Joshua 15:5
in Joshua 15The eastern border was the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the east border was the Salt Sea, even unto the end of the Jordan. And the border of the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the end of the Jordan;
KJV
And 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:
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This verse in Joshua 15
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd the east border was the salt sea, even unto the end of Jordan,.... To the place where Jordan fell into it; so that this border was the whole length of the salt sea, which Josephus says (y) was five hundred eighty furlongs; and, according to Pliny (z), an hundred miles: and their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea, at the uttermost part of Jordan; this northern border began where the eastern ended, at the bay or creek of the sea, where Jordan fell into it. (y) De Bello Jud. l. 4. c.
This site's exposition
the allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah
on Joshua 15:1-12
Judah is given first and given most, before the tabernacle tribe and before Joseph, which matches the scepter of Genesis 49:10 rather than birth order. The lot is literal, as Numbers 26:55 and Joshua 14:2 both say, so nobody could steer these borders. The frame runs from the Salt Sea at verse 2 to the Great Sea at verse 12, drawing the whole before naming anything inside.
This site's exposition
as far as the mouth of the Jordan
The whole eastern side is water, the length of the Salt Sea from its southern bay to the point where the Jordan enters it. Gill gives its length from Josephus as five hundred and eighty furlongs. Genesis 14:3 calls the same water the Valley of Siddim.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Everyone, therefore, who wants to enter into the portion of the children of Judah must first pass through the Salt Sea. That is to say, he must surmount the waves and billows of this life and escape from all things in this world that, by virtue of their own uncertainty and hazardousness, are compared with the waves of the sea. Then he may be able to reach the land of Judah and to approach the fountain of the sun. But what is the fountain of the sun, or of which sun?
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Every sea is salt, but this was of an extraordinary and more than natural saltness, the effects of that fire and brimstone with which Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed in Abraham's time, whose ruins lie buried in the bottom of this dead water, which never either was moved itself or had any living thing in it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The east border was the Salt Sea - The Salt Sea is the same as the Dead Sea, lake Asphaltites, etc. And here it is intimated that the eastern border of the tribe of Judah extended along the Dead Sea, from its lowest extremity to the end of Jordan, i.e., to the place where Jordan falls into this sea.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּגְב֥וּל | ugevul | and [the] border | H1366 → | 240 times |
| קֵ֙דְמָה֙ | kedemah | east -ward | H6924 → | 87 times |
| יָ֣ם | yam | [is] [the] Sea of | H3220 → | 396 times |
| הַמֶּ֔לַח | hamelach | <the> Salt | H4417 → | 27 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| קְצֵ֖ה | ketzeh | [the] end of | H7097 → | 97 times |
| הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ן | haiyarden | the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
| וּגְב֞וּל | ugevul | and [the] border | H1366 → | 240 times |
| לִפְאַ֤ת | lifat | of [the] side of | H6285 → | 86 times |
| צָפ֙וֹנָה֙ | tzafonah | north -ward | H6828 → | 153 times |
| מִלְּשׁ֣וֹן | mileshon | [is] from [the] bay of | H3956 → | 117 times |
| הַיָּ֔ם | haiyam | the sea | H3220 → | 396 times |
| מִקְצֵ֖ה | miktzeh | from [the] end of | H7097 → | 97 times |
| הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃ | haiyarden | the Jordan | H3383 → | 182 times |
וּגְב֥וּלand [the] border
ugevulH1366 →240 times
קֵ֙דְמָה֙east -ward
kedemahH6924 →87 times
יָ֣ם[is] [the] Sea of
yamH3220 →396 times
הַמֶּ֔לַח<the> Salt
hamelachH4417 →27 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
קְצֵ֖ה[the] end of
ketzehH7097 →97 times
הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ןthe Jordan
haiyardenH3383 →182 times
וּגְב֞וּלand [the] border
ugevulH1366 →240 times
לִפְאַ֤תof [the] side of
lifatH6285 →86 times
צָפ֙וֹנָה֙north -ward
tzafonahH6828 →153 times
מִלְּשׁ֣וֹן[is] from [the] bay of
mileshonH3956 →117 times
הַיָּ֔םthe sea
haiyamH3220 →396 times
מִקְצֵ֖הfrom [the] end of
miktzehH7097 →97 times
הַיַּרְדֵּֽן׃the Jordan
haiyardenH3383 →182 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
4 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
Numbers 34:12Then the border will go down along the Jordan and end at the Salt Sea. This will be your land, defined by its borders on all sides.”
it leads to
- Numbers 34:3
Your southern border will extend from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern border will run from the end of the Salt Sea,
- Genesis 14:3
The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
- Genesis 13:10
And Lot looked out and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan, all the way to Zoar, was well watered like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt. (This was…
- Genesis 19:24–26
Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
- Numbers 34:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 19.4 and The Berean Standard Bible, Joshua 15, with the verses cited in the note.