Bible Strands
Joshua 19:7
Ain, Rimmon, Ether, and Ashan—four cities, along with their villages,
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Joshua 19:7 records the specific settlement assignments for the tribe of Simeon during the final phase of the land distribution. Joshua speaks to the Israelite leadership while cataloging the tribal allotments.
The words — עָרִים ('a.Rim) means "cities" and אַרְבַּ֖ע ('ar.Ba') means "four," explicitly quantifying the urban centers. חַצְרֵי (chatz.rei) translates to "villages" or "enclosures," denoting the dependent agricultural settlements attached to each city.
The thread — The same locations appear in Joshua 15:32 and Joshua 15:42 within Judah’s boundary descriptions, while Numbers 33:19 records the Israelites camping at Rimmon-perez during the wilderness journey.
Why it lands — The text states that tribal inheritance was defined by enumerated urban centers and their dependent villages rather than open land. It asks the reader to track how administrative geography, not just tribal lineage, structured the promised land.
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
Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages:
Cross-references
- Joshua 15:42 Libnah, Ether, Ashan,
- Numbers 33:19 They set out from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.
- Joshua 15:32 Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain, and Rimmon—twenty-nine cities in all, along with their villages.
- 1 Chronicles 4:32 And their villages were Etam, Ain, Rimmon, Tochen, and Ashan—five towns—