Shaaraim, Adithaim, and Gederah (or Gederothaim)--fourteen cities, along with their villages. ShaaraimThe name "Shaaraim" is derived from the Hebrew word "שַׁעֲרַיִם" (Sha'arayim), meaning "two gates" or "double gates." This name suggests a fortified city with significant defenses, possibly indicating its strategic importance in the region. In the context of biblical history, Shaaraim is mentioned in the account of David and Goliath ( 1 Samuel 17:52), where the Philistines fled through the gates of Shaaraim. This highlights its location as a passageway or a point of retreat, emphasizing the city's role in the broader narrative of Israel's battles and territorial claims. Adithaim
The name "Adithaim" is less frequently mentioned in biblical texts, and its exact meaning is somewhat obscure. However, it is believed to be derived from the Hebrew root "עַד" (ad), meaning "eternal" or "perpetual." This could imply a sense of enduring presence or significance. The inclusion of Adithaim in the list of cities within the territory of Judah underscores the comprehensive nature of the land allocation, ensuring that even lesser-known locations are recognized as part of the inheritance given to the tribe. Gederah (or Gederothaim)
The name "Gederah" comes from the Hebrew "גְּדֵרָה" (Gederah), meaning "wall" or "enclosure." This suggests a place that was fortified or enclosed, possibly indicating a settlement with protective walls. The alternative name "Gederothaim" may imply a dual or plural form, suggesting multiple enclosures or a larger area. Historically, Gederah is associated with agricultural activities, as indicated by its mention in other biblical passages (1 Chronicles 4:23), where it is linked to potters and those who worked in the king's service. This highlights the city's role in the economic and social fabric of the region. fourteen cities, along with their villages
This phrase emphasizes the completeness and organization of the territorial allotment to the tribe of Judah. The number "fourteen" signifies a specific and intentional division of land, reflecting the order and structure inherent in God's provision for His people. The mention of "villages" alongside the cities indicates the inclusion of smaller settlements and communities, ensuring that all inhabitants of the land are accounted for in the distribution. This comprehensive listing serves as a reminder of God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promises to the Israelites, providing them with a land of their own where they can thrive and worship Him. Persons / Places / Events 1. ShaaraimA town in the territory of Judah, its name means "two gates" in Hebrew, possibly indicating a location with significant fortifications or entry points. 2. AdithaimAnother town within Judah's inheritance, though not much is known about it, its inclusion signifies its importance in the tribal allotment. 3. Gederah (or Gederothaim)This name refers to a town or possibly two towns (Gederah and Gederothaim) in Judah. The name means "wall" or "enclosure," suggesting a fortified place. 4. JudahThe tribe receiving this allotment of land, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, known for its leadership and prominence in biblical history. 5. JoshuaThe leader of Israel who succeeded Moses and led the Israelites into the Promised Land, overseeing the distribution of the land among the tribes. Teaching Points God's Faithfulness in Fulfillment of PromisesThe detailed listing of towns in Judah's inheritance underscores God's faithfulness in fulfilling His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regarding the land. Significance of Place in God's PlanEach town, whether well-known or obscure, played a role in the unfolding of God's redemptive history, reminding us that every place and person has significance in God's plan. The Importance of Heritage and LegacyThe inheritance of land to the tribes of Israel speaks to the importance of heritage and the legacy we leave for future generations, encouraging us to consider what spiritual inheritance we are passing on. God's Sovereignty and OrderThe orderly distribution of land reflects God's sovereignty and the importance of order in His creation, encouraging us to seek His order in our lives. Community and BelongingThe mention of villages alongside cities highlights the communal aspect of Israel's inheritance, reminding us of the importance of community and belonging in our spiritual journey. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the allocation of land to the tribe of Judah demonstrate God's faithfulness to His promises? Reflect on other instances in the Bible where God fulfills His promises. 2. What can we learn from the significance of seemingly obscure places like Shaaraim and Adithaim in God's plan? How does this apply to our understanding of our own significance in God's kingdom? 3. In what ways does the concept of inheritance in Joshua 15 relate to our spiritual inheritance in Christ? Consider New Testament passages that discuss our inheritance as believers. 4. How does the orderly distribution of land among the tribes of Israel reflect God's character? What areas of your life need to be brought into alignment with God's order? 5. Reflect on the importance of community as seen in the mention of cities and their villages. How can you foster a sense of community and belonging in your church or local fellowship? Connections to Other Scriptures 1 Samuel 17Shaaraim is mentioned in the context of David's battle with Goliath, indicating its strategic location in the Valley of Elah. 1 Chronicles 4Gederah is mentioned in the genealogies of Judah, highlighting its significance in the tribal lineage. Joshua 10The broader context of Joshua's conquests provides insight into the military and spiritual challenges faced by Israel as they took possession of the land. 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 Adithaim, Aditha'im, Cities, Fourteen, Gederah, Gede'rah, Gederothaim, Gederotha'im, Hamlets, Places, Shaaraim, Shaara'im, Sharaim, Towns, Unwalled, VillagesDictionary 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 15:36 NIVJoshua 15:36 NLTJoshua 15:36 ESVJoshua 15:36 NASBJoshua 15:36 KJV
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