Joshua 12:3
in Joshua 12as well as the Arabah east of the Sea of Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), eastward through Beth-jeshimoth, and southward below the slopes of Pisgah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the Arabah unto the sea of Chinneroth, eastward, and unto the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, eastward, the way to Beth-jeshimoth; and on the south, under the slopes of Pisgah:
KJV
And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Beth–jeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdoth–pisgah:
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This verse in Joshua 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe sea of Chinneroth - Or Gennesareth, the same as the lake or sea of Tiberias. The Salt Sea on the east - ים המלח yam hammelach, which is here translated the Salt Sea, is understood by others to mean the sea of the city Melach. Where can we find any thing that can be called a salt sea on the east of the lake of Gennesareth? Some think that the lake Asphaltites, called also the Dead Sea, Sea of the Desert, Sea of Sodom, and Salt Sea, is here intended.
This site's exposition
Now these are the kings
on Joshua 12:1-3
The register opens east of Jordan and under Moses, so the count runs back to Numbers 21 rather than starting at Jericho. Sihon's territory had been Moab's before he took it, which Numbers 21:26 states outright, and that is how Israel could hold Heshbon without touching the land Deuteronomy 2:9 reserved to the children of Lot. The eastern limit is the Jabbok, named here as the border of the children of Ammon, and Deuteronomy 2:19 had forbidden Israel any possession beyond it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Whoever believes in me will also do the works which I do, and will do even greater ones. And where is this word which he said, "The disciple is not greater than his master" [illustrated]? For example, Moses killed only three kings, but Joshua killed …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And this was indeed the situation of the plains of Moab, which are here spoken of; they lay between the two seas, that of Cinneroth and the salt sea, and eastward to them both. Sea of the plain - The salt sea was a famous plain, pleasant and fruitful, before it was turned into a sea.
And from the plain,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
To the Yabok river, which was the border of the land of the Bnei Amon, the end of the territory of the land of Bnei Amon. From there [the Yabok River] and further the Bnei Amon had dominion.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָעֲרָבָה֩ | vehaaravah | and the Arabah | H6160 → | 61 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| יָ֨ם | yam | [the] sea of | H3220 → | 396 times |
| כִּנְר֜וֹת | kinrot | Kinnereth | H3672 → | 7 times |
| מִזְרָ֗חָה | mizrachah | east -ward | H4217 → | 74 times |
| וְ֠עַד | vead | and to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| יָ֣ם | yam | [the] sea of | H3220 → | 396 times |
| הָעֲרָבָ֤ה | haaravah | the Arabah | H6160 → | 61 times |
| יָם־ | yom- | [the] Sea of | H3220 → | 396 times |
| הַמֶּ֙לַח֙ | hamelach | <the> Salt | H4417 → | 27 times |
| מִזְרָ֔חָה | mizrachah | east -ward | H4217 → | 74 times |
| דֶּ֖רֶךְ | derekh | [the] direction of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | Beth | H1020 → | 8 times |
| הַיְשִׁמ֑וֹת | hayshimot | <of the> Jeshimoth | H1020 → | 8 times |
| וּמִ֨תֵּימָ֔ן | umiteiman | and from [the] south | H8486 → | 23 times |
| תַּ֖חַת | tachat | under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| אַשְׁדּ֥וֹת | ʾashdot | [the] slopes of | H798 → | |
| הַפִּסְגָּֽה׃ | hapisgah | <the> Pisgah | H6449 → |
וְהָעֲרָבָה֩and the Arabah
vehaaravahH6160 →61 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
יָ֨ם[the] sea of
yamH3220 →396 times
כִּנְר֜וֹתKinnereth
kinrotH3672 →7 times
מִזְרָ֗חָהeast -ward
mizrachahH4217 →74 times
וְ֠עַדand to
veadH5704 →1261 times
יָ֣ם[the] sea of
yamH3220 →396 times
הָעֲרָבָ֤הthe Arabah
haaravahH6160 →61 times
יָם־[the] Sea of
yom-H3220 →396 times
הַמֶּ֙לַח֙<the> Salt
hamelachH4417 →27 times
מִזְרָ֔חָהeast -ward
mizrachahH4217 →74 times
דֶּ֖רֶךְ[the] direction of
derekhH1870 →707 times
בֵּ֣יתBeth
beitH1020 →8 times
הַיְשִׁמ֑וֹת<of the> Jeshimoth
hayshimotH1020 →8 times
וּמִ֨תֵּימָ֔ןand from [the] south
umiteimanH8486 →23 times
תַּ֖חַתunder
tachatH8478 →505 times
אַשְׁדּ֥וֹת[the] slopes of
ʾashdotH798 →
הַפִּסְגָּֽה׃<the> Pisgah
hapisgahH6449 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 3:17The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.
it leads to
- Genesis 14:3
The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 3:16
the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
- Genesis 14:3
Through
Deuteronomy 4:49including all the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan and as far as the Sea of the Arabah, below the slopes of Pisgah.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 3:17
The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 3:17
Through
Joshua 3:16the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was…
it leads to
- Joshua 3:13
When the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the Lord of all the earth—touch down in the waters of the Jordan, its flowing waters will be cut off and will…
- 1 Kings 7:46
The king had them cast in clay molds in the plain of the Jordan between Succoth and Zarethan.
- 1 Kings 4:12
Baana son of Ahilud in Taanach, in Megiddo, and in all of Beth-shean next to Zarethan below Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah and on past Jokmeam;
- Joshua 3:13
Through
Joshua 11:2to the kings of the north in the mountains, in the Arabah south of Chinnereth, in the foothills, and in Naphoth-dor to the west;
it leads to
- Judges 1:27
At that time Manasseh failed to drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean, Taanach, Dor, Ibleam, Megiddo, and their villages; for the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land.
- Numbers 34:11
then go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain and continue along the slopes east of the Sea of Chinnereth.
- Judges 1:27
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON TATIAN'S DIATESSARON 19.8; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.