Bible Strands
Joshua 18:19
The border continued to the northern slope of Beth-hoglah and came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the mouth of the Jordan. This was the southern border.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua records the territorial boundaries to the Israelite elders as they finalize the land inheritance for the tribe of Benjamin. This description occurs during the second phase of dividing the conquered territory among the tribes.
The words — The Hebrew verb עָבַר (‘avar) means "to pass on" or "continue," describing how the boundary line moves geographically. The noun גְּבוּל (gebul) translates literally as "border" or "boundary," marking the legal and physical limit of the tribal allotment.
The thread — The Salt Sea appears in Genesis 14:3 as the site of the Valley of Siddim and in Joshua 15:2 as the southern anchor for Judah’s border. The Jordan River’s mouth at this sea functions as a recurring geographical marker across the conquest narratives.
Why it lands — The text states that the surveyed line terminates at a specific coastal feature to define the southern limit of Benjamin’s inheritance. It requires the reader to acknowledge that divine allocation operates through concrete, surveyed geography rather than abstract 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 passed along to the side of Beth–hoglah northward: and the outgoings of the border were at the north bay of the salt sea at the south end of Jordan: this was the south coast.
Cross-references
- Genesis 14:3 The latter five came as allies to the Valley of Siddim (that is, the Salt Sea).
- Joshua 15:2 Their southern border started at the bay on the southern tip of the Salt Sea,
- Genesis 19:25 Thus He destroyed these cities and the entire plain, including all the inhabitants of the cities and everything that grew on the ground.
- Numbers 34:3 Your southern border will extend from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern border will run from the end of the Salt Sea,
- Deuteronomy 3:17 The Jordan River in the Arabah bordered it from Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) with the slopes of Pisgah to the east.
- 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 12:3 as well as the Arabah east of the Sea of Chinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), eastward through Beth-jeshimoth, and southward below the slopes of Pisgah.
- Isaiah 11:15 The LORD will devote to destruction the gulf of the Sea of Egypt; with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand over the Euphrates. He will split it into seven streams for men to cross with dry sandals.