Joshua 19:15

15 and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve towns with their villages.

Joshua 19:15 Meaning and Commentary

Joshua 19:15

And Kattath, and Nahallal
Of the two first of these we read nowhere else, but in ( Joshua 21:34 Joshua 21:35 ) ( Judges 1:30 ) ;

and Shimron
was a royal city, the king of which Joshua took and hanged, ( Joshua 11:1 ) ( 12:20 ) ;

and Idalah
is a place Bochart conjectures ^F20 where the goddess Venus was worshipped, Idalia being one of her names;

and Bethlehem
is a different place from that which was the birthplace of our Lord, called Bethlehem of Judah, to distinguish it from this:

twelve cities with their villages;
more are named, but some of them belonged to other tribes, and only lay on the borders of this; and others might not be properly cities, but small towns.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Canaan, l. 1. c. 3. col. 356.

Joshua 19:15 In-Context

13 from there it passes along on the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and going on to Rimmon it bends toward Neah;

14 then on the north the boundary makes a turn to Hannathon, and it ends at the valley of Iphtah-el;

15 and Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem—twelve towns with their villages.

16 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Zebulun, according to its families—these towns with their villages.

17 The fourth lot came out for Issachar, for the tribe of Issachar, according to its families.