Bible Strands

Joshua 15:10

The border curled westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, and crossed to Timnah.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Joshua records the western boundary of the tribe of Judah’s allotment during the territorial division of Canaan. The narrator traces the surveyed limit as it shifts from Baalah toward the coastal plain.

The words — נָסַבּ (na.Sav) literally means "it turns" or "curled," denoting the border's directional change. גְּב֥וּל (ge.Vul) translates directly as "border," marking the fixed geographical line being delineated.

The thread — The boundary terminates at Timnah, which Judges 14:1 identifies as Samson’s location and Joshua 15:57 lists among Judah’s ten cities. The description immediately continues in Joshua 15:11, where the line extends to Ekron and concludes at the Sea.

Why it lands — The text requires the reader to track how specific topographical markers anchor a concrete inheritance. It demands recognition that the division relies on observable geography rather than abstract claims.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of mount Jearim, which is Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to Beth–shemesh, and passed on to Timnah:

Cross-references

Places named

Baalah 2Beth-shemesh 1ChesalonMount JearimMount Seir 2Timnah 1