Joshua 19:44

And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath,

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

19:17-51 Joshua waited till all the tribes were settled, before he asked any provision for himself. He was content to be unfixed, till he saw them all placed, and herein is an example to all in public places, to prefer the common welfare before private advantage. Those who labour most to do good to others, seek an inheritance in the Canaan above: but it will be soon enough to enter thereon, when they have done all the service to their brethren of which they are capable. Nor can any thing more effectually assure them of their title to it, than endeavouring to bring others to desire, to seek, and to obtain it. Our Lord Jesus came and dwelt on earth, not in pomp but poverty, providing rest for man, yet himself not having where to lay his head; for Christ pleased not himself. Nor would he enter upon his inheritance, till by his obedience to death he secured the eternal inheritance for all his people; nor will he account his own glory completed, till every ransomed sinner is put in possession of his heavenly rest.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The number of the fortified cities of Naphtali is remarkable, though it does not tally with the catalogue. It was no doubt good policy to protect the northern frontier by a belt of fortresses, as the south was protected by the fenced cities of Judah. Hammath, a Levitical city (compare Joshua 21:32; 1 Chronicles 6:76), is not to be confounded with the Hamath on the northeastern frontier of the land Numbers 13:21. The name (from a root signifying "to be warm") probably indicates that hot springs existed here; and is perhaps rightly traced in Ammaus, near Tiberias. Rakkath was, according to the rabbis, rebuilt by Herod and called Tiberias. The name ("bank, shore") suits the site of Tiberias very well. Migdal-el, perhaps the Magdala of Matthew 15:39, is now the miserable village of "El Mejdel."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Jos 19:40-48. Of Dan.

40-46. the seventh lot came out for the tribe … Dan—It lay on the west of Benjamin and consisted of portions surrendered by Judah and Ephraim. Its boundaries are not stated, as they were easily distinguishable from the relative position of Dan to the three adjoining tribes.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Eltekeh,.... Eltekeh was a city given to the Levites, Joshua 21:23; and supposed by some to be the same with Eltekon in the tribe of Judah given to the Danites, Joshua 15:59,

and Gibbethon was in the hands of the Philistines in the reign of Asa, 1 Kings 15:21; and in the same place Jerom (t) calls Gabatha a city of the strangers, or Philistines; and which lie places near Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah:

and Baalath is not the same with Baalah, Joshua 15:29; but the Baalath rebuilt by Solomon, 1 Kings 9:18; called by Josephus (u) Baleth, and spoken of by him as near to Gazara in the land of the Philistines; of these two last cities, the Talmudists (w) say that their houses belonged to Judah, and their fields to Dan.

(t) De loc. Heb. fol. 92. C. (u) Antiqu. l. 8. c. 6. sect. 1.((w) T. Hieros. Sanhedrin, fol. 18. 3.

Geneva Study Bible

And Eltekeh, and Gibbethon, and Baalath,

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

44. Eltekeh, and Gibbethon] occur as Levitical cities in ch. Joshua 21:23. The sites are not identified; Baalath may be Deir Balût. It was fortified by Solomon (1 Kings 9:18), and is placed by Josephus near Gezer. See Jos. Ant. viii. 6. 1.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 44. - Gibbethon. A Levitical city, as was also Eltekeh (see Joshua 21:23). It was the same city as that mentioned as "belonging to the Philistines" in 1 Kings 15:27; 1 Kings 16:15, 17. Joshua 19:44

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Eltekeh and Gibbethon, which were allotted to the Levites (Joshua 21:23), have not yet been discovered. Under the earliest kings of Israel, Gibbethon was in the hands of the Philistines (1 Kings 15:27; 1 Kings 16:15, 1 Kings 16:17). Baalath was fortified by Solomon (1 Kings 9:18). According to Josephus (Ant. 8:6, 1), it was "Baleth in the neighbourhood of Geser;" probably the same place as Baalah, on the border of Judah (Joshua 15:11).