Bible Strands
Joshua 15:51
Goshen, Holon, and Giloh—eleven cities, along with their villages.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records the final list of towns and villages assigned to the tribe of Judah in the hill country of the Shephelah. Joshua speaks no words here; the text functions as an administrative inventory of the conquered allotment.
The words — The verse names Goshen (גֹּשֶׁן), Holon (חֹלוֹן), and Giloh (גִּלֹה), then states eleven cities (עָרִים אַחַת עֶשְׂרֵה) and their villages (וְחַצְרֵיהֶן). These terms operate as geographic markers rather than descriptive titles.
The thread — The broader region of Goshen appears in Joshua 10:41 and 11:16 as part of the southern conquest zone, while Giloh is later identified as the hometown of Ahithophel in 2 Samuel 15:12. These references tie the place names to Judah’s military campaigns and later royal history.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that territorial inheritance is recorded in precise, unembellished detail. It asks the reader to recognize divine promise fulfilled through administered geography rather than abstract prophecy.
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 Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages:
Cross-references
- Joshua 10:41 Joshua conquered the area from Kadesh-barnea to Gaza, and the whole region of Goshen as far as Gibeon.
- Joshua 11:16 So Joshua took this entire region: the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the western foothills, the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and their foothills,
- 2 Samuel 15:12 While Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, to come from his hometown of Giloh. So the conspiracy gained strength, and Absalom’s following kept increasing.