Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 15:61
In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah,
61 63. Cities in the Wilderness
This section relates to the cities in “the Wilderness” between the Mountain and the Dead Sea, and includes one Group of six cities:
1. Beth-arabah, see above, Jos 15:6 ; Joshua 2. Middin; 3. Secacah; 4. Nibshan, sites unknown, places not mentioned elsewhere; 5. The city of Salt, “ Civitas Salis,” Vulgate, probably near the Valley of Salt, at the southern end of the Dead Sea, where the Edomites suffered several defeats ( 2Sa 8:13 ; 2Ki 14:7; 1Ch 18:12); 6. En-gedi, “the spring of the wild goat” or “gazelle,” from the numerous ibexes or Syrian chamois which inhabit these cliffs, now Ain Jidy. “Here,” remarks Canon Tristram, “a copious warm fresh spring bursts forth amidst an oasis of tropical vegetation. Here that quaint asclepiad the osher, the jujube, the beautiful parasite Lonicera indica, and a host of strange semi-tropical plants send our botanist into an ecstacy of delight.” Land of Moab, p. 27. “Relics of its grove of palms (whence its name Hazazon Tamar = “the felling of palm-trees”) “are still to be seen, in the trunks of palms washed up on the shores of the Dead Sea, preserved by the salt with which a long submersion in those strange waters has impregnated them.” Stanley’s S. and P., p. 144. Here ( a) the settlements of the Amorites were attacked by the army of Chedorlaomer (Gen 14:7), immediately before its descent into the plain, and final victory over the five kings; here ( b) the Kenites had their “nest” in the cliff (Num 24:21); here ( c) David took refuge from the pursuit of Saul (1Sa 24:1); here ( d) the solitary sect of the Essenes had their chief seat.” See Stanley, S. and P., pp. 295, 296.
In the wilderness ] The wilderness of Juda. “A true wilderness it is, but no desert, with the sides of the limestone ranges clad with no shrubs larger than a sage or a thyme brown and bare on all the southern and western faces, where the late rains had not yet restored the life burnt out by the summer’s sun, but with a slight carpeting of tender green already springing up on their northern sides. Not a human habitation, not a sign of life, meets the eye for twenty miles; and yet there seems no reason why, for pasturage at least, the country might not be largely available. But there are no traces of the terraces which furrow the hills of the rest of Palestine; and one small herd of long-eared black goats were all we saw till we reached the plains of Jericho.” Tristram’s Land of Israel, p. 197.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
The wilderness; so the Hebrews call places either uninhabited by men, or having but few inhabitants.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
In the wilderness,…. The wilderness of Judea, which was not a desert and uninhabited but had many cities and villages in it, those that follow:
Betharabah; the first of these seems to be in the borders of Judah and Benjamin, and so is ascribed to both; see Jos 15:6;
Middin, and Secacah; of the two last we read nowhere else, only in Jud 5:10; what we translate “ye that sit in judgment”, Kimchi interprets, “ye that dwell by Middin”, and says it is the name of a place in Joshua, and mentions this passage.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(61) In the wildernessi.e., in the mountains
near the Dead Sea three places have been identifiedviz., Secacah (Sikkkeh), the City of Salt (Tell el-Milh), and En-gedi (Ain Jidy). (See 1Sa. 24:1, &c.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
61. The wilderness The wild and rugged territory along the west side of the Dead Sea. Only six cities are mentioned as belonging to this entire district.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ In the Wilderness, Betharabah, Middin, and Secacah, and Nibshan, and the City of Salt, and En-gedi. Six cities with their villages.’
The Wilderness of Judah was the barren rocky country, also called Jeshimon (‘devastation’ – 1Sa 23:19; 1Sa 23:24). It lay between the Central Range and the western side of the Dead Sea. It was a violent and devastated area, barren and waterless, and exceedingly hot, not enjoying the more abundant rains of the western side of the Central Range. Existence in it was hard, only made possible by a few springs, the careful preservation of water in cisterns and a hardy nature. Yet in this area such hardy people eked out an existence.
Beth-arabah, (house of the Arabah), as its name suggests was connected with the Arabah (the Jordan Rift Valley) near the Dead Sea and was on the border of Judah and Benjamin. They appear to have shared a number of cities on their borders. Middin is possibly Khirbet Abu Tabaq, Secacah, possibly Khirbet es-Samrah, and Nibshan is possibly Khirbet el-Maqari. They would later become fortified sites in 9th century BC controlling irrigation work. But at this stage they were small and insignificant, with their villages. The City of Salt was south of them and a frontier post near the Dead Sea, probably to be identified with Khirbet Qumran. An iron age fortress would later be built there. En-gedi, (‘spring of the kid’), was an important oasis and fresh water spring west of the Dead Sea. David hid there at one stage (1Sa 23:29; 1Sa 24:1 on), its rugged terrain and provision of necessities making it an ideal hiding place. It was famous for aromatic plants and perfumes (Son 1:14). Later it was another fortress city. ‘Six cities with their villages.’ But a tough and hard existence.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Betharabah: Jos 15:6, Jos 18:18
Reciprocal: Jos 16:1 – the water 1Ki 2:34 – in the Mat 3:1 – the wilderness
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
The wilderness of Judah was the northeastern part of the tribal inheritance. It bordered the hill country to the west, the Dead Sea to the east, and the Negev to the south. Six cities occupied this area.