Joshua 16:2

Jos 16:2 And goeth out from Bethel to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth,

Ver. 2. Unto the borders of Archi.] Hushai’s country, {2Sa 16:16} ennobled by his name, as Co was to Hippocrates, and little Hippo by great Augustine.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Jos 16:2. From Bethel to Luz — Dupin translates this Bethel-Luz, and Dr. Waterland, Bethel, which is Luz; for we sometimes find them mentioned as one and the same place, as Jos 18:13; Jdg 1:23; and it is probable that in a length of time they were united, and the inhabitants of the former went to the latter. The borders of Archi to Ataroth — Or rather, the borders of Archi-Ataroth, as both the Seventy and the Vulgate render it, and as the words are in the Hebrew, this being the same city which is afterward called Ataroth, Jos 16:7.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 2. From Bethel to Luz] From Ge 28:19 it appears that the place which Jacob called Beth-el was formerly called Luz; see the note there: but here they seem to be two distinct places. It is very likely that the place where Jacob had the vision was not in Luz, but in some place within a small distance of that city or village, (see the note on Ge 28:12), and that sometimes the whole place was called Beth-el, at other times Luz, and sometimes, as in the case above, the two places were distinguished. As we find the term London comprises, not only London, but also the city of Westminster and the borough of Southwark; though at other times all three are distinctly mentioned.

Archi to Ataroth] Archi was the country of Hushai, the friend of David, 2Sa 15:32, who is called Hushai the Archite. Ataroth, called Ataroth-addar, Ataroth the illustrious, Jos 16:5, and simply Ataroth, Jos 16:7, is supposed to have been about fifteen miles from Jerusalem.

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

2. and goeth out] Thence it passed on to Luz. It seems impossible to determine exactly whether Bethel and Luz were the same town, Luz being the Canaanite and Bethel the Hebrew name, or whether they were distinct places close to one another.

(a) This verse, Jos_18:13, and Gen_28:19, seem to favour the last interpretation.

(b) Gen_35:6, Jdg_1:23, favour the former.

The conclusion of Mr Grove is “that the two places were distinct during the times preceding the conquest, Luz being the city, and Bethel the pillar and altar of Jacob; but after the destruction of Luz by the tribe of Ephraim the town of Bethel arose.” See his Article in Smith’s Bibl. Dict.

unto the borders of Archi] Comp. 2Sa_16:16, 1Ch_27:33, where we read of Hushai the Archite. The precise locality is unknown.

to Ataroth] See below Jos_16:5, and comp. Jos_18:13.

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.

And goeth out from Bethel to Luz,.... For though these two places in time became one, yet they were originally distinct. Bethel, at which Jacob stopped, and who gave it its name, was a field adjacent to the city of Luz, Gen 38:11; and therefore with propriety may be, as they here are, distinguished:

and passeth along unto the borders Archi to Ataroth; or to Archiataroth; these two words being the name of one and the same place, and to be joined as they are, in the Greek version, and others; and is the same with Atarothaddar, Jos 16:5. Ataroth was its proper name, but it had these additional epithets to distinguish it from another Ataroth; see Jos 16:7; Jerom (b) makes mention of Atharoth by Ramma, in the tribe of Joseph, and of another in the tribe of Ephraim, now a village at the north of Sebaste, or Samaria, four miles from it, called Atharus; the former is here meant.

(b) De loc. Heb. fol. 88. G.

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

Of Archi - (Read “of the Archite,” also a designation of David’s friend Hushai (2Sa 15:32; 2Sa 16:16, etc.). The word is derived from Erech Gen 10:10. But whether there was in the neighborhood of Bethel a place bearing this Babylonian name, or whether a colony from the East had settled in this spot and brought the name with them, is unknown.

Ataroth - Called Jos 16:5; Jos 18:13 Ataroth-adar (= “crowns of fame or greatness”) perhaps to distinguish it from two other places bearing the same name but, situated on the other side of Jordan, in the territory of Gad Num 32:34. It is identified with Atara, near the road from Jerusalem to Nablous.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

To Luza. The Vulgate reads Bethel Luza, which may be supposed to be two names, (chap. xviii. 13.; Haydock) for the same city. (Menochius) (Genesis xxviii. 29.) --- Bethel was probably the country, (Calmet) or mountain, (Haydock) to the east of Luza, on the frontiers of Benjamin and of Ephraim; for which reason it is sometimes attributed to both. --- To Atharoth. This city, and Archi, are supposed by some to be the same city. Archi seems, however, to have been a distinct place, where Chusai ws born, 2 Kings xv. 32. Atharoth is styled Addar, "the illustrious," ver. 5. It was 15 miles from Jericho.

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).

From Beth-el to Luz, or, from Bethel-luzah, as the LXX. here join the words; for Beth-el was anciently called Luz, Gen 28:19; 48:3; though some think this was another Luz, spoken of Jdg 1:26. Others make Beth-el and Luz two neighbouring towns, which afterwards being more built and inhabited, became one, as oft hath happened.

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

2. From Beth-el to Luz — Beth-el and Luz were the same city. See note on Jos_7:2. The Beth-el of the text is to be understood of the Mount Bethel named in the preceding verse.

Borders of Archi — Or, of the Archite. No trace of this name is found in the vicinity of Beth-el. Perhaps in this name we have the last faint trace of one of the original Canaanitish tribes. Ataroth is supposed by Dr. Robinson to be identical with a large village called Atara, on the summit of a hill about six miles northwest of Beth-el; [but this verse and Jos_18:13 seem rather to place it between Beth-el and Beth-horon, so that we may rather identify it with the Atara which lies some three miles south of Beth-el. Here Robinson noticed considerable ruins of an ancient town. At Ataroth the border turned westward toward Beth-horon.]

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

From Bethel to Luz. Like Jerusalem and Aelia Capitolina, or old and new Carthage, the new city did not coincide precisely in its site with the old one. (see Jos_18:13; also Gen_28:19 Gen_35:6 Jud_1:23) Bethel was probably built, as far as could be ascertained, on the spot near the Canaanitish city where the wanderer Jacob spent the night in which the famous vision appeared to him. (see Gen_28:11) Knobel, however, renders literally, Bethel-Luzah, as though the older and later names had been here conjoined. The borders of Archi. Rather, the borders of the Archite. (cf. 2Sa_15:32 2Sa_16:16 1Ch_27:33) This is the only clue we have to the residence or tribe of Hushai.

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