Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 15:9
And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which [is] Kirjath-jearim:
9. and the border was drawn ] From the summit of the mountain just alluded to, the border was drawn to “the fountain of the water at Nephtoah.” Nephtoah has been identified with Ain Lifta, a spring situated a little distance above the village of the same name, N.W. of Jerusalem. It irrigates a strip of smiling gardens, and its excellent water is carried also to Jerusalem.
and went out to the cities of mount Ephron ] Ephron is nowhere else mentioned. It is probably the range of hills on the west side of Wdy-Beit-Hanina, opposite Lifta.
and was drawn to Baalah ] another name for Kirjath-jearim or Kirjath-Baal (Jos 15:60; Jos 18:14). Baalah was probably the earlier or Canaanite appellation. We have already met with Kirjath-jearim as one of the four cities of the Gibeonites (above, ch. Jos 9:17). It is famous as the spot, ( a) behind which the band of Danites pitched their camp before their expedition to Laish (Jdg 18:12); ( b) where the Ark remained upwards of twenty years (1Sa 7:2), and ( c) whence it was removed by David to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite (1Ch 13:5-6). It is now known as Kureyet el-Enab.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Nephtoab is probably the modern Ain Lifta, two miles and a half northwestward of Jerusalem: and Mount Ephron is conjecturally connected with the city Ephrain 2Ch 13:19 or Ophrah Jos 18:23.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. Baalah, which is Kirjath-jearim] This place was rendered famous in Scripture, in consequence of its being the residence of the ark, for twenty years after it was sent back by the Philistines; see 1Sa 5:1-7.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Of Mount Ephron, i.e. belonging to or bordering upon Mount Ephron.
Kirjath-jearim, called Kirjath-baal, Jos 15:60; 18:14.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the border was drawn from the top of the hill,…. Mount Moriah, and went round in a circuit, so Jarchi and Kimchi:
unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah; which lay at the bottom of it; which, according to the Jewish writers, is the same with the fountain of Etam, from whence a stream flowed to the dipping room in the water gate of the temple, where the high priest for the first time dipped himself on the day of atonement p;
and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron; Jerom q speaks of an Ephron in the tribe of Judah, which was a very large village in his time, and went by the name of Ephraea, and was twenty miles from Aelia or Jerusalem to the north; and which Eusebius better places eight miles from it; and Jarchi observes, that the line went to the north side, and the border enlarged to this place; near to this mountain were cities, and it is not improbable that one of them might have its name from it; but whether this, or what mountain is here meant, is uncertain: some have thought of Ephraim, with its towns, mentioned in 2Ch 13:19; which seems to have been in the tribe of Ephraim; though Reland r places it in the tribe of Benjamin:
and the border was drawn to Baalah, which [is] Kirjathjearim; called Kirjathbaal, or the city of Baal, Jos 15:60; where it is probable there was a temple of Baal; and when it came into the hands of the Israelites, they changed its name to Kirjathjearim, or the city of the woods, because of the great number of trees which grew about it; for which reason it might have been pitched upon by the Heathens for their idolatrous service; it was one of the cities of the Gibeonites, Jos 9:17; and, according to Eusebius and Jerom s, it was nine or ten miles from Jerusalem, as you go to Lydda; it is also called Baalah in 1Ch 13:6; and Baale of Judah, 2Sa 6:2.
p T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 31. 1. & Gloss. in ib. & T. Bab. Zebachim, fol. 54. 2. Kimchi in loc. q De loc. Heb. fol. 91. A. r Palestin. Illustrat. tom. 2. p. 765. s Apud ib. tom. 1. p. 488.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(9) Kirjath-jearim is by Conder identified as Arma (spelt Erma on the Ordnance map), four miles east of Beth-shemesh (Ain Shemes, or Shems).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Nephtoah is identified by Dr. Barclay with Ain Lifta, a spring three miles northwest of Jerusalem, near a village of the same name. Mount Ephron is probably the range of hills on the west side of the Wady Beit Hanina, the traditional Valley of the Terebinth. Baalah, or Kirjath-jearim, is identified by Dr. Robinson with the modern Kuryet-el-Enab. See Jos 9:17, note.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And the border was drawn from the top of the mountain, to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron, and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kiriath-jearim.’
From the mountain at the northern end of the vale of Rephaim the border went to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. This is probably to be identified as Lifta, four kilometres (two to three miles) north west of Jerusalem. From there it went to the cities (cluster of villages) of Mount Ephron. Mount Ephron lies between Jerusalem and Kiriath-jearim. Then on to Baalah, which later became Kiriath-jearim (‘city of forests’). (This was thus first recorded before the change of name -see 1Sa 7:1-2). This is probably modern Kuriet el-‘Enab, fourteen kilometres (ten miles) west of Jerusalem on the Jaffa Road. It was one of the cities of the Gibeonites (Jos 9:17).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jos 15:9 And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which [is] Kirjathjearim:
Ver. 9. Which is Kirjathjearim, ] i.e., Urbs nemorum. Vat.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Nephtoah: Jos 18:15
Baalah: A city near Bethshemesh, and, according to Eusebius, nine miles from Jerusalem, in going towards Diospolis. 2Sa 6:2, 1Ch 13:6
Kirjathjearim: Jos 9:17, Jdg 18:12
Reciprocal: Jos 15:29 – Baalah Jos 17:18 – the mountain Jos 18:14 – Kirjathbaal Jdg 17:1 – mount 1Ch 2:50 – Kirjathjearim 2Ch 13:19 – Ephrain Joh 11:54 – Ephraim