Bible Strands
Joshua 18:22
Beth-arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Joshua records the territorial inventory for the tribe of Benjamin as the conquest land is divided among the tribes. This verse operates as a direct continuation of the geographic list begun in Joshua 18:21.
The words — The text lists Beth-arabah (בֵּית הָעֲרָבָה, veit ha'arabah), literally "house of the plain," and Zemaraim (צְמָרַיִם, tsemara'im), a place name with no etymological explanation in the passage. It concludes with Bethel (בֵּית־אֵל, beit-El), meaning "house of God."
The thread — Beth-arabah reappears in Joshua 15:6 and Joshua 18:18 as a boundary marker between Judah and Benjamin. The name Zemaraim corresponds to the Zemarites listed in Genesis 10:18 among the dispersed Canaanite clans.
Why it lands — The verse requires exact recognition of the specific cities allotted to Benjamin, anchoring the tribal inheritance in documented geography. It asks the reader to accept the list as a concrete record of land distribution rather than a symbolic narrative.
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 Beth–arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth–el,
Cross-references
- Genesis 10:18 the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Later the Canaanite clans were scattered,
- Joshua 15:6 went up to Beth-hoglah, proceeded north of Beth-arabah, and went up to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben.
- Joshua 18:18 Then it went on to the northern slope of Beth-arabah and went down into the valley.
- 1 Kings 12:29 One calf he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan.
- 2 Chronicles 13:4 Then Abijah stood on Mount Zemaraim in the hill country of Ephraim and said, “Hear me, O Jeroboam and all Israel!