Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
salt sea, namely, from the tongue which turneth to the south," i.e., from the southern
point of the Dead Sea, which is now a salt marsh.
Verse 3-4. Thence it proceeded "to the southern boundary of the ascent of
Akrabbim," i.e., the row of lofty whitish cliffs which intersects the Arabah about
eight miles below the Dead Sea (see at Num 34:4), "and passed across to Zin," i.e.,
the Wady Murreh (see at Num 13:21), "and went up to the south of Kadesh-barnea,"
i.e., by Ain Kudes (see at Num 20:16), "and passed over to Hezron, and went up to
Adar, and turned to Karkaa, and went over to Azmon, and went out into the brook of
Egypt," i.e., the Wady el Arish. On the probable situation of Hezron, Adar, Karkaa ,
and Azmon , see at Num 34:4-5. "And the outgoings of the boundary were to the sea"
(the Mediterranean). The Wady el Arish, a marked boundary, takes first of all a
northerly and then a north-westerly course, and opens into the Mediterranean Sea (see
Pent. p. 358). haayaah (OT:1961) in the singular before the subject in the plural must
not be interfered with (see Ewald , §316, a. ). - The words "this shall be your south
coast" point back to the southern boundary of Canaan as laid down in Num 34:2ff.,
and show that the southern boundary of the tribe-territory of Judah was also the
southern boundary of the land to be taken by Israel.
5a. "The eastern boundary was the salt sea to the end of the Jordan," i.e., the Dead
Sea, in all its length up to the point where the Jordan entered it.
5b-11. In vv. 5b-11 we have a description of the northern boundary, which is
repeated in Josh 18:15-19 as the southern boundary of Benjamin, though in the
opposite direction, namely, from west to east. It started "from the tongue of the (salt)
sea, the end (i.e., the mouth) of the Jordan, and went up to Beth-hagla," - a border
town between Judah and Benjamin, which was afterwards allotted to the latter (Josh
18:19,12), the present Ain Hajla , an hour and a quarter to the south-east of Riha
(Jericho), and three-quarters of an hour from the Jordan (see at Gen 50:11, note) -
"and went over to the north side of Beth-arabah," a town in the desert of Judah (v.
61), afterwards assigned to Benjamin (Josh 18:22), and called Ha-arabah in ch.
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