Bible Strands
Joshua 18:13
From there the border crossed over to the southern slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth-addar on the hill south of Lower Beth-horon.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua delineates the territorial boundaries allocated to the tribe of Benjamin. This occurs during the systematic division of the Promised Land among the twelve tribes.
The words — כֶּתֶף (ketef) literally means "slope" or "shoulder," identifying the precise topographical edge of Luz. נֶגֶב (negev) denotes "southward," fixing the border's directional orientation relative to Bethel.
The thread — The Luz-Bethel designation appears in Genesis 28:19 as Jacob's renaming of the site. Joshua 16:2 traces a parallel border route from Bethel to Ataroth, while Joshua 10:11 references the descent from Beth-horon during a military campaign.
Why it lands — The text records exact topographical markers to define tribal inheritance. It requires a reader to acknowledge that land allocation follows surveyed geographical boundaries rather than arbitrary 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 the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Beth–el, southward; and the border descended to Ataroth–adar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Beth–horon.
Cross-references
- Genesis 28:19 and he called that place Bethel, though previously the city had been named Luz.
- Joshua 16:2 It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz) and proceeded to the border of the Archites in Ataroth.
- Joshua 10:11 As they fled before Israel along the descent from Beth-horon to Azekah, the LORD cast down on them large hailstones from the sky, and more of them were killed by the hailstones than by the swords of the Israelites.
- Joshua 16:5 This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans: The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar in the east to Upper Beth-horon
- Joshua 21:22 Kibzaim, and Beth-horon—four cities, together with their pasturelands.
- Judges 1:22 The house of Joseph also attacked Bethel, and the LORD was with them.