Joshua 15:6
in Joshua 15The northern border started from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan, went up to Beth-hoglah, proceeded north of Beth-arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the border went up to Beth-hoglah, and passed along by the north of Beth-arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben;
KJV
And the border went up to Beth–hogla, and passed along by the north of Beth–arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben:
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This verse in Joshua 15
Commentary
7 notes on this verseBeth-hogla - A place between Jericho and the Dead Sea, belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 18:21, though here serving as a frontier to the tribe of Judah. Stone of Bohan - This must have been some remarkable place, probably like the stone of Jacob, which afterwards became Bethel; but where it was situated is uncertain.
This site's exposition
This then was the lot of the tribe
on Joshua 15:1-12
Judah is given first and given most, before the tabernacle tribe and before Joseph, which matches the sceptre of Genesis 49:10 rather than birth order. The word lot is meant literally: Numbers 26:55 and Joshua 14:2 both say the land was divided by lot, so the borders traced here were settled by a method nobody could steer. The frame runs from the salt sea in verse 2 to the great sea in verse 12, so the chapter opens by drawing a line around the whole of it before naming anything inside.
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 Awakening3 voices
), who probably was a great commander of those forces of Reuben that came over Jordan, and died in the camp at Gilgal, and was buried not far off under this stone.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The stone of Bohan - A place so called, not from Bohan's dwelling there, (for the Reubenites had no portion on this side Jordan) but from some notable exploit which he did there, though it is not recorded in scripture.
And the border went up to Bethhoglah,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The stone of Bohan - This stone perhaps commemorated some deed of valor belonging to the wars of Joshua (compare 1Sa 7:12). The stone was erected on the slope of a hill (see the marginal reference), no doubt one of the range which hounds the Jordan valley on the west. But its exact site is wholly uncertain.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְעָלָ֤ה | vealah | and it goes up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| הַגְּבוּל֙ | hagevul | the border | H1366 → | 240 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | Beth | H1031 → | 6 times |
| חָגְלָ֔ה | chagelah | Hoglah | H1031 → | 6 times |
| וְעָבַ֕ר | veavar | and it passes on | H5674 → | 556 times |
| מִצְּפ֖וֹן | mitzefon | from [the] north | H6828 → | 153 times |
| לְבֵ֣ית | leveit | of Beth | H1026 → | 6 times |
| הָעֲרָבָ֑ה | haaravah | <the> Arabah | H1026 → | 6 times |
| וְעָלָ֣ה | vealah | and it goes up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| הַגְּב֔וּל | hagevul | the border | H1366 → | 240 times |
| אֶ֥בֶן | ʾeven | [the] stone of | H68 → | 273 times |
| בֹּ֖הַן | bohan | Bohan | H932 → | |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| רְאוּבֵֽן׃ | reuven | Reuben | H7205 → | 72 times |
וְעָלָ֤הand it goes up
vealahH5927 →890 times
הַגְּבוּל֙the border
hagevulH1366 →240 times
בֵּ֣יתBeth
beitH1031 →6 times
חָגְלָ֔הHoglah
chagelahH1031 →6 times
וְעָבַ֕רand it passes on
veavarH5674 →556 times
מִצְּפ֖וֹןfrom [the] north
mitzefonH6828 →153 times
לְבֵ֣יתof Beth
leveitH1026 →6 times
הָעֲרָבָ֑ה<the> Arabah
haaravahH1026 →6 times
וְעָלָ֣הand it goes up
vealahH5927 →890 times
הַגְּב֔וּלthe border
hagevulH1366 →240 times
אֶ֥בֶן[the] stone of
ʾevenH68 →273 times
בֹּ֖הַןBohan
bohanH932 →
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
רְאוּבֵֽן׃Reuben
reuvenH7205 →72 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JOSHUA 19.4.