Joshua Chapter 15

At a Glance

  • Joshua 15 details the southward border and the lands apportioned to the tribe of Judah.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Joshua 15 belongs to the descriptive portion of Joshua that transitions from conquest to allotment.
  • - Territorial inheritance as covenant blessing: Land distribution signifies divine faithfulness and inclusion in the covenant community.
  • - Identity through geography: Boundaries shape and reflect who belongs and how worship, justice, and governance unfold.

CHAPTER REFERENCE

Joshua 15

Chapter Overview

Joshua 15 details the southward border and the lands apportioned to the tribe of Judah. The chapter unfolds with a precise delineation of boundaries stretching from the southern coastline to the northern edge of Ephraim’s territory, tracing a map of inheritance that reads like a covenant boundary marker. The description moves from the salt sea at the south to the safeguard of Jerusalem near the Jebusites, weaving through valleys, hills, and key cities. The emphasis is not mere geography but identity: the people of Judah possess a defined, divinely stamped landscape that anchors their tribe’s presence in the land. The narrative repeatedly underscores that city fortifications and regional geography are integrated with covenant obedience—each city a site where faith and polity intersect. The chapter notes moments when the inhabitants—like the Canaanites in certain cities—remain in the land, serving under tribute, signaling the ongoing tension between occupation and resistance, faithfulness and compromise.

As the boundary description concludes, Caleb’s long-standing promise to possess Hebron sits at the heart of the chapter’s personal dimension, reminding readers that land is also inheritance for individuals. Judah’s inheritance becomes a case study in how a tribe embodies collective memory, leadership, and the shaping of the nation’s spiritual geography. The chapter invites readers to reflect on how landscape, memory, and covenant converge to form a people that not only claims space but also embodies obedience to God’s boundaries. In practical terms, Joshua 15 invites believers to consider how their own “territory”—family life, vocation, church life, and social influence—must be cultivated in alignment with God’s instructions and promises.

Historical & Literary Context

Joshua 15 belongs to the descriptive portion of Joshua that transitions from conquest to allotment. The book’s literary design uses lists and boundaries to portray how Israel becomes a people with a land and a polity. This chapter’s genre is a blend of administrative record and theological exhortation: precise measurements ground a sacred narrative, and the boundaries symbolize obedience to God’s directives. The placement after the campaigns against the southern cities and before further allotments emphasizes Judah as a foundational tribe; its territory provides the historical framework for later kingship and the kingdom’s shaping. The chapter also interacts with Caleb’s earlier vow and the broader motif of faithful occupancy of promised land. In this biblical economy, land is not only real estate but covenantal blessing—an ethical space where worship, law, and communal memory converge.

Key Themes

- Territorial inheritance as covenant blessing: Land distribution signifies divine faithfulness and inclusion in the covenant community.

- Identity through geography: Boundaries shape and reflect who belongs and how worship, justice, and governance unfold.

- Interplay of obedience and occupation: The ongoing presence of Canaanites and their status under tribute reveals the complexities of faithful settlement.

- Generational memory and leadership: Judah’s inheritance highlights continuity of leadership, promise, and memory.

- The moral landscape of belonging: The land shapes worship and social life, calling the people to live in alignment with God’s law.

Modern Application

Joshua 15 speaks to contemporary readers about how communities and individuals inhabit their own “land” with purpose and fidelity. It invites believers to map their own spheres—family, church, workplace, neighborhood—and assess how faithfully they steward these spaces. The chapter’s emphasis on boundaries can be read as a call to define healthy limits—ethical boundaries, stewardship, and justice—in today’s complex social landscapes. It also suggests that, while some battles may remain, there is a legitimate space for strategic, patient occupancy of God’s blessing. The presence of fortified cities and the ongoing resistance can be read as a reminder that faithfulness does not erase challenges, but sustains real, persevering witness. Importantly, the chapter encourages gratitude and responsibility: the land is a gift that requires faithful use—worship, governance, and care for vulnerable neighbors. Finally, Judah’s inheritance reminds readers that memory of promises motivates present faithfulness and future hope, weaving personal devotion into communal identity.

Cross-References: Numbers 34 (boundaries and portions), Joshua 13 (Pending allocations for Judah and other tribes), Deuteronomy 1:7–8 (God’s command to take possession), Psalm 78:55–72 (God’s faithfulness in giving land), Acts 7:45 ( Joshua as pattern of conquest and covenant)

Recommended Personas: Moses (boundary setting and covenant law), Joshua (leadership in allocation and settlement), David (land and kingship symbolism), Jesus (fulfillment of promises and the watchful occupancy of God’s kingdom), Nehemiah (rebuilding and redefining spaces for worship).

Chapter Text

1

This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast.

2

And their south border was from the shore of the salt sea, from the bay that looketh southward:

3

And it went out to the south side to Maalehacrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadeshbarnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa:

4

From thence it passed toward Azmon, and went out unto the river of Egypt; and the goings out of that coast were at the sea: this shall be your south coast.

5

And the east border was the salt sea, even unto the end of Jordan. And their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan:

6

And the border went up to Bethhogla, and passed along by the north of Betharabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben:

7

And the border went up toward Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is before the going up to Adummim, which is on the south side of the river: and the border passed toward the waters of Enshemesh, and the goings out thereof were at Enrogel:

8

And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward:

9

And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjathjearim:

10

And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of mount Jearim, which is Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to Bethshemesh, and passed on to Timnah:

11

And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward: and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to mount Baalah, and went out unto Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea.

12

And the west border was to the great sea, and the coast thereof. This is the coast of the children of Judah round about according to their families.

13

And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a part among the children of Judah, according to the commandment of the LORD to Joshua, even the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron.

14

And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.

15

And he went up thence to the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjathsepher.

16

And Caleb said, He that smiteth Kirjathsepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

17

And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

18

And it came to pass, as she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What wouldest thou?

19

Who answered, Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs.

20

This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families.

21

And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur,

22

And Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adadah,

23

And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,

24

Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,

25

And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, and Hezron, which is Hazor,

26

Amam, and Shema, and Moladah,

27

And Hazargaddah, and Heshmon, and Bethpalet,

28

And Hazarshual, and Beersheba, and Bizjothjah,

29

Baalah, and Iim, and Azem,

30

And Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah,

31

And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah,

32

And Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty and nine, with their villages:

33

And in the valley, Eshtaol, and Zoreah, and Ashnah,

34

And Zanoah, and Engannim, Tappuah, and Enam,

35

Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah,

36

And Sharaim, and Adithaim, and Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages:

37

Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdalgad,

38

And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,

39

Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon,

40

And Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Kithlish,

41

And Gederoth, Bethdagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages:

42

Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan,

43

And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,

44

And Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages:

45

Ekron, with her towns and her villages:

46

From Ekron even unto the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages:

47

Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof:

48

And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh,

49

And Dannah, and Kirjathsannah, which is Debir,

50

And Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim,

51

And Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages:

52

Arab, and Dumah, and Eshean,

53

And Janum, and Bethtappuah, and Aphekah,

54

And Humtah, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, and Zior; nine cities with their villages:

55

Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Juttah,

56

And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,

57

Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages:

58

Halhul, Bethzur, and Gedor,

59

And Maarath, and Bethanoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages:

60

Kirjathbaal, which is Kirjathjearim, and Rabbah; two cities with their villages:

61

In the wilderness, Betharabah, Middin, and Secacah,

62

And Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and Engedi; six cities with their villages.

63

As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day.

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