Joshua 19:1-17
Jos 19:1
And the second lot came forth to Simeon, even for
the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families: and their
inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah.
After Benjamin received their inheritance then the second
lot fell to the tribe of Simeon. Simeon’s inheritance was in the southern part
of Judah. It was the most southern
tribe. Their inheritance fell
within the tribe of Judah.
Jos 19:2
And they had in their inheritance Beer-sheba, or Sheba,
and Moladah,
The Sheba mentioned here is not the area of Sheba which
was located at the southernmost point of Arabia.
The name “Sheba” is also the name for the city of Beer-sheba which was
located about 27 miles (43 KM) southwest of Hebron.
Moladah was about 10 miles (16 KM) east of Beer-sheba.
Jos 19:3
And Hazar-shual, and Balah, and Azem,
Hazar-shual was about 1 mile (1.6 KM) southeast of
Beer-sheba. Baalah was located
about 5 miles (8 KM) southeast of Beersheba.
The location of Azem is unknown.
Jos 19:4
And Eltolad, and Bethul, and Hormah,
The location of Eltolad is unknown which may also be
known as Tolad. Bethul is also
known as Bethuel and is located about 7 miles (11 KM) north of Beer-sheba.
Hormah was located about 7 miles (11 KM) east of Beer-sheba.
Jos 19:5
And Ziklag, and Beth-marcaboth, and Hazar-susah,
Ziklag was located about 15 miles (24 KM) northwest of
Beer-sheba. Beth-marcaboth means
“house of the chariots.” It was
located near Ziklag and Hormah and may have been a place where the Canaanites
had stored their chariots of war.
Hazar-susah means “village of horses” and was near the Ziklag and Hormah and
many have been the place where the horses for the chariots were kept.
Jos 19:6
And Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their
villages:
Lebaoth may be Beth-lebaoth but it is not certain.
Sharuhen was about 23 miles (37 KM) west of Beer-sheba and it was 15
miles (24 KM) south of Gaza one of the chief cities of the Philistines.
These towns also included the surrounding villages of those who lived
outside the towns.
Jos 19:7
Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their
villages:
Rimmon or Remmon called Eremmon was located 35 miles (57
KM) southwest of Jerusalem.
En-rimmon which is Ain was located about 20 miles (32 KM) southwest of Hebron.
Ashan was about 4 miles (6 KM) west of Beer-sheba. The location of the
town of Ether is unknown.
Jos 19:8
And all the villages that were round about these
cities to Baalath-beer, Ramath of the south. This is the inheritance of
the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families.
The location of Baalath-Beer is unknown.
Ramath of the south or Ramoth are the same name for this town.
It is called “of the south” to distinguish it from Ramoth-Gilead in the
north. These were the cities that
were inherited by the children of Simeon.
Jos 19:9
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 much for them: therefore the children of Simeon had their inheritance
within the inheritance of them.
The children of Simeon had their inheritance within the
inheritance of the tribe of Judah because the land which was given to Judah was
too large for them. The larger the land, the more open it is to attack
especially in the uninhabited portions.
Judah had 114 cities along with their villages which made it too large
for them.
Jos 19:10
And the third lot came up for the children of Zebulun
according to their families: and the border of their inheritance was unto Sarid:
Then after the lots were cast for Simeon, the third one
up was the tribe of Zebulun.
Zebulun was located south of Asher, west of Naphtali and Issachar and north of
Manasseh. Sarid was located in the
hill of Moreh which was about 8 miles (13 KM) northwest of Jezreel.
Jos 19:11
And their border went up toward the sea, and Maralah, and
reached to Dabbasheth, and reached to the river that is before Jokneam;
The first part of this verse is a fulfillment of the
prophecy of Jacob when he stated that Zebulun would dwell by the sea.
Zebulun shall dwell at the haven
of the sea; and he shall be for
an haven of ships; and his border
shall be unto Zidon. (Genesis 49:13)
The sea is the Mediterranean Sea.
Maralah was west of Sarid and east of Dabbasheth which was located on the
River Kishon. Dabbasheth was
located about 16 miles (26 KM) from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
Jokneam was about 3 miles (5 KM) west of Dabbasheth located on the River
Kishon.
Jos 19:12
And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto
the border of Chisloth-tabor, and then goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to
Japhia,
The coast continued eastward from Sarid to the border of
Chisloth-tabor which was about 10 miles (16 KM).
Then it went eastward to Daberath which was about 3 miles (5 KM) east of
Chisloth-tabor. Japhia was about 6
miles west of Daberath.
Jos 19:13
And from thence passeth on along on the east to
Gittah-hepher, to Ittah-kazin, and goeth out to Remmon-methoar to Neah;
Gittah-hepher was about 5 miles (8 KM) east of Japhia.
Gittah-hepher was also known as Gath-hepher and the prophet Jonah came
from there.
He restored the coast of Israel from the
entering of Hamath unto the sea of the plain, according to the word of the LORD
God of Israel, which he spake by the hand of his servant Jonah, the son of
Amittai, the prophet, which was
of Gath-hepher. (2 Kings 14:25)
The Pharisees were so biblically illiterate they proclaimed that no prophet came
from Galilee and yet Jonah did. The
location of Ittah-kazin is unknown but we do know it is east of Gath-hepher.
Neah was east of Rimmon. Remmon-methoar was the eastern border of the
tribe of Zebulun but its exact location like that of Neah are unknown.
Jos 19:14
And the border compasseth it on the north side to
Hannathon: and the outgoings thereof are in the valley of Jiphthah-el:
Hannathon is located about 15 miles (24 KM) east of Mt.
Carmel. The valley of Jiphthah-el
is located northeast of Hannathon.
Jos 19:15
And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and
Beth-lehem: twelve cities with their villages.
Nahallal is located northeast of Mt. Carmel.
Shimron was located about 10 miles (16 KM) southeast of Mt. Carmel.
Beth-lehem is located about 8 miles (13 KM) east of Mt. Carmel.
This is not the Bethlehem where Christ was born, that was located in
Judah south of Jerusalem. The
location of Kattath is unknown. The
location of Idalah is unknown but was a place where the false god Venus was
worshipped. Idalia was one of her
names.
Jos 19:16
This is the inheritance of the children of Zebulun
according to their families, these cities with their villages.
These cities along with their surrounding villages were
the inheritance of Zebulun.
Jos 19:17
And the fourth lot came out to Issachar, for the
children of Issachar according to their families.