Joshua 15:55

Verse 55. Maon] In a desert to which this town gave name, David took refuge for a considerable time from the persecution of Saul; and in this place Nabal the Carmelite had great possessions. See 1Sa 23:24-25; 1Sa 25:2.

Carmel] Not the celebrated mount of that name, but a village, the residence of Nabal. See 1Sa 25:2. It was near Maon, mentioned above, and was about ten miles eastward of Hebron. It is the place where Saul erected a trophy to himself after the defeat of the Amalekites; see 1Sa 15:12.

Ziph] See Clarke on Jos 15:24.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

55. Maon] Group III, consists of ten cities, on the south-east of the two preceding groups, towards the desert:—

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Halhul,.... Here begins a fourth division, or list, of the cities in the mountains. Halhul Jerom calls Ehul, and says (w) there was in his time in the country belonging to Aelia (or Jerusalem) a village by the name of Ahula, near Hebron; and

Bethzur, Jerom says (x), was then called Bethseron, a village as you go from Aelia to Hebron, in the twentieth mile, near which was a fountain at the bottom of a mount, where it is said the eunuch was baptized by Philip: he makes mention of another village called Bethsur in the tribe of Judah, a mile from Eleutheropolis. In the Apocrypha:"So he came to Judea, and drew near to Bethsura, which was a strong town, but distant from Jerusalem about five furlongs, and he laid sore siege unto it.'' (2 Maccabees 11:5)it is said to be but five furlongs from Jerusalem, but it must have been at a greater distance:

Gedor, of this city; see Gill on Jos 12:13.

(w) De loc. Heb. fol. 91. B. (x) De loc. Heb. fol. 89. G.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Carmel. Not where Elias dwelt, but a city and mountain 10 miles east of Eleutheropolis. Nabal rendered it famous by his imprudence, (1 Kings xxv.) and Saul by a triumphal arch, 1 Kings xv. 12.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Maon; of which see 1Sa 23:25; 25:2.

Carmel; Nabal’s country, 1Sa 25.

Ziph; which gave its name to the neighbouring mountain, 1Sa 26:1.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

55. The third cluster of mountain cities lies east of the other two, toward the desert.

Maon, modern Main, nine miles south-southeast of Hebron, is conspicuously situated on a conical hill. The summit is crowned with ruins, foundations of hewn stone, a square enclosure, and several cisterns. The view is fine. Many towns of Judah are in sight.

Carmel, now called Kurmul, is a few miles northwest of Maon. Robinson says that here he found more extensive ruins than he had yet anywhere seen, unless perhaps at Beth-el. The city was built in a semicircular amphitheatre shut in by rocks, in which there is an artificial reservoir one hundred and seventeen by seventy-four feet. The ruins consist chiefly of foundations and broken walls, scattered in every direction, and thrown together in mournful confusion and desolation.

Ziph, modern Zif, five miles southeast of Hebron, is in ruins. Twice did its treacherous people attempt to betray David, the youthful outlaw, into the hands of his persecutor, Saul. 1Sa_23:19; 1Sa_26:1.

Juttah is in the vicinity of Ziph, at the southwest, and is now called Yutta. Robinson describes it as having the appearance of a large Mohammedan town, on a low eminence, with trees around. He agrees with Reland that this is the city Juda, (Luk_1:39,) the residence of Zacharias and Elizabeth, and the birthplace of John the Baptist. The pronunciation is softened in the New Testament.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Maon, Carmel, and Ziph. These, as Dean Stanley reminds us ("Sinai and Palestine," p. 101), still retain unaltered their old names. "That long line of hills was the beginning of the "hill country of Judaea," and when we began to ascend it the first answer to our inquiries after the route told us that it was "Carmel," on which Nabal fed his flocks, and close below its long ranges was the hill and ruins of Ziph," close above the hill of Maon, Wilson also ("Lands of the Bible," 1:380) makes the same remark. Maon is to be remembered as David"s hiding place from the enmity of Saul, (1Sa_23:24-26) and as the home of Nabal. (1Sa_25:2) Carmel (not the famous mountain of that name) meets us again in the history of Saul and of David. (1Sa_15:12 1Sa_25:2, 1Sa_25:5, 1Sa_25:7, 1Sa_25:40) The neighbourhood of Ziph was also one of David"s hiding places, and is described as a "wilderness" in which there was a "wood" in 1Sa_23:15, 19 26:1, 2. See also the prologue to Psalm 54. Another Ziph is mentioned in ver. 24.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Ziph - Which gave its name to the neighbouring mountains, 1 Sam. xxvi, 1.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Connecting Statement:

The writer lists cities of which Judah took possession. (See: How to Translate Names)

translationWords

Carmel

Jezreel

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.