Judges 1:36

Jdg 1:36. From the going up to Akrabbim — Which was in the southern part of Canaan, Jos 15:2-3, from whence it went up toward the north. This is added to show the great power and large extent of this people.

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

Which was a city in Arabia, or as some read, from the rock.

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

Verse 36. Akrabbim] Of scorpions; probably so called from the number of those animals in that place.

From the rock, and upward.] The Vulgate understand by סלע sela, a rock, the city Petra, which was the capital of Arabia Petraea.

THE whole of this chapter appears to be designed as a sort of supplement to those places in the book of Joshua which are referred to in the notes and in the margin; nor is there any thing in it worthy of especial remark. We everywhere see the same fickle character in the Israelites, and the goodness and long-suffering of God towards them. An especial Providence guides their steps, and a fatherly hand chastises them for their transgressions. They are obliged to live in the midst of their enemies, often straitened, but never overcome so as to lose the land which God gave them as their portion. We should learn wisdom from what they have suffered, and confidence in the protection and providence of God from their support, because these things were written for our learning.

Few can be persuaded that adversity is a blessing, but without it how little should we learn! He, who in the school of affliction has his mind turned towards God,

"Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,

Sermons in stones, and good in every thing."

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

(36) The coast of the Amorites.—This notice is added to account for the obstinate resistance of the Amorites, by showing the extent of their domain, which reached far to the south of Petra. Hazezon Tamar, “the sanctuary of the palm,” afterwards called Engedi, “the goat’s fountain,” belonged to them (Gen_14:7; 2Ch_20:2; Tristram, Land of Israel, p. 784). Another opinion given is, that the verse is added to sum up the chapter, by showing that neither the northern, eastern, nor western boundaries were thoroughly secured, but only that of the southern tribes.

From the going up to Akrabbim.—The same as Maaleh Akrabbim (Jos_15:3), and “the ascent of scorpions” (Num_34:4), probably the Wady-es-Zuweirah (De Saulcy, La Terre Sainte, i. 528), where scorpions abound to this day under every stone; or the Wady-es-Sufah. Robinson supposes it to be the line of rocks which crosses the Jordan valley at right angles, eleven miles south of the Dead Sea (Bibl. Res. Ii. 120). It is the Akrabattine of 1Ma_5:3. It formed the southern boundary of the Holy Land, being a wall of cliffs which separates the Jordan valley from the wilderness.

From the rock.—From “Ras-Selah,” i.e., from Petra, the famous capital of Idumea (2Ki_14:7; Isa_16:1; Oba_1:3). Keil and Delitzsch refer it to the well-known rock at Kadesh-Meribah (Num_20:8-10).

And upward.—It is uncertain whether this means “and beyond,” i.e., their border extended even farther south; or, “and northwards,” i.e., this was their extreme southern limit.

The history of the Twelve Tribes is nowhere separately drawn out in Scripture. The reader will find the character and career of each tribe graphically sketched in Dean Stanley’s Sinai and Palestine, Judges 3-11; and more briefly in the Lectures on the Jewish Church, 1:261-281.

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

36. the border of the Amorites] The text describes a boundary line; but there was no boundary between the Israelites and the Amorites, i.e. the old Canaanite population, for they occupied the same territory. Some recensions of LXX (cod. A, Lucian), Ethiop., Syro-Hex., read ‘the border of the Amorite was the Edomite’; this suggests that the Hebr. text should be corrected to the border of the Edomite. The verse indicates the S. frontier of Judah which extended ‘unto the border of Edom,’ Jos_15:1.

the ascent of Akrabbim] i.e. ‘the Scorpions’ Pass’ Num_34:4, Jos_15:3, must be one of the chief passes which lead up from the ‘Arâbah S. of the Dead Sea, probably the Naḳb eṣ-Ṣafâ, on the N. side of the Wadi el-Fiḳra.

from the rock] Not ‘from Sela’ mg., for it is doubtful whether any city is called Sela in the O.T. The reference is to some conspicuous rock which served as a land-mark; Moore thinks of the cliff of eṣ-Ṣufçj, at the S.W. of the Dead Sea, and, omitting the prep. ‘from,’ renders ‘to Sela.’ But it is doubtful whether this cliff is sufficiently striking (Lagrange, Livre des Juges, p. 21), and we want a direction not eastwards but westwards. Accordingly the Rock at Kadesh (‘Ain Ḳades, 50 m. S. of Beer-sheba) has been suggested; see Num_20:8. It is a “large single mass, or a small hill of solid rock” standing out conspicuously from the earth covered hills (Clay Trumbull, Kadesh-Barnea, pp. 272–4); moreover Kadesh-barnea is mentioned as one of the chief points on the S. frontier of Judah, Num_34:4, Jos_15:3. But then why should the nameless Rock and not Kadesh itself be spoken of here? It is, in fact, impossible to be sure where ‘the Rock’ was. It cannot be Petra (LXX etc.), the famous capital of the Nabataeans, for this is too far south.

The verse is obviously out of connexion with its context. As a description of the southern limit of Judah it would be in place after Jdg_1:16 (the Kenites) or Jdg_1:17 (Simeon); but we cannot feel certain as to its original position in the document. It is a mutilated fragment, and, since the southern limit of Judah was also the limit of Israelite territory, it was probably placed where it stands to round off the country occupied by the various tribes.

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 coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim,.... Of which See Gill on Num 34:4 and See Gill on Jos 15:3,

from the rock, and upwards; even from the city Petra in Idumea, and beyond that; and there was a country near Idumea, called Acrabatane, from this mountain Akrabbim,"Then Judas fought against the children of Esau in Idumea at Arabattine, because they besieged Gael: and he gave them a great overthrow, and abated their courage, and took their spoils.'' (1 Maccabees 5:3)such was the extent of these people, that their coast reached from the places, mentioned to the mountains where the above cities of Dan were; they were the most powerful people among the Canaanites, and lay on both sides of Jordan, and were very troublesome to Israel, yet were at length destroyed, Amo 2:9.

Next: Judges Chapter 2

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

The going up to Akrabbim - See the margin and references; properly “the ascent of scorpions,” with which the whole region abounds.

The rock - Petra, the capital of Idumea, so called from the mass of precipitous rock which encloses the town, and out of which many of its buildings are excavated. The original word “Selah” is always used of the rock at Kadesh-Barnea Num 20:8-11, near Petra (compare Oba 1:3). This leads us to look for “the ascent of scorpions,” here coupled with סלע הס has-sela‛, in the same neighborhood.

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

Rock, Petra, the capital of Arabia, which Josephus ([Antiquities?] iii. 2,) assigns to Amalec. The Amorrhites dwelt in many parts of the land of promise, (Calmet) particularly in the higher places about the Dead Sea. (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).

Akrabbim was in the southern part of Canaan, Jos 15:2,3, from whence it went up towards the north. This is added to show the great power and large extent of this people.

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

36. Akrabbim — Probably the range of cliffs which form the southern boundary of the Valley of Salt, or the lower end of the Ghor, south of the Dead Sea. See on Jos_15:3, where it is called Maaleh-acrabbim.

From the rock, and upward — By the rock many understand Petra, the Edomite capital, which is called Sela (הסלע, the rock) in 2Ki_14:7; but this would make palpable confusion in the context, and involve the impossible conclusion that the Amorites had possession of the metropolis of Edom and the regions beyond. Better, therefore, to understand some well-known rock or prominent cliff in the southern border of Palestine.

Keil supposes that it was the rock at Kadesh, from which the Israelites were miraculously supplied with water. Num_20:11. Upward would then naturally mean northward from this well-known rock. The wide dominion of the Amorites is mentioned to account for their ability to resist the forces of Israel.

A panoramic view is given in this chapter of the political condition of the Hebrews at the beginning of this book. A general spirit of discouragement had come upon them, disposing them to acquiesce in the present situation, and to compromise with the unsubdued foes with whom they were intermingled. The natural result of this state of the facts would have been the turning of the Hebrews to paganism, and the loss of their nationality. For, unlike Christianity, Judaism possessed no aggressiveness. It was not designed as a missionary agency to go forth and make Jews of the pagan nations. It was eminently conservative in its spirit, and could flourish only by segregation, and separation from the assimilating power of heathen society. Hence the wisdom of the command, seemingly so radical and severe, to exterminate the Canaanite root and branch. The state of the nation calls for a renewed proclamation of this command. This will be found in the next chapter.

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

The going up to Akrabbim. See Jos_15:3, Maalehacrabbim. In Num_34:4 "the ascent of Akrabbim." The whole name, put into English, is "the ascent, or going up, of Scorpions," a mountain pass so called from the abundance of scorpions found in the whole region. The exact locality is uncertain, but it is thought to be the pass El-Safeh, immediately to the south of the Dead Sea. The neighbourhood to Mount Hor and Petra is indicated by its connection here with "the rock," in Hebrew has-selah, which is the distinctive name of the rocks or cliffs on which Petra is built, and the name of Petra (the rock) itself. Speaking roughly, a line drawn westward from El-Safeh to the Mediterranean Sea, near the "river of Egypt," formed the southern boundary, of Judah, and of the Amorites whom they displaced. The battle with the Amorites, (Deu_1:44) in which the Israelites were discomfited and pursued, is thought to have been at El-Safeh.

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

Akrabbim - Which was in the southern part of Canaan, Josh. xv, 2, 3 , from whence it went up towards the north. This is added to shew the great power and large extent of this people.

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

In order to explain the supremacy of the Amorites in the territory of Dan, a short notice is added concerning their extension in the south of Palestine. "The territory of the Amorites was," i.e., extended (viz., at the time of the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites), "from the ascent of Akrabbim, from the rock onwards and farther up." Maaleh-Akrabbim (ascensus scorpiorum) was the sharply projecting line of cliffs which intersected the Ghor below the Dead Sea, and formed the southern boundary of the promised land (see at Num 34:4 and Jos 15:2-3). מהסּלע, from the rock, is not doubt given as a second point upon the boundary of the Amoritish territory, as the repetition of the מן clearly shows, notwithstanding the omission of the copula ו. הסּלע, the rock, is supposed by the majority of commentators to refer to the city of Petra, the ruins of which are still to be seen in the Wady Musa (see Burckhardt, Syr. pp. 703ff.; Rob. Pal. ii. pp. 573ff., iii. 653), and which is distinctly mentioned in Kg2 14:7 under the name of הסּלע, and in Isa 16:1 is called simply סלע. Petra is to the southeast of the Scorpion heights. Consequently, with this rendering the following word ומעלה (and upward) would have to be taken in the sense of ulterius (and beyond), and Rosenmller's explanation would be the correct one: "The Amorites not only extended as far as the town of Petra, or inhabited it, but they even carried their dwellings beyond this towards the tops of those southern mountains." But a description of the territory of the Amorites in its southern extension into Arabia Petraea does not suit the context of the verse, the object of which is to explain how it was that the Amorites were in a condition to force back the Danites out of the plain into the mountains, to say nothing of the fact that it is questionable whether the Amorites ever really spread so far, for which we have neither scriptural testimony nor evidence of any other kind. On this ground even Bertheau has taken ומעלה as denoting the direction upwards, i.e., towards the north, which unquestionably suits the usage of מעלה as well as the context of the passage. But it is by no means in harmony with this to understand הסּלע as referring to Petra; for in that case we should have two boundary points mentioned, the second of which was farther south than the first. Now a historian who had any acquaintance with the topography, would never have described the extent of the Amoritish territory from south to north in such a way as this, commencing with the Scorpion heights on the north, then passing to Petra, which was farther south, and stating that from this point the territory extended farther towards the north. If ומעלה therefore refers to the extension of the territory of the Amorites in a northerly direction, the expression "from the rock" cannot be understood as relating to the city of Petra, but must denote some other locality well known to the Israelites by that name. Such a locality there undoubtedly was in the rock in the desert of Zin, which had become celebrated through the events that took place at the water of strife (Num 20:8, Num 20:10), and to which in all probability this expression refers. The rock in question was at the south-west corner of Canaan, on the southern edge of the Rakhma plateau, to which the mountains of the Amorites extended on the south-west (comp. Num 14:25, Num 14:44-45, with Deu 1:44). And this would be very appropriately mentioned here as the south-western boundary of the Amorites, in connection with the Scorpion heights as their south-eastern boundary, for the purpose of giving the southern boundary of the Amorites in its full extent from east to west.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)