Joshua 19:44

19:17-51 Joshua waited till all the tribes were settled, before he asked any provision for himself. He was content to be unfixed, till he saw them all placed, and herein is an example to all in public places, to prefer the common welfare before private advantage. Those who labour most to do good to others, seek an inheritance in the Canaan above: but it will be soon enough to enter thereon, when they have done all the service to their brethren of which they are capable. Nor can any thing more effectually assure them of their title to it, than endeavouring to bring others to desire, to seek, and to obtain it. Our Lord Jesus came and dwelt on earth, not in pomp but poverty, providing rest for man, yet himself not having where to lay his head; for Christ pleased not himself. Nor would he enter upon his inheritance, till by his obedience to death he secured the eternal inheritance for all his people; nor will he account his own glory completed, till every ransomed sinner is put in possession of his heavenly rest.

And Eltekeh,.... Eltekeh was a city given to the Levites, Joshua 21:23 ; and supposed by some to be the same with Eltekon in the tribe of Judah given to the Danites, Joshua 15:59 , and Gibbethon was in the hands of the Philistines in the reign of Asa, 1 Kings 15:21; and in the same place Jerom (t) calls Gabatha a city of the strangers, or Philistines; and which lie places near Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah: and Baalath is not the same with Baalah, Joshua 15:29; but the Baalath rebuilt by Solomon, 1 Kings 9:18; called by Josephus (u) Baleth, and spoken of by him as near to Gazara in the land of the Philistines; of these two last cities, the Talmudists (w) say that their houses belonged to Judah, and their fields to Dan. (t) De loc. Heb. fol. 92. C. (u) Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6. sect. 1.((w) T. Hieros. Sanhedrin, fol. 18. 3.

Jos 19:40-48. Of Dan. 40-46. the seventh lot came out for the tribe … Dan—It lay on the west of Benjamin and consisted of portions surrendered by Judah and Ephraim. Its boundaries are not stated, as they were easily distinguishable from the relative position of Dan to the three adjoining tribes.

The number of the fortified cities of Naphtali is remarkable, though it does not tally with the catalogue. It was no doubt good policy to protect the northern frontier by a belt of fortresses, as the south was protected by the fenced cities of Judah. Hammath, a Levitical city (compare Joshua 21:32 ; 1 Chronicles 6:76 ), is not to be confounded with the Hamath on the northeastern frontier of the land Numbers 13:21 . The name (from a root signifying "to be warm") probably indicates that hot springs existed here; and is perhaps rightly traced in Ammaus, near Tiberias. Rakkath was, according to the rabbis, rebuilt by Herod and called Tiberias. The name ("bank, shore") suits the site of Tiberias very well. Migdal-el, perhaps the Magdala of Matthew 15:39 , is now the miserable village of "El Mejdel."

Eltekeh and Gibbethon, which were allotted to the Levites ( Joshua 21:23 ), have not yet been discovered. Under the earliest kings of Israel, Gibbethon was in the hands of the Philistines ( 1 Kings 15:27 ; 1 Kings 16:15 , 1 Kings 16:17 ). Baalath was fortified by Solomon ( 1 Kings 9:18 ). According to Josephus (Ant. 8:6, 1), it was "Baleth in the neighbourhood of Geser;" probably the same place as Baalah, on the border of Judah ( Joshua 15:11 ).

1 Kings 15:27-28 . Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines — This was a city in the tribe of Dan, given to the Levites, ( Joshua 19:44 ; Joshua 21:23 ,) who quitted it, as they did the rest of their cities, when Jeroboam would not suffer them to execute their office, 2 Chronicles 11:14 ; and the Philistines, it is likely, seized upon it, being adjoining to their country. But it appears, Nadab was now endeavouring to recover it out of their hands, as of right belonging to him; and here, in the midst of his army, did Baasha, with others, conspire against him, and kill him: and so little interest had he in the affections of his people, that his army not only did not avenge his death, but chose his murderer his successor. Whether Baasha did this upon a personal pique against Nadab, or to be revenged on the house of Jeroboam for some affront received from them; or whether under pretence of freeing his country from the tyranny of an ill prince; or whether purely from a principle of ambition, to make way for himself to the throne, doth not appear; but having slain him, he reigned in his stead.

(27) Baasha, sprung from an obscure tribe, hardly at any time distinguished in the history, and himself, as it would seem ( 1Kings 16:2 ), of low origin in it, is the first of the many military chiefs who by violence or assassination seized upon the throne of Israel. The constant succession of ephemeral dynasties stands in striking contrast with the unchanged royalty of the house of David, resting on the promise of God. Gibbethon—a Levitical town in the territory of Dan (Joshua 19:44; Joshua 21:23), probably, like other places in that region, still held by the Philistines till their subjugation by David. The text here implies a revolt of the Philistines against the enfeebled power of Israel, and the occupation of Gibbethon, commanding a pass from the plain of Sharon to the interior. The siege must have been fruitless, at least of any permanent result; for twenty-six years after we find Gibbethon still in the hands of the enemy. (See 1Kings 16:15.)Benson Commentary1 Kings 15:27-28. Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines — This was a city in the tribe of Dan, given to the Levites, (Joshua 19:44; Joshua 21:23,) who quitted it, as they did the rest of their cities, when Jeroboam would not suffer them to execute their office, 2 Chronicles 11:14; and the Philistines, it is likely, seized upon it, being adjoining to their country.

Tola, its one very undistinguished Judge Jdg 10:1, on obtaining office had at once settled himself in the territory of Ephraim. The tribe was as little famous as any that could be named. The "ass crouching between two burthens" was a true symbol of the patient, plodding cultivators of the plain of Esdraelon Genesis 49:14-15. Baasha probably owed his rise neither to his tribe nor to his social position, but simply to his audacity, and his known valor and skill as a soldier 1 Kings 16:2. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary27. Baasha smote him at Gibbethon—This town, within the tribe of Dan, was given to the Levites (Jos 19:44). It lay on the Philistine borders, and having been seized by that people, Nadab laid siege to recover it.Matthew Poole's Commentary Of the house of Issachar, i.e. of the tribe, which is oft called a house, as Judges 10:9 Psalm 135:20 Hosea 1:7. Which belonged to the Philistines; who, taking advantage of the division between Israel and Judah, had retaken this town, which belonged to the tribe of Dan, Joshua 19:44, and belonged to the Levites, Joshua 21:23; upon whose departure to Judah, 2 Chronicles 11:14, the kings of Israel seized their towns and lands to their own use, as was noted before; which made them so much concerned for this town, to besiege it both now and many years after this time, 1 Kings 16:15. Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAnd Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar,....