Joshua 15:5

And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the end of Jordan. And their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(5) Their border in the north quarter.—This can be followed with the Ordnance Survey of Palestine, and is described by Conder in the following way:—“It started from the Jordan mouth, but did not apparently follow the river, as Beth Arabah (unknown) and Beth Hogla (’Ain Hajlah, about two miles west of Jordan—sheet 18) belonged to Benjamin. Passing along the valley of Achor (Wâdy Kelt), it left Gilgal on the north, and ascended the pass to the going up of Adummim (Tal’at-ed-Dumm), the ancient and modern name ‘bloody’ being apparently derived from the brick-red marls here found amid a district of white chalk.” (It is easy to conjecture other reasons.) A line of Roman road on the map is a very fair guide to the boundary here described, and thus far it lies on sheet 18 En Rogel, the next known point (on sheet 17), close to Zoheleth (Zahweileh, 1Kings 1:9), was evidently the present spring ‘Ain Umm-ed-Deraj, in the Kedron Valley (this may be sought in the separate survey of Jerusalem, which is upon a larger scale). Thence the border ran across the slope (Cataph, Joshua 15:8, “side”), beside the valley of Ben Hinnom (Wâdy Rabâby), south of Jebus, and thus reached the watershed. (Here the boundary-line takes a turn to the northward.) It then apparently passed along the broad vale (Emek, Joshua 15:8) of Rephaim (“valley of the giants”), which Josephus makes to extend towards Bethlehem. This valley is identified with El-Bukeia (sheet 17). The waters of Nephtoah are apparently identical with ‘Ain ’Atân, south-west of Bethlehem.

Benson Commentary

Joshua 15:5-6. The end of Jordan — The place where Jordan runs into the salt sea. The stone of Bohan — A place so called, not from Bohan’s dwelling there, (for the Reubenites had no portion on this side Jordan,) but from some notable exploit which he did there, though it is not recorded in Scripture.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

15:1-12 Joshua allotted to Judah, Ephraim, and the half of Manasseh, their inheritances before they left Gilgal. Afterwards removing to Shiloh, another survey was made, and the other tribes had their portion assigned. In due time all God's people are settled.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The inheritance of the tribe of Judah is described first by its general boundaries on all four sides Joshua 15:1-12; then reference is again made, for the sake of completeness, to the special inheritance of Caleb which lay within these boundaries Joshua 15:13-20; and lastly a list of the towns is given Joshua 15:21-63. Consult the marginal references.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

5. the end—that is, the mouth of the Jordan.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The end of Jordan, i.e. the place where Jordan runs into the Salt Sea.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the end of Jordan,.... To the place where Jordan fell into it; so that this border was the whole length of the salt sea, which Josephus says (y) was five hundred eighty furlongs; and, according to Pliny (z), an hundred miles:

and their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea,

at the uttermost part of Jordan; this northern border began where the eastern ended, at the bay or creek of the sea, where Jordan fell into it.

(y) De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 4. (z) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 16.

Geneva Study Bible

And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the {b} end of Jordan. And their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan:

(b) Meaning the mouth of the river where it runs into the Salt sea.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

5. And the east border] “Till to the laste partis of Jordan,” Wyclif. This was the Salt Sea in all its extent from south to north, even “unto the end of Jordan,” i. e. to the point where it enters the Dead Sea.

their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea] i. e. from the embouchure of the Jordan. “The tonge of the see vnto the same flood of Jordan,” Wyclif.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 5. - To the end of Jordan. The spot where it emptied itself into the Dead Sea. The bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan. As in ver. 3, the word here translated bay is tongue in the original. What is meant is that the northern boundary started from the point where the Jordan entered the Dead Sea. Joshua 15:5

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"The eastern boundary was the salt sea to the end of the Jordan," i.e., the Dead Sea, in all its length up to the point where the Jordan entered it.

Joshua 15:5-11

In Joshua 15:5-11 we have a description of the northern boundary, which is repeated in Joshua 18:15-19 as the southern boundary of Benjamin, though in the opposite direction, namely, from west to east. It started "from the tongue of the (salt) sea, the end (i.e., the mouth) of the Jordan, and went up to Beth-hagla," - a border town between Judah and Benjamin, which was afterwards allotted to the latter (Joshua 18:19, Joshua 18:12), the present Ain Hajla, an hour and a quarter to the south-east of Riha (Jericho), and three-quarters of an hour from the Jordan (see at Genesis 50:11, note), - "and went over to the north side of Beth-arabah," a town in the desert of Judah (Joshua 15:61), afterwards assigned to Benjamin (Joshua 18:22), and called Ha-arabah in Joshua 18:18, about twenty or thirty minutes to the south-west of Ain Hajla, in a "level and barren steppe" (Seetzen, R. ii. p. 302), with which the name very well agrees (see also Rob. Pal. ii. pp. 268ff.). "And the border went up to the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben." The expression "went up" shows that the stone of Bohan must have been on higher ground, i.e., near the western mountains, though the opposite expression "went down" in Joshua 18:17 shows that it must have been by the side of the mountain, and not upon the top. According to Joshua 18:18-19, the border went over from the stone of Bohan in an easterly direction "to the shoulder over against (Beth) Arabah northwards, and went down to (Beth) Arabah, and then went over to the shoulder of Beth-hagla northwards," i.e., on the north side of the mountain ridge of Beth-arabah and Beth-hagla. This ridge is "the chain of hills or downs which runs from Kasr Hajla towards the south to the north side of the Dead Sea, and is called Katar Hhadije, i.e., a row of camels harnessed together."