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The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:15
Kirjath-sepher (see note on Joshua 10:38).
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:16-19
The story of Achsah. I. LOVE IS THE STRONGEST MOTIVE OF CONDUCT. AS Othniel was nephew to Caleb, and therefore must have known Achsah, it is probable that he accepted the challenge to seize Kirjath-sepher from motives o…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:16-19
Fulness of blessing. Achsah had something of her father's spirit in her—ambitious, vigorous, resolute, quick to seize the present opportunity. Having so lately won his own suit Caleb could scarcely deny her her's. Throu…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:16
And Caleb said (cf. 1 Samuel 17:25; 1 Chronicles 11:6).
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:17
The brother of Caleb. The Hebrew does not inform us whether Othniel or Kenaz were Caleb's brother. But the fact (see note on Joshua 14:6) that Caleb was the son of Jephunneh leads to the idea that the latter is meant. O…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:18
As she came to him. Whether the bridal procession of the later Jews were already in existence or not, we have no evidence to show. A field. The narrative in Judges has "the field," meaning the particular field mentioned…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:19
A southland. Hebrew, the southland. The word Negeb signifies dry (see note on Negeb, Joshua 10:40). It must be remembered that it became the word for south, because the south of Palestine was an arid tract. Therefore Ac…
Matthew Henry on Joshua 15:20-63
Here is a list of the cities of Judah. But we do not here find Bethlehem, afterwards the city of David, and ennobled by the birth of our Lord Jesus in it. That city, which, at the best, was but little among the thousand…
The Lot of Judah. (b. c. 1444.)
THE LOT OF JUDAH. (B. C. 1444.) We have here a list of the several cities that fell within the lot of the tribe of Judah, which are mentioned by name, that they might know their own, and both keep it and keep to it, and…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:20
This is the inheritance. The territory of Judah is divided into four parts, in the summary which follows: the "south," the "valley," the "mountains," and the "wilderness." Tribe. Here מַטֶּה (see note Joshua 13:29).
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:21
Coast. Rather, border (see note Joshua 15:4). Southward. The term here used (see above, Joshua 15:19) for "south" is the one which has the signification of dryness. It is, however, occasionally used in a less strict sen…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:22
Kinah. Knobel suggests that this was the city of the Kenites, a supposition which derives some support from 1:16 and 1 Samuel 15:6.
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:22
Their villages (see note Joshua 13:28).
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:24
Telem. This is identified by Knobel with the Telaim mentioned in 1 Samuel 15:4. Conder, in his 'Handbook,' supports this view, but nothing more is known of the place.
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:29
Iim. The Alexandrian version of LXX. has ἀυείμ here. If this be correct, the city was named after the Avim (see note on Joshua 13:4). If we take the reading in the text we must interpret by ruins (see note on Ai, Josh…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:32
Twenty-nine. There is another of the very common errors of numbers here. The actual number is thirty-six. The error is as old as the LXX. version.
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:32
Ain, Rimmon (see Joshua 19:7; 1 Chronicles 4:1-43 :82; Nehemiah 11:29). More likely the name of one place Ain-Rimmon, the fountain of the god Rimmon. For Rimmon see 2 Kings 5:18. The word signifying eye, or fountain, is…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:33
The valley. בַּשְפֵלָה (see note on Joshua 9:1; Joshua 10:40). This was the fertile part of Judah, and formed a part of the rich plain which has been described as extending northward as far as Carmel. It was "renowned f…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:44
Mareshah. One of Rehoboam's fortified cities (2 Chronicles 11:8). Here Asa met Zerah the Ethiopian, or Cushite, and overthrew him (2 Chronicles 14:9). Here lived the prophet who foretold the destruction of Jehoshaphat's…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:45
Ekron, with her towns and her villages. Literally, her daughters and her farm hamlets (see note on Joshua 13:28). These cities of the Philistines had, like Gibeon, daughter cities dependent on them, and must therefore h…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:48
The mountains. Compare the expression, "the hill country of Judaea" ( τῇ ὀρεινῇ, the same as here in the LXX), Luke 1:65. It extends northwards from near Debir to Jerusalem, attaining at Hebron a height of about 2,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:51
Giloh. Perhaps the city of Ahithophel.
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:55
Maon, Carmel, and Ziph. These, as Dean Stanley reminds us, still retain unaltered their old names. "That long line of hills was the beginning of the 'hill country of Judaea,' and when we began to ascend it the first ans…
The Pulpit Commentary on Joshua 15:60
Kirjath Baal. Before these words the LXX. insert the names of eleven more cities, among which Tekoah and Bethlehem are included. For the former see 2 Samuel 14:2; 2 Chronicles 11:6; 2 Chronicles 20:20. The prophet Amos…