Joshua 19:15

15 and Kattath, Nahal'al, Shimron, I'dalah, and Bethlehem--twelve cities 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 Ne'ah;

14 then on the north the boundary turns about to Han'nathon, and it ends at the valley of Iph'tahel;

15 and Kattath, Nahal'al, Shimron, I'dalah, and Bethlehem--twelve cities with their villages.

16 This is the inheritance of the tribe of Zeb'ulun, according to its families--these cities with their villages.

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