Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Joshua 15:9
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
And the border was drawn from the top of the hill, etc.] Mount Moriah, and went round in a circuit, so Jarchi and Kimchi: unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah; which lay at the bottom of it; which, according to the Jewish writers, is the same with the fountain of Etam, from whence a stream flowed to the dipping room in the water gate of the temple, where the high priest for the first time dipped himself on the day of atonement f312; and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron; Jerom f313 speaks of an Ephron in the tribe of Judah, which was a very large village in his time, and went by the name of Ephraea, and was twenty miles from Aelia or Jerusalem to the north; and which Eusebius better places eight miles from it; and Jarchi observes, that the line went to the north side, and the border enlarged to this place; near to this mountain were cities, and it is not improbable that one of them might have its name from it; but whether this, or what mountain is here meant, is uncertain: some have thought of Ephraim, with its towns, mentioned in (<141319>2 Chronicles 13:19); which seems to have been in the tribe of Ephraim; though Reland f314 places it in the tribe of Benjamin: and the border was drawn to Baalah, which [is] Kirjathjearim; called Kirjathbaal, or the city of Baal, (<061560>Joshua 15:60); where it is probable there was a temple of Baal; and when it came into the hands of the Israelites, they changed its name to Kirjathjearim, or the city of the woods, because of the great number of trees which grew about it; for which reason it might have been pitched upon by the Heathens for their idolatrous service; it was one of the cities of the Gibeonites, (<060917>Joshua 9:17); and, according to Eusebius and Jerom f315, it was nine or ten miles from Jerusalem, as you go to Lydda; it is also called Baalah in (<131306>1 Chronicles 13:6); and Baale of Judah, (<100602>2 Samuel 6:2).
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