TEXT [Commentary]

C.   Judah’s Portion (15:1-63)

1.   Judah’s boundaries (15:1-12)

1 The allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah reached southward to the border of Edom, as far south as the wilderness of Zin.

2 The southern boundary began at the south bay of the Dead Sea,[*] 3 ran south of Scorpion Pass[*] into the wilderness of Zin, and then went south of Kadesh-barnea to Hezron. Then it went up to Addar, where it turned toward Karka. 4 From there it passed to Azmon until it finally reached the Brook of Egypt, which it followed to the Mediterranean Sea.[*] This was their[*] southern boundary.

5 The eastern boundary extended along the Dead Sea to the mouth of the Jordan River.

The northern boundary began at the bay where the Jordan River empties into the Dead Sea, 6 went up from there to Beth-hoglah, then proceeded north of Beth-arabah to the Stone of Bohan. (Bohan was Reuben’s son.) 7 From that point it went through the valley of Achor to Debir, turning north toward Gilgal, which is across from the slopes of Adummim on the south side of the valley. From there the boundary extended to the springs at En-shemesh and on to En-rogel. 8 The boundary then passed through the valley of Ben-Hinnom, along the southern slopes of the Jebusites, where the city of Jerusalem is located. Then it went west to the top of the mountain above the valley of Hinnom, and on up to the northern end of the valley of Rephaim. 9 From there the boundary extended from the top of the mountain to the spring at the waters of Nephtoah,[*] and from there to the towns on Mount Ephron. Then it turned toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). 10 The boundary circled west of Baalah to Mount Seir, passed along to the town of Kesalon on the northern slope of Mount Jearim, and went down to Beth-shemesh and on to Timnah. 11 The boundary then proceeded to the slope of the hill north of Ekron, where it turned toward Shikkeron and Mount Baalah. It passed Jabneel and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

12 The western boundary was the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea.[*]

These are the boundaries for the clans of the tribe of Judah.

NOTES

15:1 Edom. An Edomite presence existed south of the biblical Negev (west of the southern Arabah) earlier than is generally recognized (cf. Rainey and Notley 2006:120).

the wilderness of Zin. The biblical extent of this region is unknown, but it probably included much of the higher elevation immediately south of the biblical Negev.

15:2 the south bay. This refers to the southern third of the Dead Sea, from the Lisan ­Peninsula (“the tongue”) that extends into the Dead Sea from its eastern shore.

15:3 Scorpion Pass. Lit., “the Ascent of Akrabbim”; the precise identification of this pass is debated.

Kadesh-barnea. See note on 10:41.

Hezron . . . Addar . . . Karka. Together with Azmon (15:4), these are locations near Kadesh-barnea, though none is identified with certainty. These names may reflect the grouping of three proximate springs, and “Kadesh-barnea” the whole vicinity (Boling 1982:365).

15:4 Brook of Egypt. Modern Wadi el-’Arish, the traditional boundary between Egypt and Canaan throughout the OT period.

their southern boundary. See NLT mg, which points out that the Hebrew pronoun is your, reflecting an oral expression, originally, perhaps, even Joshua’s direct address to Judah’s leaders.

15:6 Beth-hoglah. Lit., “Partridge House,” at or near Ain-Hajlah, which preserves the name.

Beth-arabah. Lit., “the House of the Arabah,” probably north-northwest of Beth-hoglah, at el-Gharabeh, which preserves the name. Both these locations are southeast of Jericho.

15:7 valley of Achor. See note on 7:24.

Debir. This is not the same town as Debir/Kiriath-sepher of 15:15. Boling (1982:367) proposes the site of the modern Inn of the Good Samaritan, on the Jerusalem-Jericho Road.

Gilgal. This is not the same as Israel’s camp (4:19). We should read “Geliloth” with 18:17; both names mean “circle.” Boling (1982:367) proposes a site just over a mile west of a Byzantine ruin, Khan el-Ahmar, which is “across from the slopes of Adummim.”

the valley. Wadi Qelt is “the valley” of this area, because of its impressive gorge.

En-shemesh. This means “Spring of the Sun(-god),” and is identified as Ain el-Hod, just east of Bethany.

En-rogel. Also known as Bir Ayyub (Job’s Well), located in the Kidron Valley just below where the Hinnom Valley enters the Kidron on its west side.

15:8 the valley of Ben-Hinnom. At this point, this was the northern border of Judah, but Jerusalem occupied a ridge rising northward from the lower end of this valley. It was thus on Judah’s border but within Benjamin’s territory. The valley floor rises as it goes westward from the Kidron, and continues rising as it curves north around today’s Old City.

the mountain above the valley of Hinnom. The crest of the ridge that forms the west side (“shoulder”) of the Hinnom Valley, a bit north of the Scottish Church in Jerusalem today. Looking southwest from there, one can see a ridge standing at the head of the valley of Rephaim.

15:9 Nephtoah. There was (and is) a spring at Nephtoah, modern Lifta, at the northwest edge of modern Jerusalem, before the immense expansion of the last decades. Since that expansion, one would say Nephtoah/Lifta is on the slope of the valley just north of the Givat Shaul neighborhood.

Mount Ephron. Possibly the group of hills including modern Har Adar (also called Radar Hill; Rainey and Notley 2006:181), northeast of Abu Ghosh; these hills extend southwest toward Mevaseret Tsiyon.

Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim). The old name means “Lady” and refers to the goddess (Anath, Asherah); Kiriath-jearim means “city of forests.” This is Deir el-’Azar in Abu Ghosh, west of Jerusalem, and a little west of Mount Ephron.

15:10 Mount Seir. This is not the Mount Seir of the Edomites, southeast of Judah, but a hill southwest of Kiriath-jearim, modern Shoresh (Rainey and Notley 2006:181).

Kesalon. Kesla, about nine miles west of Jerusalem.

Beth-shemesh. Lit., “House (Temple) of the Sun(-god),” Tell er-Rumeilah, about 16 miles west of Jerusalem.

Timnah. Tell el-Batashi, about five miles northwest of Beth-shemesh, down the Sorek Valley.

15:11 Ekron. Khirbet el-Muqanna, about five miles west-southwest of Timnah.

Shikkeron. Perhaps this is the Tell el-Ful about four miles northwest of Ekron (Aharoni 1979).

Mount Baalah. Either a peak or a range of hills west-northwest of Shikkeron. A second place name “Baalah” is not surprising; the goddess was worshiped at many places.

Jabneel. Or, Yibna. All these locations, from Beth-shemesh to the Mediterranean, are in or near the Sorek Valley; thus, the Sorek forms the border here in Judah’s northwest corner.

COMMENTARY [Text]

Judah’s tribal allotment is described in much more detail than are those of the rest of the tribes, one of the many testimonies to Judah’s prominence throughout Israel’s history. Judah was Jacob and Leah’s fourth son. Reuben, Judah’s oldest brother, had forfeited his birthright and place of leadership among Jacob’s sons (Gen 35:22). Simeon and Levi had lost their chances at family leadership by their treachery against Shechem (Gen 34:25-31; 49:5-7). His brothers’ failures put Judah in line to receive Jacob’s blessing.

One way Jacob’s blessing of Judah (Gen 49:8-12) was brought to reality was in the tribal allotments. The descriptions of Judah’s borders are the most detailed, and the list of Judah’s cities the most complete, of any tribe. Judah’s geographical position among the tribes was central, guaranteeing Judah leadership in the affairs of the nation. Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, whose transgressions had caused Jacob to pass them over, each became, as tribes in the land, dependent upon Judah. The geography of the tribal allotments both reflected and helped to shape the fulfillment of each tribe’s spiritual inheritance as given by Jacob, and confirmed, in general, by Moses (Deut 33).

The description of Judah’s southern boundary here is the same (but with a bit more detail) as Moses had given for the southern boundary of Canaan (Num 34:1-5). This border is a large southward-looping arc, from the southern end of the Dead Sea in a southwesterly line toward the region of Kadesh-barnea, then turning northwesterly toward the Mediterranean Sea along the line of the Brook of Egypt, today’s Wadi el-’Arish. This boundary line is well south of the main territory of the biblical Negev, which is centered on Beersheba. Judah’s southern border ran well into the desert and had little settled population throughout most of the Old Testament period.

Judah’s eastern border coincided with the western shoreline of the Dead Sea along its entire length. The western border was the Mediterranean Sea to the mouth of the Sorek, about midway between Ashdod and Joppa. The northern boundary of Judah, from the northern end of the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, is the most detailed of all the boundary descriptions in this section of Joshua. Even so, a few segments of this border are not certain in their identification.

As with several of the tribes, we must remember that Joshua was allotting to Judah land they should have been able to occupy and settle, then or later (13:1-7). But later in the course of allotment, occupation, and settlement, Simeon’s entire allotment would come from some of Judah’s southern territory (19:1-9). Also, about 75–100 years later, the Philistines, coming from the eastern Mediterranean Greek islands, settled all the southern coastal plain allotted to Judah, and began to press on Judah’s territory in the Shephelah. Judah never occupied all the territory described here, though late in the Second Temple period, one almost could say the Jewish people did.