Joshua 19:33

And then the coast turneth westward to Aznothtabor,.... This was the southern border, reaching from east to west; it began at Aznothtabor, which Jerom (g) says was a village in his time belonging to the country of Diocaesarea, in the plains; there is another place called Chislothtabor, on the borders of Zebulun, Jos 19:12,

and goeth out from thence to Hukkok: there the southern border ended, which was in the border of Asher, and is the same with Helkath, Jos 19:25; with which compare Ch1 6:75,

and reacheth to Zebulun on the south side, and reacheth to Asher on the west side and to Judah upon Jordan towards the sunrising; so that as it was bounded by Lebanon, on the north, near to which some of the cities were, mentioned in Jos 19:33, it had Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and Jordan to the east; for by Judah is not meant the tribe of Judah, from which Naphtali was at a great distance, but a city so called, as Fuller (h) seems rightly to conjecture.

(g) De loc. Heb. fol. 88. I. (h) Pisgah-Sight, B. 2. c. 4. p. 104.

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

These cities were in the country of Zaanannim.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

(33) And their coast was . . .—This verse is thus translated by Conder, “Their coast was from Heleph and the Plain of Bitzanannim and Adami, Nekeb, and Jabneel,unto Lakum,and the outgoings were at Jordan.”

The east border of the tribe is Jordan, including the waters of Merom and the Sea of Galilee. The tribe of Issachar on the south, and the tribes of Zebulun and Asher on the west, are conterminous with Naphtali.

The places mentioned are identified as follows:—

Heleph.—(Beit Lif, sheet 4). The plain of Bitzanannim (Kh.-Bessum, sheet 6). Adami (Kh.-Admah, sheet 9): this is the southernmost of all the towns named. Nekeb (Kh.-Seiyâdeh, sheet 6). Jabneel (Yemma, sheet 5). All the above places, except Heleph, lie near the Sea of Galilee, on the south-west side.

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

33. And their coast] The territory appropriated to the tribe was bounded (a) on the west by Asher, (b) on the south by Zebulun and Issachar, (c) on the east by the Sea of Gennesaret and the Jordan, while (d) on the north it reached far up into Cœle-Syria, “the splendid valley which separates the two ranges of Lebanon.”

from Heleph] Apparently the west border towards Asher is first described, with the north and east boundary. The southern border is defined in Jos_19:34. Heleph is unknown.

Allon to Zaanannim] = the oak, or terebinth, by Zaanannim. It is the same place, on the N. W. of Lake Merom, as that mentioned in Jdg_4:11, where Sisera was slain by Jael, “the wife of Heber the Kenite,” and derived its name Zaanannim or Zaanaim, the unloading of Tents, from the strange sight of the encampment of nomads in tents amidst the regular cities and villages of the mountains.” “Even to the present day the Bedouins more or less friendly disposed wander about in the north of Palestine, in the plain of Jezreel, on Gilboa, and on Tabor.” See Lange’s Commentary. “The reconnaissance survey along the watershed from Hûnin led across a succession of mountain peaks, forming the great western vale of the Jordan. The highlands—we are in the tribe of Naphtali—form a series of valleys with which the country is intersected, the ridges between them being described as somewhat of the character of open glades, gently sloping towards the sea. The hills are well wooded, though the oaks are being thinned out to supply the Damascus market with charcoal. At the last peak the hill slopes to the southward, overlooking a little plain, one mile wide and two long, lying sheltered among the surrounding hills. This is the plain of Zaanaim.” Our Work in Palestine, pp. 174, 175.

Adami, Nekeb, Jabneel, Lakum, are all unknown.

and the outgoings thereof] The boundary is traced from the southwest towards the north-east to the sources of the Jordan, above the Lake of Galilee.

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.

From Allon to Zaanannim - Render “from the oak forest at Zaanannim.” From Jdg 4:11 it appears that this oak or oak-forest was near Kedesh.

Adami, Nekeb - Render “Adami of the Pass.” Possibly the ancient “Deir el Ahmar” (“red cloister”), which derives its name from the color of the soil in the neighborhood, as perhaps Adami did. The spot lies about 8 miles northwest of Baalbek.

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

Heleph seems to have been on the north-eastern limits of Nephthali. The cities on the Jordan southwards, as far as Genesareth, are specified. (Haydock)

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).

Their coast; their northern border, drawn from west to east, as appears, because when this coast is described and brought to its end, the coast is said to turn from the east westward, Jos 19:34. The outgoings, i.e. the end of that coast.

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

33. The cities here mentioned are so far unknown that there is great difficulty in attempting an accurate description of the boundaries of this tribe. The northern and a part of the western boundary seem to have been identical, running mainly in a northeasterly direction, and Heleph, the starting point, seems to have been some central place on this line, from which the border ran first eastward, but somewhat towards the north, and then seaward. Jos_19:34. [Van de Velde proposes to identify Heleph with Beitlif, an ancient site about twelve miles southeast of Tyre and about the same distance west of Kades. It stands on the edge of a very marked ravine, which may very possibly have formed a part of the border of Naphtali and Asher.

Allon — As the Hebrew word means an oak, some critics very plausibly understand it of some remarkable tree near Zaanannim, and render, From the oak at Zaanannim. This was probably the same tree by which Heber the Kenite pitched his tent. See Jdg_4:11, note.

Out-goings… at Jordan — That is, this northwestern boundary terminated at the upper sources of the Jordan.]

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

From Allon to Zaanannim Or, the oak which is at Zaanannim. (cf. Allon-bachuth, the oak of weeping, Gen_35:8) Zaanannim is the same as the Zaanaim mentioned in Jud_1:4:11. For the Keri is Zaanannim there, and the word here rightly translated "oak" is rendered there "plain, as in Gen_12:6 and elsewhere. It has been supposed to lie northwest of Lake Huleh, the ancient Merom, whence we find that the scene of that famous battle was assigned to the tribe of Naphtali. The border of Naphtali is more lightly traced than any previous one, and is regarded as being sufficiently defined, save toward the north, by the boundaries of the other tribes.

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

Their coast - Their northern border drawn from west to east, as appears, because when this coast is described and brought to its end, the coast is said to turn from the east westward, ver. 34. The out-goings - The end of that coast.

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