the priests (Josh. 21:14). Although the choice of
priestly cities was supposedly taken by lot, it is significant that many
of them were in territory such as this Philistine territory which was
never really subjugated by Israel. They failed to learn the principle of 2
Sam. 24:24, that we are not to apparently sacrifice to God that which cost
us nothing.
Jos 15:49 Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (which is Debir)-
Jos 15:50 Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim-
Jos 15:51 Goshen, Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages-
"Arab" is the usual word for "ambush", and may be one of the few name
changes which reflects how Israel captured it in the first place. See on
:43.
Jos 15:53 Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah-
Jos 15:54 Humtah, Kiriath Arba (the same is Hebron) and Zior; nine cities
with their villages-
"Kiriath Arba" is literally 'the city of the four [giants]', which
was taken by Caleb and renamed Hebron; see on :43.
Jos 15:55 Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Jutah-
Jos 15:56 Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah-
Not to be confused with the Jezreel in the plain of Esdraelon.
Jos 15:57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages-
Timnah is the place of Gen. 38:12. The parable of Lk. 19:10 describes
the reward of the faithful in terms of being given ten or five cities.
This idea of dividing up groups of cities was surely meant to send the
mind back to the way Israel in their wilderness years were each promised
their own individual cities and villages, which they later inherited. The
idea of inheriting "ten cities" occurs in Josh. 15:57; 21:5,26; 1 Chron.
6:61 (all of which are in the context of the priests receiving their
cities), and "five cities" in 1 Chron. 4:32. As each Israelite was
promised some personal inheritance in the land, rather than some blanket
reward which the while nation received, so we too have a personal reward
prepared. The language of inheritance (e.g. 1 Pet. 1:4) and preparation of
reward (Mt. 25:34; Jn. 14:1) in the NT is alluding to this OT background
of the land being prepared by the Angels for Israel to inherit (Ex. 15:17
Heb.; 23:20; Ps. 68:9,10 Heb.). We must be careful not to think that our
promised inheritance is only eternal life; it is something being
personally prepared for each of us. The language of preparation seems
inappropriate if our reward is only eternal life.
Jos 15:58 Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor-
Jos 15:59 Maarath, Beth Anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their
villages-
Beth Anoth, house of answers / witness, has religious overtones. If
they reflect Yahweh worship, then His Name would likely have been
included. So we conclude that this is likely yet another pagan name which
was left unchanged; see on :60.
Jos 15:60 Kiriath Baal (the same is Kiriath Jearim), and Rabbah; two
cities with their villages-
Jos 15:61 In the wilderness, Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah-
Jos 15:62 Nibshan, the City of Salt, and En Gedi; six cities with their
villages-
"The city of salt" was in the area of Sodom (Gen. 19:25) and may be
another name for Zoar where Lot initially fled to.
Jos 15:63 As for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children
of Judah couldn’t drive them out; but the Jebusites live with the children
of Judah at Jerusalem to this day-
"Drive out" is s.w. "possess"; see on :14.
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