Joshua 13:23

Old Testament Historical ASV (1901)

What does Joshua 13:23 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And the border of the children of Reuben was the Jordan, and the border [thereof]. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and the villages thereof.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And the border of the children of Reuben was the Jordan, and the border [thereof]. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and the villages thereof.
Joshua 13:23 — American Standard Version

Context — Joshua 13

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
23And the border of the children of Reuben was the Jordan, and the border [thereof]. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and the villages thereof.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border [thereof], etc.] As their border eastward was Aroer on the river Arnon, so their border westward was the river Jordan: this [was] the inheritance of the children of Reuben, after their families, the cities and the villages thereof; which Moses gave them on the other side Jordan; and next follow an account of the inheritance of the tribe of Gad in those parts.”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The writer appends to the command of God Joshua 13:1-7 a statement that the other two tribes and a half had already had their inheritance marked out for them by Moses in the land east of Jordan. The boundaries of this territory as a whole are first set forth Joshua 13:8-14, and afterward the portions assigned within it to the two tribes and a half are severally described Joshua 13:15-33. Joshua 13:14 See Deuteronomy 18:1-5 and notes. Joshua 13:15-24 Inheritance of the tribe of Reuben. This territory was the most southerly of the trans-Jordanic possessions of Israel, and adjoined Moab, which lay only on the other side of the Arnon. Hence, the Reubenites became in after times much intermixed…”
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Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“The border thereof - That is, those cities or places which bordered upon Jordan. Joshua 13:25”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“"And (this) was the boundary of the sons of Reuben, the Jordan and its territory," i.e., the Jordan, or rather land adjoining it. The meaning is, that the territory of Reuben, viz., with the places mentioned last ( Jos 13:20), reached to the territory of the Jordan; for so far as the principal part was concerned, it was on the east of the Dead Sea, as it only reached from the Arnon to Heshbon, i.e., up to the latitude of the northern extremity of the Dead Sea. "The towns and their villages." חצר, farm premises, used, as in Lev 25:31, to denote places not enclosed by a wall. Joshua 13:24”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification