Joshua 16:1-3

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 16:1-4

Though Joseph was one of the younger sons of Jacob, yet he was his eldest by his most just and best beloved wife Rachel, was himself his best beloved son, and had been the greatest ornament and support of his family, kept it from perishing in a time of famine, and had been the shepherd and stone of Israel, and therefore his posterity were very much favoured by the lot. Their portion lay in the very heart of the land of Canaan. It extended from Jordan in the east (Josh. 16:1) to the sea, the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 16:1

And the lot of the children of Joseph fell ,.... Or, "went out" F1 ויצא "et egressa est", Pagninus, Montanus; "exivit", Piscator. ; of the pot or urn, this being the next lot that was drawn to that of Judah, the government being Judah's, and the birthright Joseph's, 1 Chronicles 5:2 ; and by his children are here meant the tribe of Ephraim, and the tribe of Manasseh: or the line and border according to the lot went forth from Jordan by Jericho unto the water of Jericho on the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 16:2

And goeth out from Bethel to Luz ,.... For though these two places in time became one, yet they were originally distinct. Bethel, at which Jacob stopped, and who gave it its name, was a field adjacent to the city of Luz, Genesis 38:11 ; and therefore with propriety may be, as they here are, distinguished: and passeth along unto the borders Archi to Ataroth ; or to Archiataroth; these two words being the name of one and the same place, and to be joined as they are, in the Greek version,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 16:3

And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti ,.... This place is now unknown, though no doubt well known to the sons of Joseph, when this lot fell to them, and its border was described: unto the coast of Bethhoron the nether : so called to distinguish it from Bethhoron the upper, Joshua 16:5 ; this was about twelve miles from Jerusalem; See Gill on Joshua 10:10 ; and to Gezer: which was about a day's journey from Bethhoron, as appears from the passages in the Apocrypha:"39 So... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 16:1

The children of Joseph - Ephraim and Manasseh, and their descendants. The limits of the tribe of Ephraim extended along the borders of Benjamin and Dan, from Jordan on the east to the Mediterranean on the west. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 16:2

From Bethel to Luz - From Genesis 28:19 ; (note) it appears that the place which Jacob called Beth-el was formerly called Luz; see the note there: but here they seem to be two distinct places. It is very likely that the place where Jacob had the vision was not in Luz, but in some place within a small distance of that city or village, (see the note on Genesis 28:12 ;), and that sometimes the whole place was called Beth-el, at other times Luz, and sometimes, as in the case above, the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 16:3

Beth-horon the nether - This city was about twelve miles from Jerusalem, on the side of Nicopolis, formerly Emmaus. - Calmet. See the note on Joshua 10:10 . read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 16:1

Verse 1 1.And the lot of the children of Joseph fell, etc The sacred writer first states what the lot was which fell to the two children of Joseph, and then describes the lot of Ephraim. It is strange, however, that when the half of the tribe of Manasseh had already been settled beyond the Jordan, more words are employed in describing the remaining half than in describing the whole of the inheritance of the tribe of Ephraim, though the latter was the more populous, and justly claimed for itself... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 16:1

EXPOSITION THE INHERITANCE OF EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH . Fell . Literally came forth, i.e; out of the urn. The water of Jericho. "This is the present fountain of es Sultan, half an hour to the west of Ribs, the only large fountain in the neighbourhood of Jericho, whose waters spread over the plain and form a small brook" (or small stream, according to Von Schubert)," which flows in the rainy season through the Wady Kelt into the Jordan" (Keil and Delitzsch). This... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 16:2

From Bethel to Luz. Like Jerusalem and AE lia Capitolina, or old and new Carthage, the new city did not coincide precisely in its site with the old one (see Joshua 18:13 ; also Genesis 28:19 ; Genesis 35:6 ; 1:23 ). Bethel was probably built, as far as could be ascertained, on the spot near the Canaanitish city where the wanderer Jacob spent the night in which the famous vision appeared to him (see Genesis 28:11 ). Knobel, however, renders literally, Bethel-Luzah, as though the... read more

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