Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 19:12
And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chisloth-tabor, and then goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to Japhia,
12. and turned from Sarid eastward ] As the border turned from Sarid westward, so also it turned from the same point toward the east, toward the sunrising, unto the border of
Chisloth-tabor ] now Iksl, a rocky height two miles and a half to the west of Mount Tabor. Robinson’s Bib. Res. iii. 182. For Tabor, see below, Jos 19:22.
Daberath ] Thence it went on to Daberath, a Levitical city, Jos 21:28; 1Ch 6:72, now Debrieh, a small village “lying on the side of a ledge of rocks directly at the foot of Tabor.”
and goeth up to Japhia ] “and stieth up aens Jasie;” Wyclif. Japhia (= glancing) is two miles south of Nazareth, the modern Yfa. Note the words “ goeth up,” and compare the following words of Porter: “For three quarters of an hour more we wind through picturesque glens, their beds green with corn, and their banks dark with the foliage of the dwarf oak, hawthorn, and wild pear. Yfa now appears on the top of a tell, down in a glen on the right.” Handbook, ii. p. 385. It was fortified by Josephus, and afterwards captured by Trajan and Titus under the orders of Vespasian; and in the storm and sack of the place 15000 of the inhabitants were put to the sword, and 2130 taken captive. The valley of Nazareth lies 400 feet higher than the plain at the western foot of Tabor.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Daberath, a city in Issachar, as appears from Jos 21:18.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And turned from Sarid eastward,…. This describes the southern border, going on from west to east:
towards the sunrising, unto the border of Chislothtabor; this Jerom places in the tribe of Issachar, it bordered on both tribes; and he says l, that in his time there was a little village called Chaselus, eight miles from Diocaesarea, at the foot of Mount Tabor in the plains:
and then goeth out to Daberath; which also was a city in the tribe of Issachar, given to the Levites, Jos 21:28. Jerom m speaks of a little village of the Jews by Mount Tabor, of the country belonging to Diocaesarea, called Dabira; this place is still in being. Mr. Maundrell says n, at the bottom of Tabor westward stands Debarah, supposed by some to take its name from Deborah, the famous judge and deliverer of Israel:
and goeth up to Japhia; this Jerom o says is the town called Sycamine, as you go from Caesarea to Ptolemais, above the sea, because of Mount Carmel, called Epha, thought by some to be the Jebba of Pliny p. It seems, however, to be the Japha of Josephus q, which he speaks of as being a strong fortified place both by nature and art.
l De loc. Heb. fol. 88. D. H. m lbid. fol. 90. I. n Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 115. o De loc. Heb. fol. 92. K. p Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 19. q De Bello Jud. l. 3. c. 6. sect. 31.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(12) And goeth up to Japhia.Better, and had gone up to Japhia, which lies west of the two places previously named. Daberath is the south-east boundary. El-Mesh-hed lies north of this.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Chisloth-tabor, Robinson is inclined to identify with the village of Iksal, near the base of Mount Tabor, on a low, rocky ridge, and containing many excavated sepulchres. On Mount Tabor see note at Jdg 4:6. Daberath has been identified with the modern Deburieh, a small village just at the northwestern base of Tabor. Japhia, now called Yafa, is a half hour’s ride southwest of Nazareth, and contains about thirty houses. It is the traditional birthplace of St. James.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And turned from Sarid eastward, toward the east to the border of Chisloth-tabor, and it went out to Daberath, and went up to Japhia. And from there it passed along eastward to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and it went out at Rimmon which stretches to (or ‘as it bends towards’) Neah. And the border turned about it on the north to Hannathon, and its goings out were at the valley of Iphtah-el.’
Chisloth-tabor (‘the flanks of Tabor’) is probably related to Chesulloth, an Issachar border town in the plain west of Tabor (Jos 19:18) and to modern Iksal. Daberath, another Issachar border town (Jos 21:8; 1Ch 6:72), is usually identified with the ruins near the modern village of Deburiyeh at the foot of Mount Tabor. Japhia must lie in a northerly direction from Daberath and cannot therefore be Yafa as suggested by some.
From Japhia the border went eastward to Gath-hepher (‘winepress of digging’) on the border of Naphtali, the birthplace of the prophet Jonah (2Ki 14:25). It can be identified with Khirbet ez-Zurra‘ and nearby el-Meshhed, five kilometres (three miles) north east of Nazareth. Then it went on to Eth-kazin which is unknown. Rimmon is possibly modern Rummaneh, ten kilometres (six miles) north north east of Nazareth. Neah is unknown.
The border now turned westward to Hannathon, which is possibly to be identified with ‘Hinaton in the land of Canaan’ in the Amarna letters. Some identify it with Tell el-Bedeiwiyeh. It finishes at the valley of Iphtah-el, possibly the Wadi el-Malik. The westward border is not given although Zebulun was bordered by Asher. We do not know whether it had access to the sea.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jos 19:12 And turned from Sarid eastward toward the sunrising unto the border of Chislothtabor, and then goeth out to Daberath, and goeth up to Japhia,
Ver. 12. Chislothtabor. ] A mountain in the lower Galilee, called by Josephus, Itabirion. Here it is commonly conceived that our Saviour was transfigured. And of this place Jerome, on Hos 5:1 , writeth copiously and elegantly.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Chislothtabor: Called Chasalus by Eusebius and Jerome, and placed at the foot of mount Tabor, eight miles east of Diocesarea. Jos 19:22, Jdg 4:6, Jdg 4:12, Psa 89:12
Daberath: Josephus, who calls this town Dabaritta, or Darabitta, places it in the plain of Jezreel, or Esdraelon, on the confines of Samaria and Galilee. It is probably the Dabira which Jerome place towards amount Tabor, in the district of Diocesarea; and the Debora or Daboura, mentioned by travellers as a village at the foot of mount Tabor. Jos 21:28, Dabareh, 1Ch 6:72
Japhia: Probably Japha, a city of Galilee, near Jotapata, mentioned by Josephus.
Reciprocal: Jos 19:18 – Chesulloth Jos 19:34 – Aznothtabor 1Sa 10:3 – Tabor 1Ch 6:77 – Rimmon