Joshua 15:5 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Joshua 15:5
And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the end of Jordan. And their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan:
the front · noun, common masculine singular absolute + directional suffix
border
וּגְב֥וּלu.ge.Vul
H1366
properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
salt
הַמֶּ֔לַחha.Me.lach
H4417
properly · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
sea
יָ֣םyam
H3220
a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water · noun, common masculine singular construct
end
קְצֵ֖הke.Tzeh
H7097
an extremity · noun, common masculine singular construct
Jordan
הַיַּרְדֵּ֑ןhai.yar.Den
H3383
Jarden · definite article + proper noun, a place name
border
וּגְב֞וּלu.ge.Vul
H1366
properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
north
צָפ֙וֹנָה֙tza.Fo.nah
H6828
properly · noun, common feminine singular absolute + directional suffix
quarter
לִפְאַ֤תlif.'At
H6285
properly · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
bay
מִלְּשׁ֣וֹןmi.le.Shon
H3956
the tongue (of man or animals) · preposition + noun, common both genders singular construct
sea
הַיָּ֔םhai.Yam
H3220
a sea (as breaking in noisy surf) or large body of water · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
part
מִקְצֵ֖הmik.Tzeh
H7097
an extremity · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
Jordan
הַיַּרְדֵּֽןhai.yar.Den
H3383
Jarden · 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
Numbers 34:12 And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof r…
Numbers 34:10 And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham:
Joshua 18:15-19 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 Nephtoa…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Joshua 15:1-12
Judah and Joseph were the two sons of Jacob on whom Reuben's forfeited birth-right devolved. Judah had the dominion entailed on him, and Joseph the double portion, and therefore these two tribes were first seated, Judah in the southern part of the land of Canaan and Joseph in the northern part, and on them the other seven did attend, and had their respective lots as appurtenances to these two; the lots of Benjamin, Simeon, and Dan, were appendant to Judah, and those of Issachar and Zebulun, Naphtali and Asher, to Joseph. These two were first set up to be provided for, it should seem, before there was such an exact survey of the land as we find afterwards, Jos 18:9. It is probable that the mo…
The east border was the Salt Sea - The Salt Sea is the same as the Dead Sea, lake Asphaltites, etc. And here it is intimated that the eastern border of the tribe of Judah extended along the Dead Sea, from its lowest extremity to the end of Jordan, i.e., to the place where Jordan falls into this sea.
John Gill on Joshua 15:5
And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the end of Jordan,.... To the place where Jordan fell into it; so that this border was the whole length of the salt sea, which Josephus says (y) was five hundred eighty furlongs; and, according to Pliny (z), an hundred miles:
and their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea,
at the uttermost part of Jordan; this northern border began where the eastern ended, at the bay or creek of the sea, where Jordan fell into it.
(y) De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 4. (z) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 16.
John Calvin on Joshua 15:1-13
Joshua 15:1-13
1. This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast.
1. Fuitque sors tribui filiorum Jehuda per familias eorum juxta terminum Edom, et desertum Sin ad austrum ab extremo austri.
2. And their south border was from the shore of the salt sea, from the bay that looketh southward:
2. Fuitque ejus terminus meridici ab extremo maris salis, hoc est a petra quae respicit ad meridiem.
3. And it went out to the south side to Maalehacrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadeshbarnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went…
The Church Fathers
But let us also see what "the borders on the eastern side" are. Not that I now wish to make a catalogue of places, but that we may contemplate the images of the mysteries which are signified through these things. It is said, then, that "on the eastern side of the tribe of Judah" is "the salt sea," and after this in its region is named "the fountain of the sun" and "the city of the sun," and that in the same tribe there is also "the city of letters." It is necessary, therefore, that everyone who wishes to enter into the portion of the sons of Judah first cross "the salt sea," that is, overcome the waves and whirlwinds of this life, and escape all those things which in this world, because of their uncertainty and slipperiness, are compared to the waves of the sea, so that he may be able to arrive at the land of Judah and to approach "the fountain of the sun." But what is "the fountain of the sun," or of which "sun"? Of that one, without doubt, of whom it is written: "but to those who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall arise." Of this "sun," then, if you first escape "the salt sea," you will find "the fountain" in the land of Judah. Which "fountain"? That one, assuredly, of which Jesus said: "but whoever drinks of the water that I give him, there shall be made in him a fountain of water springing up into life eternal." When, therefore, you have found such a "fountain" of this "sun" as we have described, you will also find his "city." "For there is also there," it says, "a city of the sun." There is said to be in Egypt also a "city of the sun." But that "city" which is in Egypt received the name of this "sun," whom "the heavenly Father bids to rise upon the good and the evil." But that city which is in Judaea is made up of the saints only, because it is the "city of God," and that fountain, of which we spoke above, being made "a river, gladdens the city of God." But you too, if you are fortified on every side and surrounded by the wall of continence, if you are strengthened by the towers of wisdom and magnanimity, you too will be made a "city of God." But if to all these things you add for yourself the light of knowledge, as Isaiah said: "kindle for yourselves the light of knowledge," and the "sun of righteousness" shines upon you, you too will be made a "city of the sun," or you will receive "the city of the sun" as the lot of your inheritance. But…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Bay — Denotes the estuary of the Dead Sea at the mouth of the Jordan (Josh. 15:5; 18:19), also the southern extremity of the same sea (15:2). The same Hebrew word is rendered “tongue” in Isa. 11:15, where…
Dagon’s house — (1 Sam. 5:2), or Beth-dagon, as elsewhere rendered (Josh. 15: 41; 19:27), was the sanctuary or temple of Dagon. The Beth-dagon of Josh. 15:41 was one of the cities of the tribe of Judah, in the…
Hazor — Enclosed; fortified. (1.) A stronghold of the Canaanites in the mountains north of Lake Merom (Josh. 11:1-5). Jabin the king with his allied tribes here encountered Joshua in a great battle. Joshua…
Judah, Tribe of — Judah and his three surviving sons went down with Jacob into Egypt (Gen. 46:12; Ex. 1:2). At the time of the Exodus, when we meet with the family of Judah again, they have increased to the number of…
Jordan · Empties into the — Empties into the
Judah, The Tribe Of · Bounds of inheritance — Bounds of inheritance
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).
Boundaries of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah. - Jos 15:1. Its situation in the land. "And there was (i.e., fell, or came out; cf. Jos 16:1; Jos 19:1) the lot to the tribe of Judah according to its families to the frontier of Edom (see at Num 34:3), to the desert of Zin southward, against the extreme south" (lit. from the end or extremity of the south), i.e., its inheritance fell to it, so that it reached to the territory of Edom and the desert of Zin, in which Kadesh was situated (see at Num 13:21), on the extreme south of Canaan.
Jos 15:2-4
The southern boundary. This was also the southern boundary of the land of Israel generally, and coincided with the southern boundary of Canaan as…
Although Judah’s northern boundary is described in great detail, some sections of this border cannot be determined with certainty.
Rashi on Joshua 15:5
The eastern boundary. Referring to the boundary line that stretches along the eastern border of Yehudah.
The Salt (Dead) Sea. It is located at the south eastern corner of the land, as stated in Parshas אֵלֶה מַסְעֵי7Bamidbar 34:12.
To the end of the Jordan. The width of the boundary of Yehudah is only that which is opposite the Dead Sea to the place where the Jordan empties into the Dead Sea, for the Jordan itself is also on the eastern border of the land of Canaan, as stated in Parshas אֵלֶה מַסְעֵי8Ibid. regarding the eastern border. The boundary descended to the Jordan and it extended to the Dead Sea, which is at the corner.
And the boundary of the north side. The border line stretchin…
