Joshua 18:15
in Joshua 18On the south side the border began at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim and extended westward to the spring at the Waters of Nephtoah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the south quarter was from the uttermost part of Kiriath-jearim; and the border went out westward, and went out to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah;
KJV
And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjath–jearim, and the border went out on the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah:
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This verse in Joshua 18
Commentary
2 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
the lot of the tribe
on Joshua 18:11-20
Benjamin draws the first of the seven lots and gets a strip between Judah on the south and Joseph on the north, which sets Rachel's two sons beside each other and answers Deuteronomy 33:12, where the beloved of the Lord dwells between his shoulders. The southern line here is the northern line of Judah from 15:5-9 traced in the opposite direction, with the same landmarks in reverse order: the stone of Bohan, the going up to Adummim, En-rogel and the valley of the son of Hinnom. Barnes holds that the text of this chapter and the next is in disorder and that many of the places named can no longer be located, which is worth stating rather than passing over. The portion is the smallest of the seven, and it holds the Jordan fords, Jericho, and the ground Jerusalem stands on.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjathjearim,.... Where the western quarter ended: and the border went out on the west; not directly south, but somewhat westerly.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
And the southern side— Referring to the southern border of Binyomin which is identical with the northern border of Yehudah.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And the boundary circled and went around the western side southward. At Atros-ador, the length of the northern boundary ended; it went from east to west. From there the boundary line encircled the western boundary of Binyomin to go southward from north to south.
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. 3 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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּפְאַת־ | ufeat- | and [the] side of | H6285 → | 86 times |
| נֶ֕גְבָּה | negbah | [the] south <towards> | H5045 → | 112 times |
| מִקְצֵ֖ה | miktzeh | [is] from [the] end of | H7097 → | 97 times |
| קִרְיַ֣ת | kiryat | Kiriath | H7157 → | 39 times |
| יְעָרִ֑ים | yearim | Jearim | H7157 → | 39 times |
| וְיָצָ֤א | veyatza' | and it goes out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| הַגְּבוּל֙ | hagevul | the border | H1366 → | 240 times |
| יָ֔מָּה | yamah | west- -ward | H3220 → | 396 times |
| וְיָצָ֕א | veyatza' | and it goes out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מַעְיַ֖ן | ma'yan | [the] spring of | H4599 → | |
| מֵ֥י | mei | [the] waters of | H4325 → | 581 times |
| נֶפְתּֽוֹחַ׃ | neftoach | Nephtoah | H5318 → |
וּפְאַת־and [the] side of
ufeat-H6285 →86 times
נֶ֕גְבָּה[the] south <towards>
negbahH5045 →112 times
מִקְצֵ֖ה[is] from [the] end of
miktzehH7097 →97 times
קִרְיַ֣תKiriath
kiryatH7157 →39 times
יְעָרִ֑יםJearim
yearimH7157 →39 times
וְיָצָ֤אand it goes out
veyatza'H3318 →1067 times
הַגְּבוּל֙the border
hagevulH1366 →240 times
יָ֔מָּהwest- -ward
yamahH3220 →396 times
וְיָצָ֕אand it goes out
veyatza'H3318 →1067 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מַעְיַ֖ן[the] spring of
ma'yanH4599 →
מֵ֥י[the] waters of
meiH4325 →581 times
נֶפְתּֽוֹחַ׃Nephtoah
neftoachH5318 →
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
Joshua 15:9From the hilltop the border curved to the spring of the Waters of Nephtoah, proceeded to the cities of Mount Ephron, and then bent around toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath-jearim).
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 13:6
David and all Israel went up to Baalah of Judah (that is, Kiriath-jearim) to bring up from there the ark of God the LORD, who is enthroned between the cherubim—the ark that is called…
- Judges 18:12
They went up and camped at Kiriath-jearim in Judah. That is why the place west of Kiriath-jearim is called Mahaneh-dan to this day.
- 2 Samuel 6:2
And he and all his troops set out for Baale of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name—the name of the LORD of Hosts, who…
- Joshua 9:17
So the Israelites set out and on the third day arrived at their cities—Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth, and Kiriath-jearim.
- 1 Chronicles 13:6
About Joshua

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth.
