Joshua 16:2

Study note

Setting — Joshua 16:2 records the narrator tracing the eastern boundary of the Joseph tribal allotment as it moves from Bethel toward the Archite territory at Ataroth. The passage functions as a geographic marker within the larger land distribution account.

The words — The Hebrew verbs יָצָא (ya.Tza') and עָבַר ('a.Var) literally mean "goes out" and "passes on," denoting the boundary's sequential movement. The phrase מִבֵּית־אֵל לֻזָּה (mi./beit- 'el Lu.za/h) identifies the starting point as Bethel, explicitly noting its former name Luz.

The thread — The border's movement through Luz and Bethel resurfaces in Joshua 18:13, where the line crosses the southern slope of Luz before descending to Ataroth-addar. Genesis 28:19 establishes the location's dual naming when Jacob consecrates the site previously called Luz.

Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to follow the exact territorial progression of the Joseph inheritance without skipping intermediate landmarks. It demands precise attention to how inherited land shifts from one defined border to the next.

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.