Joshua 15:58

Verse 58. Gedor] See Clarke on Jos 12:13. In this place the Alexandrian MS. of the Septuagint and the Codex Vaticanus add the eleven following towns: Theca, and Ephratha, (that is, Bethlehem,) and Phagor, and Etan, and Kulon, and Tatam, and Thebes, and Karam, and Galam, and Thether, and Manocho; eleven cities and their villages. St. Jerome, on Mic 5:1, mentions them, so that we find they were in the copies he used. Dr. Kennicott contends that they should be restored to the text, and accounts thus for their omission: "The same word וחצרויהן vechatsreyhen, and their villages. occurring immediately before this passage and at the end of it, the transcriber's eye passed from one to the other by mistake. A similar accident has caused the omission of two whole verses, the 35th and 36th of Jos. 21." See the note there. See Clarke on Jos 21:35; "Jos 21:36".

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

58. Halhul] Group IV. consists of six cities on the north of Hebron:—

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.

In the wilderness,.... The wilderness of Judea, which was not a desert and uninhabited but had many cities and villages in it, those that follow:

Betharabah; the first of these seems to be in the borders of Judah and Benjamin, and so is ascribed to both; see Jos 15:6,

Middin, and Secacah; of the two last we read nowhere else, only in Jdg 5:10; what we translate "ye that sit in judgment", Kimchi interprets, "ye that dwell by Middin", and says it is the name of a place in Joshua, and mentions this passage.

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

Bessur. About 20 miles from Jerusalem, fortified by Simon, 1 Machabees xiv. 33. It is there said to be only five stadia distant from that city. But the Alexandrian copy reads five schœnus, or cords, each of which consisted of at least 30 stadia. (Cellarius)

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).

58. Halhul still retains its name, and is found four miles north of Hebron. Here is a ruined mosque, the reputed sepulchre of the prophet Jonah, “looking,” says Robinson, “much like the church of a New England village.” Beth-zur, house of the rock, is five miles north of Hebron, and is still called Beit-zur, the exact Arabic of the Hebrew name. “Its principal ruin is the tower, of which only one side is now standing. There are hewn stones and fragments of columns scattered about, and many foundations of buildings.” — Robinson. The tradition that Philip baptized the Eunuch here is improbable, since it is not on the route from Jerusalem to Gaza. Gedor is identified by Robinson with the modern ruins called Jedur, about eight miles north of Hebron.

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

Connecting Statement:

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

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