NOTES for Jos 15:1-63

Printable version

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.

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

³And it went out to the south side to Maaleh-acrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadesh-barnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa:

⁴From thence it passed toward Azmon, and went out unto the river of Egypt; and the goings out of that coast were at the sea: this shall be your south coast.

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:

⁶And the border went up to Beth-hogla, and passed along by the north of Beth-arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben:

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 En-shemesh, and the goings out thereof were at En-rogel:

⁸And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward:

⁹And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjath-jearim:

¹⁰And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of mount Jearim, which is Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed on to Timnah:

¹¹And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward: and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to mount Baalah, and went out unto Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea.

¹²And the west border was to the great sea, and the coast thereof. This is the coast of the children of Judah round about according to their families.

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.

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

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

¹⁶And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, 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.

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 Hazar-gaddah, and Heshmon, and Beth-palet,

²⁸And Hazar-shual, and Beer-sheba, 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 En-gannim, 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 Migdal-gad,

³⁸And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,

³⁹Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon,

⁴⁰And Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Kithlish,

⁴¹And Gederoth, Beth-dagon, 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 Kirjath-sannah, 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 Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah,

⁵⁴And Humtah, and Kirjath-arba, 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, Beth-zur, and Gedor,

⁵⁹And Maarath, and Beth-anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages:

⁶⁰Kirjath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, and Rabbah; two cities with their villages:

⁶¹In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah,

⁶²And Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and En-gedi; 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.

The Book of Joshua contains a very detailed description not only of the overall boundary of the Jewish lands along their perimeter, but also of the intertribal boundaries, delimiting the lands of the tribes from each other with extreme clarity. Orthodox Jews even today are guided by these descriptions when they determine the boundaries within which Israel as a Jewish state should exist: after all, as such, it must certainly include all the land once given by God to His people. The only problem with such a delimitation becomes a historical one: today it is not always easy to establish exactly where certain settlements mentioned in the book were located during the time of Joshua and the Jewish conquest of Palestine.

Such accuracy was, of course, important from a political point of view as well: both the overall boundary of the Jewish land and the intertribal boundaries had to be fixed and not raise questions for anyone — for boundary disputes were fraught with both conflicts with neighbors and intertribal strife among the Jews themselves. Boundaries in those times were generally considered sacred in the most literal sense of the word — there was a universal belief in gods or patron spirits of the boundary and borderline, and to encroach upon them was tantamount to sacrilege and an insult to the gods. Naturally, in Yahwism, the God-guardian of the boundary was Yahweh — there was no place for any other guardians here.

However, in this case, Yahweh turned out to be the guardian of the boundary in another sense as well: He Himself, after all, determined these boundaries, He Himself created the Promised Land (as well as all other lands), and He Himself brought His people onto it. A God-determined boundary is not just a geographical or political reality, it is a spiritual reality. By outlining the limits of the Promised Land, God outlines the place of His direct presence and direct activity — at least until the coming of the Messiah. The Promised Land is God's land precisely and primarily in this sense, the main actor on it is God Himself. For Him, everything with boundaries is absolutely clear, no matter what people might think about it. That is why the Book of Joshua has preserved God's boundaries for us — so that we might envision the place of God's action, where He built up His people.

Other notes

For Jos 15:1-63