Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 15:11

And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward: and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to mount Baalah, and went out unto Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea.

11. unto the side of Ekron northward ] The boundary, still following a N.W. course, now tended towards a point lying near the Philistine city of Ekron (see above, ch. Jos 13:3), whence it was drawn to Shicron, between Ekron and Jabneal (Yebna), and passed along to mount Baalah, “the short line of hills running almost parallel with the coast,” and so “went out unto Jabneel” the modern village of Yebna or Ibna, about two miles from the Sea, 11 miles south of Jaffa, and four from kir (Ekron), represents the ancient Jabneel or Jabneh (2Ch 26:6), or, in its Greek garb, Jamnia ( 1Ma 4:5; 1Ma 5:58 ).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Jabneel – The modern Yebna, about three miles from the coast and twelve miles south of Joppa. It is called Jabneh in 2Ch 26:6, where Uzziah is recorded to have taken it from the Philistines and destroyed its fortifications. The town is repeatedly mentioned with its haven in the wars of the Maccabees (1 Macc. 4:15; 2 Macc. 12:8), and by Josephus under the name of Jamnia. It is described by Philo as a very populous town; and after the destruction of Jerusalem was, for a long time, the seat of the Sanhedrin, and was a famous school of Jewish learning. Its ruins, which are still considerable, stand on the brink of the Wady Rubin.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward,…. Which was one of the principalities of the Philistines; and which, though it fell to the lot of Judah, Jos 15:45, was not possessed by them:

and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to Mount Baalah; of which places we have no account elsewhere:

and went unto Jabneel; which Masius makes no doubt was one of the Jamnias, and particularly that which was a seaport; which Strabo says a was distant from Azotus and Ashkelon about two hundred furlongs, or twenty five miles:

and the goings out of the border were at the sea; the Mediterranean sea; here the northern border ended.

a Geograph. l. 16. p. 522.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(11) Ekron is Akir (on sheet 16). Here we are in the Shephlah, or plain of the sea-coast.

Jabneel is Yebnah, west of Ekron, nearer the sea.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

‘ And the border went out to the sloping hillside of Ekron northward, and the border was drawn to Shikkeron, and passed along to Mount Baalah, and went out at Jabneel, and the goings out of the border were at the sea.’

The border then continued north westward to the northern side of Ekron, which was later one of the five-city confederation, with their towns, of the Philistines. If it is to be identified with Khirbet al-Muqanna‘ surface excavations suggest that it was occupied in the early bronze age and then not again until the early iron age (when the Philistines arrived) at which point the walled city covered forty acres, and was characterised by Philistine pottery Thus at the time of allocation it was not at a high level of occupation although prominent enough to be a border marker and have villages connected with it (Jos 15:45). It was twice captured by the Israelites (Jdg 1:18; 1Sa 7:14) but not permanently retained (1Sa 5:10; 1Sa 17:52).

“And the border was drawn to Shikkeron, and passed along to Mount Baalah, and went out at Jabneel, and the goings out of the border were at the sea.” Shikkeron is possibly Tell el-Ful. Mount Baalah is probably the ridge of el-Mughar. Jabne-el (‘God causes to build’) is probably to be connected later with the Philistine city Jabneh (2Ch 26:6), later Jamnia where the Sanhedrin was reformed after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Its modern name is Yebneh.

“And the goings out of the border were at the sea.” Compare Jos 15:4; Jos 15:7. The phrase indicates the point where a line ends, in this case at the Great Sea.

So the northern border of Judah turned north west from the shore of the Dead Sea, passed south of Jericho and Wadi Qelt, skirted the southern edge of Jerusalem with a foothold in Jerusalem and possession of the fields to the south, went past Kiriath-jearim and descended via the forested slopes of the Judean hills to Bethshemesh from where it followed the Sorek valley to the sea.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jos 15:11 And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward: and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to mount Baalah, and went out unto Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the sea.

Ver. 11. Unto the side of Ekron. ] Where Beelzebub was worshipped. Hence Acheron for hell,

“ Fiectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo. ” – Virg.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)