Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 15:10
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 Beth-shemesh, and passed on to Timnah:
10. and the border compassed ] = it “beat round,” “took a circuit;” and see above, Jos 15:3.
unto mount Seir ] not the Edomite range (Gen 32:3; Num 24:18), but the range, which lies between the Wady Aly and the Wady Ghurab. It may have derived its name either ( a) from some peculiarity in the form or appearance of the spot, or ( b) from some incursion of the Edomites, which has escaped record.
and passed along unto the side of mount Jearim ] or, unto the shoulder of mount Jearim,” which is Chesalon. Chesalon, probably now Kesla (see Robinson’s Later Bibl. Res. p. 154), was also called Har-jearim = “ mountain of forests,” as Baalah was called Kirjath-jearim = “city of forests” or “forest town.” The region appears in early times to have been thickly covered with woods.
and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed on to Timnah ] ( a) Beth-shemesh = “house of the sun,” or Ir-shemesh (ch. Jos 19:22), now ’Ain-Shems, about two miles from the great Philistine plain, and seven miles from Ekron. It ( a) was allotted to the priests (Jos 21:16); was ( b) the place whither “the kine took the straight way” from Ekron with the Ark of the Covenant (1Sa 6:9); where ( c) the people looked into the Ark and caused the severe judgment that followed (1Sa 6:19); and where ( d) Solomon had one of his commissariat districts (1Ki 4:9). “Here,” at ’Ain-Shems, “are the vestiges of a former extensive city, consisting of many foundations, and the remains of ancient walls of hewn stone. Both the name and the position of this spot seem to indicate the site of the ancient Beth-shemesh of the Old Testament.” Robinson, Later Bibl. Res. p. 153. ( ) Timnah, or Timnath, or Thimnathah (Jos 19:43), now Tibnah, a village about two miles west of ’Ain-Shems, from which Samson fetched his wife (Jdg 14:1; Jdg 14:5), and in the vineyards of which, without anything in his hand, he killed the lion (Jdg 14:5-6).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mount Seir is not the well-known range of Edom. The name ( shaggy mountain) is applicable to any rugged or well-wooded hill. Here it probably denotes the range which runs southwestward from Kirjath-jearim to the Wady Surar. Mount Jearim, i. e. woody mountain, is through its other name, Chesalon, identified with the modern Kesla.
Beth-shemesh – i. e. house of the sun, called Ir-shemesh or city of the sun (Jos 19:41; Compare 1Ki 4:9), a place assigned to Dan, and one of the cities which fell by lot to the Levites Jos 21:16. Beth-shemesh was the first place at which the ark rested after its return from the hands of the Philistines 1Sa 6:12. It was the residence of one of Solomons purveyors 1Ki 4:9, and was the spot where at a later date Amaziah was defeated and slain by Jehoash (2Ki 14:11 ff). It is no doubt the modern Ain Shems.
Timnah, called also Timnath, and Timnathah, belonged likewise to Dan, and is to be distinguished from other places of like name Gen 38:12; Jos 24:30. Timnah ( portion) was evidently, like Gilgal, Ramah, Kirjath, and several other towns, of frequent use in Canaanite topography.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. Beth-shemesh] The house or temple of the sun. It is evident that the sun was an object of adoration among the Canaanites; and hence fountains, hills, c., were dedicated to him. Beth-shemesh is remarkable for the slaughter of its inhabitants, in consequence of their prying curiously, if not impiously, into the ark of the Lord, when sent back by the Philistines. See 1Sa 6:19.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Mount Seir; not that of Edom, but another so called from some resemblance it had with that in quality.
Bethshemesh: there were divers cities of this name; this in Judah here, and Jos 21:16; 2Ki 14:11, another in Issachar, and a third in Naphtali, Jos 19:22,38.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto Mount Seir,…. Not that in Idumea, so famous for its being the seat of Esau, which lay remote from hence, but a third of that name near Kirjathjearim; and which Adrichomius t places on the borders of Azotus and Ashkelon: this compass is fetched from the north to the west:
and passed along unto the side of the mount Jearim, which [is] Chesalon, on the north side; that is, on the north side of the mount, which went by both those names; and which Jerom u places on the borders of Aelia or Jerusalem; but it seems to be at a distance from thence, and near to Kirjathjearim, and had its name, as that, from the multitude of trees that grow on it:
and went down to Bethshemesh; there were several cities of this name; but this, according to Jerom w, was a Levite’s city in the tribe of Benjamin, and in his day was shown as you go from Eleutherepolis to Nicopolis or Emmaus, ten miles to the east; according to Burchard x, it was five miles from Kirjathjearim to the south; and Bunting y places it four miles from Jerusalem westward, taking it for a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos 21:16;
and passed on to Timnah; which, in Jerom’s time, was a large village on the borders of Lydda, as you go to Jerusalem, in the tribe of Judah, or Dan z; his placed in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:57; though thought to be afterwards given to Dan; here Judah sheared his sheep,
[See comments on Ge 38:12].
t Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 24. u De loc. Heb. fol. 90. F. w Ib. fol. 89. H. x Apud Masium in loc. y Travels, p. 124. z De loc. Heb. fol. 95. C.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(10) Mount Seir.Of course, entirely distinct from the place in Edom, but not precisely identified.
Chesalon is identified with Kesla, two and a quarter miles due north of Khurbet Erma, on sheet 17 Timnah is Tibneh (on sheet 16).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
10. Compassed That is, encompassed; described a curve. Mount Seir must not be confounded with that of Idumea. It is a range running southwest from Kirjath-jearim, between the Wady Aly and the Wady Ghurab. The name still continues in the place called Sairah. Chesalon is the modern Kesla, seen by Dr. Robinson on a high point of the lofty ridge south of the Wady Ghurab. [He also recognized Beth-shemesh in the modern Ain-shems, just south of the great Wady Surar. The ruins, which consist of many foundations and remains of ancient walls of hewn stone, are “upon and around the plateau of a low swell or mound between the Surar on the north and a smaller wady on the south.” To this place the Ark was brought after its capture by the Philistines. 1Sa 6:9.] Timnah, from which Samson fetched his wife, is the modern Tibneh, about two miles west of Beth-shemesh. This Timnah must be distinguished from another place of the same name on the mountains, mentioned at Jos 15:57.
11. Unto the side of Ekron northward That is, on the north side of Ekron. This was the most northerly of the five great Philistine cities. Compare Jos 13:3. It was the last place to which the captured Ark was taken, (1Sa 5:10,) and thence it was transported on the new cart to Beth-shemesh. Its site is found in the modern Akir, in a northwesterly direction from Beth-shemesh, and about half way between the latter city and the sea. The site of Shicron is unknown. Mount Baalah is also uncertain, but probably was the name of a range of hills seen from Ekron on the east of Wady Rubin. Jabneel is doubtless the same as Jabneh, which Uzziah took from the Philistines. 2Ch 26:6. The name and site are still found in Yebna, a village situated on an eminence in the midst of a rich plain, two miles from the sea and three from Ekron.
The goings out at the sea That is, the northern boundary terminated at the Mediterranean Sea.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And the border turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and passed along to the shoulder (sloping hillside) of mount Jearim on the north, the same is Chesalon, and went down to Bethshemesh, and passed along by Timnah.’
There was a change of direction of the border towards the south west to an unidentified mount Seir, from where it passed along to the northern side of the tree covered mount Jearim, later called Chesalon (Kisla?). These were the ridges south west of Kuriet el-‘Enab.
“And went down to Bethshemesh (‘house of the sun” – a name given to a number of towns probably connected with sun worship), and passed along by Timnah.’ For Bethshemesh in Judah see Jos 21:16. This was an important city on Judah’s northern border with Dan, situated in a west facing valley of the hill country some twenty four kilometres (fifteen miles) west of Jerusalem, known to Dan as Ir-shemesh (‘city of the sun’ – Jos 19:41). This is probably the site known as Tell er-Rumeileh, situated on the saddle of a hill spur to the west of the later settlement of ‘Ain Shems. It was a strongly fortified Canaanite city during the middle and late bronze ages. Quantities of Philistine pottery demonstrate Philistine occupation at some stage, showing how far inland they penetrated, but this would be after this time. It was, however, in Israelite hands in 1 Samuel 6 when the Ark was returned there by the Philistines, and it was later strongly fortified under David.
“Passed along by Timnah.” This was another town on the Danite border (Jos 19:43) but in the lowlands and allocated to Judah (Jos 15:57), and also possibly to Dan (Jos 19:43). Whether it was also partially allocated to Dan, like a number of such border areas between tribes, is not certain (it may have been a border marker). In Jdg 14:1-2 it had strong Philistine connections. It was where Samson sought a Philistine wife. This may be the Tamna later mentioned in the annals of Sennacherib (c. 701 BC). It is probably Tell Batashi, nine kilometres south of Gezer, although its name is preserved by Khirbet Tibneh.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jos 15:10 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:
Ver. 10. Unto mount Seir. ] Not that of the Idumeans, but another of that name, from its roughness.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Bethshemesh: Placed by Eusebius ten miles east from Eleutheropolis, towards Nicopolis. 1Sa 6:12-21
Timnah: Jos 15:57, Gen 38:13, Jdg 14:1, Jdg 14:5
Reciprocal: Gen 38:12 – Timnath Jos 21:16 – Bethshemesh 1Sa 6:9 – Bethshemesh 2Sa 6:2 – Baale 1Ch 6:59 – Bethshemesh 2Ch 28:18 – Bethshemesh