Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 21:11
And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which [city is] Hebron, in the hill [country] of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.
11. the city of Arbah ] See above, Jos 15:13.
which city is Hebron ] See above, Jos 15:13.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 11. The city of Arba] See Clarke on Jos 14:15.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And they gave them the city of Arba, the father of Anak,…. Which from him was called Kirjatharba, Jos 14:15; and Anak, according to Kimchi, is not the name of a man, but a general name, comprehending the Anakims, a race of giants, among whom Arba was the chief and principal man, a prince and ruler over them, as Ben Melech:
which [city is] Hebron in the hill [country] of Judah; as in
Jos 14:15; see Lu 1:39;
with the suburbs thereof round about it; as far as two thousand cubits, which were to put their cattle in, and provision for them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
11. Hebron See on Jos 10:3, and Jos 14:12. We here meet the difficulty of a double proprietorship. We have seen in Jos 14:13, that Joshua gave Hebron to Caleb as a reward for his fidelity, but now we find that the same city is bestowed upon the priests. Our solution of this difficulty is, that the Levites did not have exclusive ownership of these cities. From Num 3:39, we learn that the census of the Levites was about twenty-two thousand males of a month old and upward.
This would give less than five hundred males, adult and children, to each of the forty-eight cities. As Hebron and Shechem and several others were large and important, the inference is, that the Levites had ample inheritance in these cities sufficient to give a sacred character to them. We have an intimation of this in Jos 21:12. For the Hebrews who tilled the fields of Caleb’s sons must have resided in Hebron for protection. Again, in the law requiring the alienated house and pasture land of the Levite to revert to him in the year of jubilee, there is implied that others than Levites lived with them. Lev 25:32-34.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And they gave them the city of Arba, the father of Anak, the same is Hebron in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it, but the fields of the city, and its villages gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh, for his possession.’
The giving of Hebron to the Levites as a city of refuge and dwelling place by Aaronids would have to be approved by Caleb, but he was no doubt delighted to do so. It gave his city great prestige and as a godly man he would not be unwilling to provide pasture land for these Levites who, as the children of Aaron, would be few in number. It probably actually cost him very little. While authority theoretically passed to the Levites there is little doubt that he himself retained the main authority, for Hebron oversaw a wide area and it is stressed that he retained authority over that area. For all practical purposes, apart from in religious matters, the Levites in Hebron were probably mainly subject to his control.
Note the emphasis on the antiquity of the city. It accentuated its importance. Kiriath-arba means ‘the city of four’ or ‘city of Arba’ – see Gen 23:2. LXX described it as ‘the mother-city of the Anakim’. But there is no reason to reject Arba as a name or nickname and it is certainly related to the Anakim in some way, so when we are told here that it was named after a famous ancestor of the Anakim, named Arba, possibly because he had the strength or usefulness of four men (compare Jos 15:13 which suggests that LXX translated ‘father’ as ‘mother’ because it related the latter more to a city) it makes good sense.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Arba. Compare Jos 14:12-15. 1Ch 6:55.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
And they: 1Ch 6:55
the city of Arba: or, Kirjath-arba, Jos 15:13, Jos 15:14, Jos 15:54, Gen 23:2, Gen 35:27, Jdg 1:10
is Hebron: 2Sa 2:1-3, 2Sa 5:1-5, 2Sa 15:7
in the hill: Jos 20:7-9, Luk 1:39
Reciprocal: Num 35:3 – General Jos 10:6 – mountains Jos 14:13 – gave unto Jdg 1:20 – they gave 2Sa 2:3 – the cities