Keraia
Joshua 15

Joshua 15:47

The Cities of Judah · Joshua 15:20–63
Read Joshua 15

Translations

Modern
Ashdod, with its towns and villages; Gaza, with its towns and villages, as far as the Brook of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea.
Traditional
Ashdod 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:
Literal
Ashdod with its daughters and its villages, Gaza with its daughters and its villages, as far as the Brook of Egypt, and the Great Sea and its coastline.
Latin
Azotus cum vicis et villulis suis. Gaza cum vicis et villulis suis, usque ad torrentem Ægypti, et mare magnum terminus ejus.

Original

Hebrew
English
Ashdod, with its towns and villages; Gaza, with its towns and villages, as far as the Brook of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea.

Notes

Joshua 15:45–47

The fourth district of the western foothills included most of the territory soon to be occupied by the Philistines. The tribe of Judah held it only briefly.

Joshua 15:20–63

We cannot identify all of these locations with certainty. Many are unknown except for their mention in this and other lists. Some are briefly mentioned in other texts.

Joshua 15:1–63

The description of Judah's allotment of tribes is more detailed than that of the other tribes. The failures of Judah's older brothers positioned him to lead (Genesis 34:25–31; 35:22). As a result, the tribe of Judah received a central location among the tribes, guaranteeing its leadership in the nation (Genesis 49:8–12; Deuteronomy 33:7).

Joshua 14:1–19:51

  • The allotment of land to the tribes on the west side of the Jordan describes what God intended for each tribe to possess.

  • The one narrating the story begins this section with Caleb receiving land and ends with Joshua receiving land (14:6–15; 19:49–51). Only Caleb and Joshua had shown faith in God that Israel could conquer the land (Numbers 13:30; 14:6–9).

Joshua 13:1–21:45

  • As he had promised, God brought Israel into the land. Joshua then focused on dividing the land among Israel's tribes.

  • The tribal allowances made the covenant of the Israelites with God real. It showed the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Since God owned the land, giving it to the tribes was a gift. God gave them the land to live in and guided its distribution.

  • In these lists of tribal allowances, the author describes some borders in great detail, allowing them to be mapped. With others, they are less plainly defined.

Theme notes and profiles

Joshua Inheriting the Land

Places

Ashdod: A major Philistine city, known for Dagon worship Brook of Egypt: Southwestern boundary of the Promised Land Gaza: Philistine city; Samson's exploits; Philip's ministry Great Sea: The Mediterranean Sea, the western boundary of the Promised Land

Glossary

Allotment of the Land Ashdod, Ashdodite, Ashdothite Beth-Arabah Brook of Egypt Ezem Gaza Gilgal Joshua (Person) Joshua, Book of Judah, Tribe of Judges, Book of Meunim, Meunites Tekoa, Tekoites Tribe of Dan Wadi

Topics

Ashdod: Assigned to Judah Egypt: A Small Stream Flowing Into the Mediterranean Sea Gaza: Also Called Azzah: Allotted to Judah Mediterranean Sea: Mentioned in Scripture As |The Great Sea| Philistines: Territory of The Philistines: Country of: Given by God to the Israelites