Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 18:28

And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which [is] Jerusalem, Gibeath, [and] Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This [is] the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

28. 10. Zelah ] = Beit Jala, S. of the plain of Rephaim, is afterwards mentioned as the burial-place of Saul and Jonathan (2Sa 21:14). 11. Eleph is unknown; 12. Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, see note above, Jos 15:8. 13. Gibeath is the Gibeah of Saul, now Tuleil-el-Fl, about one hour and 25 minutes north of Jerusalem. Here ( a) occurred the outrage recorded in Judges 19; here ( b) was Jonathan with a thousand chosen warriors when he made his victorious onslaught on the garrison of the Philistines (1Sa 13:2-3). 14. Kirjath is at present unrecognised.

This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin ] The situation of the territory of this tribe was highly favourable, forming almost a parallelogram, of about 26 miles in length by 12 in breadth. The smallness of the district, hardly larger than the county of Middlesex, was compensated for by the excellence of the land.

( a) The general level of this part of Palestine is very high, being 2000 feet above the level of the Mediterranean on the western side, and 3000 feet above the deep valley of the Jordan on the eastern side. This plateau is surmounted by a large number of eminences (Gibeon, Gibeah, Geba, all = “ hill;” Ramah = “ eminence;” Mizpeh = “ a watch-tower ”), which presented favourable sites for strong fortresses.

( b) No less important than these eminences are the torrent-beds and ravines by which the upper country looks down into the deep tracts on each side of it, forming then, as they do now, the only mode of access from either the plains of Philistia and of Sharon on the west, or the Ghr of the Jordan on the east.

( c) In the broken and hilly country, “little Benjamin” (Psa 68:27), famous above the rest for skill in archery (2Sa 1:22), for its slingers (Jdg 20:16) and left-handed warriors (Jdg 3:15), became warlike and indomitable. “In his mountain passes the ancient haunt of beasts of prey, he ‘ravined as a wolf in the morning,’ descended into the rich plains of Philistia on the one side, and of the Jordan on the other, and ‘returned in the evening to divide the spoil’ (Gen 49:27). In the troubled period of the Judges, the tribe of Benjamin maintained a struggle, unaided and for some time with success, against the whole of the rest of the nation (Judges 20, 21.). And to the latest times they never could forget that they had given birth to the first king.” Stanley’s Sinai and Palestine, pp. 200, 201.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 28. And Zelah] This was the burying-place of Saul, Jonathan, and the family of Kish. See 2Sa 21:14.

Jebusi, which is Jerusalem] We often meet with this name, and it is evident that it was the ancient name of Jerusalem, which was also called Salem; and was probably the place in which Melchizedek reigned in the days of Abraham; though some think a different place is meant; for that there was another place of the same name, is evident from Joh 3:23. This place, called Salim by the evangelist, is said to be near to Enon, and there John baptized, because there was much water in the place. This, however, must not be confounded with the Salem mentioned above; for that this was a name of Jerusalem, is evident from Ps 76:1-2: In Judah is God known: his name is great in Israel. In SALEM also is his tabernacle, and his dwelling-place in Zion. This must refer to Jerusalem, where the temple was situated. Whether Jebus or Jebusi had its name from the Jebusites, or the Jebusites from it, cannot be ascertained.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Which is Jerusalem: so it seems this city did properly and primarily belong to Benjamin, although the tribe of Judah had also an interest in it, either because some part of it was allotted to them, or because the Benjamites gave them a share in it, for the assistance which either they had received or did expect from that potent tribe, for the getting or defending of that very important place. See Poole “Jos 15:63“. It is more than probable that all the cities belonging to this tribe are not here named, because Anathoth and Almon are omitted here, but expressed Jos 21:18.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And Zelaheath,…. Zelah was the buryingplace of Saul and his family, 2Sa 21:14.

Eleph is nowhere else mentioned; some join it with Zelah, and make one city of it, but then the number of cities given could not be completed; both Jarchi and Kimchi say they were two cities, as doubtless they were;

and Jebusi, which [is] Jerusalem; of Jerusalem being called Jebusi, see Jos 15:63; it belonged partly to the tribe of Judah, and partly to the tribe of Benjamin; Mount Zion belonged to Judah, and Moriah to Benjamin;

Gibeath was a distinct city both from Gaba and Gibeon; by its being mentioned with Jerusalem, it should seem to be near it. Jerom y speaks of Gabaatha in the tribe of Benjamin, twelve miles from Eleutheropolis, where the grave of the Prophet Habakkuk was shown;

[and] Kirjath signifies a city, but what city is meant is not known:

fourteen cities with their villages; and just so many are mentioned by name:

this [is] the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families; these cities, with others perhaps not mentioned, were allotted to the tribe of Benjamin for their families to dwell in.

y De loc. Heb. fol. 92. C.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

28. Jebusi, or, the Jebusite. See Jos 10:1. Gibeath, commonly called Gibeah, famous as the birthplace and residence of Saul, the first king of Israel. It was the scene of that atrocious crime which led almost to the annihilation of the tribe of Benjamin. Jdg 19:15, ff. Robinson identifies it with the lofty and commanding hill el-Fal, three or four miles north of Jerusalem.

Kirjath See Jos 9:17. “For a short time Benjamin rose to the highest rank in the commonwealth, when this tribe gave birth to the first king. Its ultimate position in the nation was altered by the one great change which affected the polarity of the whole political and geographical organization of the country, but of none more than that of Benjamin, when the fortress of Jebus, hitherto within its territory, was annexed by Judah, and became the capital of the monarchy.” Stanley.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments