Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
of the towns mentioned in
vv. 28-35, which may possibly have taken more than a year. "All the cities thereof"
are the towns dependent upon Hebron as the capital of the kingdom.
Verse 38-39. Joshua then turned southwards with all Israel (i.e., all the army),
attacked Debir and took it, and the towns dependent upon it, in the same manner as
those mentioned before. Debir , formerly called Kirjath-sepher ,
i.e., book town, po'lis (NT:4172) gramma'toon (NT:1122) (LXX Josh 15:15; Judg
1:11), and Kirjath-sanna , i.e., in all probability the city of palm branches (Josh
15:49), was given up by Judah to the priests (ch. 21:15). It stood upon the mountains
of Judah (Josh 15:49), to the south of Hebron, but has not yet been certainly
discovered, though V. de Velde is probably correct in his supposition that it is to be
seen in the ruins of Dilbeh , on the peak of a hill to the north of Wady Dilbeh, and on
the road from Dhoberiyeh to Hebron, about two hours to the south-west of the latter.
For, according to Dr. Stewart , there is a spring at Dilbeh , the water of which is
conducted by an aqueduct into the Birket el Dilbeh, at the foot of the said hill, which
would answer very well to the upper and lower springs at Debir, if only Debir might
be placed, according to Josh 15:49, so far towards the north.
(Note: Knobel imagines that Debir is to be found in the modern village of Dhoberiyeh ( Dhabarije ), five
hours to the south-west of Hebron, on the south-west border of the mountains of Judah, upon the top of a
mountain, because, in addition to the situation of this village, which is perfectly reconcilable with Josh
15:49, there are remains of a square tower there (according to Krafft , a Roman tower), which point to an
ancient fortification (vid., Rob. Pal. i. pp. 308ff.; Ritter , Erdk. xvi. pp. 202ff.), and because the name,
which signifies "placed behind the back," agrees with Debir , the hinder part or back (?), and Kirjathsepher
, if interpreted by the Arabic words, which signify "extremitas, margo, ora." But both reasons
prove very little. The meanings assigned to Debir and Kirjath-sepher are improbable and arbitrary.
Moreover, it has not been shown that there are any springs near Dhoberiyeh, such as there were in the
neighbourhood of Debir (Josh 15:19ff.). The view held by Rosenmüller , and adopted by Bunsen , with
regard to the situation of Debir , - namely, that it was the same as the modern Idwirbân or Dewirbân , an
hour and a quarter to the west of Hebron, because there is a large spring there with an abundant supply of
excellent water, which goes
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