Bible Strands
Joshua 18:17
From there it curved northward and proceeded to En-shemesh and on to Geliloth facing the Ascent of Adummim, and continued down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua delineates the northern boundary of the tribe of Benjamin's inheritance to the assembled tribal leaders and representatives. He traces the surveyed border line immediately after describing the southern markers of the same territory.
The words — וְתָאַר (ve-ta'ar) means "and it turns" or "and it curves," and מִצָּפוֹן (mi-tzafon) translates literally as "from the north." These verbs and directional terms describe the specific geometric shift of the boundary survey.
The thread — The Stone of Bohan son of Reuben appears again in Joshua 15:6 as a northern landmark for Judah's territory. This identical marker links the boundary descriptions of two adjacent tribal allotments.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to acknowledge the deliberate precision of the land division and the legal permanence of the surveyed borders. It demands recognition that inheritance rights are secured through exact geographic demarcation rather than vague 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 was drawn from the north, and went forth to En–shemesh, and went forth toward Geliloth, which is over against the going up of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben,
Cross-references
- Joshua 15:6 went up to Beth-hoglah, proceeded north of Beth-arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.