Joshua 15:10

10 and it compasseth from Baalah against the west, unto the hill of Seir, and it passeth by the side of the hill of Jearim to the north in Chesalon (and it goeth west from Baalah to Mount Seir, and it passeth by the north side of Mount Jearim, which is Chesalon), and (then) it goeth down into Bethshemesh; and it passeth forth into Timnah,

Joshua 15:10 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 15:10

And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto Mount
Seir
Not that in Idumea, so famous for its being the seat of Esau, which lay remote from hence, but a third of that name near Kirjathjearim; and which Adrichomius ^F20 places on the borders of Azotus and Ashkelon: this compass is fetched from the north to the west:

and passed along unto the side of the mount Jearim, which [is]
Chesalon, on the north side;
that is, on the north side of the mount, which went by both those names; and which Jerom ^F21 places on the borders of Aelia or Jerusalem; but it seems to be at a distance from thence, and near to Kirjathjearim, and had its name, as that, from the multitude of trees that grow on it:

and went down to Bethshemesh;
there were several cities of this name; but this, according to Jerom ^F23, was a Levite's city in the tribe of Benjamin, and in his day was shown as you go from Eleutherepolis to Nicopolis or Emmaus, ten miles to the east; according to Burchard ^F24, it was five miles from Kirjathjearim to the south; and Bunting ^F25 places it four miles from Jerusalem westward, taking it for a city in the tribe of Judah, ( Joshua 21:16 ) ( 1 Samuel 6:12 ) ;

and passed on to Timnah;
which, in Jerom's time, was a large village on the borders of Lydda, as you go to Jerusalem, in the tribe of Judah, or Dan ^F26; his placed in the tribe of Judah, ( Joshua 15:57 ) ; though thought to be afterwards given to Dan; here Judah sheared his sheep, (See Gill on Genesis 38:12).

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 24.
F21 De loc. Heb. fol. 90. F.
F23 Ib. fol. 89. H.
F24 Apud Masium in loc.
F25 Travels, p. 124.
F26 De loc. Heb. fol. 95. C.

Joshua 15:10 In-Context

8 And it goeth up by the valley of the son of Hinnom, by the side of (the) Jebusites, at the south; this is Jerusalem; and from thence it up-raiseth itself to the top of the hill, that is against Hinnom at the west, in the height of the valley of Rephaim, against the north; (And it goeth up by the Hinnom Valley, on the south side of the Jebusites; that is Jerusalem; and from there it raiseth itself up to the top of the hill, west of the Hinnom Valley, which is at the northern end of the Rephaim Valley;)

9 and it passeth forth from the top of the hill to the well of the water(s) of Nephtoah, and it cometh unto the towns of the hill of Ephron; and it is bowed into Baalah, that is Kiriathjearim, that is, the city of woods;

10 and it compasseth from Baalah against the west, unto the hill of Seir, and it passeth by the side of the hill of Jearim to the north in Chesalon (and it goeth west from Baalah to Mount Seir, and it passeth by the north side of Mount Jearim, which is Chesalon), and (then) it goeth down into Bethshemesh; and it passeth forth into Timnah,

11 and it cometh against the parts of the north by the side of Ekron; and it is bowed to Shicron, and it passeth the hill of Baalah (and it goeth by Mount Baalah); and it cometh into Jabneel,

12 and it is closed with the end of the great sea, against the west. These be the terms of the sons of Judah, by compass in their families. (and it endeth with the Mediterranean Sea, as its western border. This is the course of the borders of the sons of Judah, family by family.)