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Joshua 19:29 World English Bible (WEB)

29 and the border turned to Ramah, and to the fortified city of Tyre; and the border turned to Hosah; and the goings out of it were at the sea by the region of Achzib;

Cross Reference

Isaiah 23:1-18 WEB

The burden of Tyre. Howl, you ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Kittim it is revealed to them. Be still, you inhabitants of the coast, you whom the merchants of Sidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. On great waters the seed of the Shihor, the harvest of the Nile, was her revenue; and she was the market of nations. Be ashamed, Sidon; for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying, I have not travailed, nor brought forth, neither have I nourished young men, nor brought up virgins. When the report comes to Egypt, they shall be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. Pass over to Tarshish; wail, you inhabitants of the coast. Is this your joyous [city], whose antiquity is of ancient days, whose feet carried her afar off to sojourn? Who has purposed this against Tyre, the giver of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth? Yahweh of hosts has purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth. Pass through your land as the Nile, daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint any more. He has stretched out his hand over the sea, he has shaken the kingdoms: Yahweh has given commandment concerning Canaan, to destroy the strongholds of it. He said, You shall no more rejoice, you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon: arise, pass over to Kittim; even there shall you have no rest. Behold, the land of the Chaldeans: this people was not; the Assyrian founded it for those who dwell in the wilderness; they set up their towers; they overthrew the palaces of it; they made it a ruin. Howl, you ships of Tarshish; for your stronghold is laid waste. It shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years it shall be to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute. Take a harp, go about the city, you prostitute that has been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered. It shall happen after the end of seventy years, that Yahweh will visit Tyre, and she shall return to her hire, and shall play the prostitute with all the kingdoms of the world on the surface of the earth. Her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to Yahweh: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for those who dwell before Yahweh, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

Ezekiel 26:1-21 WEB

It happened in the eleventh year, in the first [day] of the month, that the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken: the gate of the peoples; she is turned to me; I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste: therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, Behold, I am against you, Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. They shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock. She shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea; for I have spoken it, says the Lord Yahweh; and she shall become a spoil to the nations. Her daughters who are in the field shall be slain with the sword: and they shall know that I am Yahweh. For thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I will bring on Tyre Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and a company, and much people. He shall kill with the sword your daughters in the field; and he shall make forts against you, and cast up a mound against you, and raise up the buckler against you. He shall set his battering engines against your walls, and with his axes he shall break down your towers. By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover you: your walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wagons, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into your gates, as men enter into a city in which is made a breach. With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all your streets; he shall kill your people with the sword; and the pillars of your strength shall go down to the ground. They shall make a spoil of your riches, and make a prey of your merchandise; and they shall break down your walls, and destroy your pleasant houses; and they shall lay your stones and your timber and your dust in the midst of the waters. I will cause the noise of your songs to cease; and the sound of your harps shall be no more heard. I will make you a bare rock; you shall be a place for the spreading of nets; you shall be built no more: for I Yahweh have spoken it, says the Lord Yahweh. Thus says the Lord Yahweh to Tyre: shall not the isles shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when the slaughter is made in the midst of you? Then all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones, and lay aside their robes, and strip off their embroidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they shall sit on the ground, and shall tremble every moment, and be astonished at you. They shall take up a lamentation over you, and tell you, How are you destroyed, who were inhabited by seafaring men, the renowned city, who was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, who caused their terror to be on all who lived there! Now shall the isles tremble in the day of your fall; yes, the isles that are in the sea shall be dismayed at your departure. For thus says the Lord Yahweh: When I shall make you a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep on you, and the great waters shall cover you; then will I bring you down with those who descend into the pit, to the people of old time, and will make you to dwell in the lower parts of the earth, in the places that are desolate of old, with those who go down to the pit, that you be not inhabited; and I will set glory in the land of the living: I will make you a terror, and you shall no more have any being; though you are sought for, yet shall you never be found again, says the Lord Yahweh.

Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Joshua 19

Commentary on Joshua 19 Matthew Henry Commentary


Chapter 19

In the description of the lots of Judah and Benjamin we have an account both of the borders that surrounded them and of the cities contained in them. In that of Ephraim and Manasseh we have the borders, but not the cities; in this chapter Simeon and Dan are described by their cities only, and not their borders, because they lay very much within Judah, especially the former; the rest have both their borders described and their cities names, especially frontiers. Here is,

Jos 19:1-9

Simeon's lot was drawn after Judah's, Joseph's, and Benjamin's, because Jacob had put that tribe under disgrace; yet it is put before the two younger sons of Leah and the three sons of the handmaids. Not one person of note, neither judge nor prophet, was of this tribe, that we know of.

  • I. The situation of their lot was within that of Judah (v. 1) and was taken from it, v. 9. It seems, those that first surveyed the land thought it larger than it was, and that it would have held out to give every tribe in proportion as large a share as they had carved out for Judah; but, upon a more strict enquiry, it was found that it would not reach (v. 9): The part of the children of Judah was too much for them, more than they needed, and more, as it proved, than fell to their share. Yet God did not by the lot lessen it, but left it to their prudence and care afterwards to discover and rectify the mistake, which when they did,
    • 1. The men of Judah did not oppose the taking away of the cities again, which by the first distribution fell within their border, when they were convinced that they had more than their proportion. In all such cases errors must be excepted and a review admitted if there be occasion. Though, in strictness, what fell to their lot was their right against all the world, yet they would not insist upon it when it appeared that another tribe would want what they had to spare. Note, We must look on the things of others, and not on our own only. The abundance of some must supply the wants of others, that there may be somewhat of an equality, for which there may be equity where there is not law.
    • 2. That which was thus taken off from Judah to be put into a new lot Providence directed to the tribe of Simeon, that Jacob's prophecy concerning this tribe might be fulfilled, I will divide them in Jacob. The cities of Simeon were scattered in Judah, with which tribe they were surrounded, except on that side towards the sea. This brought them into a confederacy with the tribe of Judah (Jdg. 1:3), and afterwards was a happy occasion of the adherence of many of this tribe to the house of David, at the time of the revolt of the ten tribes to Jeroboam. 2 Chr. 15:9, out of Simeon they fell to Asa in abundance. It is good being in a good neighbourhood.
  • II. The cities within their lot are here named. Beersheba, or Sheba, for these names seem to refer to the same place, is put first. Ziklag, which we read of in David's story, is one of them. What course they took to enlarge their borders and make room for themselves we find 1 Chr. 4:39, etc.

Jos 19:10-16

This is the lot of Zebulun, who, though born of Leah after Issachar, yet was blessed by Jacob and Moses before him; and therefore it was so ordered that his lot was drawn before that of Issachar, north of which it lay and south of Asher.

  • 1. The lot of this tribe was washed by the great sea on the west, and by the sea of Tiberias on the east, answering Jacob's prophecy (Gen. 49:13), Zebulun shall be a haven of ships, trading ships on the great sea and fishing ships on the sea of Galilee.
  • 2. Though there were some places in this tribe which were made famous in the Old Testament, especially Mount Carmel, on which the famous trial was between God and Baal in Elijah's time, yet it was made much more illustrious in the New Testament; for within the lot of this tribe was Nazareth, where our blessed Saviour spent so much of his time on earth, and from which he was called Jesus of Nazareth, and Mount Tabor on which he was transfigured, and that coast of the sea of Galilee on which Christ preached so many sermons and wrought so many miracles.

Jos 19:17-23

The lot of Issachar ran from Jordan in the east to the great sea in the west, Manasseh on the south, and Zebulun on the north. A numerous tribe, Num. 26:25. Tola, one of the judges, was of this tribe, Jdg. 10:1. So was Baasha, one of the kings of Israel, 1 Ki. 15:27. The most considerable places in this tribe were,

  • 1. Jezreel, in which was Ahab's palace, and near it Naboth's vineyard.
  • 2. Shunem, where lived that good Shunamite that entertained Elisha.
  • 3. The river Kishon, on the banks of which, in this tribe, Sisera was beaten by Deborah and Barak.
  • 4. The mountains of Gilboa, on which Saul and Jonathan were slain, which were not far from Endor, where Saul consulted the witch.
  • 5. The valley of Megiddo, where Josiah was slain near Hadad-rimmon, 2 Ki. 23:29; Zec. 12:11.

Jos 19:24-31

The lot of Asher lay upon the coast of the great sea. We read not of any famous person of this tribe but Anna the prophetess, who was a constant resident in the temple at the time of our Saviour's birth, Lu. 2:36. Nor were there many famous places in this tribe. Aphek (mentioned v. 30) was the place near which Benhadad was beaten by Ahad, 1 Ki. 20:30. But close adjoining to this tribe were the celebrated sea-port towns of Tyre and Sidon, which we read so much of. Tyre is called here that strong city (v. 29), but Bishop Patrick thinks it was not the same Tyre that we read of afterwards, for that was built on an island; this old strong city was on the continent. And it is conjectured by some that into these two strong-holds, Sidon and Tzor, or Tyre, many of the people of Canaan fled and took shelter when Joshua invaded them.

Jos 19:32-39

Naphtali lay furthest north of all the tribes, bordering on Mount Libanus. The city of Leshem, or Liash, lay on the utmost edge of it to the north, and therefore when the Danites had made themselves masters of it, and called it Dan, the length of Canaan from north to south was reckoned from Dan to Beersheba. It had Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west, and Judah upon Jordan, probably a city of that name, and so distinguished from the tribe of Judah on the east. It was in the lot of this tribe, near the waters of Merom, that Joshua fought and routed Jabin, ch. 11:1, etc. In this tribe stood Capernaum and Bethsaida, on the north end of the sea of Tiberias, in which Christ did so many mighty works; and the mountain (as is supposed) on which Christ preached, Mt. 5:1.

Jos 19:40-48

Dan, though commander of one of the four squadrons of the camp of Israel, in the wilderness, that which brought up the rear, yet was last provided for in Canaan, and his lot fell in the southern part of Canaan, between Judah on the east and the land of the Philistines on the west, Ephraim on the north and Simeon on the south. Providence ordered this numerous and powerful tribe into a post of danger, as best able to deal with those vexatious neighbours the Philistines, and so it was found in Samson. Here is an account,

  • 1. Of what fell to this tribe by lot, Zorah, and Eshtaol, and the camp of Dan thereabouts, of which we read in the story of Samson. And near there was the valley of Eshcol, whence the spies brought the famous bunch of grapes. Japho, or Joppa was in this lot.
  • 2. Of what they got by their own industry and valour, which is mentioned here (v. 47), but related at large, Jdg. 18:7, etc.

Jos 19:49-51

Before this account of the dividing of the land is solemnly closed up, in the last verse, which intimates that the thing was done to the satisfaction of all, here is an account of the particular inheritance assigned to Joshua.

  • 1. He was last served, though the eldest and greatest man of all Israel, and who, having commanded in the conquest of Canaan, might have demanded the first settlement in it for himself and his family. But he would make it to appear that in all he did he sought the good of his country, and not any private interest of his own. He was content to be unfixed till he saw them all settled; and herein is a great example to all in public places to prefer the common welfare before their particular satisfaction. Let the public be first served.
  • 2. He had his lot according to the word of the Lord. It is probable that, when God by Moses told Caleb what inheritance he should have (ch. 14:9), he gave the like promise to Joshua, which he had an eye to in making his election: this made his portion doubly pleasant, that he had it, not as the rest by common providence, but by special promise.
  • 3. He chose it in Mount Ephraim, which belonged to his own tribe, with which he thereby put himself in common, when he might by prerogative have chosen his inheritance in some other tribe, as suppose that of Judah, and thereby have distinguished himself from them. Let no man's preferment or honour make him ashamed of his family or country, or estrange him from it. The tabernacle was set up in the lot of Ephraim, and Joshua would forecast not to be far from that.
  • 4. The children of Israel are said to give it to him (v. 49), which bespeaks his humility, that he would not take it to himself without the people's consent and approbation, as if he would thereby own himself, though major singulis-greater than any one, yet minor universis-less than the whole assemblage, and would hold even the estate of his family, under God, by the grant of the people.
  • 5. It was a city that must be built before it was fit to be dwelt in. While others dwelt in houses which they built not, Joshua must erect for himself (that he might be a pattern of industry and contentment with mean things) such buildings as he could hastily run up, without curiosity or magnificence. Our Lord Jesus thus came and dwelt among us, not in pomp but poverty, providing rest for us, yet himself not having where to lay his head. Even Christ pleased not himself.