Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 15:3
And it went out to the south side to Maaleh-acrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadesh-barnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa:
3. and it went out to the south ] From this point the border ran in a tolerably direct course towards the south side of Maaleh-acrabbim, “ the ascent of scorpions,” “the stiyinge vp of Scorpion,” Wyclif; “the going up to Akrabbim,” as it is given in Num 34:4; Jdg 1:36, a pass in “the bald mountain” (Jos 11:17; Jos 12:7), which “goeth up to Seir.” De Saulcy suggests it was the Wdy Zouara, and testifies to “the scorpions” there found under every pebble. S. and P. 113, n.
and passed along to Zin ] Thence it passed along to Zin, i.e. a certain spot in the desert of Zin not far from Kadesh-barnea, and passed over to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass or turned to Karkaa, and thence towards Azmon, and went out at the water-course of Egypt, i.e. the “torrent of Egypt, the Wady-el-Arish, already spoken of in ch. Jos 13:3. The border went directly southwards to Kadesh-barnea; south of Kadesh it turned westward, and came out finally at the “torrent of Egypt” and at the Mediterranean Sea. Hezron, Adar, Karkaa, Azmon, are unknown sites.
fetched a compass ] Compare Fr. compas, It. compasso, a compass, circle; compasser, to compass, encircle; from Latin cum, passus. The word is used both as (1) a noun and (2) a verb. ( a) In the sense of “circumference” it occurs in Exo 27:5; Exo 38:4, of “circuit” in 2Sa 5:23; 2Ki 3:9; Act 28:13. Here, to fetch a compass = simply to “turn,” to “go round.” Thus Fuller ( Pisgah View, IV.II. 2:43) says: “Wicked men may for a time retard, not finally obstruct our access to happiness. It is but fetching a compass, making two steps for one; a little more pains and patience will do the deed;” and he says of the Jordan, “he fetcheth many turnings and windings, but all will not excuse him from falling into the Dead Sea” ( Holy War, 1. 18).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 3. Maaleh-acrabbim] The ascent of the Mount of Scorpions, probably so called from the multitude of those animals found in that place.
Kadesh-barnea] This place was called Enmishpat, Ge 14:7. It was on the edge of the wilderness of Paran, and about twenty-four miles from Hebron. Here Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, died; and here Moses and Aaron rebelled against the Lord; hence the place was called Meribah-Kadesh, or the contention of Kadesh.
Karkaa] Supposed to be the Coracea of Ptolemy, in Arabia Petraea. – Calmet.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Concerning this description of the southern coast of Judah, see Num 34:3-5.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. Maaleh-akrabbimHebrew,“the ascent of scorpions”; a pass in the “baldmountain” (see on Jos 11:17),probably much infested by these venomous reptiles.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And it went out to the south side of Maalehacrabbim,…. Or the ascent of Akrabbim, as it is called, [See comments on Nu 34:4]:
and passed along to Zin, and ascended upon the south side unto Kadeshbarnea; which perfectly agrees with the southern border of the land, as described in Nu 34:4;
and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar; which two places being near to one another, as is very likely, are put together, as if one place, and called Hazaraddar, Nu 34:4; and mention is made of Hezron, which is Hazor, Jos 15:25; but not of Adar:
and fetched a compass to Karkaa; which Jerom w calls Acchara, a village in the wilderness; and if the same with Carcaria, it was according to him a day’s journey from Petra in Idumea; but that is not likely; see Jud 8:10.
w De loc. Heb. fol. 88. E. 90. C.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
3. It went out to the south side Or, on the south side. That is, it started out on its southward course.
Maaleh-acrabbim The word means ascent of scorpions, and was probably the name of a pass in the bald mountain (Halak) eight miles south of the Dead Sea, described in note, Jos 11:17. It doubtless derived its name from its scorpions, which abound in all this region.
Passed along to Zin That is, went along till it joined the edge of the wilderness of Zin, which stretches off to the west and southwest of Mount Hor.
Kadesh-barnea The modern Ain Gadis. See Jos 10:41, note. Hezron, Adar, and Karkaa are now unknown. Compare Num 34:1-5.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And it went out southward of the ascent of Akrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and went up by the south of Kadesh-barnea, and passed along by Hezron, and went up to Addar and turned about to Karka, and it passed along to Azmon and went out at the torrent-wadi of Egypt. And the goings out of the border were at the Sea. This shall be your south border.’
For these verses compare Num 34:4-5. ‘The Ascent of Akkrabim’ is ‘the Scorpion’s Pass’, a mountain pass at the southern end of the Dead Sea (Num 34:4; Jdg 1:36), between the Arabah (Jordan Rift valley) and the hill country of Judah. It is identified with Naqb es-safa. The border then passed along the south of Kadesh-barnea (south of the Wilderness of Zin), and by Hezron, Addar and Karka which are unknown (but compare Hazar-addar in Num 34:4). Possibly they were well known oases.
It then went along to Azmon and to ‘the torrent-wadi of Egypt’, Wadi el-‘Arish (Jos 15:47; Num 34:5 ; 1Ki 8:65; Isa 27:12), often called the ‘River of Egypt’, until it reached the Great Sea. This long and deep valley, dry except after heavy rain, rises in the middle of the desert of et-Tih in the north of the Sinaitic peninsula and joins the Mediterranean some eighty kilometres (fifty miles) south of Gaza, at el-‘Arish. It has nothing to do with the Nile.
“This shall be your south border.” The change to direct speech may be partly due to the fact that it was taken from Num 34:3; Num 34:6 where it is in an address by Moses, but it also reminds us that these are directions being given to Judah.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jos 15:3 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:
Ver. 3. To Maalehacrabbim, ] i.e., To the ascent of scorpions, or of the mountains that were crooked as scorpions, or that abounded with scorpions. Jdg 1:36
Passed along to Zin.
To Hezron, and went up to Adar.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
fetched a compass. English idiom. Hebrew turned about. Compare Act 28:13.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Maalehacrabbim: or, the going up to Acrabbim, Num 34:4, Jdg 1:36
Zin: Gen 14:7, Num 20:1, Num 32:8
Adar: Probably the same as Hazar-addar, Num 34:4.
Karkaa: Supposed to be the Coracea of Ptolemy, in Arabia Petrea Eusebius places a castle called Carcaria at the distance of a day’s journey from Petra.
Reciprocal: Num 13:17 – southward