Joshua 19:50

According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnathserah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Joshua 19:50. According to the word of the Lord, they gave him the city which he asked — God indeed had ordered that he should have a portion, and that he himself should choose it; but he was content to stay for it till every one else was amply provided for. We do not expressly read of this command; but many particulars were said and done which are not recorded. And Joshua being as faithful and upright as Caleb, and chosen besides to be the captain of God’s people, we cannot but think, that when God ordered what Caleb should have, he gave the same direction with respect to Joshua: see Joshua 16:6. Even Timnath-serah in mount Ephraim — Joshua did not choose the best place in all the country, but a convenient one in his own tribe; which was seated on the north side of a hill called Gaash, as we read in the latter end of this book. And he built the city and dwelt therein — Repaired it, we suppose, (for in all probability there was a city in that situation before,) and made a convenient habitation for his family and relations. But we read nothing of them afterward; for as he did not affect to make himself king of Canaan, so he contented himself with a moderate allotment, and made no large provision for his posterity.

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

Nothing is said of any express command of God respecting the inheritance of Joshua. But as such special portion appears to have been promised to Caleb at the time when he and Joshua alone out of the twelve spies remained faithful Joshua 14:6-9, it is probable that a like promise was made to Joshua. The name of the place is also written Timnath-heres Judges 2:9, by a transposition of the letters. The rabbinical explanation that the name Timnath-heres (i. e. "portion of the sun") was given because a representation of the sun was affixed to the tomb in memory of Joshua's command to the sun to stand still, appears to be an afterthought. The name Timnath-serah ("portion that remains") was perhaps conferred on the spot in consequence of its being allotted to Joshua, the last allotment made in the whole distribution of his conquests. The site has been conjectured to be "Tibneh," a village about five miles north-west of Lydda (or, by Conder, Kerr Hares, nine miles south of Nablous).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

50. According to the word of the Lord they gave him the city which he asked—It was most proper that the great leader should receive an inheritance suited to his dignity, and as a reward for his public services. But the gift was not left to the spontaneous feelings of a grateful people. It was conferred "according to the word of the Lord"—probably an unrecorded promise, similar to what had been made to Caleb (Jos 14:9).

Timnath-serah—or Heres, on Mount Gaash (Jud 2:9). Joshua founded it, and was afterwards buried there (Jos 24:30).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

According to the word of the Lord; as God promised or commanded; either, first, formerly, as may be gathered from Joshua 16:6; where we read that the Lord said something unto Moses concerning me, Caleb, and thee, Joshua; though only what is said to Caleb be there expressed, the other not being to his purpose there; for Joshua having showed the same courage and faithfulness which Caleb did, did doubtless receive equal encouragement and comfort from God at that time. Or, secondly, now at this time by Eleazar.

Timnath-serah, called Timnath-heres, Judges 2:9. He built, i.e. repaired and enlarged it, in which sense Nebuchadnezzar is said to have built Babylon, Daniel 4:30.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

According to the word of the Lord,.... Or mouth of the Lord; either according to the oracle of Urim and Thummim, which Eleazar consulted on this occasion; or according to what the Lord had said to Moses, at the same time that Hebron was ordered to Caleb, Joshua 14:6; and

they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnathserah in Mount Ephraim; he chose a place in his own tribe, for he was of the tribe of Ephraim; and it seems that what he chose was none of the best of places; for Paula, as Jerom (i) relates, when she travelled into those parts, wondered that the distributor of the possessions of the children of Israel should choose such a rough and mountainous place for himself; of its situation, see Joshua 24:30,

and he built the city, and dwelt therein; he rebuilt it, and fitted it for his own habitation, and for those that belonged to him. (Timnathserah means "an abundant portion" or "a place in the sun". Joshua great reward was in seeing the promises of God fulfilled before his very eyes Joshua 21:45 and the children of Israel serving the Lord's during his lifetime Joshua 24:31. Joshua may have received but a small inheritance in the promised land but this was just an earnest of his future glorious inheritance in eternity. The saints of God have the best portion saved for the last John 2:10 whereas the worldling has his best portion now; his worst is yet to come. Editor.)

(i) Epitaph. Paulae, fol. 59. L.

Geneva Study Bible

According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnathserah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

50. according to the word of the Lord] We do not find any Divine injunction in the Pentateuch to the effect that Joshua was to receive a special portion in the Land of Canaan. But as Caleb had received a definite promise of the same kind, which is not to be found in its literal form in the Pentateuch, we may conclude that a like promise had been been made to Joshua.

even Timnath-serah] In Jdg 2:9 the name of the city given to the Israelitish leader is altered to Timnath-heres = “portion of the sun.” In the same place it is defined as having been situated “in the mount of Ephraim, on the north side of the hill Gaash.” The word Timnath, or Timnah, means “allotted portion,” and was given to several places. It is now generally identified with Tibnah, between Jifna and el-Mejdel, and was first discovered by Dr Eli Smith in 1843, where he found the ruins of a considerable town. Opposite the town was a much higher hill, in the north side of which were several excavated sepulchres. “Of all sites I have seen,” says Lieut. Conder, “none is so striking as that of Joshua’s home, surrounded as it is with deep valleys and wild rugged hills.” Paula is described by St Jerome as “satis mirata quod distributor possessionum sibi aspera et montana delegisset” (Epist. cviii., Epitaph. Paulæ).

and he built the city] or perhaps rather, fortified it. The site may have been previously unoccupied, and named Timnath-serah = “remaining portion” by Joshua himself.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 50. - The city which he asked. He asked for a city, certainly. But the law of the inheritance was not to be set aside for him any more than for the meanest in Israel. Timnath-serah was in his own tribe. Timnath-serah. Called Thamna by Josephus and the LXX., and Timnath-heres, or Tinmath of the sun by a transposition of the letters, in Judges 2:9. Rabbi Solomon Jarchi gives a singular reason for the latter name. It came to be so called because there was a representation of the sun upon the tomb of him who caused the sun to stand still. Timnath-serah must not be confounded with Timnah, or Timnathah, in the tribe of Dan (ver. 48). For a long time its site was unknown, but within the last 40 years it has been identified with Tibneh, seven hours north of Jerusalem, among the mountains of Ephraim. Dr. Eli Smith was the first to suggest this, and though it was doubted by Robinson, it has since been accepted by Vandevelde and other high authorities. Tibneh seems to have anciently been a considerable town. It is described in Ritter's 'Geography of Palestine' as a gentle hill, crowned with extensive ruins. Opposite these, on the slope of a much higher eminence, are excavations like what are called the Tombs of the Kings at Jerusalem. Jewish tradition, however, points to Kefr Haris, some distance south of Shechem, as the site of Joshua's tomb, and several able writers have advocated its claims in the papers of the Palestine Exploration Fund, on the ground that on such a point Jewish tradition was not likely to be mistaken. Joshua 19:50

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Conclusion of the Distribution of the Land. - Joshua 19:49, Joshua 19:50. When the land was distributed among the tribes according to its territories, the Israelites gave Joshua an inheritance in the midst of them, according to the command of Jehovah, namely the town of Timnath-serah, upon the mountains of Ephraim, for which he asked, and which he finished building; and there he dwelt until the time of his death (Joshua 24:30; Judges 2:9). "According to the word of the Lord" (lit. "at the mouth of Jehovah") does not refer to a divine oracle communicated through the high priest, but to a promise which Joshua had probably received from God at the same time as Caleb, viz., in Kadesh, but which, like the promise given to Caleb, is not mentioned in the Pentateuch (see at Joshua 15:13; Joshua 14:9). Timnath-serah, called Timnath-heres in Judges 2:9, must not be confounded with Timnah in the tribe of Dan (Joshua 19:43; Joshua 15:10), as is the case in the Onom. It has been preserved in the present ruins and foundation walls of a place called Tibneh, which was once a large town, about seven hours to the north of Jerusalem, and two hours to the west of Jiljilia, standing upon two mountains, with many caverns that have been used as graves (see Eli Smith in Ritter, Erdk. xvi. pp. 562ff., and Rob. Bibl. Res. p. 141).