Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 13:3
From Sihor, which [is] before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, [which] is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites:
3. from Sihor ] = “ the Black Stream,” the usual name of the Nile. Here probably it is “the river of Egypt,” the Wady el Arish (1Ch 13:5), the Rhinokolura or Rhinokorura. Wyclif, following the Vulg., “a fluvio turbido qui irrigat gyptum,” renders it, “the trubli flood that weetith Egipt.”
which is before Egypt ] The “brook of Egypt” flows actually before, i.e. in a N. E. direction from Egypt, while the Nile takes its course through the middle of that country.
unto the borders of Ekron ] The most northerly of the five towns belonging to the lords of the Philistines. The city of the fly-god Beelzebub. In the Apocrypha it appears as Accaron ( 1Ma 10:89 ).
which is counted to the Canaanite ] Or better, shall it be counted to the Canaanites. The western strip of country beginning at Sihor, and extending northward to Ekron, was to be regarded as Canaanitish, and so subject to conquest; although the Philistines were not Canaanites, but were sprung from Mizraim (Gen 10:13) and had dispossessed the Canaanite Avites or Avim.
five lords ] A special word is here used, and the cities over which they held sway are enumerated as (i) Gaza; (ii) Ashdod; (iii) Ashkelon; (iv) Gath; (v) Ekron.
the Gazathites ] See above, Jos 10:41, Jos 11:22.
the Ashdothites ] See above, Jos 11:22.
the Eshkalonites ] Or Ashkalonites of Ashkelon, which is mentioned nowhere else in the book of Joshua. Next to Gaza it was probably the most important city of the Philistines. Hither Samson repaired from Timnath (Jdg 14:19); there David would not have the deaths of Saul and Jonathan proclaimed (2Sa 1:20), lest the daughters of the Philistines should rejoice. Like the other Philistine cities, it was threatened by the prophets with the Divine judgment (see Jer 25:20; Jer 47:5; Jer 47:7; Amo 1:8; Zep 2:7; Zec 9:5). Near the town afterwards rose the celebrated temple of Derceto, the Syrian Venus. It played a conspicuous part in the struggles of the Crusades, and within the walls and towers now standing Richard I. held his court. See Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, sub voc.
the Gittites ] i.e. the people of Gath, the home of Goliath (1Sa 17:4); connected with Ashkelon in David’s lamentation (2Sa 1:20); conquered by David (1Ch 18:1). See above, Jos 11:22.
also the Avites ] Avim, or Avims. These people, a portion of the early inhabitants of Palestine, are mentioned in Deu 2:23 as dwelling in the villages in the southern part of the great western lowland as far as Gaza. Here they were attacked by the invading Philistines, who drove them northwards and occupied their rich possessions.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Sihor is derived from a root signifying to be black, and is suitable enough as an appellative of the Nile Isa 23:3. Here it most probably stands for the river of Egypt (Num 34:3 note), the modern Wady el Arish.
Ekron (Akir) lay on the northern boundary of Judah Jos 15:11, and was actually conquered by the men of that tribe Jdg 1:18, though assigned in the allotment of the land to Dan Jos 19:43. It seems to have fallen again into the hands of the Philistines in the days of the Judges 1Sa 5:10, was reconquered by Samuel (compare 1Sa 7:14), but figures in subsequent times as a Philistine city only (compare 1Sa 17:52; 2Ki 1:2, 2Ki 1:16, etc.).
Lords – The Hebrew word seren means an axle, and is applied as a title special to the chiefs (compare Jdg 3:3 and marginal references) of the Philistines Gen 10:14.
Gaza was the most southern of the Philistine cities (compare Jos 10:41; Jos 11:22). It was allotted to the tribe of Judah Jos 15:47, and was, with Askalon, taken by the warriors of that tribe Jdg 1:18. Both cities were soon re-occupied by the Philistines, and subsequently are always mentioned as Philistine cities. Gaza lay on the direct route of the Egyptian armies in their invasions of Syria, by whom it was captured more than once. Special judgments are denounced against Gaza for the cruelty of its people toward the Jews in the time of their humiliation Amo 1:6-7; Zep 2:4; Zec 9:5, and in the time of Jerome the ancient city was a ruin of which the foundations could hardly be traced, and the then existing town was built on another site. Gaza was in later times an episcopal see, and is now a thriving place containing some 15,000 inhabitants, a larger population than that of Jerusalem.
Ashdod (Esdud; Azotus, Act 8:40) was, like Gaza, allotted to Judah (see Jos 15:46-47), but was soon regained by the Philistines, and became a principal seat of their Dagon worship. Here the ark of God was taken after its capture by the Philistines (1Sa 5:1 ff). Its name ( fortress, castle), no less than its history (compare 2Ch 26:6; Isa 20:1; Neh 4:7, etc.) indicates its importance as a stronghold; it withstood for twenty-nine years the longest siege on record by the Egyptian king Psammetichus. Like Gaza, it was doomed by the Jewish prophets to desolation, and it was utterly destroyed by the Maccabees (1 Macc. 10:77-84; 11:4). It was, however, rebuilt by the Romans, and figures in Christian times as an episcopal city.
Askelon (see Jdg 1:18), the birthplace of Herod the Great, figures as an important town and seaport in the history of the Crusades, and very massive ruins still attest the ancient strength and grandeur of the place. It is situated about midway between Gaza and Ashdod.
Gath seems to have been first taken by David 1Ch 18:1. It is not named again in the book of Joshua. It was the town of Goliath 1Sa 17:4, and is mentioned in Davids elegy over Saul as a leading Philistine city 2Sa 1:20. It was the nearest of the Philistine cities to Jerusalem, but both the name and the city have perished; its site is conjecturally placed (by Condor) at Tell es Safi.
Avites – See Deu 2:23 note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 3. From Sihor, which is before Egypt] Supposed by some to be the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, near to the Arabian Desert; called also the river of Egypt, Nu 34:5; Jer 2:18. On this subject an intelligent friend favours me with the following opinion: –
“The river Sihor is supposed by some to be the Nile, or a branch of it. Others think it the same as what is frequently called the river of Egypt, which lay before or towards the borders of Egypt; which arose out of the mountains of Paran, and ran westward, falling into that bay of the Mediterranean which lies south of the land of the Philistines. This river is often mentioned as the boundary of the Israelites to the southwest, as Euphrates, the great river, was on the northeast.
“There was a desert of considerable distance between what is called the river of Egypt and the isthmus of Suez. Solomon reigned to the borders of Egypt, i.e., to this desert; but not in Egypt, nor to the river Nile.
“Upon the whole, (though there are difficulties in the matter,) I incline to think that the river in question was not the Nile. Sihor (black) might, from some circumstances, be applied to another river as well as the Nile; though some places in Isaiah and Jeremiah seem to restrict it to the Nile.” – J. C.
Ekron northward] Ekron was one of the five lordships of the Philistines, and the most northern of all the districts they possessed. Baal-zebub, its idol, is famous in Scripture; see 2Kg 1:2, c. The five lordships of the Philistines were Gaza, Ashdod, Askalon, Gath, and Ekron. There is no proof that ever the Israelites possessed Ekron though, from Jos 15:11, some think it was originally given to Judah, but the text does not say so; it only states that the border of the tribe of Judah went out UNTO THE SIDE of Ekron. From Jos 19:43, we learn that it was a part of the lot of Dan, but it does not appear to have been possessed by any of those tribes.
Counted to the Canaanite] It is generally allowed that the original possessors of this country were the descendants of Canaan, the youngest son of Ham. The Philistines sprang from Mizraim, the second son of Ham, and, having dispossessed the Avim from the places they held in this land, dwelt in their stead. See Ge 10:13-14.
Five lords of the Philistines] These dynasties are famous in the Scriptures for their successful wars against the Israelites, of whom they were almost the perpetual scourge.
Also the Avites] These must not be confounded with the Hivites. The Avites seem to have been a very inconsiderable tribe, who dwelt in some of the skirts of Palestine. They had been originally deprived of their country by the Caphtorim; and though they lived as a distinct people, they had never afterwards arrived to any authority.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Sihor; a river, of which see Isa 23:3; Jer 2:18.
Which is counted to the Canaanite, i.e. which, though now possessed by the Philistines, who drove out the Canaanites, the old inhabitants of it, Deu 2:23; Amo 9:7; yet is a part of the land of Canaan, and therefore belongs to the Israelites.
The Avites, or the Avims, as they are called, Deu 2:23; who though they were expelled out of their ancient seat, and most of them destroyed by the Caphtorims or Philistines, as is there said, yet many of them probably escaped, and planted themselves in some other place not very far from the former.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3, 4. also the Avites: From [on]the southThe two clauses are thus connected in theSeptuagint and many other versions. On being driven out (De2:23), they established themselves in the south of Philistia. Thesecond division of the unconquered country comprised
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
From Sihor, which [is] before Egypt,…. Which Jarchi and Kimchi interpret of the river Nile, and so that river is called, Jer 2:18; it seems to have this name from the waters of it being black and turbid; and hence it was called by the Greeks “Melas”; and by the Latins “Melo”; though it is thought, that not properly the river itself is here meant, which did not reach to the borders of Palestine, but a branch of it, a rivulet from it, for so a traveller a writes,
“in a journey of about five days from Gaza towards Egypt, the hithermost arm of the Nile is received by the sea, and is commonly called Carabus?”
even unto the borders of Ekron northward: that is, from the southwest of Palestine, near to which was the river Nile, to the northern part of it, where stood the principality of Ekron, one of the five which belonged to the Philistines:
[which] is counted to the Canaanite; which was reckoned as belonging to the posterity of Canaan, though the Philistines got possession of it, who descended from Mizraim; and indeed it was only accounted as belonging to Canaan and his sons; of right, and according to the grant of God, it belonged to the seed of Abraham:
five lords of the Philistines; who had not kings, as other countries and cities in the land of Canaan had, and their cities were called lordships, principalities, and not kingdoms, and are as follow:
the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites,
and the Ekronites: so called from Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, the cities they were in possession of:
also the Avites; it is not certain whether these were a distinct principality from the other five, or a people dispersed among them; which seems most likely, since those were the original inhabitants, but were driven out or destroyed by the Philistines, though it seems some remained and dwelt among them; see De 2:23.
a Jodocus a Gistella apud Drusium in loc.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
3. Sihor is not, in this passage, the Nile, as some have supposed, but rather the Wady el-Arish or Rhinocorura, which is before Egypt, that is, east of Egypt, constituting the southern boundary of Canaan. It is also called “the river of Egypt.” Jos 15:4. Ekron, the most northerly city of the Philistines, is represented by the modern village of Akir twenty-four miles west of Jerusalem, containing about fifty mud houses, without a remnant of antiquity except two large, finely built wells. [
Which is counted to the Canaanite As all that belonged to the Canaanite was now to be divided among the nine and one half tribes of Israel, it was important to know the whole extent of their ancient territory. The Philistines were not of Canaanitish but Egyptian origin, being descended from Mizraim.
Gen 10:14. They seem to have expelled the original Canaanites, and dwelt in their coasts by the sea.]
Gazathites, and Ashdothites See Jos 11:22, note. Eshkalon stood upon the Mediterranean, about fifteen miles north of Gaza. Retaining nearly the same name, it now consists of very thick walls and ruins of temples and theatres.
Gittites People of Gath.
Avites An early, but probably not an aboriginal, people in Philistia.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 3. From Sihor, which is before Egypt Here the sacred historian, intending, in a particular manner, to describe the extent of the country of the Philistines, fixes its northern limits at the river Sihor, which, it is generally thought, was only the Pelusiack branch of the Nile. See on Num 34:5.
Le Clerc, Calmet, Mills, Bishop Clayton, and many others, are of this opinion.
Even unto the borders of Ekron northward Ekron was a considerable city in the land of the Philistines, particularly famous for the altars of Beelzebub, called, in the New Testament, the prince of the devils. He was esteemed the chief deity of the country. Ekron was a portion of the tribe of Judah, and afterwards of Dan; but neither of them took it from its original possessors.
Which is counted to the Canaanite The first possessors of the country were the descendants of Canaan, the youngest son of Ham. With respect to the Philistines, they, it is well known, sprung from Mizraim, the second son of Ham; and, in a course of time, dispossessed the Avims of the places they held in the land of Canaan, and there settled themselves under the name of Philistines. See on Gen 10:13 and Deu 2:23.
Five lords of the Philistines The whole country of the Philistines, from Sihor to Ekron, was divided into five governments. The Scripture calls them chiefs, saraim, or saranaim; an old Phoenician word, as some think, signifying the same as sarim in Hebrews 1.e. prince or governor: the LXX translate it, satrapes, and the Vulgate petty kings; which does not answer, so well as the expression used by the LXX, to the idea that the Scripture gives of the government of the Philistines, which was rather aristocratical than monarchical. Achish, king of Gath in the time of David, is perhaps the only one of these lords who became absolute in his government. The land of the Philistines was of inconsiderable extent, not above forty English miles long, and very narrow, but rendered famous for its fertility and commerce. The Avites are to be distinguished from the Hivites, who inhabited the country near mount Hermon, to the north of Canaan; the latter dwelt on the west, and did not make a separate government. Though they, as well as the Philistines, were deprived of their country by the Caphtorims, yet some of them remained in certain districts, where they lived under the dominion of their conquerors.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
A very extensive compass of country is here marked. The Philistines land lay South: the Sidonians, towards the West Lebanon lay East: and Hamath towards the North. Let the Reader observe, that with these nations yet remaining, Israel was to make no league. There can be no affinity between the carnal and the gracious. What communion can Christ have with Belial? 2Co 6:14-16 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 13:3 From Sihor, which [is] before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, [which] is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites:
Ver. 3. From Sihor. ] Or Nile, which hath its name Sihor from blackness, and Nile from muddiness. So much of Egypt as this river watereth, is a black mould, so fruitful, as they do but throw in the seed, and have four rich harvests in less than four months, as travellers tell us.
Also the Avites.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Sihor. Hebrew “the Sihor”.
lords. Hebrew seren, a prince; first occurrence. Used only of the Philistine princes. Jos 13:3. Jdg 3:3; Jdg 16:5, Jdg 16:8, Jdg 16:18, Jdg 16:23, Jdg 16:27, Jdg 16:30; 1Sa 5:8, 1Sa 5:11; 1Sa 6:4, 1Sa 6:12, 1Sa 6:16, 1Sa 6:18; 1Sa 7:7; 1Sa 29:2, 1Sa 29:6, 1Sa 29:7; 1Ch 12:19.
the Gittites. Some codices, with three early printed editions, Septuagint, and Syriac, read “and the.”
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Sihor: Jer 2:18
which is counted: Gen 10:15-19, Num 34:2-14
five Lords: Jdg 3:3, 1Sa 6:4, 1Sa 6:16, 1Sa 6:17, Zep 2:4, Zep 2:5, The Philistine were not descended from Canaan, but from Mizraim, the son of Ham; – compare Gen 10:6, with Jos 13:13, yet they were numbered with the Canaanites in this distribution.
Avites: Deu 2:23, Avims
Reciprocal: Jos 15:4 – river Jos 15:45 – Ekron Jos 15:47 – the river Jdg 1:18 – General Jdg 16:5 – the lords 1Sa 6:18 – the five lords 1Sa 29:2 – the lords 1Ki 8:65 – the river 1Ch 13:5 – Shihor 2Ch 7:8 – from the entering Isa 14:29 – whole Eze 48:28 – the river Oba 1:19 – the plain Act 8:26 – Gaza
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The "Shihor" is probably the brook of Egypt, the modern Wadi el Arish, that marked the southwestern boundary of the Promised Land. "Sidon" may represent the inhabitants of the Phoenician coast and of the Lebanon mountains. [Note: Butler, p. 152.] The land of the Gebalite (Jos 13:5) refers to the city-state of Byblos. [Note: Hess, p. 231.]