Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 13:5
And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baal-gad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.
5. the land of the Giblites ] i.e. the land of the inhabitants of Gebal, a name which occurs in Psa 83:7,
“ Gebal, and Ammon, and Amalek;
The Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre;”
and Eze 27:8-9, “The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots. The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers.” It was a maritime town of Phnicia. Its inhabitants are written “Giblians” in the Vulgate, and “Byblians” in the LXX. (while in 1Ki 5:18 the word is rendered “stone-squarers”), whence we may infer the identity of the city with the Byblus of classical literature. Byblus was a seat of the worship of Adonis or Syrian Tammuz. The modern name is Jebail, about 22 miles north of Beyrout. The coins of Byblus have frequently the type of Astarte, also of Isis, who came here in search of the body of Osiris. “At Jebail and in other ancient Phnician cities there are traces of the same large bevelled stones clamped with iron, which appear in the foundations of Solomon’s temple. These are probably the work of the Giblites.” See Ritter’s Geog. Pal. II. 214, 215.
all Lebanon, toward the sunrising ] i.e. Anti-Lebanon.
from Baal-gad ] See above, note on Jos 11:17.
the entering into Hamath ] The extreme northern boundary point of Palestine whither the spies originally penetrated (Num 13:21), and to which the kingdom of David and Solomon once actually extended (2Sa 8:3-12; 1Ch 13:5; 1Ch 18:3-11; 2Ch 8:3-4). In the time of the Crusades it was called Epiphaneia, a town situated on the western bank of the Orontes, lower down the stream than Emesa. It is called “Hamath the Great” (Amo 6:2), and commanded the whole of the Orontes valley, from the low screen of hills which forms the watershed between the Orontes and the Litny “the entrance of Hamath” to the defile of Daphne below Antioch.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Giblites – The people of Gebal (Jebail, 22 miles north of Beyronut). They were stone-squarers 1Ki 5:18 and (ship) caulkers Eze 27:9.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. The land of the Giblites] This people dwelt beyond the precincts of the land of Canaan, on the east of Tyre and Sidon. See Eze 27:9; Ps 83:7; their capital was named Gebal. See Dodd.
All Lebanon] See Clarke on Jos 11:17.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The Gibites; a people dwelling near Sidon in Gebal, of which see 1Ki 5:18; Eze 27:9.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
5. all the land of theGiblitesTheir capital was Gebal or Bylbos (Greek), onthe Mediterranean, forty miles north of Sidon.
all Lebanon, toward thesunrisingthat is, Anti-libanus; the eastern ridge, which hasits proper termination in Hermon.
entering into Hamaththevalley of Baalbec.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the land of the Giblites,…. This was another country that remained unconquered; the Greeks call it Byblus, and near to which Pliny e speaks of a place called Gabale, and is now called Gibyle; it is f said to be
“pleasantly situated by the seaside, and at present it contains but a little extent of ground, but yet more than enough for the small number of its inhabitants:”
it was in greater splendour, and its inhabitants of more fame, in the times of Ezekiel, Eze 27:9;
and all Lebanon toward the sunrising; or east of the land; all that inhabited that mountain remained unconquered, though the conquest was carried as far as the borders thereof:
from Baalgad, under Mount Hermon; of which see Jos 11:17;
unto the entering into Hamath: which was the north border of the land; see Nu 34:8.
e Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 20.) f Maundrel’s Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 33.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
[ 5. Giblites Inhabitants of Gebal, the Gyblos of the Greeks, the modern Jebail, situated on the seacoast at the foot of the northern slopes of Lebanon, and about seventeen miles north of Beyroot. A multitude of gray granite columns are built into the modern walls and houses, choke up the harbour, and lie scattered over the surrounding fields, and they attest the antiquity of the town. The Giblites were employed in building Solomon’s temple, (1Ki 5:18, note,) and. according to Eze 27:9, were skilled in shipbuilding.
Baal-gad See on Jos 11:17. Hamath was probably founded by the youngest son of Canaan, (Gen 10:18,) and so was one of the oldest cities in the world. In Amo 6:2, it is called “ the great.” Its king Toi made peace with David, (2Sa 8:9,) but Solomon seems to have subjugated the kingdom and made it a part of his own empire. 2Ch 8:3. It early fall into the hands of the great Assyrian conquerors. 2Ki 18:34. It still exists, in the beautiful valley of the Orontes, about sixty miles southeast of Antioch, and has a population of 30,000. It lies on both sides of the river, and is noted for the immense wheels, eighty feet in diameter, which are turned by the rapid current and used for irrigation. The entering into Hamath is a geographical term used to designate the northern border of Israel. Num 34:8; 1Ki 8:65; 2Ki 14:25. It was evidently some great pass connected with the Lebanon mountains, but which one has been a matter of dispute. Robinson and Porter identify it with the depression between the northern end of Lebanon and the Nusairiyeh mountains, which opens westward, towards the coast of the Mediterranean. But as the Israelites never occupied territory so far north as that, most sacred geographers identify this entering with the southern opening into the great valley of Coele-Syria. This is by far the most notable entrance into the ancient kingdom and land of Hamath.]
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 5. And the land of the Giblites This people dwelt out of the land of Canaan; their capital, named Gebal, was seated to the east of Tyre and Sidon. Eze 27:9. Psa 83:7. The Giblites are named among the workmen sent by king Hiram to Solomon. See 1Ki 5:18 and the margins of our Bibles. Some traces of the name Giblites are still to be met with in the city of Gibyle in Syria, which Maundrell describes, and thinks to have been the ancient Gebal. See his Journey from Aleppo, p. 33. The Israelites extended their conquers as far as Lebanon, toward the sun rising, penetrating no further. Respecting which, Baal-Gad, and Hamath, see ch. Jos 11:17 and Num 34:8.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jos 13:5 And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baalgad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.
Ver. 5. And the land of the Giblites. ] Called Gebal in Psa 83:7 Eze 27:9 . Enemies to the Church.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the entering into = the pass of.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Giblites: Probably the inhabitants of the country, around Gebal – Eze 27:9, or Byblos, as the LXX render, a city of Phoenicia, situated on the Mediterranean, between Sidon and Tripoli, on the north of the river Adonis. It is now called Gibyle, of Djebail, situated about a day’s journey south of Tripoli. Its walls are about a mile in circumference, with square towers about every forty yards’ distance. Anciently it must have been a place of no mean extent and of considerable beauty, from the ruins still visible. 1Ki 5:18, *marg. Psa 83:7, Eze 27:9
Lebanon: Deu 1:7, Deu 3:25
Baalgad: Jos 12:7
under mount: Jos 11:17
unto the: Num 34:8, Isa 10:9, Amo 6:2
Reciprocal: Jos 9:1 – Lebanon Jdg 3:3 – in mount 1Ki 8:65 – from the entering 1Ch 13:5 – Hemath Jer 39:5 – Hamath Jer 52:9 – Hamath Eze 11:10 – in