Joshua 18:24
in Joshua 18Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve cities, along with their villages.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and Chephar-ammoni, and Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages:
KJV
And Chephar–haammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages:
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This verse in Joshua 18
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd Chepharhaammonai, and Ophni,.... Of the two first of these no mention is made elsewhere: and Gaba is the same with Gibeah, a well known place, because of the foul fact committed there, which had like to have been the ruin of this tribe, Jdg 19:14; and for being the native place of King Saul, hence called "Gibeah of Saul", 1Sa 11:4; it was about six or seven miles from Jerusalem; see Gill on Hos 5:8; twelve cities with their villages; which agrees with the account of them.
This site's exposition
These were the cities of the clans
on Joshua 18:21-28
Jericho heads Benjamin's list, the town Joshua cursed at 6:26, and 1 Kings 16:34 records the curse falling on Hiel of Bethel. Verse 28 lists Jebus, which is Jerusalem, while 15:63 records Judah failing to drive out the Jebusites and Judges 1:21 records Benjamin failing.
This site's exposition
twelve cities, along with their villages
Gill counts the names of verses 22-24 and finds that they agree with the total of twelve. Several lists in chapter 19 fail that test. Geba later marks the northern end of Judah's kingdom, since 2 Kings 23:8 has Josiah desecrating the high places from Geba to Beersheba.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The testimony of Israel and the thrones of judgment do well together, Ps. cxxii. Some think there was an eye to the name of the place, Shiloh being the name by which the Messiah was known in dying Jacob's prophecy ( Gen. xlix.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
And Gaba - Supposed to be the same as Gibeah of Saul, a place famous for having given birth to the first king of Israel; and infamous for the shocking act towards the Levite’s wife, mentioned Jdg 19:16-30, which was the cause of a war in which the tribe of Benjamin was nearly exterminated. Judges 20:29-48.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּכְפַ֧ר | ukhefar | and Kephar | H3723 → | |
| הָֽעַמֹּנָ֛ה | haamoni | <the> Ammonah | H3726 → | |
| וְהָֽעָפְנִ֖י | vehaafeni | and <the> Ophni | H6078 → | |
| וָגָ֑בַע | vagava' | and Geba | H1387 → | |
| עָרִ֥ים | ʾarim | cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| שְׁתֵּים־ | sheteim- | two [plus] | H8147 → | 768 times |
| עֶשְׂרֵ֖ה | ʾesreh | ten | H6240 → | 338 times |
| וְחַצְרֵיהֶֽן׃ | vechatzreihen | and villages their | H2691 → | 191 times |
וּכְפַ֧רand Kephar
ukhefarH3723 →
הָֽעַמֹּנָ֛ה<the> Ammonah
haamoniH3726 →
וְהָֽעָפְנִ֖יand <the> Ophni
vehaafeniH6078 →
וָגָ֑בַעand Geba
vagava'H1387 →
עָרִ֥יםcities
ʾarimH5892 →1090 times
שְׁתֵּים־two [plus]
sheteim-H8147 →768 times
עֶשְׂרֵ֖הten
ʾesrehH6240 →338 times
וְחַצְרֵיהֶֽן׃and villages their
vechatzreihenH2691 →191 times
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
Joshua 21:17And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,
it leads to
- Joshua 18:24–25
Chephar-ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve cities, along with their villages.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 9:3
But the people of Gibeon, having heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai,
- 1 Chronicles 6:60
And from the tribe of Benjamin they were given Gibeon, Geba, Alemeth, and Anathoth, together with their pasturelands. So they had thirteen cities in all among their families.
- Joshua 18:24–25
Through
Isaiah 10:29They have crossed at the ford: “We will spend the night at Geba.” Ramah trembles; Gibeah of Saul flees.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 13:23
And a garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Michmash.
- 1 Samuel 7:17
Then he would return to Ramah because his home was there, and there he judged Israel and built an altar to the LORD.
- 1 Samuel 11:4
When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul and relayed these words in the hearing of the people, they all wept aloud.
- Joshua 21:17
And from the tribe of Benjamin they gave them Gibeon, Geba,
- Jeremiah 31:15
This is what the LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.”
- 1 Samuel 13:23
Where this verse is studied
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and The Berean Standard Bible, Joshua 18, with the verses cited in the note.