Section 15:1-63 The tribe of Judah received their land
This section describes the boundaries of the tribe of Judah and lists the towns that are within those boundaries.
Here are some other possible section headings:
The boundaries of Judah
-or-
The land of the tribe of Judah
Paragraph 15:1-4
The next four paragraphs describe the boundaries of the land that Joshua assigned to the tribe of Judah. The south boundary is described in verses 1-4. The east boundary is in verse 5a. The north boundary is in verses 5b through verse 11. The west boundary is in verse 12.
The south boundary starts at the south end of the Dead Sea. From there it swings south and then west to encompass a large area of the Negev Desert. Finally it ends at the Mediterranean Sea.
15:1a
Now the allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah: The phrase the allotment refers to the land that the tribe of Judah received when Eleazar and Joshua cast lots for them. This was first mentioned in Joshua 14:2 where it was translated as “inheritance…assigned by lot.”
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
The land that was assigned by lot to the tribe of Judah
-or-
When ⌊Joshua⌋ threw the lots, this was the land that the people of Judah received
-or-
⌊Joshua⌋ assigned this land to the tribe of Judah
for the clans: The nation of Israel was divided into tribes, named after the twelve sons of Jacob. Each tribe was divided into clans or groups of families named after the sons of the leader of the tribe. See how you translated “tribe,” “clan,” and “family” in Joshua 7:14.
Here is another way to translate this part of the verse:
Each family/clan received their own portion of land.
15:1b
extended to the border of Edom: The clause extended to the border of Edom indicates that the southern border of the land that Judah received was next to the land of Edom.
Edom: Edom was a kingdom that was south of the Dead Sea and southeast of the territory of Judah. The kingdom of Edom is mentioned throughout the Old Testament. See for example, Genesis 32:3. You should translate it the same way every time.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
their land extended south to the land of Edom
-or-
their land went south to the border of the Edom Kingdom ⌊in the southeast⌋
15:1c
to the Wilderness of Zin at the extreme southern boundary: The Wilderness of Zin was south of the land that Judah received, and west of the land of Edom.
at the extreme southern boundary: The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as at the extreme southern boundary is more literally “from the end of the south.” It indicates the southernmost point of the southern border of Judah’s land.
Here are some other ways to translate this part of the verse:
as far south as the wilderness of Zin (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
The southernmost point was the wilderness of Zin ⌊in the southwest⌋
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