Bible Strands
Joshua 15:2
Their southern border started at the bay on the southern tip of the Salt Sea,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Joshua records the territorial allotment for the tribe of Judah during the division of the Promised Land, specifically marking the starting point of their southern boundary.
The words — גְּב֣וּל (ge.Vul) denotes the territorial boundary, while הַ/לָּשֹׁ֖ן (ha./la.Shon) literally means the tongue or bay, identifying the precise coastal feature that anchors the border.
The thread — The Salt Sea appears in Genesis 14:3 as the Valley of Siddim and in Ezekiel 47:8 as the destination for temple waters, while Isaiah 11:15 references a comparable gulf. These passages consistently use the same geographical marker to define territorial limits and divine action.
Why it lands — The text establishes a concrete, surveyed boundary before any theological inference is drawn. It demands recognition that land distribution follows precise physical markers 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 their south border was from the shore of the salt sea, from the bay that looketh southward:
Cross-references
- Genesis 14:3 The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
- Isaiah 11:15 The LORD will devote to destruction the gulf of the Sea of Egypt; with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates. He will split it into seven streams for men to cross with dry sandals.
- Ezekiel 47:8 And he said to me, “This water flows out to the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah. When it empties into the Dead Sea, the water there becomes fresh.
- Numbers 34:3 Your southern border will extend from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern border will run from the end of the Salt Sea,
- Joshua 3:16 the flowing water stood still. It backed up as far upstream as Adam, a city in the area of Zarethan, while the water flowing toward the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
- Ezekiel 47:18 On the east side the border will run between Hauran and Damascus, along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel, to the Eastern Sea and as far as Tamar. This will be the eastern boundary.