Joshua 14:15

And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(15) Kirjath-arba.—“Arba the father of Anak” (Joshua 21:11). Arba means four in Hebrew, and therefore some have endeavoured to interpret it as the city of four. Rashi, for example, says it was “the city of Ahiman, and Sheshai, and Talmai, and their father.” Others have tried to make it one of four confederate cities like Gibeon and its allies. But the text of Joshua seems to leave no doubt that Arba was a man’s name, whatever may have been the

occasion of his being so named. Unless the Anakim are of the same date as the Zuzim, and Rephaim, and Emim of Genesis 14 (who are known to be giant races by Deuteronomy 2, 3) Hebron must have been named Hebron before it was Kirjath-arba. But the text of Genesis 23:2 seems to make Kirjath-arba the name of the place where Sarah died, at the time of her death; and it is perfectly possible that it was so. (See Note on Numbers 13:22.)

A great man.—Rather, the great man among the Anakim.

And the land had rest from war.—This clause appears in Joshua 11:23, where its position is perfectly natural. It closes the record of the wars of Joshua. It is not so easily accounted for here. If we were quite certain at what period the Anakim were dispossessed and slain, we might connect it with that portion of the story; but see Note on Joshua 15:14, and also on the next verse.

Benson Commentary

Joshua 14:15. Arba was a great man, &c. — In stature, and strength, and dignity, and authority, as being the progenitor of Anak, the father of those famous giants called Anakims.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

14:6-15 Caleb's request is, Give me this mountain, or Hebron, because it was formerly in God's promise to him, and he would let Israel knows how much he valued the promise. Those who live by faith value that which is given by God's promise, far above what is given by his providence only. It was now in the Anakims' possession, and Caleb would let Israel know how little he feared the enemy, and that he would encourage them to push on their conquests. Caleb answered to his name, which signifies all heart. Hebron was settled on Caleb and his heirs, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. Happy are we if we follow him. Singular piety shall be crowned with singular favour.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A great man - literally, the great man; i. e. the renowned ancestor of the tribe, regarded as the founder of its greatness Joshua 15:13.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

15. Kirjath-arba—that is, the city of Arba, a warrior among the native race remarkable for strength and stature.

the land had rest from war—Most of the kings having been slain and the natives dispirited, there was no general or systematic attempt to resist the progress and settlement of the Israelites.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

A great man, in stature, and strength, and dignity, and authority, as being the progenitor of Anak, the father of those famous giants called

Anakims. The land had rest from war; which gave them opportunity for the distribution of the land.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba,.... According to Jerom (u), it had its name of Hebron from a son or grandson of Caleb of that name, 1 Chronicles 2:42; and if so, then it is here, and in some other places, so called by anticipation: Kirjatharba may be rendered "the city of the four"; and had its name, as some think, from the four couple buried there, or near it, Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Leah; or from four eminent persons, who formerly dwelt there, Aner, Eshcol, Mamre, and Abraham; or rather from four persons that more lately dwelt there, Anak and his three sons, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai; or Arba is the name of some great man, to whom this city belonged, and so was called the city of Arba, which is the sense of our version, as appears by the following supplement:

which Arba was a great man among the Anakims; both in stature and in dignity, and in authority, which some take to be Anak himself, the father of the Anakims; so Jarchi and Kimchi:

and the land had rest from war; as is observed in Joshua 11:23; after Joshua had finished his conquest; and here again it is remarked just before the division of the land, as being now a proper time for it.

(u) De loc. Heb. fol. 87. F.

Geneva Study Bible

And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a {f} great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.

(f) Either for his power or person.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

15. And the name of Hebron] “Hebron would appear to have been the original name of the city, and it was not till after Abraham’s stay there that it received the name Kirjath-Arba, who was not the founder but the conqueror of the city, having led thither the tribe of the Anakim to which he belonged. It retained this name till it came into the possession of Caleb, when the Israelites restored the original name Hebron.” Keil in loc. “Caleb must have seen the spot, afterwards his own, when with the spies he passed through this very valley.” S. & P. p. 165. The translation of Wyclif here is very curious, “The name of Ebron was clepid bifore Cariatharbe. Adam, moost greet there in the loond of Enachym was set.”

And the land had rest from war] This formula is repeated here to furnish a point of transition to the history of the peaceful distribution of the country.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 15. - And the name of Hebron before was Kirjath-arba. Hengstenberg, according to Keil, has conclusively shown that Hebron was the original name of the city. At the time of Joshua's invasion, however, it was known as Kirjath (or "the city of ") Arba, from a giant named Arba who had conquered the city. Hebron is known as Kirjath-arba in Genesis 23:2, but the way in which it is mentioned by Moses seems to bear out Hengstenberg's theory. The Rabbis translated "the city of four," and assert that the four patriarchs, Adam, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were buried there. The word translated "man" here is Adam. The Vulgate follows this tradition, trans. lating "Adam maximus ibi inter Enacim situs est." And our own Wiclif literally translates the Vulgate "Adam moost greet there in the loond of Enachym was set." Rosenmuller renders the words translated "a great man" by "the greatest man." And certainly the words have the article; and this is also the way in which the superlative is expressed in Hebrew. It also adds to the force of Caleb's request. He desired the most important city of a warlike race. And the land had rest from war (see Joshua 11:23).



Joshua 14:15

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

This inheritance, the historian adds, was awarded to Caleb because he had followed the God of Israel with such fidelity. - In Joshua 14:15 there follows another notice of the earlier name of Hebron (see at Genesis 23:2). The expression לפנים (before), like the words "to this day," applies to the time when the book was composed, at which time the name Kirjath-arba had long since fallen into disuse; so that it by no means follows that the name Hebron was not so old as the name Kirjath-arba, which was given to Hebron for the first time when it was taken by Arba, "the great man among the Anakites," i.e., the strongest and most renowned of the Anakites (vid., Joshua 15:13). The remark, "and the land had rest from war," is repeated again at the close of this account from Joshua 11:23, to show that although there were Anakites still dwelling in Hebron whom Caleb hoped to exterminate, the work of distributing the land by lot was not delayed in consequence, but was carried out in perfect peace.