Joshua 19:34

Jos 19:34-35. And to Judah upon Jordan — It was not near Judah, there being several tribes between them. Therefore the meaning is, this tribe had a communication with that of Judah, by means of the river Jordan. So the word upon, in our translation, ought to be interpreted. This river afforded them the convenience of carrying merchandises to Judah, or bringing them from thence. And thus, some think, the prophecy of Moses was accomplished, (Deu 33:23.) Possess thou the west and the south; which doth not signify that they had any land in the south; but that they trafficked with that country by the means of Jordan. Chinnereth — Whence the lake of Cinnereth, or Genesareth, received its name. Geneser signifies the gardens of princes; and here were fine gardens, and a kind of paradise. The Jews say the name Cinnereth was taken from its fruits, which were as sweet to the taste as the cinnor, or harp, to the ear.

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

Or, even unto Jordan.

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

Aznoth-tabor--on the east of Tabor towards the Jordan, for the border ran thence to Hukkok, touching upon that of Zebulun; and as the territory of Zebulun did not extend as far as the Jordan, Aznoth-tabor and Hukkok must have been border towns on the line which separated Naphtali from Issachar.

to Judah upon Jordan toward the sunrising--The sixty cities, Havoth-jair, which were on the eastern side of the Jordan, opposite Naphtali, were reckoned as belonging to Judah, because Jair, their possessor, was a descendant of Judah (1Ch. 2:4-22) [KEIL].

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 34. And to Judah upon Jordan] It is certain that the tribe of Naphtali did not border on the east upon Judah, for there were several tribes betwixt them. Some think that as these two tribes were bounded by Jordan on the east, they might be considered as in some sort conjoined, because of the easy passage to each other by means of the river; but this might be said of several other tribes as well as of these. There is considerable difficulty in the text as it now stands; but if, with the Septuagint, we omit Judah, the difficulty vanishes, and the passage is plain: but this omission is supported by no MS. hitherto discovered. It is however very probable that some change has taken place in the words of the text, וביהודה הירדן ubihudah haiyarden, "and by Judah upon Jordan." Houbigant, who terms them verba sine re ac sententia, "words without sense or meaning," proposes, instead of them, to read ובגדות הירדן ubigdoth haiyarden, "and by the banks of Jordan;" a word which is used Jos 3:15, and which here makes a very good sense.

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

(34) Hukkok (Yakûk, sheet 6), in the same region as the above, but a little further north, near the northeast boundary of Zebulun. Of Judah upon Jordan we can say nothing with certainty.

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

34. and then the coast turneth] From the Jordan on the east, the southern border of Naphtali turned westward to Aznoth-tabor, not identified, but probably a border town on the line which separated this tribe from Issachar, and “struck,” or coincided with, Zebulun on the south and Asher on the west. The site of Hukkok is unknown.

Judah upon Jordan] So our Version renders it, following the Vulgate, Et in Juda ad Jordanem. Others, following the Masoretic punctuation, would put a colon at Judah, so that it would run, “and Judah; the Jordan was toward the sunrising” i.e. the eastern boundary of the tribe. The word Judah here has been explained by the fact that the sixty cities, Havoth-jair (Num_32:41), which were on the eastern side of Jordan opposite to Naphtali, were reckoned as belonging to Judah, because Jair their founder was descended on the father’s side from Judah through Hezron. Comp. 1Ch_2:21-24. Others would identify it with a village el-Jehidijeh, marked on Dr Smith’s map, north of Tibrin, but this is not satisfactory.

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 the fenced cities are Ziddim,.... The later name of Ziddim, according to the Talmud (i), was Cepharchitiya, or the village of wheat, perhaps from the large quantity or goodness of wheat there:

Zer is called by Jerom (k) Sor, and interpreted Tyre, the metropolis of Phoenicia, very wrongly, and, in the tribe of Naphtali:

and Hammath probably was built by the youngest son of Canaan, Gen 10:18; or had its name in memory of him; it lay to the north of the land of Israel; see Num 34:8,

Rakkath, and Chinnereth; Rakkath according to the Jewish writers (l) is the same with Tiberias, as Chinnereth with Gennesaret, from whence the lake or sea of Tiberias, and the country and lake of Gennesaret, had their names, often mentioned in the New Testament. Gennesaret was a most delicious and fruitful spot, and fulfilled the prophecy of Moses, Deu 33:23; concerning Naphtali.

(i) Ut supra. (T. Hieros. Megillah, fol. 70. 1.) (k) De loc. Heb. fol. 95. A. (l) T. Hieros. ut supra. (Megillah, fol. 70. 1.)

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

Aznoth-tabor - This place (“ears of Tabor”) was no doubt in the neighborhood of Mount Tabor - probably on the eastern slope; and Hukkok on the western slope.

To Judah upon Jordan - i. e. to the “Havoth-jair” Num 32:41, which were on the opposite side of Jordan. Jair, from whom these towns or villages were named, traced his ancestry in the male line through Hezron to Judah Num 27:1; and it is likely that he was assisted by large numbers of his kinsmen of that tribe in his rapid conquest of Bashan. Hence, the Havoth-jair were, in all likelihood, largely colonised by Judahites, especially perhaps that portion of them nearest the Jordan. Thus, that part of the river and its valley adjacent to these settlements was spoken of as “Judah upon Jordan,” or more literally “Judah of the Jordan” (compare Num 22:1).

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

Juda was in possession of the southern parts of the Jordan, as Nephthali had the northern, so that by means of navigation they might enjoy the riches (Calmet) of each other, and of the other tribes. (Haydock) (Deuteronomy xxxiii. 23.) --- Septuagint do not read Juda, which forms all the difficulty, as five tribes lay between these two. They have "and the Jordan is towards the rising sun." (Calmet) --- Grabe inserts, with a star, "to Juda, the Jordan," &c., intimating that to Juda, was not a part of the Septuagint version.

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).

Westward: this is unquestionably the southern border described from east to west.

To Judah, upon Jordan.

Quest. How can this be, when there were divers tribes between this and Judah, all which reached to Jordan?

Answ. He doth not say of Judah, as he doth of Zebulun and Asher, that it reacheth to it; but, as it seems, purposely leaves out that word which he had used in both the former branches, lest it should be understood of a local reaching to it, or being contiguous with it, which was not true; and that he might signify that he meant this clause in another sense, to wit, that it did in some sort go or reach to, or converse with Judah by Jordan. And so this may be here added, to show the accomplishment of that famous and obscure prophecy, That Naphtali, though he should be planted in the utmost border of the land, on the north-east, yet he should possess the riches of the west and south, Deu 33:23, i.e. of those tribes which were at a great distance from him westward and southward; and this he should do by way of commerce with them by their famous river Jordan, which he did not only touch in a small part, as some of the other tribes did, but lay all along it for a good space together, even from the very fountain unto the sea of Gennesaret. Some think that this is verified by that royalty of this river, which they suppose God gave to the tribe of Judah, which extended as far as Naphtali.

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

34. Turneth westward — Probably in a southwesterly direction. [Hukkok is recognised by Robinson and others in the modern Yakuk, a village six or seven miles northwest from the Sea of Galilee.

Zebulun on the south… Asher on the west — This is merely giving the boundaries in general terms.

And to Judah upon the Jordan — This is a faulty translation. And to Judah belongs to the previous sentence, which describes the western border. Literally, It touched Asher on the west and at Judah. Judah was evidently a city on the western border, perhaps at Jehudiyah, marked on Van de Velde’s map east of Tyre and a few miles north of Tibnin. The rest of the verse forms a distinct sentence:

Jordan toward the sunrising — That is, the Jordan formed the eastern boundary.

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

And then the coast turneth westward. Here the words are literally translated without any confusion between the west and the sea, nor any misapprehension of the meaning of the word bsn. Reacheth. This is the same word translated skirteth above, ver. 11, note. We have it here clearly stated that Naphtali was bordered on the south by Zebulun, on the west by Asher, and on the east by "Judah upon Jordan." To Judah. These words have caused great trouble to translators and expositors for 2, 000 years. The LXX omits them altogether, rendering, "and the Jordan to the eastward." The Masorites, by inserting a disjunctive accent between them and the words that follow, would have us render, "and to Judah: Jordan towards the sun rising," or, "is towards the sunrising," a rendering which gives no reasonable sense. They unquestionably form part of the text, since no version but the LXX omits them. A suggestion of Von Raumer"s has found favour that the cities called Havoth Jair, which were on the eastern side of Jordan, opposite the inheritance of Naphtali, are meant. Jair was a descendant of Judah by the father"s side, through Hezron. So Ritter, 4:338. (see 1Ch_2:21-23) It would seem that the principle of female inheritance, having once been admitted in the tribe of Manasseh, was found capable of further extension. But to the majority of the Israelites this settlement would no doubt be regarded as an offshoot of the tribe of Judah.

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