These were in the foothills: Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, These were in the foothillsThe term "foothills" refers to the Shephelah, a region of low hills in ancient Israel that served as a transitional zone between the coastal plains and the central highlands. This area was significant in biblical history as it often served as a battleground between the Israelites and their enemies, such as the Philistines. The Hebrew word for "foothills" is "Shephelah," which conveys a sense of gradual elevation, symbolizing the spiritual journey of rising from worldly concerns to a higher, more divine perspective. The Shephelah was fertile and strategically important, representing the abundance and challenges that come with God's promises. Eshtaol
Eshtaol is one of the towns allotted to the tribe of Judah, located in the Shephelah. The name "Eshtaol" is derived from the Hebrew root "sha'al," meaning "to ask" or "to inquire." This town is historically significant as it is associated with the early life of Samson, one of Israel's judges, who began to be stirred by the Spirit of the Lord in the region between Eshtaol and Zorah (Judges 13:25). Eshtaol symbolizes a place of divine inquiry and spiritual awakening, where believers are called to seek God's guidance and strength. Zorah
Zorah, another town in the Shephelah, is closely linked with Eshtaol and is also associated with the account of Samson. The name "Zorah" comes from the Hebrew root "tsarah," meaning "to be pressed" or "to be in distress." This reflects the spiritual and physical struggles faced by the Israelites in this region. Zorah is a reminder of the trials that believers may encounter in their faith journey, yet it also signifies the potential for deliverance and empowerment through God's intervention, as seen in the life of Samson. Ashnah
Ashnah is a lesser-known town in the Shephelah, and its name is thought to derive from the Hebrew root "ashan," meaning "smoke" or "to be smoky." This could indicate a place of sacrifice or a location known for its altars and offerings. Ashnah represents the act of worship and the offering of one's life as a living sacrifice to God. It serves as a reminder of the importance of maintaining a heart of worship and devotion amidst the challenges and distractions of life. Persons / Places / Events 1. EshtaolA town located in the territory of Judah, within the Shephelah or lowland region. It is historically significant as the place where Samson began to be stirred by the Spirit of the Lord ( Judges 13:25). 2. ZorahAnother town in the Shephelah, closely associated with Eshtaol. It is the birthplace of Samson, one of the judges of Israel, and is often mentioned alongside Eshtaol in the context of his life and exploits. 3. AshnahA lesser-known town in the same region, mentioned in the context of the territorial boundaries of Judah. Its exact historical significance is less documented, but it contributes to the understanding of the geographical and cultural landscape of the area. Teaching Points Understanding God's Sovereignty in GeographyThe specific mention of towns like Eshtaol, Zorah, and Ashnah in the Bible underscores the importance of geography in God's plan. Each location has a role in the unfolding of biblical history, reminding us that God is sovereign over all places and events. The Role of Heritage and IdentityThe towns listed in Joshua 15:33 are part of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah. This inheritance is not just about land but also about identity and belonging. As Christians, our identity is rooted in our spiritual inheritance through Christ. The Importance of Obedience and FaithfulnessThe history of these towns, especially in connection with Samson, serves as a reminder of the importance of obedience to God. Samson's life shows the consequences of straying from God's commands, urging us to remain faithful. God's Use of Imperfect PeopleSamson's association with Eshtaol and Zorah highlights how God can use imperfect people to accomplish His purposes. This encourages us to trust that God can work through our weaknesses. Bible Study Questions 1. What significance do the towns of Eshtaol, Zorah, and Ashnah hold in the broader account of the Bible, and how does this reflect God's attention to detail in His plans? 2. How does the account of Samson, associated with Eshtaol and Zorah, illustrate the balance between divine empowerment and human responsibility? 3. In what ways can understanding the geographical and historical context of biblical locations enhance our interpretation of Scripture? 4. How does the concept of inheritance in Joshua 15:33 relate to our spiritual inheritance as believers in Christ? 5. Reflect on a time when God used an imperfect situation or person in your life to accomplish His purposes. How does this encourage you in your walk with God? Connections to Other Scriptures Judges 13-16These chapters provide the account of Samson, who is closely associated with the towns of Eshtaol and Zorah. His account illustrates the themes of divine empowerment and human weakness. 1 Chronicles 2:53This verse mentions the families of Kiriath-jearim, which includes the clans of Eshtaol and Zorah, indicating their continued significance in the genealogical records of Israel. Judges 18:2, 8, 11These verses describe the Danites' exploration and eventual migration, which includes the regions of Eshtaol and Zorah, highlighting the strategic importance of these locations. People Achsah, Addar, Ahiman, Anak, Anakites, Arba, Ben, Bohan, Cain, Caleb, Dagon, Debir, Dumah, Eder, Eglon, Ephron, Gad, Gedor, Hezron, Hoglah, Jebusites, Jephunneh, Jezreel, Joshua, Kenaz, Maon, Naamah, Othniel, Pelet, Reuben, Seir, Shamir, Shema, Sheshai, Shual, Talmai, Tappuah, Telem, Timnah, ZurPlaces Achzib, Adadah, Addar, Adullam, Adummim, Ain, Akrabbim, Amam, Anab, Anim, Aphekah, Arab, Ashan, Ashdod, Ashnah, Azekah, Baalah, Bealoth, Beersheba, Beth-anoth, Beth-arabah, Beth-dagan, Beth-hoglah, Beth-pelet, Beth-shemesh, Beth-tappuah, Beth-zur, Biziothiah, Bozkath, Brook of Egypt, Cabbon, Carmel, Chesalon, Chesil, Chitlish, City of Salt, Dannah, Debir, Dilean, Dimonah, Dumah, Eder, Edom, Eglon, Ekron, Eltekon, Eltolad, Enam, En-gannim, Engedi, En-rogel, En-shemesh, Eshan, Eshtaol, Eshtemoh, Ether, Ezem, Gaza, Gederah, Gederoth, Gederothaim, Gedor, Gibeah, Gilgal, Giloh, Great Sea, Hadashah, Halhul, Hazar-gaddah, Hazar-shual, Hazor, Hazor-hadattah, Hebron, Heshmon, Hezron, Holon, Hormah, Humtah, Iim, Iphtah, Ithnan, Jabneel, Jagur, Janim, Jarmuth, Jattir, Jebus, Jerusalem, Jokdeam, Joktheel, Jordan River, Juttah, Kabzeel, Kadesh-barnea, Kain, Keilah, Kerioth-hezron, Kinah, Kiriath-arba, Kiriath-baal, Kiriath-jearim, Kiriath-sannah, Kiriath-sepher, Lachish, Lahmam, Lebaoth, Libnah, Maarath, Madmannah, Makkedah, Maon, Mareshah, Middin, Migdal-gad, Mizpeh, Moladah, Mount Baalah, Mount Ephron, Mount Jearim, Mount Seir, Negeb, Nephtoah, Nezib, Nibshan, Rabbah, Rimmon, Salt Sea, Sansannah, Secacah, Shaaraim, Shamir, Shema, Shikkeron, Shilhim, Socoh, Tappuah, Telem, Timnah, Valley of Achor, Valley of Hinnom, Valley of Rephaim, Zanoah, Zenan, Ziklag, Zin, Zior, Ziph, ZorahTopics Ashnah, Eshtaol, Eshta'ol, Foothills, Low, Lowland, Valley, Zorah, ZoreahDictionary of Bible Themes Joshua 15:1-63 5235 boundary
7266 tribes of Israel Library The Sea of Sodom
The bounds of Judea, on both sides, are the sea; the western bound is the Mediterranean,--the eastern, the Dead sea, or the sea of Sodom. This the Jewish writers every where call, which you may not so properly interpret here, "the salt sea," as "the bituminous sea." In which sense word for word, "Sodom's salt," but properly "Sodom's bitumen," doth very frequently occur among them. The use of it was in the holy incense. They mingled 'bitumen,' 'the amber of Jordan,' and [an herb known to few], with …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and HebraicaTiglath-Pileser iii. And the Organisation of the Assyrian Empire from 745 to 722 B. C.
TIGLATH-PILESER III. AND THE ORGANISATION OF THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE FROM 745 to 722 B.C. FAILURE OF URARTU AND RE-CONQUEST Of SYRIA--EGYPT AGAIN UNITED UNDER ETHIOPIAN AUSPICES--PIONKHI--THE DOWNFALL OF DAMASCUS, OF BABYLON, AND OF ISRAEL. Assyria and its neighbours at the accession of Tiglath-pileser III.: progress of the Aramaeans in the basin of the Middle Tigris--Urartu and its expansion into the north of Syria--Damascus and Israel--Vengeance of Israel on Damascus--Jeroboam II.--Civilisation …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 7 John the Baptist --visit of Jesus to John, and his Abode in the Desert of Judea --Adoption of the Baptism of John.
An extraordinary man, whose position, from the absence of documentary evidence, remains to us in some degree enigmatical, appeared about this time, and was unquestionably to some extent connected with Jesus. This connection tended rather to make the young prophet of Nazareth deviate from his path; but it suggested many important accessories to his religious institution, and, at all events, furnished a very strong authority to his disciples in recommending their Master in the eyes of a certain class …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus Divers Matters.
I. Beth-cerem, Nehemiah 3:14. "The stones, as well of the altar, as of the ascent to the altar, were from the valley of Beth-cerem, which they digged out beneath the barren land. And thence they are wont to bring whole stones, upon which the working iron came not." The fathers of the traditions, treating concerning the blood of women's terms, reckon up five colours of it; among which that, "which is like the water of the earth, out of the valley of Beth-cerem."--Where the Gloss writes thus, "Beth-cerem …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Epistle xxvi. To Theoctista, Patrician
To Theoctista, Patrician [1704] Gregory to Theoctista, &c. That your Excellency, though placed in so great a tumult of affairs, is full of the fruitfulness of the sacred word, and incessantly pants after eternal joys, for this I give great thanks to Almighty God, in that in you I see fulfilled what is written of the elect fathers, But the children of Israel walked on dry land through the midst of the sea (Exod. xv. 19). But on the other hand, I am come into the depth of the sea, and the storm hath …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great Emmaus. Kiriath-Jearim.
"From Beth-horon to Emmaus it was hilly."--It was sixty furlongs distant from Jerusalem.--"To eight hundred only, dismissed the army, (Vespasian) gave a place, called Ammaus, for them to inhabit: it is sixty furlongs distant from Jerusalem." I inquire, whether this word hath the same etymology with Emmaus near Tiberias, which, from the 'warm baths,' was called Chammath. The Jews certainly do write this otherwise... "The family (say they) of Beth-Pegarim, and Beth Zipperia was out of Emmaus."--The …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica The Coast of the Asphaltites, the Essenes. En-Gedi.
"On the western shore" (of the Asphaltites) "dwell the Essenes; whom persons, guilty of any crimes, fly from on every side. A nation it is that lives alone, and of all other nations in the whole world, most to be admired; they are without any woman; all lust banished, &c. Below these, was the town Engadda, the next to Jerusalem for fruitfulness, and groves of palm-trees, now another burying-place. From thence stands Massada, a castle in a rock, and this castle not far from the Asphaltites." Solinus, …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah
"And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth unto Me (one) [Pg 480] to be Ruler in Israel; and His goings forth are the times of old, the days of eternity." The close connection of this verse with what immediately precedes (Caspari is wrong in considering iv. 9-14 as an episode) is evident, not only from the [Hebrew: v] copulative, and from the analogy of the near relation of the announcement of salvation to the prophecy of disaster …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Moses and his Writings
[Illustration: (drop cap W) Clay letter tablet of Moses' time.] We now begin to understand a little of the very beginning of God's Book--of the times in which it was written, the materials used by its first author, and the different kinds of writing from which he had to choose; but we must go a step farther. How much did Moses know about the history of his forefathers, Abraham and Jacob, and of all the old nations and kings mentioned in Genesis, before God called him to the great work of writing …
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making The Power of Assyria at Its Zenith; Esarhaddon and Assur-Bani-Pal
The Medes and Cimmerians: Lydia--The conquest of Egypt, of Arabia, and of Elam. As we have already seen, Sennacherib reigned for eight years after his triumph; eight years of tranquillity at home, and of peace with all his neighbours abroad. If we examine the contemporary monuments or the documents of a later period, and attempt to glean from them some details concerning the close of his career, we find that there is a complete absence of any record of national movement on the part of either Elam, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8 Some Helps to Mourning
Having removed the obstructions, let me in the last place propound some helps to holy mourning. 1 Set David's prospect continually before you. My sin is ever before me' (Psalm 51:3). David, that he might be a mourner, kept his eye full upon sin. See what sin is, and then tell me if there be not enough in it to draw forth tears. I know not what name to give it bad enough. One calls it the devil's excrement. Sin is a complication of all evils. It is the spirits of mischief distilled. Sin dishonours …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 Sennacherib (705-681 B. C. )
The struggle of Sennacherib with Judaea and Egypt--Destruction of Babylon. Sennacherib either failed to inherit his father's good fortune, or lacked his ability.* He was not deficient in military genius, nor in the energy necessary to withstand the various enemies who rose against him at widely removed points of his frontier, but he had neither the adaptability of character nor the delicate tact required to manage successfully the heterogeneous elements combined under his sway. * The two principal …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 8 Kadesh. Rekam, and that Double. Inquiry is Made, Whether the Doubling it in the Maps is Well Done.
The readers of the eastern interpreters will observe, that Kadesh is rendered by all Rekam, or in a sound very near it. In the Chaldee, it is 'Rekam': in the Syriac, 'Rekem': in the Arabic, 'Rakim'... There are two places noted by the name Rekam in the very bounds of the land,--to wit, the southern and eastern: that is, a double Kadesh. I. Of Kadesh, or Rekam, in the south part, there is no doubt. II. Of it, in the eastern part, there is this mention: "From Rekam to the east, and Rekam is as the …
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica Joshua
The book of Joshua is the natural complement of the Pentateuch. Moses is dead, but the people are on the verge of the promised land, and the story of early Israel would be incomplete, did it not record the conquest of that land and her establishment upon it. The divine purpose moves restlessly on, until it is accomplished; so "after the death of Moses, Jehovah spake to Joshua," i. 1. The book falls naturally into three divisions: (a) the conquest of Canaan (i.-xii.), (b) the settlement of the …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Joshua 15:33 NIVJoshua 15:33 NLTJoshua 15:33 ESVJoshua 15:33 NASBJoshua 15:33 KJV
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