Joshua 13:3 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Joshua 13:3
From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites:
Shichor · definite article + proper noun, a place name
before
פְּנֵ֣יpe.Nei
H6440
the face (as the part that turns) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Egypt
מִצְרַ֗יִםmitz.Ra.yim
H4714
Mitsrajim · proper noun, a place name
borders
גְּב֤וּלge.Vul
H1366
properly · noun, common masculine singular construct
Ekron
עֶקְרוֹן֙'ek.rOn
H6138
Ekron · proper noun, a place name
northward
צָפ֔וֹנָהtza.Fo.nah
H6828
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute + directional suffix
counted
תֵּחָשֵׁ֑בte.cha.Shev
H2803
properly · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Canaanite
לַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֖יla.ke.na.'a.Ni
H3669
a Kenaanite or inhabitant of Kenaan · preposition with the article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
five
חֲמֵ֣שֶׁתcha.Me.shet
H2568
five · cardinal number, both genders singular construct
lords
סַרְנֵ֣יsar.Nei
H5633
an axle · noun, common masculine plural construct
Philistines
פְלִשְׁתִּ֗יםfe.lish.Tim
H6430
a Pelishtite or inhabitant of Pelesheth · noun, gentilic masculine plural absolute
Gazathites
הָעַזָּתִ֤יha.'a.za.Ti
H5841
an Azzathite or inhabitant of Azzah · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Ashdothites
וְהָאַשְׁדּוֹדִי֙ve.ha.'ash.do.Di
H796
an Ashdodite (often collectively) or inhabitant of Asdod · conjunction + definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Eshkalonites
הָאֶשְׁקְלוֹנִ֣יha.'esh.ke.lo.Ni
H832
Ashkelonite (collectively) or inhabitant of Ashkelon · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Gittites
הַגִּתִּ֔יha.gi.Ti
H1663
a Gittite or inhabitant of Gath · definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Ekronites
וְהָעֶקְרוֹנִ֖יve.ha.'ek.ro.Ni
H6139
an Ekronite or inhabitant of Ekron · conjunction + definite article + noun, gentilic masculine singular absolute
Avites
וְהָעַוִּֽיםve.ha.'a.Vim
H5761
Avvim (as inhabited by Avvites) · conjunction + definite article + proper noun, a place name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Deuteronomy 2:23 And the Avims which dwelt in Hazerim, even unto Azzah, the Caphtorims, which came forth out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their s…
Judges 3:3 Namely, five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Ba…
Jeremiah 2:18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the…
Genesis 10:6 And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan.
Genesis 10:15-19 And Canaan begat Sidon his firstborn, and Heth,
Numbers 34:2-14 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an i…
Joshua 13:13 Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among t…
1 Samuel 6:4 Then said they, What shall be the trespass offering which we shall return to him? They answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice,…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Joshua 13:1-6
Here, I. God puts Joshua in mind of his old age, v. 1. 1. It is said that Joshua was old and stricken in years, and he and Caleb were at this time the only old men among the thousands of Israel, none except them of all those who were numbered at Mount Sinai being now alive. He had been a man of war from his youth (Exo 17:10); but now he yielded to the infirmities of age, with which it is in vain for the stoutest to think of contesting. It should seem Joshua had not the same strength and vigour in his old age that Moses had; all that come to old age do not find it alike good; generally, the days of old age are evil days, and such as there is no pleasure in, nor expectation of service from. 2.…
also the Avites: From [on] the south--The two clauses are thus connected in the Septuagint and many other versions. On being driven out (Deu 2:23), they established themselves in the south of Philistia. The second division of the unconquered country comprised
Adam Clarke on Joshua 13:3
From Sihor, which is before Egypt - Supposed by some to be the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, near to the Arabian Desert; called also the river of Egypt, Num 34:5; Jer 2:18. On this subject an intelligent friend favors me with the following opinion: - "The river Sihor is supposed by some to be the Nile, or a branch of it. Others think it the same as what is frequently called the river of Egypt, which lay before or towards the borders of Egypt; which arose out of the mountains of Paran, and ran westward, falling into that bay of the Mediterranean which lies south of the land of the Philistines. This river is often mentioned as the boundary of the Israelites to the southwest, as Euphrates, the g…
From Sihor, which is before Egypt,.... Which Jarchi and Kimchi interpret of the river Nile, and so that river is called, Jeremiah 2:18; it seems to have this name from the waters of it being black and turbid; and hence it was called by the Greeks "Melas"; and by the Latins "Melo"; though it is thought, that not properly the river itself is here meant, which did not reach to the borders of Palestine, but a branch of it, a rivulet from it, for so a traveller (a) writes,"in a journey of about five days from Gaza towards Egypt, the hithermost arm of the Nile is received by the sea, and is commonly called Carabus?"
even unto the borders of Ekron northward: that is, from the southwest of Palestin…
Dictionary and topics
Ashdodites — the inhabitants of Ashdod, (Nehemiah 4:7) called Ashdothites in (Joshua 13:3)
Ashkelon — =Askelon=Ascalon, was one of the five cities of the Philistines (Josh. 13:3; 1 Sam. 6:17). It stood on the shore of the Mediterranean, 12 miles north of Gaza. It is mentioned on an inscription at…
Avim — A people dwelling in Hazerim, or “the villages” or “encampments” on the south-west corner of the sea-coast (Deut. 2:23). They were subdued and driven northward by the Caphtorim. A trace of them is…
Ekron — Firm-rooted, the most northerly of the five towns belonging to the lords of the Philistines, about 11 miles north of Gath. It was assigned to Judah (Josh. 13:3), and afterwards to Dan (19:43), but…
Eshkalonites, The — (Joshua 13:3) [Ashkelon, Askelon]
Gath — A wine-vat, one of the five royal cities of the Philistines (Josh. 13:3) on which the ark brought calamity (1 Sam. 5:8, 9; 6:17). It was famous also as being the birthplace or residence of Goliath (1…
Gaza — Called also Azzah, which is its Hebrew name (Deut. 2:23; 1 Kings 4:24; Jer. 25:20), strong, a city on the Mediterranean shore, remarkable for its early importance as the chief centre of a great…
Gazathites, The — (Joshua 13:3) the inhabitants of Gaza.
Gittite — A native of the Philistine city of Gath (Josh. 13:3). Obed-edom, in whose house the ark was placed, is so designated (2 Sam. 6:10). Six hundred Gittites came with David from Gath into Israel (15:18,…
Lebanon — White, “the white mountain of Syria,” is the loftiest and most celebrated mountain range in Syria. It is a branch running southward from the Caucasus, and at its lower end forking into two parallel…
Lord — There are various Hebrew and Greek words so rendered. (1.) Heb. Jehovah, has been rendered in the English Bible LORD, printed in small capitals. This is the proper name of the God of the Hebrews. The…
Joshua 13:1-14
1. Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.
1. Quum autem senuisset Josue, et venisset in dies, dixit ei Jehova, Tu senuisti, venisti in dies, et multa terra admodum superest ad possidendum.
2. This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri,
2. Haec est terra quae residua est, omnes limites Philisthinorum, et omnis Gessuri.
3. From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Esh…
Introduction to the Division of the Land. - Jos 13:1-7. Command of the Lord to Joshua to distribute the land of Canaan by lot among the nine tribes and a half. Jos 13:1 contains only the commencement of the divine command; the conclusion follows in Jos 13:7. Jos 13:2-6 form a parenthesis of several clauses, defining the last clause of Jos 13:1 more fully. When Joshua had grown old, the Lord commanded him, as he was advanced in years, and there was still much land to be taken, to divide "this land," i.e., the whole of the land of Canaan, for an inheritance to the nine tribes and a half, and promised him at the same time that He would drive out the Canaanites from those portions of the land th…
The stream of Shihor probably marked the traditional boundary between Canaan and Egypt, bisecting the northern Sinai Peninsula. • The Philistine territory included five main cities: Gaza, Ashdod, and Ashkelon were on the Mediterranean coast, and Gath and Ekron were a few miles inland. • The Philistines displaced the Avvites (Deut 2:23).
Rashi on Joshua 13:3
From Shichor. This is the Nile River, which is also referred to as the Egyptian brook. It is close to the southwestern border of Eretz Yisroel, as it is said in Parshas, “These are the journeys.”2Bamidbar 34:5. From here we learn that in Yehoshua’s lifetime, he did not conquer the entire southern border except from the wilderness of Tzin, which is synonymous with the bare, divided mountain3See above 11:17. that goes up to Seir; to the Nile. This is the boundry of Gaza mentioned above, “From Kodeish-Barneia to Gaza.4See above 10:41.
To the border of Ekron, to the north. The Ekronites lived near the Sea, and they spread out northward further than the others.
Which is considered the territory…
Philistines — (Gen. 10:14, R.V.; but in A.V., “Philistim”), a tribe allied to the Phoenicians. They were a branch of the primitive race which spread over the whole district of the Lebanon and the valley of the…
Sihor — (correctly Shi’hor) black; dark the name given to the river Nile in Isa. 23:3; Jer. 2:18. In Josh. 13:3 it is probably “the river of Egypt”, i.e., the Wady el-Arish (1 Chr. 13:5), which flows “before…
Ashdod · A city of the Philistines — A city of the Philistines
Ekron · One of the five chief cities of the Philistines — One of the five chief cities of the Philistines
Gath · Inhabitants of, — Inhabitants of,
Gaza · .A city of the Philistines — .A city of the Philistines
Gazathites · Inhabitants of Gaza — Inhabitants of Gaza
Geshur · of, not subdued by the Israelites — of, not subdued by the Israelites
Hivites · Supposed to be the ancient Avim, or Avites — Supposed to be the ancient Avim, or Avites
Lord · A prince — A prince
Nile, The River · Called: Sihor — Called: Sihor
Philistines · Territory of — Territory of
Sihor · A river of Egypt, given by — A river of Egypt, given by
Theocracy, The, Or Immediate Government By God · Consisted in his: Distribution of conquered lands — Consisted in his: Distribution of conquered lands
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
