Joshua 13:3 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 13:1-6

Here, I. God puts Joshua in mind of his old age, Josh. 13:1. 1. It is said that Joshua was old and stricken in years, and he and Caleb were at this time the only old men among the thousands of Israel, none except them of all those who were numbered at Mount Sinai being now alive. He had been a man of war from his youth (Exod. 17:10); but now he yielded to the infirmities of age, with which it is in vain for the stoutest to think of contesting. It should seem Joshua had not the same strength... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 13:3

From Sihor, which is before Egypt ,.... Which Jarchi and Kimchi interpret of the river Nile, and so that river is called, Jeremiah 2:18 ; it seems to have this name from the waters of it being black and turbid; and hence it was called by the Greeks "Melas"; and by the Latins "Melo"; though it is thought, that not properly the river itself is here meant, which did not reach to the borders of Palestine, but a branch of it, a rivulet from it, for so a traveller F1 Jodocus a Gistella... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 13:3

From Sihor, which is before Egypt - Supposed by some to be the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, near to the Arabian Desert; called also the river of Egypt, Numbers 34:5 ; Jeremiah 2:18 . On this subject an intelligent friend favors me with the following opinion: - "The river Sihor is supposed by some to be the Nile, or a branch of it. Others think it the same as what is frequently called the river of Egypt, which lay before or towards the borders of Egypt; which arose out of the mountains of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 13:2-7

The land allotted, though not yet secured. "There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed." "Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance"—form a somewhat strange pair of precepts. It seems as if Joshua was dividing what he had not got; and as if Israel were casting lots rather for perils than property. It is not quite so extreme as this. The point in the conquest was reached when nowhere was there a resistance needing a nation in arms to quell it. The several tribes were each... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 13:3

From Sihor. This word, which has the article in Hebrew, is literally the black river. This has been thought to be the Nile, known to both Greeks and Latins by that title. The Greeks called it μέλας . So Virgil says of it, " AE gyptum nigra foecundat arena." The Vulgate has "a fluvio turbido qui irrigat AE gyptum." The LXX . translates by ἀοίκητος . The phrase which is "before" ( עַל־פְנֵי ) Egypt seems to exclude the idea of the Nile, since the Nile flowed through the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Joshua 13:3

Sihor is derived from a root signifying “to be black,” and is suitable enough as an appellative of the Nile Isaiah 23:3. Here it most probably stands for “the river of Egypt” (Numbers 34:3 note), the modern “Wady el Arish”.Ekron (“Akir”) lay on the northern boundary of Judah Joshua 15:11, and was actually conquered by the men of that tribe Judges 1:18, though assigned in the allotment of the land to Dan Joshua 19:43. It seems to have fallen again into the hands of the Philistines in the days of... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joshua 13:2-3

Joshua 13:2-3. This is the land that yet remaineth Unconquered by thee, and to be conquered by the Israelites, if they behave themselves aright. All Geshuri A people in the north-east of Canaan, as the Philistines were on the south-west. Which is counted to the Canaanite That is, which, though now possessed by the Philistines, who drove out the Canaanites, the old inhabitants of it, Deuteronomy 2:23; Amos 9:7; yet it is a part of the land of Canaan, and therefore belongs to the... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Joshua 13:1-33

13:1-22:34 DIVISION OF THE LANDAll the land that Israel had conquered was now divided among the twelve tribes. The list of tribal boundaries may not make very interesting reading today, but it was necessary for Israel as a permanent and lawful record to which people could refer if any disagreement arose. It also told the tribes of the enemies that had yet to be destroyed, both within their own tribal areas and in lands round about.Overall plan for the division (13:1-14:5)The area west of... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Joshua 13:3

Sihor. Hebrew "the Sihor". lords. Hebrew seren, a prince; first occurrence. Used only of the Philistine princes. Joshua 13:3 .Judges 3:3 ; Judges 16:5 , Judges 16:8 , Judges 16:18 , Judges 16:23 , Judges 16:27 , Jdg 16:30 ; 1 Samuel 5:8 , 1 Samuel 5:11 ; 1Sa 6:4 , 1 Samuel 6:12 , 1 Samuel 6:16 , 1Sa 6:18 ; 1 Samuel 7:7 ; 1 Samuel 29:2 , 1Sa 29:6 , 1 Samuel 29:7 ; 1 Chronicles 12:19 . the Gittites. Some codices, with three early printed editions, Septuagint, and Syriac, read "and the." read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Joshua 13:3

Ver. 3. From Sihor, which is before Egypt— Here the sacred historian, intending, in a particular manner, to describe the extent of the country of the Philistines, fixes its northern limits at the river Sihor, which, it is generally thought, was only the Pelusiack branch of the Nile. See on Numbers 34:5. Le Clerc, Calmet, Mills, Bishop Clayton, and many others, are of this opinion. Even unto the borders of Ekron northward— Ekron was a considerable city in the land of the Philistines,... read more