Bible Strands
Joshua 15:46
from Ekron to the sea, all the cities near Ashdod, along with their villages;
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua records the southern boundary of Judah's tribal allotment, listing Philistine territories that remained outside direct inheritance. The narrator delineates the exact geographic limit between conquered land and unconquered city-states.
The words — The text anchors the boundary with מֵ/עֶקְר֖וֹן (me./'ekron) meaning "from Ekron" and וָ/יָ֑מָּ/ה (va./yammah) meaning "westward." It then specifies אַשְׁדּ֖וֹד ('ashdod) for Ashdod and וְ/חַצְרֵי/הֶֽן (ve./chatzeihen) for "and their villages," marking the full extent of the listed settlements.
The thread — These locations resurface when the Philistines move the captured ark to Ashdod (1 Samuel 5:1) and when divine judgment strikes the city and its vicinity (1 Samuel 5:6). The same cities reappear as military targets during King Uzziah's campaigns against Philistine fortifications (2 Chronicles 26:6).
Why it lands — The verse states a fixed territorial limit, explicitly excluding certain Philistine cities and their surrounding settlements from Judah's inheritance. It demands recognition of a concrete boundary between allotted land and unconquered territory, leaving the geography undecorated.
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
From Ekron even unto the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages:
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 5:1 After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod,
- 1 Samuel 5:6 Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.
- 2 Chronicles 26:6 Uzziah went out to wage war against the Philistines, and he tore down the walls of Gath, Jabneh, and Ashdod. Then he built cities near Ashdod and among the Philistines.
- Nehemiah 13:23 In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab.
- Isaiah 20:1 Before the year that the chief commander, sent by Sargon king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and attacked and captured it,
- Amos 1:8 I will cut off the ruler of Ashdod and the one who wields the scepter in Ashkelon. I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord GOD.