Bible Thesaurus: Territory

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Thesaurus

Territory (140 Occurrences)
... state, or other form of government; often, a tract of land lying at a distance from
the parent country or from the seat of government; as, the territory of a ...
/t/territory.htm - 56k

Derbe (4 Occurrences)
... the majority of English and American scholars, and a traveler passing through the
Cilician Gates to Southern Galatia must have traversed the territory of Derbe ...
/d/derbe.htm - 15k

Bethshemesh (19 Occurrences)
... 1. Beth-shemesh of Judah: The first mention of a place by this name is in the
description of the border of the territory of Judah (Joshua 15:10) which "went ...
/b/bethshemesh.htm - 19k

Beth-shemesh (19 Occurrences)
... 1. Beth-shemesh of Judah: The first mention of a place by this name is in the
description of the border of the territory of Judah (Joshua 15:10) which "went ...
/b/beth-shemesh.htm - 20k

Ituraea (1 Occurrence)
... A district in the north-east of Palestine, forming, along with the adjacent territory
of Trachonitis, the tetrarchy of Philip (Luke 3:1). The present Jedur ...
/i/ituraea.htm - 10k

District (59 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (a.) Rigorous; stringent; harsh. 2. (n.) The territory
within which the lord has the power of coercing and punishing. ...
/d/district.htm - 24k

Dan (71 Occurrences)
... The territory of Dan extended from the west of that of Ephraim and Benjamin
to the sea. It was a small territory, but was very fertile. ...
/d/dan.htm - 41k

Gad (78 Occurrences)
... See NUMBERS. 3. The Tribal Territory: From time immemorial the dwellers
East of the Jordan have followed the pastoral life. When ...
/g/gad.htm - 49k

Manasseh (140 Occurrences)
... The half of this tribe, along with Reuben and Gad, had their territory assigned
them by Moses on the east of the Jordan (Joshua 13:7-14); but it was left for ...
/m/manasseh.htm - 68k

Jahaz (8 Occurrences)
... Here was fought the decisive battle in which Sihon (qv) was completely routed, and
his territory (the modern Belka) came into the possession of Israel. ...
/j/jahaz.htm - 11k

Bible Concordance

Territory (140 Occurrences)

Matthew 4:13 Leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,
(See RSV)

2 Corinthians 10:16 so as to preach the Good News even to the parts beyond you, not to boast in what someone else has already done.
(See NIV)

Genesis 9:27 May God enlarge Japheth. Let him dwell in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant."
(See NIV)

Genesis 10:19 The border of the Canaanites was from Sidon, as you go toward Gerar, to Gaza; as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, to Lasha.
(See NAS RSV)

Genesis 10:30 Their dwelling was from Mesha, as you go toward Sephar, the mountain of the east.
(See RSV)

Genesis 14:7 They returned, and came to En Mishpat (the same is Kadesh), and struck all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that lived in Hazazon Tamar.
(See NIV)

Genesis 20:1 Abraham traveled from there toward the land of the South, and lived between Kadesh and Shur. He lived as a foreigner in Gerar.
(See RSV)

Genesis 48:6 And thy issue, that thou begettest after them, shall be thine; they shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
(See NIV)

Exodus 8:2 If you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your borders with frogs:
(See NAS)

Exodus 10:4 Or else, if you refuse to let my people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country,
(See NAS)

Exodus 10:14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the borders of Egypt; very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
(See NAS)

Exodus 10:19 Yahweh turned an exceeding strong west wind, which took up the locusts, and drove them into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the borders of Egypt.
(See NAS)

Exodus 13:7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven days; and there shall no leavened bread be seen with thee, neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy quarters.
(See RSV)

Exodus 34:24 For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders; neither shall any man desire your land when you go up to appear before Yahweh, your God, three times in the year.
(See NIV)

Numbers 20:16 and when we cried unto the LORD, He heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt; and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Numbers 20:17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy land; we will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells; we will go along the king's highway, we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy border.'
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Numbers 20:21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; and Israel turned away from him.
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Numbers 21:13 From there they traveled, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, that comes out of the border of the Amorites: for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
(See NIV)

Numbers 21:22 Let me pass through thy land; we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells; we will go by the king's highway, until we have passed thy border.'
(See RSV NIV)

Numbers 21:23 Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz; and he fought against Israel.
(See RSV NIV)

Numbers 22:36 When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him to the City of Moab, which is on the border of the Arnon, which is in the utmost part of the border.
(See NIV)

Numbers 32:33 Moses gave to them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, according to the cities of it with their borders, even the cities of the surrounding land.
(See NIV)

Numbers 33:44 They traveled from Oboth, and encamped in Iye Abarim, in the border of Moab.
(See RSV)

Deuteronomy 1:5 Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying,
(See NIV)

Deuteronomy 2:4 Command the people, saying,'You are to pass through the border of your brothers the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you: take good heed to yourselves therefore;
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 3:8 We took the land at that time out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon;
(See NIV)

Deuteronomy 3:12 This land we took in possession at that time: from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead, and its cities, gave I to the Reubenites and to the Gadites:
(See RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 3:16 To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even to the valley of the Arnon, the middle of the valley, and the border of it, even to the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;
(See RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 11:24 Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river, the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be.
(See RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 11:30 Are they not beyond the Jordan, behind the way of the going down of the sun, in the land of the Canaanites that dwell in the Arabah, over against Gilgal, beside the terebinths of Moreh?
(See NIV)

Deuteronomy 12:20 When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as He hath promised thee, and thou shalt say: 'I will eat flesh', because thy soul desireth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, after all the desire of thy soul.
(See RSV NIV)

Deuteronomy 16:4 There shall be no yeast seen with you in all your borders seven days; neither shall any of the flesh, which you sacrifice the first day at even, remain all night until the morning.
(See NAS RSV)

Deuteronomy 19:3 Thou shalt prepare thee the way, and divide the territory of thy land, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee to inherit, into three parts, so that every slayer may flee thither.
(DBY NAS)

Deuteronomy 19:8 If Yahweh your God enlarges your border, as he has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which he promised to give to your fathers;
(See NAS NIV)

Deuteronomy 28:40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your borders, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olive shall cast its fruit.
(See NAS RSV)

Deuteronomy 34:2 and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the hinder sea,
(See NIV)

Joshua 1:4 From the wilderness, and this Lebanon, even to the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the great sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your border.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 11:22 There were none of the Anakim left in the land of the children of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, did some remain.
(See NIV)

Joshua 12:1 Now these are the kings of the land, whom the children of Israel struck, and possessed their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from the valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the Arabah eastward:
(See NIV)

Joshua 12:4 and the territory of Og the king of Bashan, of the residue of the giants, who dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,
(DBY NAS NIV)

Joshua 13:3 from the Shihor, which is before Egypt, even to the border of Ekron northward, which is counted as Canaanite; the five lords of the Philistines; the Gazites, and the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avvim,
(See NIV)

Joshua 13:11 and Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah;
(See NAS NIV)

Joshua 13:16 And their territory was from Aroer, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the ravine, and all the plateau by Medeba;
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 13:25 And their territory was Jaazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, to Aroer which is before Rabbah;
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 13:26 The south quarter was from the farthest part of Kiriath Jearim. The border went out westward, and went out to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.
(See RSV NIV)

Joshua 13:27 and in the valley, Beth-haram, and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, the Jordan being the border thereof, unto the uttermost part of the sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan eastward.
(See NIV)

Joshua 13:30 their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, the whole kingdom of Og the king of Bashan, and all the villages of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities.
(DBY NAS NIV)

Joshua 15:1 And the lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was unto the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south.
(See NIV)

Joshua 16:2 His daughter-in-law, Phinehas' wife, was with child, near to be delivered. When she heard the news that the ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed herself and brought forth; for her pains came on her.
(See RSV NIV)

Joshua 16:3 and it went down westward to the border of the Japhletites, to the border of Beth Horon the lower, even to Gezer; and ended at the sea.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 16:5 This was the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families. The border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth Addar, to Beth Horon the upper.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 17:7 And the territory of Manasseh was from Asher to Micmethath, which is before Shechem, and the border went on the right hand toward the inhabitants of En-Tappuah.
(DBY RSV NIV)

Joshua 17:9 And the border descended to the torrent Kanah, south of the torrent. These cities were Ephraim's among the cities of Manasseh. And the territory of Manasseh was on the north side of the torrent, and ended at the sea.
(DBY)

Joshua 17:10 Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea was his border. They reached to Asher on the north, and to Issachar on the east.
(See NIV)

Joshua 18:5 They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall live in his borders on the south, and the house of Joseph shall live in their borders on the north.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 18:11 And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families. And the territory of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 19:1 The second lot came out for Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families. Their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the children of Judah.
(See NIV)

Joshua 19:9 Today, Yahweh will deliver you into my hand. I will strike you, and take your head from off you. I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild animals of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
(See RSV NIV)

Joshua 19:10 The third lot came up for the children of Zebulun according to their families. The border of their inheritance was to Sarid.
(See NAS RSV)

Joshua 19:12 It turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrise to the border of Chisloth Tabor. It went out to Daberath, and went up to Japhia.
(See NIV)

Joshua 19:18 And their territory was toward Jizreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem,
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 19:25 And their territory was Helkath, and Hali, and Beten, and Acshaph,
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 19:41 And the territory of their inheritance was Zoreah, and Eshtaol, and Ir-shemesh,
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Joshua 19:46 Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the border over against Joppa.
(See NAS RSV)

Joshua 21:41 All the cities of the Levites in the midst of the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their suburbs.
(See NIV)

Joshua 24:30 They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.
(See NAS)

Judges 1:3 And Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into the territory allotted to me, that we may fight against the Canaanites; and I likewise will go with you into the territory allotted to you." So Simeon went with him.
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Judges 1:18 Judah also took Gaza with its territory, and Ash'kelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Judges 2:9 They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath Heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, on the north of the mountain of Gaash.
(See NAS)

Judges 11:18 Then they journeyed through the wilderness, and went around the land of Edom and the land of Moab, and arrived on the east side of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon; but they did not enter the territory of Moab, for the Arnon was the boundary of Moab.
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Judges 11:20 But Sihon did not trust Israel to pass through his territory; so Sihon gathered all his people together, and encamped at Jahaz, and fought with Israel.
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Judges 11:22 And they took possession of all the territory of the Amorites from the Arnon to the Jabbok and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
(DBY NAS RSV)

Judges 19:29 And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and laying hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.
(DBY NAS RSV)

1 Samuel 5:6 But the hand of Yahweh was heavy on them of Ashdod, and he destroyed them, and struck them with tumors, even Ashdod and its borders.
(See RSV)

1 Samuel 6:1 The ark of Yahweh was in the country of the Philistines seven months.
(See NIV)

1 Samuel 6:9 Behold; if it goes up by the way of its own border to Beth Shemesh, then he has done us this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not his hand that struck us; it was a chance that happened to us."
(See NAS NIV)

1 Samuel 7:13 There was a trembling in the camp, in the field, and among all the people; the garrison, and the spoilers, they also trembled; and the earth quaked: so there was an exceeding great trembling.
(See RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 7:14 And the cities that the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and their territory did Israel deliver out of the hand of the Philistines. And there was peace between Israel and the Amorite.
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 9:4 He passed through the hill country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they didn't find them: then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they weren't there: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they didn't find them.
(See NIV)

1 Samuel 10:2 In thy going to-day from me -- then thou hast found two men by the grave of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin, at Zelzah, and they have said unto thee, The asses have been found which thou hast gone to seek; and lo, thy father hath left the matter of the asses, and hath sorrowed for you, saying, What do I do for my son?
(See NAS RSV)

1 Samuel 11:3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, "Give us seven day, that we may send messengers to all the borders of Israel; and then, if there is no one to save us, we will come out to you."
(See NAS RSV)

1 Samuel 11:7 And he took a yoke of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, Whoever comes not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen! And the fear of Jehovah fell on the people, and they came out as one man.
(DBY NAS RSV)

1 Samuel 27:1 And David said in his heart: 'I shall now be swept away one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing better for me than that I should escape into the land of the Philistines; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me any more in all the borders of Israel; so shall I escape out of his hand.'
(See NAS)

1 Samuel 27:7 The number of the days that David lived in the country of the Philistines was a full year and four months.
(See NIV)

1 Samuel 27:11 David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring them to Gath, saying, "Lest they should tell of us, saying,'So did David, and so has been his manner all the while he has lived in the country of the Philistines.'"
(See NIV)

1 Samuel 30:14 We made a raid on the South of the Cherethites, and on that which belongs to Judah, and on the South of Caleb; and we burned Ziklag with fire."
(See NIV)

2 Samuel 21:5 They said to the king, "The man who consumed us, and who devised against us, that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the borders of Israel,
(See RSV)

1 Kings 1:3 And they sought for a fair damsel throughout the territory of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king.
(DBY NAS RSV)

1 Kings 9:19 and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and the cities for his chariots, and the cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build for his pleasure in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion.
(See NIV)

1 Kings 15:17 Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not allow anyone to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah.
(See NIV)

2 Kings 6:23 And he prepared great provision for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And the bands of Aram came no more into the land of Israel.
(See NIV)

2 Kings 9:10 The dogs will eat Jezebel on the plot of ground of Jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her." He opened the door, and fled.
(See NAS RSV)

2 Kings 9:36 Therefore they came back, and told him. He said, "This is the word of Yahweh, which he spoke by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying,'The dogs will eat the flesh of Jezebel on the plot of Jezreel,
(See RSV)

2 Kings 9:37 and the body of Jezebel shall be as dung on the face of the field in the portion of Jezreel, so that they shall not say, "This is Jezebel."'"
(See RSV)

2 Kings 10:32 In those days Yahweh began to cut off from Israel; and Hazael struck them in all the borders of Israel;
(See NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 15:16 Then Menahem smote Tiphsah, and all that were therein, and its territory from Tirzah, because they did not open to him; and he smote it: all the women in it that were with child he ripped up.
(DBY RSV)

2 Kings 18:8 He struck the Philistines to Gaza and its borders, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

2 Kings 24:7 The king of Egypt didn't come again out of his land any more; for the king of Babylon had taken, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates, all that pertained to the king of Egypt.
(See NIV)

1 Chronicles 4:10 Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, "Oh that you would bless me indeed, and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that it not be to my sorrow!" God granted him that which he requested.
(See NIV)

1 Chronicles 6:54 Now these are their dwelling places according to their encampments in their borders: to the sons of Aaron, of the families of the Kohathites (for theirs was the first lot),
(See NIV)

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) A large extent or tract of land; a region; a country; a district.

2. (n.) The extent of land belonging to, or under the dominion of, a prince, state, or other form of government; often, a tract of land lying at a distance from the parent country or from the seat of government; as, the territory of a State; the territories of the East India Company.

3. (n.) In the United States, a portion of the country not included within the limits of any State, and not yet admitted as a State into the Union, but organized with a separate legislature, under a Territorial governor and other officers appointed by the President and Senate of the United States. In Canada, a similarly organized portion of the country not yet formed into a Province.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

JUDAH, TERRITORY OF

(yehudhah):

I. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA

1. The Natural Boundaries

2. The Natural Divisions of Judah

(1) The Maritime Plain

(2) The Shephelah

(3) The Hill Country of Judah

II. THE TRIBE OF JUDAH AND ITS TERRITORY

III. THE BOUNDARIES OF THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH

LITERATURE

I. Geographical Data.

Although the physical conformation of Western Palestine divides this land into very definite areas running longitudinally North and South, yet all through history there has been a recognition of a further-and politically more important-division into 3 areas running transversely, known in New Testament times as Galilee, Samaria and Judea. These districts are differentiated to some extent by distinctive physical features which have in no small degree influenced the history of their inhabitants.

1. The Natural Boundaries:

The southernmost of these regions possesses on 3 sides very definite natural boundaries: to the West the Mediterranean, to the East the Dead Sea, and the Jordan, and to the South 60 miles, North to South, of practically trackless desert, a frontier as secure as sea or mountain range. On the North no such marked "scientific frontier" exists, and on this the one really accessible side, history bears witness that the frontier has been pushed backward and forward. The most ideal natural northern frontier, which only became the actual one comparatively late in Hebrew times (see JUDAEA), is that which passes from the river `Aujeh in the West, up the Wady Deir Baldt, by the wide and deep Wady Ishar to `Akrabbeh and thence East to the Jordan. A second natural frontier commences at the same line on the West, but after following the Wady Deir Baldt, branches off southward along the Wady Nimr (now traversed by the modern carriage road from Jerusalem to Nablus), crosses the water-parting close to the lofty Tell Ashur and runs successively down the Wady Sanieh and the Wady `Aujeh and by the eastern river `Aujeh to the Jordan. This division-line is one conformable to the physical features, because north of it the table-lands of "Judea" give place to the more broken mountain groups of "Samaria." Another less natural, though much more historic, frontier is that which traverses the Vale of Ajalon, follows the Beth-horon pass, and, after crossing the central plateau near el Jib (Gibeon) and er Ram (Ramah of Benjamin), runs down the deep and rugged Wady SuweiniT, between Jeba` (Geba) and Mukhmas (Michmash), to Jericho and the Jordan. It was along this line that the great frontier fortresses, Bethel, Gibeon, Ramah, Adasa, Geba and Michmash, were erected. Such, on the North, South, East, and West, were the natural boundaries of the southern third of Palestine; yet in all history the land thus enclosed scarcely ever formed a homogeneous whole.

2. The Natural Divisions of Judah:

Within these boundaries lay four very different types of land-the maritime plain, the "lowland" or Shephelah, the "hill country" and, included usually with the last, the desert or Jeshimon.

(1) The Maritime Plain:

The maritime plain, the "land Judah of the Philis" (1 Samuel 6:1; 1 Samuel 27:1 2 Kings 8:2 Zephaniah 2:5), was ideally though never actually, the territory of Judah (compare Joshua 15:45-47); it may have been included, as it is by some modern writers, as part of the Shephelah, but this is not the usual use of the word. It is a great stretch of level plain or rolling downs of very fertile soil, capable of supporting a thriving population and cities of considerable size, especially near the seacoast.

(2) The Shephelah:

The Shephelah (shephelah), or "lowland" of Judah (Deuteronomy 1:7 Joshua 9:1; Joshua 11:2, 16; 15:33-44 1 Kings 10:27 1 Chronicles 27:28 Jeremiah 17:26).-In these references the word is variously rendered in the King James Version, usually as "vale" or "valley," sometimes, as in the last two, as "plain." In the Revised Version (British and American) the usual rendering is "lowland." In 1 Maccabees 12:38, the King James Version has "Shephela" and the Revised Version (British and American) "plain country." The word "Shephelah" appears to survive in the Arabic Sifla about Beit Jebrin.

This is a very important region in the history of Judah. It is a district consisting mainly of rounded hills, 500-800 ft. high, with fertile open valleys full of corn fields; caves abound, and there are abundant evidences of a once crowded population. Situated as it is between the "hill country" and the maritime plain, it was the scene of frequent skirmishes between the Hebrews and the Philistines; Judah failed to hold it against the Philistines who kept it during most of their history. The Shephelah is somewhat sharply divided off from the central mountain mass by a remarkable series of valleys running North and South. Commencing at the Vale of Ajalon and passing South, we have in succession the Wady el Ghurab and, after crossing the Wady es Siwan, the Wady en Najil, the Wady es Sunt (Elah) and the Wady es Cur. It is noticeable that the western extremity of the most historic northern frontier of ancient Judah-that limited by the Vale of Ajalon in the West-appears to have been determined by the presence of this natural feature. North of this the hills of Samaria flatten out to the plain without any such intervening valleys.

(3) The Hill Country of Judah:

The hill country of Judah is by far the most characteristic part of that tribe's possessions; it was on account of the shelter of these mountain fastnesses that this people managed to hold their own against their neighbors and hide away from the conquering armies of Assyria and Egypt. No other section of the country was so secluded and protected by her natural borders. It was the environment of these bare hills and rugged valleys which did much to form the character and influence the literature of the Jews. The hill country is an area well defined, about 35 miles long and some 15 broad, and is protected on three sides by natural frontiers of great strength; on the North alone it has no "scientific frontier." On the South lay the Negeb, and beyond that the almost waterless wilderness, a barrier consisting of a series of stony hills running East and West, difficult for a caravan and almost impracticable for an army. On the West the hills rise sharply from those valleys which delimit them from the Shephelah, but they are pierced by a series of steep and rugged defiles which wind upward to the central table-land. At the northwestern corner the Bethhoron pass-part of the northern frontier line-runs upward from the wide Vale of Ajalon; this route, the most historic of all, has been associated with a succession of defeats inflicted by those holding the higher ground (see BETH-HORON). South of this is the Wady `Ali, up which runs the modern carriage road to Jerusalem, and still farther South lies the winding rocky defile, up part of which the railway from Jaffa is laid, the Wady es Surar. A more important valley, because of its width and easier gradient, is the great Vale of Elah (Wady es Cunt), to guard the highest parts of which (now the Wady es Cur) was built the powerful fortress of Beth-zur (2 Chronicles 11:7, etc.), which Josephus (Ant., XIII, v, 6) describes as "the strongest place in all Judea (see BETH-ZUR). Up this pass the Syrians successfully with the aid of elephants (Ant., XII, ix, 4) invaded Judea. The eastern frontier of the hill country is one of extraordinary natural strength. Firstly, there were the Jordan and the Dead Sea; then along all but the northernmost part of the eastern frontier lay a long line of semi-precipitous cliffs, in places over 1,000 ft. high, absolutely unscalable and pierced at long intervals by passes all steep and dangerous. Within this again came a wide area of waterless and barren desert, the Wilderness of Judah (or Judea) known in English Versions of the Bible as JESHIMON (which see). To the northeasterly part of the frontier, where the ascent from the Jericho plain to the mountains presents no special difficulty in gradation, the waterless condition of the Jeshimon greatly restricted the possible routes for an enemy. The natural position for the first line of defense was the fortified city of Jericho, but as a frontier fortress she failed from the days of Joshua onward (see JERICHO). From Jericho four roads pass upward to the plateau of Judah; unlike the corresponding passes on the western frontier, they do not traverse any definite line of valley, but in many places run actually along the ridges.

These roads are:

(a) The earliest historically, though now the least frequented, is the most northerly, which passes westward at the back of ancient Jericho (near `Ain es Sultan) and ascends by Michmash and Ai to Bethel;

(b) the route traversed by the modern Jerus-Jericho road;

(c) the more natural route which enters the hills by Wady Joreif Ghusal and runs by Nebi Musa joining the line of the modern carriage road a mile or so after passing the deserted ruin of the Saracenic Khan el Ahmar. Here runs the road for the thousands of pilgrims who visit the shrine of Nebi Musa in the spring.

(d) The most natural pass of all is by way of Wady el Kuneiterah, across the open plateau of el Bukeia' and over the shoulder of Jebel el Muntar to Bethlehem.

From `Ain Feshkhah a very steep road, probably ancient, ascends to join this last route in el Bukeia`, From Engedi (`Ain Jidy) a steep ascent-almost a stairway-winds abruptly to the plateau above, whence a road passes northwesterly by the Wady Hucaceh past Tekoa to Bethlehem and Jerusalem, and another branch goes west to Hebron and Juttah.

Somewhere along these routes must have lain the "Ascent of Ziz" and the "Wilderness of Jeruel," the scene of the events of 2 Chronicles 20. The hill country of Judah is distinguished from other parts of Palestine by certain physical characteristics. Its central part is a long plateau-or really series of plateaus-running North and South, very stony and barren and supplied with but scanty springs: "dew" is less plentiful than in the north; several of the elevated plains, e.g. about Bethlehem, Beit Jala and Hebron, are well suited to the growth of corn and olive trees; in the sheltered valleys and on the terraced hillsides to the West of the water-parting, vines, olives, figs and other fruit trees flourish exceedingly. There is evidence everywhere that cultivation was far more highly developed in ancient times; on most of the hill slopes to the West traces of ancient terraces can still be seen (see BOTANY). This district in many parts, especially on its eastern slopes, is preeminently a pastoral land, and flocks of sheep and goats abound, invading in the spring even the desert itself. This last is ever in evidence, visible from the environs of all Judah's greater cities and doubtless profoundly influencing the lives and thoughts of their inhabitants.

The altitude attained in this "hill country" is usually below 3,000 ft. in the north (e.g. Ramallah, 2,850 ft., Nebi Samwil, 2,935 ft.), but is higher near Hebron, where we get 3,545 ft. at Ramet el Khulil. Many would limit the term "hill country of Judea" to the higher hills centering around Hebron, but this is unnecessary. Jerusalem is situated near a lower and more expanded part of the plateau, while the higher hills to its north, are, like that city itself, in the territory of Benjamin.

II. The Tribe of Judah and Its Territory.

In Numbers 26:19-22, when the tribes of the Hebrews are enumerated "in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho" (Numbers 26:3), Judah is described as made up of the families of the Shelanites, the Perezites, the Zerahites, the Hezronites and the Hamulites. "These are the families of Judah according to those that were numbered of them," a total of 76,500 (Numbers 26:22). In Judges 1:16 we read that the Kenites united with the tribe of Judah, and from other references (Joshua 14:6-15; Joshua 15:13-19 Judges 1:12-15, 20) we learn that the two Kenizzite clans of Caleb and Othniel also were absorbed; and it is clear from 1 Samuel 27:10; 1 Samuel 30:29 that the Jerahmeelites-closely connected with the Calebites (compare 1 Chronicles 2:42)-also formed a part of the tribe of Judah. The Kenizzites and Jerahmeelites were probably of Edomite origin (Genesis 36:11; compare 1 Chronicles 2:42), and this large admixture of foreign blood may partly account for the comparative isolation of Judah from the other tribes (e.g. she is not mentioned in Judges 5).

The territory of the tribe of Judas is described ideally in Joshua 15, but it never really extended over the maritime plain to the West. The natural frontiers to the West and East have already been described as the frontiers of the "hill country"; to the South the boundary is described as going "even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south," i.e. of the Negeb (15:1), and (15:3) as far south as Kadesh-barnea, i.e. the oasis of `Ain Kadis, 50 miles South of Beersheba, far in the desert; the position of the "Ascent of Akrabbim," i.e. of scorpions, is not known. The "Brook of Egypt" is generally accepted to be the Wady el `Arish. The fact is, the actual frontier shaded off imperceptibly into the desert-varying perhaps with the possibilities of agriculture and depending therefore upon the rainfall. The cities mentioned on the boundaries, whose sites are now lost, probably roughly marked the edge of the habitable area (see NEGEB).

The northern boundary which separated the land of Judah from that of Benjamin requires brief mention. The various localities mentioned in Joshua 15:5-12 are dealt with in separate articles, but, omitting the very doubtful, the following, which are generally accepted, will show the general direction of the boundary line: The border went from the mouth of the Jordan to Beth-hoglah (`Ain Hajlah), and from the Valley of Achor (Wady Kelt) by the ascent of Adummin (Tala `at edition Dumm) to the waters of Enoch Shemesh (probably `Ain Haud), Enoch Rogel (Bir Eyyub), and the Valley of Hinnom (Wady er Rababi). The line then crossed the Vale of Rephaim (el Bukeia') to the waters of Nephtoah (Lifta), Kiriath-jearim (Kuryet el `Enab), Chesalon (Kesla), Beth-shemesh (`Ain Shems), Ekron (`Akir), and Jabneel (Yebnah), "and the goings out of the border were at the sea." According to the above line, Jerusalem lay entirely within the bounds of Benjamin, though, according to a tradition recorded in the Talmud, the site of the altar was in a piece of land belonging to Judah. The above frontier line can be followed on any modern map of Palestine, and if it does not in many parts describe a natural frontier, it must be remembered that the frontiers of village and town possessions in modern Palestine are extremely arbitrary, and though undetermined by any natural limits such as streams or mountain summits, they persist from generation to generation, and this too during periods-not long past-when there was constant warfare between different clans.

The territory of Judah was small; even had it included all within its ideal boundaries, it would have been no more than 2,000 square miles; actually it was nearer 1,300 square miles, of which nearly half was desert.

III. The Boundaries of the Kingdom of Judah.

These were very circumscribed. In 2 Chronicles 11:5-12 there is a list of the cities-chiefly those on the frontier-which Rehoboam fortified. On the East were Bethlehem, Etam and Tekoa; and on the West and Southwest were Beth-zur, Soco, Adullam, Gath, Mareshah, Ziph, Adoraim, Lachish, Azekah, Zorah, Aijalon and Hebron. The sites of the great majority of these are known, and they are all upon the borders of the Shephelah or the hill country. It will be seen too that the military preparation then made was against an attack from the West. In the 5th year of the reign of Rehoboam the expected attack came, and Shishak (Sheshenq I) of Egypt swept over the land and not only conquered all Judah and Jerusalem, but, according to the reading of some authorities in the account of this campaign given in the great temple of Karnak, he handed over to Jeroboam of Israel certain strongholds of Judah.

The usual northern frontier between the two Hebrew kingdoms appears to have been the southernmost of the three natural lines described in I above, namely by the Valley of Ajalon on the West and the Gorge of Michmash (Wady SuweiniT) on the East. Along the central plateau the frontier varied. Bethel (1 Kings 12:29 2 Kings 10:29 Amos 3:14; Amos 4:4; Amos 7:10, 13 Hosea 10:15) belonged to Israel, though once it fell to Judah when Abijah took it and with it Jeshanah (`Ain Sinia) and Ephron (probably et Taiyibeh) (2 Chronicles 13:19). Geba (Jeba`), just to the South of the Wady Suweinit, was on the northern frontier of Judah, hence, instead of the old term "from Dan to Beer-sheba" we read now of "from Geba to Beersheba" (2 Kings 23:8). Baasha, king of Israel, went South and fortified Ramah (er Ram, but 4 miles from Jerusalem) against Judah (1 Kings 15:17), but Asa stopped his work, removed the fortifications and with the materials strengthened his own frontier at Geba and Mizpah (1 Kings 15:21, 22). In the Jordan valley Jericho was held by Israel (1 Kings 16:34 2 Kings 2:4).

After the Northern Kingdom fell, the frontier of Judah appears to have extended a little farther North, and Bethel (2 Kings 23:15-19) and Jericho (to judge from Ezra 2:34 Nehemiah 3:2; Nehemiah 7:36) also became part of the kingdom of Judah. For the further history of this district see JUDAEA.

LITERATURE.

Seeespecially H G H L, chapters viii-xv; P E F, III, and Saunders, Introduction to the Survey of Western Palestine.

E. W. G. Masterman

Greek

9. Abilene -- Abilene, territory northwest of Damascus
... Abilene, territory northwest of Damascus. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: Abilene Phonetic Spelling: (ab-ee-lay-nay') Short Definition: Abilene ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/9.htm - 6k

2824. klima -- a region
... a region. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: klima Phonetic Spelling:
(klee'-mah) Short Definition: a territory Definition: a small geographical ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2824.htm - 6k

3725. horion -- a boundary
... a boundary. Part of Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: horion Phonetic Spelling:
(hor'-ee-on) Short Definition: districts, territory Definition: the ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3725.htm - 6k

5075. tetrarcheo -- be tetrarch.
... Cognate: 5075 -- to rule as a tetrarch, ie over of a territory "divided into four
parts for efficient government (a division sometimes found in the Roman East ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5075.htm - 6k

4949. Surophoinikissa -- a Syrophoenician (woman)
... soo-rof-oy'-nis-sah) Short Definition: Syrophoenician Definition: Syrophoenician,
ie Phoenician (of Syria, in contrast to Carthage and its territory in North ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4949.htm - 6k

4730. stenochoria -- narrowness of space, fig. difficulty
... 4730 (from 4728 , "narrow, confined" and 5561 , "space, territory, area") -- properly,
a narrow place; (figuratively) a circumstance -- which God always ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/4730.htm - 7k

2048. eremos -- solitary, desolate
... vegetation"). This root () does "not suggest absolute barrenness but territory
affording free range for shepherds and their flocks. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2048.htm - 8k

5561. chora -- a space, place, land
... Feminine of a derivative of the base of chasma through the idea of empty expanse;
room, ie A space of territory (more or less extensive; often including its ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5561.htm - 7k

3508. Nephthalim -- Naphtali, a tribe of Isr.
... Nephthalim Phonetic Spelling: (nef-thal-ime') Short Definition: Naphtali Definition:
Naphtali, son of Jacob, founder of a tribe which occupied territory. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3508.htm - 6k

5139. Trachonitis -- Trachonitis, a rough region South of Damascus
... Trachonitis Phonetic Spelling: (trakh-o-nee'-tis) Short Definition: Trachonitis
Definition: Trachonitis, the north-east of the territory beyond Jordan. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/5139.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

1366. gebul -- border, boundary, territory
... 1365, 1366. gebul. 1367 . border, boundary, territory. Transliteration:
gebul Phonetic Spelling: (gheb-ool') Short Definition: border. ...
/hebrew/1366.htm - 6k

4124. Moab -- a son of Lot,also his desc. and the territory where ...
... Moab. 4125 . a son of Lot,also his desc. and the territory where they settled.
Transliteration: Moab Phonetic Spelling: (mo-awb) Short Definition: Moab. ...
/hebrew/4124.htm - 6k

2506. cheleq -- portion, tract, territory
... 2505b, 2506. cheleq. 2507 . portion, tract, territory. Transliteration:
cheleq Phonetic Spelling: (khay'lek) Short Definition: portion. ...
/hebrew/2506.htm - 6k

1835. Dan -- "judge," a son of Jacob, also his desc. and their ...
... desc. and their territory, also a place in Northern Israel. Transliteration:
Dan Phonetic Spelling: (dawn) Short Definition: Dan. ...
/hebrew/1835.htm - 6k

1410. Gad -- a son of Jacob, also his tribe and its territory ...
... 1409, 1410. Gad. 1411 . a son of Jacob, also his tribe and its territory, also
a prophet. Transliteration: Gad Phonetic Spelling: (gawd) Short Definition: ...
/hebrew/1410.htm - 6k

2074. Zebulun -- a son of Jacob, also his desc. and their ...
... a son of Jacob, also his desc. and their territory. Transliteration: Zebulun or
Zebulun or Zebulun Phonetic Spelling: (zeb-oo-loon') Short Definition: Zebulun. ...
/hebrew/2074.htm - 6k

669. Ephrayim -- a son of Joseph, also his desc. and their ...
... Ephrayim. 670 . a son of Joseph, also his desc. and their territory. Transliteration:
Ephrayim Phonetic Spelling: (ef-rah'-yim) Short Definition: Ephraim. ...
/hebrew/669.htm - 6k

8553. Timnah -- "territory," two cities in Judah
... 8552, 8553. Timnah. 8554 . "territory," two cities in Judah. Transliteration:
Timnah Phonetic Spelling: (tim-naw') Short Definition: Timnah. ...
/hebrew/8553.htm - 6k

1552. gelilah -- a circuit, boundary, territory, also a district ...
... a circuit, boundary, territory, also a district in Palestine. Transliteration: gelilah
Phonetic Spelling: (ghel-ee-law') Short Definition: region. ...
/hebrew/1552.htm - 6k

2256a. chebel -- cord, territory, band
... 2256, 2256a. chebel. 2256b . cord, territory, band. Transliteration: chebel
Short Definition: cords. Word Origin from chabal Definition ...
/hebrew/2256a.htm - 5k

Library

His Omnipresence is Our Ample Territory or Field of Joys
... THE FIFTH CENTURY 9 His omnipresence is our ample territory or field of
joys. His omnipresence is our ample territory or field of ...
/.../traherne/centuries of meditations/9 his omnipresence is our.htm

Second Withdrawal from Herod's Territory.
... Second Withdrawal from Herod's Territory. ... As he was not on a missionary tour,
it was perfectly proper for him to enter heathen territory.]. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxvi second withdrawal from herods.htm

First Withdrawal from Herod's Territory and Return.
... Part Fifth. From Second Passover Until Third.(Time: One Year.) LXIII. First
Withdrawal from Herod's Territory and Return. (Spring, ad29.) ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxiii first withdrawal from herods 3.htm

Another Avoiding of Herod's Territory.
... (Time: One Year Less One Week.) LXVIII. Another Avoiding of Herod's Territory.
^A Matthew 15:29; ^B Mark 7:31. ^b 31 And ^a Jesus ^b again went out. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxviii another avoiding of herods.htm

Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory.
... From the Third Passover Until Our Lord's Arrival at Bethany. (Time: One Year Less
One Week.) LXX. Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory. Subdivision B. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxx third withdrawal from herods 2.htm

First Withdrawal from Herod's Territory and Return.
... Part Fifth. From Second Passover Until Third.(Time: One Year.) LXIII. First Withdrawal
from Herod's Territory and Return. (Spring, ad29.) Subdivision A. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxiii first withdrawal from herods.htm

Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory.
... From the Third Passover Until Our Lord's Arrival at Bethany. (Time: One Year Less
One Week.) LXX. Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory. Subdivision A. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxx third withdrawal from herods.htm

Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory.
... From the Third Passover Until Our Lord's Arrival at Bethany. (Time: One Year Less
One Week.) LXX. Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory. Subdivision D. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxx third withdrawal from herods 4.htm

Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory.
... From the Third Passover Until Our Lord's Arrival at Bethany. (Time: One Year Less
One Week.) LXX. Third Withdrawal from Herod's Territory. Subdivision E. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxx third withdrawal from herods 5.htm

First Withdrawal from Herod's Territory and Return.
... Part Fifth. From Second Passover Until Third.(Time: One Year.) LXIII. First Withdrawal
from Herod's Territory and Return. (Spring, ad29.) Subdivision B. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/lxiii first withdrawal from herods 2.htm

Subtopics

Territory

Related Terms

Derbe (4 Occurrences)

Bethshemesh (19 Occurrences)

Beth-shemesh (19 Occurrences)

Ituraea (1 Occurrence)

District (59 Occurrences)

Dan (71 Occurrences)

Gad (78 Occurrences)

Manasseh (140 Occurrences)

Jahaz (8 Occurrences)