The inhabitants of the towns of Judah and Benjamin. - The heads who, with their houses, inhabited country districts are here no longer enumerated, but only the towns, with their adjacent neighbourhoods, which were inhabited by Jews and Benjamites; and even these are but summarily mentioned.

Nehemiah 11:25-30

The districts inhabited by the children of Judah. "And with respect to the towns in their fields, there dwelt of the sons of Judah in Kirjath-arba and its daughters," etc. The use of אל as an introductory or emphatic particle is peculiar to this passage, ל ,egassap being elsewhere customary in this sense; comp. Ew. 310, a. אל denotes a respect to something. חצרים, properly enclosures, signifies, according to Leviticus 25:31, villages, towns, boroughs, without walls. שׂדות, fields, field boundaries. בּנותיה, the villages and estates belonging to a town; as frequently in the lists of towns in the book of Joshua. Kirjath-arba is Hebron, Genesis 23:2. Jekabzeel, like Kabzeel, Joshua 15:21. חצריה, its enclosed places, the estates belonging to a town, as in Joshua 15:45. Jeshua, mentioned only here, and unknown. Moladah and Beth-phelet, Joshua 15:26-27. Hazar-shual, i.e., Fox-court, probably to be sought for in the ruins of Thaly; see rem. on Joshua 15:28. Beersheba, now Bir es Seba; see rem. on Genesis 21:31. Ziklag, at the ancient Asluj, see Joshua 15:31. Mekonah, mentioned only here, and unknown. En-rimmon; see rem. on 1 Chronicles 4:32. Zareah, Jarmuth, Zanoah, and Adullam in the plains (see Joshua 15:33-35), where were also Lachish and Azekah; see on 2 Chronicles 11:9. - In Nehemiah 11:30 the whole region then inhabited by Jews is comprised in the words: "And they dwelt from Beer-sheba (the south-western boundary of Canaan) to the valley of Hinnom, in Jerusalem," through which ran the boundaries of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah (Joshua 15:8).

Nehemiah 11:31 Parallel Commentaries

from Geba. or, of Geba.

Nehemiah 7:30 The men of Ramah and Gaba, six hundred twenty and one.

Gaba.

Joshua 18:24 And Chepharhaammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages:

at Michmash. or, to Michmash.

Nehemiah 7:31 The men of Michmas, an hundred and twenty and two.

Michmas.

1 Samuel 13:11,23 And Samuel said, What have you done? And Saul said, Because I saw that the people were scattered from me...

Isaiah 10:28 He is come to Aiath, he is passed to Migron; at Michmash he has laid up his carriages:

Aija.

Nehemiah 7:32 The men of Bethel and Ai, an hundred twenty and three.

Ai.

Genesis 12:8 And he removed from there to a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east...

Hai.

Joshua 8:9 Joshua therefore sent them forth: and they went to lie in ambush, and stayed between Bethel and Ai, on the west side of Ai...

Ai. Beth-el.

Genesis 28:19 And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first.

Joshua 18:13 And the border went over from there toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward; and the border descended to Atarothadar...