Bible Strands
Joshua 19:6
Beth-lebaoth, and Sharuhen—thirteen cities, along with their villages.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua enumerates the final territorial boundaries assigned to the tribe of Simeon. He delivers this inventory to the Israelite leadership as the land division process concludes.
The words — The text records עָרִים ('a.Rim) for "cities" and חַצְרֵי (chatz.rei) for "villages," identifying the main urban centers and their surrounding hamlets. The phrase שְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה (she.losh-'es.Reh) explicitly quantifies thirteen of these locations.
The thread — This structural formula appears in Joshua 15:32, which lists Lebaoth and other towns using identical terminology for allotment records. The repeated phrasing establishes a consistent administrative pattern across the tribal distributions.
Why it lands — The verse requires the reader to observe that each tribe received a specific, documented number of settlements rather than an undefined portion of land. It demands acknowledgment that the territorial promises were executed through precise, verifiable accounting.
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–lebaoth, and Sharuhen; thirteen cities and their villages:
Cross-references
- Joshua 15:32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages.