Joshua 19:9

Those who take Sheba, Joshua 19:2, to be the same with Shema, Joshua 15:26, make but one city here, and take away the last, as the Greek version does, and render the word "and their fields", and so the number still is as follows: thirteen cities and their villages; the sum total of those enumerated above. {b} De Jud. Bell. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 1. {c} Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 14. {d} Strabo. Geograph. l. 17. p. 559. {e} De Animal. l. 12. c. 7. Joshua 19:7 Ver. 7. Ain, Remmon,.... Of the two first, which were cities of Judah, See Gill on "Joshua 15:32"; and Ether, and Ashan; of the two last, see Gill "Joshua 19:42"; four cities and their villages; Ain, Remmon, therefore, could not be one city, at this time, as it seems to have been in the times of Nehemiah, Nehemiah 11:29; or otherwise there would have been but three cities. Joshua 19:8 Ver. 8. And all the villages that [were] round about these cities,....

Jerom {y} speaks of Gabaatha in the tribe of Benjamin, twelve miles from Eleutheropolis, where the grave of the Prophet Habakkuk was shown; [and] Kirjath signifies a city, but what city is meant is not known: fourteen cities with their villages; and just so many are mentioned by name: this [is] the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families; these cities, with others perhaps not mentioned, were allotted to the tribe of Benjamin for their families to dwell in. {y} De loc. Heb. fol. 92. C. John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. Joshua 19:1 INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 19 In this chapter an account is given of the lots of the six remaining tribes, and the cities in them, as of Simeon, whose cities were chiefly within the tribe of Judah, Joshua 19:1; of Zebulun, its border and cities, Joshua 19:10; of Issachar, its border and cities, Joshua 19:17; of Asher, its border and cities, Joshua 19:24; of Naphtali, its border and cities, Joshua 19:32; of Dan, its border and titles, Joshua 19:40; and lastly of a gift of inheritance to Joshua, Joshua 19:49. Ver. 1. And the second lot came forth to Simeon,....

19:1-9 The men of Judah did not oppose taking away the cities within their border, when convinced that they had more than was right. If a true believer has obtained an unintended and improper advantage in any thing, he will give it up without murmuring. Love seeketh not her own, and doth not behave unseemly; it will induce those in whom it richly dwells, to part with their own to supply what is lacking to their brethren.

Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon,.... Which is the reason why no description is given of the border of their inheritance, because that is before given in the account of the lot of Judah: for the part of the children of Judah was too much for them: they had more cities than they could fill with people, and more land than they could cultivate; they had an hundred fourteen cities with their villages: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them; the one being a small tribe, and the other large, and for the reasons given; See Gill on Joshua 19:1.

9 . of the children of Simeon ] In this “ Negeb ” or “ land of the south ,” Simeon now took up his abode. Like Reuben on the east of Jordan, the tribe was destined to have little influence on the subsequent history, to be divided in Jacob and scattered in Israel ( Genesis 49:5-7 ). In the prophecy of Moses he is not even mentioned (Deuteronomy 33), nor are we told what part he took at the time of the division of the kingdom. “As time rolled on, the tribe gradually crossed the imperceptible boundary between civilisation and barbarism, between Palestine and the Desert, and, in ‘the days of Hezekiah’ ( 1 Chronicles 4:28-43 ), they wandered forth to the east to seek pasture for their flocks, and ‘smote the tents’ of the pastoral tribes who had ‘dwelt there of old;’ and roved along across the ’Arabah till they arrived at the ‘Mount Seir’—the range of Petra—and ‘smote the rest of the Amalekites, and dwelt there unto this day.’ ” Stanley, Sinai and Palestine , p. 161. “It is startling to find that a tribe professing to be” of the “sons of Israel,” and holding no connection with the Arabs of the district, is still to be found in the country around Petra, literally fulfilling an ancient prediction:—“They of the South (= the Negeb ) shall possess the mount of Esau.” See Pusey’s Commentary on Obadiah 1:19 .

Out of the portion of the children of Judah was the inheritance of the children of Simeon: for the part of the children of Judah was too {b} much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance within the inheritance of them. (b) But this large portion was given them by God's providence to declare their increase in time to come.

CHAPTER 19 Jos 19:1-9. The Lot of Simeon. 1. the second lot came forth to Simeon—The next lot that was drawn at Shiloh, gave the tribe of Simeon his inheritance within the territory, which had been assigned to that of Judah. The knowledge of Canaan possessed by the Israelites, when the division of the land commenced, was but very general, being derived from the rapid sweep they had made over it during the course of conquest; and it was on the ground of that rough survey alone that the distribution proceeded, by which Judah received an inheritance. Time showed that this territory was too large (Jos 19:9), either for their numbers, however great, to occupy and their arms to defend, or too large in proportion to the allotments of the other tribes. Justice therefore required (what kind and brotherly feeling readily dictated) a modification of their possession; and a part of it was appropriated to Simeon. By thus establishing it within the original domain of another tribe, the prophecy of Jacob in regard to Simeon was fulfilled (Ge 49:7); for from its boundaries being not traced, there is reason to conclude that its people were divided and dispersed among those of Judah; and though one group of its cities named (Jos 19:2-6), gives the idea of a compact district, as it is usually represented by map makers, the other group (Jos 19:7, 8) were situated, two in the south, and two elsewhere, with tracts of the country around them.

Verse 9. - Therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance. Of the later history of the children of Simeon we find a little recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:39-42 , and some suppose that the event recorded there is a fulfilment of the prophecy in Obadiah 1:19 . Dr. Pusey mentions a tribe still existing in the south, professing to be of the sons of Israel, and holding no connection with the Arabs of the neighbourhood, and supposes them to be the descendants of the five hundred Simeonites who took possession of Mount Seir in the days of Hezekiah. No border seems to have been given of Simeon. Joshua 19:9

In addition to the towns mentioned, the Simeonites received all the villages round about the towns to Baalath-beer, the Ramah of the south. This place, up to which the territory of the Simeonites extended, though without its being actually assigned to the Simeonites, is simply called Baal in 1 Chronicles 4:33 , and is probably the same as Bealoth in Joshua 15:24 , though its situation has not yet been determined (see at Joshua 15:24 ). It cannot be identified, however, with Ramet el Khulil, an hour to the north of Hebron, which Roediger supposes to be the Ramah of the south, since the territory of Simeon, which was situated in the Negeb, and had only two towns in the shephelah, cannot possibly have extended into the mountains to a point on the north of Hebron. So far as the situation is concerned, V. de Velde would be more likely to be correct, when he identifies Rama of the south with Tell Lekiyeh on the north of Beersheba, if this conjecture only rested upon a better foundation than the untenable assumption, that Baalath-beer is the same as the Baalath of Dan in Joshua 19:44 .

22. So Joshua took both Eleazar and the senate, and with them the heads of the tribes, and distributed the land to the nine tribes, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, appointing the dimensions to be according to the largeness of each tribe. So when he had cast lots, Judah had assigned him by lot the upper part of Judea, reaching as far as Jerusalem, and its breadth extended to the Lake of Sodom. Now in the lot of this tribe there were the cities of Askelon and Gaza. The lot of Simeon, which was the second, included that part of Idumea which bordered upon Egypt and Arabia. As to the Benjamites, their lot fell so, that its length reached from the river Jordan to the sea, but in breadth it was bounded by Jerusalem and Bethel; and this lot was the narrowest of all, by reason of the goodness of the land, for it included Jericho and the city of Jerusalem. The tribe of Ephraim had by lot the land that extended in length from the river Jordan to Gezer; but in breadth as far as from Bethel, till it ended at the Great Plain. The half-tribe of Manasseh had the land from Jordan to the city of Dora; but its breadth was at Bethsham, which is now called Scythopolis. And after these was Issachar, which had its limits in length, Mount Carmel and the river, but its limit in breadth was Mount Tabor. The tribe of Zebulon's lot included the land which lay as far as the Lake of Genesareth, and that which belonged to Carmel and the sea