In this chapter an account is given of the lots of the six remaining tribes, and the cities in them, as of Simeon, whose cities were chiefly within the tribe of Judah, Josh. 19:1–9; of Zebulun, its border and cities, Josh. 19:10–16; of Issachar, its border and cities, Josh.

And the second lot came forth to Simeon That is, the second of the seven lots, of which Benjamin’s was the first; otherwise there were the two lots of Judah and Joseph, which preceded both these: even for the tribe of the children of Simeon, according to their families; for though many of their…

And they had in their inheritance Beersheba and Sheba Or, Beersheba, that is, Sheba; for so the particle “vau” is sometimes used [[24]], and must be so used here; or otherwise, instead of thirteen, it will appear that there are fourteen cities, contrary to the account of them, ; so Kimchi and Ben…

And Hazarshual (See Gill on Josh. 15:28); and Balah, and Azem; of these places (See Gill on Josh. 15:29); for Balah is the same with Baalah there, and with Bilhah ; and Azem with Ezem there.

And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah. ] These were all cities of Judah, ; Eltolad is the same with Tolad, and Bethul with Bethuel, (1 Chron. 4:29, 1 Chron. 4:30) , and with Chesil, , mentioned there along with Hormah; (See Gill on Josh. 15:30).

And Ziklag Another of the cities of Judah, (See Gill on Josh. 15:31); and Bethmarcaboth, and Hazarsusah; or Hazarsusim, as in ; the one signifies a chariot house, and the other a court or stable for horses, which made Bochart conjecture [[0]], that they were places where Solomon kept his chariots…

And Bethlebaoth, and Sharuhen Whether the first is the same with Lebaoth, a city of Judah, ; and with the Bethleptepha of Josephus [[1]], and the Betholene of Pliny [[2]], is not certain: in this place secret to have been an idol temple of the Canaanites, dedicated to lions, as in Egypt there was a…

Ain, Remmon Of the two first, which were cities of Judah, (See Gill on Josh. 15:32); and Ether, and Ashan; of the two last, (See Gill on Josh. 19:42); four cities and their villages; Ain, Remmon, therefore, could not be one city, at this time, as it seems to have been in the times of Nehemiah, ; or…

And all the villages that were round about these cities Not only the suburbs adjoining to those cities which are mentioned before, but the several small distinct towns and villages, scattered up and down in the country: to Baalathbeer, Ramath of the south: this is the same with Baal in ; and with…

Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon Which is the reason why no description is given of the border of their inheritance, because that is before given in the account of the lot of Judah: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them:…

And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun, according to their families Who, though younger than Issachar, has his lot before him, agreeably to the order in which his blessing is predicted, both by Jacob and Moses, ; and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid; or “by Sarid”, as…

And their border went up toward the sea Westward towards the Mediterranean sea, which fulfilled the prophecies of Jacob and Moses, that Zebulun should dwell by the sea, be an haven of ships, and take of the abundance of the seas, as in the places before referred to; and so Josephus says, the…

And turned from Sarid eastward This describes the southern border, going on from west to east: towards the sunrising, unto the border of Chislothtabor; this Jerom places in the tribe of Issachar, it bordered on both tribes; and he says [[10]], that in his time there was a little village called…

And from thence passeth on along on the east to Gittahhepher, &c.] Which was the native place of Jonah the prophet, ; and where Jerom says [[16]] his grave was shown, and was a small village in his time two miles from Sippore, then called Diocaesarea, to Ittahkazin; of this place we have no account…

And the border compasseth it from the north side to Hannathon This is the northern border of the tribe, which took a circuit from the last place to this; of which and the following place we have no account; Jerom only makes mention of them as in the tribe of Zebulun: and the outgoings thereof are…

And Kattath, and Nahallal Of the two first of these we read nowhere else, but in (Josh. 21:34, Josh. 21:35) ; and Shimron was a royal city, the king of which Joshua took and hanged, ; and Idalah is a place Bochart conjectures [[18]] where the goddess Venus was worshipped, Idalia being one of her…

This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun, according to their families Which was allotted to it and divided, according to the number of its families: these cities with their villages; before enumerated, excepting such as only bordered on them; though indeed there were other cities which…

And the fourth lot came out to Issachar The fourth of the seven drawn at Shiloh: for the children of Issachar, according to their families: among whom the inheritance that came to them by the lot was divided, according to the number of them.

And their border was towards Jezreel Which was a royal seat in the time of Ahab, ; and according to Jerom was near to Maximianopolis; (See Gill on Hos.

And Hapharaim The first of these is by Jerom [[23]] called Aphraim, a city of the tribe of Issachar; and adds, there is at this day a village called Affarea, six miles from Legion to the north; and Shion; of Seon or Soen, the same with Shion here, he says [[24]], there was a village of this name…

And Rabbith The first of these Jerom calls [[0]] Rabboth in the tribe of Issachar; and Kishion, as Masius notes, seems to given name to the river Kishon near it; some take it to be the same with Kedesh, ; and Abez, of which no mention is made elsewhere. 1: De loc. Heb. fol. 94. B.

And Remeth Remeth seems to be the same with Jarmuth, ; and with Ramoth, ; and Engannim seems to be the same with Anem in : there were several of this name, which seem to have been places full of gardens, and well watered; for the word signifies a fountain of gardens.

And the coast reacheth to Tabor Tabor was the name of a mountain in those parts; it is generally supposed to be the mountain on which our Lord was transfigured, though it is not sufficiently evident; (See Gill on Jer. 46:18).

This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Issachar Which fell to them by lot, as before described: according to their families; was divided among them, according to the number of them: the cities and their villages; the cities before enumerated, and the villages adjacent to them.

And the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher Which entitled them to an inheritance next described: according to their families; which was sufficient for them, and divided to them according to their number.

And their border was Helkath Helkath seems to be the same with Hukok, ; and according to Masius it lay ten or twelve miles above Ptolemais; and Hali, of which we read nowhere else.

And Alammelech, and Amad Of the two first of these there is no mention elsewhere; and Misheal is the same with Mashal, ; and is by Jerom and reacheth to Carmel westward; or, “to the sea”, as Carmel is called “Carmel by the sea”, (See Gill on Jer.

And turneth towards the sunrising Or eastward, to Bethdagon; there was a city of this name in the tribe of Judah, (See Gill on Josh. 15:41). Dagon, being a god of the Phoenicians, had temples built for him in various places in Canaan: and reacheth to Zebulun; not the tribe of Zebulun, but a city so…

And Hebron Hebron seems to be the same with Abdon, ; (ר) and (ד) being changed, of which there are other instances; and hereby this is distinguished from another Hebron in the tribe of Judah, more commonly known, ; and Rehob; in the time of Jerom [[17]], there was a village called Rooba, four miles…

And then the coast turneth to Ramah Which was a city in the tribe of Naphtali, ; and on the borders of Asher; though Jerom [[23]] distinguishes them, and speaks of a Ramah in Asher, and another in Naphtali, as different cities of the same name; as there were several of this name, so called from…

Ummah also Ummah is not mentioned any where else; and Aphek; of which, (See Gill on Josh. 12:18); and Rehob; of which, (See Gill on Josh. 19:28); twenty and two cities with their villages: there are more set down in the account, but some of them did not belong to the tribe, only were on the border…

This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Asher As before described, a goodly heritage; it was, according to the prediction of Jacob and Moses, (Deut. 33:24, Deut. 33:25) ; a very fruitful country.

The sixth lot came out to the children of Naphtali The tribe of Naphtali, and directed what should be the inheritance of this tribe: even for the children of Naphtali, according to their families; which was to be divided among them, according to the number of their, families.

And their coast was from Heleph That is, their northern coast, reaching from west to east, as appears by the ending of it at Jordan; the Alexandrian copy of the Greek version calls it Mlepeh, the Targum, Meheleph, and Jerom, Mealeb, which he calls the border of Naphtali; which, though to the north,…

And then the coast turneth westward to Aznothtabor This was the southern border, reaching from east to west; it began at Aznothtabor, which Jerom [[6]] says was a village in his time belonging to the country of Diocaesarea, in the plains; there is another place called Chislothtabor, on the borders…

And the fenced cities are Ziddim The later name of Ziddim, according to the Talmud [[8]], was Cepharchitiya, or the village of wheat, perhaps from the large quantity or goodness of wheat there; Zer is called by Jerom [[9]] Sor, and interpreted Tyre, the metropolis of Phoenicia, very wrongly, and,…

And Adamah Adamah is different from Adami, ; and may seem to confirm the notion of some, that Nekeb there is an epithet of it, and so distinguishes it from Adamah here; and Ramah; of Ramah, as there were several places of this name, (See Gill on Josh.

And Kedesh This is Kedesh in Galilee, in Mount Naphtali, to distinguish it from others of the same name; it was one of the cities of refuge, . Jerom says [[11]] in his day it was called Cidissus, and was twenty miles from Tyre by Paneas; (See Gill on Josh. 12:22).

And Iron Of Iron no mention is made elsewhere; and Migdalel, which Jerom calls Magdiel, he says [[11]] was shown a small village, five miles from Dara, as you go to Ptolemais; and Horem is not mentioned anywhere elsewhere; and Bethanath; Jerom also relates [[12]], that Bathana, in the tribe of…

This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Naphtali Which Josephus [[13]] thus describes; “the country to the east, as far as Damascus the city, and upper Galilee, the Naphtalites took, unto Mount Lebanon, and the fountains of Jordan, which flow out of the mount, reaching the northern…

And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan Which was the last lot drawn, and which appointed an inheritance to this tribe: according to their families; the number of them.

And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol, &c.] The tribe of Dan is not described by places the boundaries of it, as other tribes, but by its cities, which were chiefly, at least several of them, taken out of the tribe of Judah, as the two first of these most manifestly were; (See…

And Shaalabbin The first of these is the same with Shaalbim, ; and which Jerom [[16]] calls Selab, in the tribe of Dan; and which he says was in his day shown a large village on the borders of Sebaste, by the name of Selaba.

And Elon Of Elon no mention is made elsewhere; and Thimnathah is a different place from Timnah in the tribe of Judah, (Josh. 15:10, Josh. 15:57) . Jerom [[17]] speaks of the Thamnitic country, so called from the village Thamna, which seems to be this; and Ekron was one of the five principalities of…

And Eltekeh Eltekeh was a city given to the Levites, ; and supposed by some to be the same with Eltekon in the tribe of Judah given to the Danites, ; and Gibbethon was in the hands of the Philistines in the reign of Asa, ; and in the same place Jerom [[18]] calls Gabatha a city of the strangers, or…

And Jehud Of Jehud no mention is made elsewhere; and Beneberak signifies sons of lightning; see . Jerom [[22]] speaks of tills as the name of two places, Bane in the tribe of Dan, and Barach in the same tribe, and which was in his day near Azotus.

And Mejarkon, and Rakkon Of the two first of these we read no where else. with the border before Japho; Japho is the same with Joppa, now called at this day Jaffa, a port in the Mediterranean sea, famous for being the place where Jonah took shipping, (See Gill on Jonah 1:3); and where the Apostle…

And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them Being a very numerous tribe, the cities allotted them were not sufficient for them; or rather, leaving out the supplement “too little”, the words will run, it “went out from them”; they lost part of it, being driven out of the valley…

This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Dan Before described by its cities, which were in it. This tribe was bounded by Ephraim on the north, by Judah on the east, by Simeon on the south, and by the Mediterranean sea on the west.

And when they made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts That is, Eleazar, Joshua, and the ten men appointed for this, purpose; when all the lots were drawn, and the several inheritances which came up to them were divided among the families of the respective tribes, this work…

According to the word of the Lord Or mouth of the Lord; either according to the oracle of Urim and Thummim, which Eleazar consulted on this occasion; or according to what the Lord had said to Moses, at the same time that Hebron was ordered to Caleb, ; and they gave him the city which he asked, even…

These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun The one the high priest, and the other the chief governor of the nation: and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel; the princes appointed for this service, whose names are given ; the…