Bible Strands
Joshua 16:7
From Janoah it went down to Ataroth and Naarah, and then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua records the southern boundary of the tribe of Ephraim’s inheritance as the land allotment is being surveyed and assigned after the Israelites cross the Jordan.
The words — The Hebrew verb יָרַד (yārad) literally means "it goes down," describing the border's descent in elevation, while פָּגַע (pāgaʿ) means "it touches" or "reaches," marking the precise point where the boundary line meets Jericho.
The thread — The border's endpoint at the Jordan appears in Numbers 33:48 as the camp location opposite Jericho and in 1 Chronicles 7:28 where Naaran is listed among Ephraim’s eastern settlements. Joshua 3:16 also notes the Jordan’s waters standing still near this same region during the initial crossing.
Why it lands — The verse demands recognition that tribal inheritance was defined by concrete geography rather than abstract claims, requiring readers to trace how divine allotment maps onto physical terrain.
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 it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan.
Cross-references
- 1 Chronicles 7:28 Their holdings and settlements included Bethel and its villages, Naaran to the east, Gezer and its villages to the west, and Shechem and its villages as far as Ayyah and its villages.
- Numbers 33:48 They set out from the mountains of Abarim and camped on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.
- 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.
- Joshua 6:1 Now Jericho was tightly shut up because of the Israelites. No one went out and no one came in.
- Joshua 6:26 At that time Joshua invoked this solemn oath: “Cursed before the LORD is the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho; at the cost of his firstborn he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.”