Joshua 19:29
in Joshua 19The border then turned back toward Ramah as far as the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah, and came out at the Sea in the region of Achzib,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the border turned to Ramah, and to the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea by the region of Achzib;
KJV
And then the coast turneth to Ramah, and to the strong city Tyre; and the coast turneth to Hosah; and the outgoings thereof are at the sea from the coast to Achzib:
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This verse in Joshua 19
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThe strong city Tyre - I suspect this to be an improper translation. Perhaps the words of the original should be retained: And the coast turneth to Ramah and to the city, מבצר צר mibtsar tsor. Our translators have here left the Hebrew, and followed the Septuagint and Vulgate, a fault of which they are sometimes guilty. The former render the place ἑως πολεως οχυρωματος των Τυριων, unto the fortified city of the Tyrians.
This site's exposition
the fifth lot came out
on Joshua 19:24-31
Asher's border runs north past Carmel to great Zidon and to the strong city Tyre, ground Israel never held. Judges 1:31 lists Accho, Zidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik and Rehob as places Asher did not drive out, and four of those names stand in this allotment: Zidon at verse 28, Rehob at verses 28 and 30, Achzib at verse 29 and Aphek at verse 30. Both accounts stand as written, and the same book that says at 21:45 that nothing failed says at 13:1 that much land remained to be possessed. Keil and Delitzsch read Joshua as the record of land granted rather than land occupied, and Matthew Henry lays the shortfall on Israel's own slackness rather than on the promise.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
To Tyre - Exclusively, for this city was no part of the land given them. But this was not the same city we read of afterwards. For that was built on an island, this on the continent.
And then the coast turneth to Ramah,.... Which was a city in the tribe of Naphtali, Jos 19:36; and on the borders of Asher; though Jerom (y) distinguishes them, and speaks of a Ramah in Asher, and another in Naphtali, as different cities of the same name; as there were several of this name, so called from their being built on an eminence.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
the fifth lot came out for the tribe of the children of Asher--The western boundary is traced from north to south through the cities mentioned; the site of them, however, is unknown.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
and then the coast turneth to Ramah--now El-Hamra, which stood where the Leontes (Litany) ends its southern course and flows westward. and to the strong city Tyre--The original city appears to have stood on the mainland, and was well-fortified.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Fortified city of the Rock. Cities of fortress, cities of might.
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. 6 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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשָׁ֤ב | veshav | and it turns back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| הַגְּבוּל֙ | hagevul | the border | H1366 → | 240 times |
| הָֽרָמָ֔ה | haramah | <the> Ramah | H7414 → | 36 times |
| וְעַד־ | vead- | and to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עִ֖יר | ʾir | [the] city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| מִבְצַר־ | mivtzar- | fortification of | H4013 → | 37 times |
| צֹ֑ר | tzor | Tyre | H6865 → | |
| וְשָׁ֤ב | veshav | and it turns back | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| הַגְּבוּל֙ | hagevul | the border | H1366 → | 240 times |
| חֹסָ֔ה | chosah | Hosah | H2621 → | |
| וְהָי֧וּ | veyihyu | and they are | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| תֹצְאֹתָ֛יו | totzeotav | extremities its | H8444 → | 23 times |
| הַיָּ֖מָּה | haiyamah | the sea towards | H3220 → | 396 times |
| מֵחֶ֥בֶל | mechevel | from [the] region | H2256 → | 62 times |
| אַכְזִֽיבָה׃ | ʾakhzivah | Aczib towards | H392 → |
וְשָׁ֤בand it turns back
veshavH7725 →1056 times
הַגְּבוּל֙the border
hagevulH1366 →240 times
הָֽרָמָ֔ה<the> Ramah
haramahH7414 →36 times
וְעַד־and to
vead-H5704 →1261 times
עִ֖יר[the] city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
מִבְצַר־fortification of
mivtzar-H4013 →37 times
צֹ֑רTyre
tzorH6865 →
וְשָׁ֤בand it turns back
veshavH7725 →1056 times
הַגְּבוּל֙the border
hagevulH1366 →240 times
חֹסָ֔הHosah
chosahH2621 →
וְהָי֧וּand they are
veyihyuH1961 →3559 times
תֹצְאֹתָ֛יוextremities its
totzeotavH8444 →23 times
הַיָּ֖מָּהthe sea towards
haiyamahH3220 →396 times
מֵחֶ֥בֶלfrom [the] region
mechevelH2256 →62 times
אַכְזִֽיבָה׃Aczib towards
ʾakhzivahH392 →
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
2 Samuel 5:11Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, carpenters, and stonemasons, and they built a palace for David.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 14:1
Now Hiram king of Tyre sent envoys to David, along with cedar logs, stonemasons, and carpenters, to build a palace for him.
- 1 Kings 5:1–2
Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
- 1 Kings 5:18
So Solomon’s and Hiram’s builders, along with the Gebalites, quarried the stone and prepared the timber and stone for the construction of the temple.
- 1 Chronicles 14:1
Through
Judges 1:31Asher failed to drive out the inhabitants of Acco, Sidon, Ahlab, Achzib, Helbah, Aphik, and Rehob.
it leads to
- Joshua 19:24–30
The fifth lot came out for the clans of the tribe of Asher:
- Joshua 19:24–30
Through
Micah 1:14Therefore, send farewell gifts to Moresheth-gath; the houses of Achzib will prove deceptive to the kings of Israel.
it leads to
- Joshua 15:44
Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah—nine cities, along with their villages.
- 2 Kings 16:8
Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.
- Psalms 118:8–9
It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.
- Joshua 15:44
Through
Genesis 38:5Then she gave birth to another son and named him Shelah; it was at Chezib that she gave birth to him.
it leads to
- Numbers 26:20
These were the descendants of Judah by their clans: The Shelanite clan from Shelah, the Perezite clan from Perez, and the Zerahite clan from Zerah.
- Numbers 26:20
About Joshua

Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
