And the seventh lot came out for the tribe of the children of Dan ,.... Which was the last lot drawn, and which appointed an inheritance to this tribe: according to their families ; the number of them. read more
And the coast of their inheritance was Zorah, and Eshtaol ,.... The tribe of Dan is not described by places the boundaries of it, as other tribes, but by its cities, which were chiefly, at least several of them, taken out of the tribe of Judah, as the two first of these most manifestly were; See Gill on Joshua 15:33 , and Irshemesh signifies the city of the sun, as the Targum interprets it, and was so called very probably from a temple in it, dedicated to the idolatrous worship of the... read more
And Shaalabbin ,.... The first of these is the same with Shaalbim, Judges 1:35 ; and which Jerom F18 De loc. Heb. fol. 94. K. calls Selab, in the tribe of Dan; and which he says was in his day shown a large village on the borders of Sebaste, by the name of Selaba. and Ajalon is famous for the standing still of the moon in its valley while Joshua pursued his enemies; see Gill on Joshua 10:12 , and Jethlah , of which we read nowhere else. read more
And Elon ,.... Of Elon no mention is made elsewhere: and Thimnathah is a different place from Timnah in the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:10 . Jerom F19 De loc. Heb. fol. 88. E. speaks of the Thamnitic country, so called from the village Thamna, which seems to be this: and Ekron was one of the five principalities of the Philistines, and never possessed by the Israelites; it first fell by lot to the tribe of Judah, and afterwards given to the tribe of Dan, Joshua 15:45 . read more
And Eltekeh ,.... Eltekeh was a city given to the Levites, Joshua 21:23 ; and supposed by some to be the same with Eltekon in the tribe of Judah given to the Danites, Joshua 15:59 , and Gibbethon was in the hands of the Philistines in the reign of Asa, 1 Kings 15:21 ; and in the same place Jerom F20 De loc. Heb. fol. 92. C. calls Gabatha a city of the strangers, or Philistines; and which lie places near Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah: and Baalath is not the same with... read more
And Jehud ,.... Of Jehud no mention is made elsewhere: and Beneberak signifies sons of lightning; see Mark 3:17 . Jerom F24 De loc. Heb. fol. 89. H. speaks of tills as the name of two places, Bane in the tribe of Dan, and Barach in the same tribe, and which was in his day near Azotus. This place was famous in later times among the Jews for being a place where one of their noted Rabbins, R. Akiba, abode and taught for some time F25 T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 32. 2. : and... read more
Zorah , and Eshtaol - See the note on Joshua 15:33 . Ir-shemesh - The city of sun; another proof of the idolatry of the Canaanites. Some think this was the same as Beth-shemesh. read more
Shaalabbin - The foxes. Of this city the Amorites kept constant possession. See Judges 1:35 . Ajalon - There was a place of this name about two miles from Nicopolis or Emmaus, on the road to Jerusalem. - Calmet. read more
Thimnathah - Probably the same as Timnah. See on Joshua 15:57 ; (note). Ekron - A well-known city of the Philistines and the metropolis of one of their five dynasties. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 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... read more