Joshua 15:61

15:61 The wilderness of Judea included the eastern slopes of the central mountain highlands and extended to the western shore of the Dead Sea; three of its six towns were on or near that shoreline.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

(61) In the wilderness—i.e., in the mountains

near the Dead Sea three places have been identified—viz., Secacah (Sikkkeh), the City of Salt (Tell el-Milh), and En-gedi (Ain Jidy). (See 1Sa_24:1, &c.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

61–63. Cities in the Wilderness

This section relates to the cities in “the Wilderness” between the Mountain and the Dead Sea, and includes one Group of six cities:—

1. Beth-arabah, see above, Jos_15:6; Joshua 2. Middin; 3. Secacah; 4. Nibshan, sites unknown, places not mentioned elsewhere; 5. The city of Salt, “Civitas Salis,” Vulgate, probably near the Valley of Salt, at the southern end of the Dead Sea, where the Edomites suffered several defeats (2Sa_8:13; 2Ki_14:7; 1Ch_18:12); 6. En-gedi, “the spring of the wild goat” or “gazelle,” from the numerous ibexes or Syrian chamois which inhabit these cliffs, now Ain Jidy. “Here,” remarks Canon Tristram, “a copious warm fresh spring bursts forth amidst an oasis of tropical vegetation. Here that quaint asclepiad the osher, the jujube, the beautiful parasite Lonicera indica, and a host of strange semi-tropical plants send our botanist into an ecstacy of delight.” Land of Moab, p. 27. “Relics of its grove of palms (whence its name Hazazon Tamar = “the felling of palm-trees”) “are still to be seen, in the trunks of palms washed up on the shores of the Dead Sea, preserved by the salt with which a long submersion in those strange waters has impregnated them.” Stanley’s S. and P., p. 144. Here (a) the settlements of the Amorites were attacked by the army of Chedorlaomer (Gen_14:7), immediately before its descent into the plain, and final victory over the five kings; here (b) the Kenites had their “nest” in the cliff (Num_24:21); here (c) David took refuge from the pursuit of Saul (1Sa_24:1); here (d) the solitary sect of the Essenes had their chief seat.” See Stanley, S. and P., pp. 295, 296.

In the wilderness] The wilderness of Judæa. “A true wilderness it is, but no desert, with the sides of the limestone ranges clad with no shrubs larger than a sage or a thyme—brown and bare on all the southern and western faces, where the late rains had not yet restored the life burnt out by the summer’s sun, but with a slight carpeting of tender green already springing up on their northern sides. Not a human habitation, not a sign of life, meets the eye for twenty miles; and yet there seems no reason why, for pasturage at least, the country might not be largely available. But there are no traces of the terraces which furrow the hills of the rest of Palestine; and one small herd of long-eared black goats were all we saw till we reached the plains of Jericho.” Tristram’s Land of Israel, p. 197.

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.

The wilderness; so the Hebrews call places either uninhabited by men, or having but few inhabitants.

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

61. The wilderness — The wild and rugged territory along the west side of the Dead Sea. Only six cities are mentioned as belonging to this entire district.

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

The wilderness. rBdmi This was the eastern part of the territory of Judah, bordering on the Dead Sea. Here David took refuge from the pursuit of Saul, (Psa_63:1) here St. John the Baptist prepared the way of Christ. It is described by Tristram ("Land of Israel," p. 197) as "a wilderness, but no desert." Herbage is to be found there, but no trees, no signs of the cultivation formerly bestowed upon the hill country (see above, ver. 48). And the fewness of the cities in early times is a proof that its character has not been altered by time. The hills, says Canon Tristram, are of a "peculiar desolate tameness," and are intersected by the traces of winter watercourses, seaming the sides of the monotonous round-topped hills. Other writers describe this country in less favourable terms, denying it even the scanty herbage found there by Canon Tristram.

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