the city of the great King, the brightest ornament of all the land of Israel, God had designed it should be so. It may therefore be justly looked upon as a punishment of their neglect to conquer other cities which God had given them, that they were so long kept out of this.
Among the cities of Judah (in all one hundred and fourteen) we meet with Libnah, which in Joram's days revolted, and probably set up for a free independent state, 2 Kings 8. 22. and Lachish, where king Amaziah was slain, 2 Kings 14. 19. it led the dance in idolatry, Mic. 1. 13. it was the beginning of sin to the daughter of Sion. Giloh, Ahitophel's town, is here mentioned, and Tekoa, of which the prophet Amos was, and near which Jehoshaphat obtained that glorious victory, 2 Chron. 20. 20, &c. and Maresha, where Asa was a conqueror. Many of the cities of this tribe occur in the history of David's troubles. Adullam, Ziph, Kellah, Maon, En-gedi, Ziklag, were places here reckoned in this tribe, near which David had most of his haunts; for though sometimes Saul drove him out from the inheritance of the Lord, yet he kept as close to it as he could. The wilderness of Judah he frequented much, and in it John Baptist preached, and there the kingdom of heaven commenced. Matt. 3. 1. The riches of this country, no doubt, answered Jacob's blessing of this tribe, that he should wash his garments in wine, Gen. 49. 11. And in general, Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren should praise, not envy.
CHAP. XVI.
It is a pity that this and the following chapter should be separated, for both of them give us the lot of the children of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, who, next to Judah, were to have the post of honour, and therefore had the first and best portion in the northern part of Canaan, as Judah now had in the southern part. In this chapter, we have, I. A general account of the lot of these two tribes together, v. 1..4. II. The borders of the lot of Ephraim in particular, v. 5..10. That of Manasseh following in the next chapter.
1.AND the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Beth-el, 2. And goeth out from Beth-el to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth, 3. And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Beth-horon the nether, and to Gezer: and the goings out thereof are at the sea. 4. So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.
Though Joseph was one of the younger sons of Jacob, yet he was his eldest by his most just and best beloved wife, Rachel; was himself his best beloved son, and had been the greatest ornament and support of his family, kept it from perishing in a time of famine, and had been the shepherd and stone of Israel, and therefore his posterity were very much favoured by the lot. Their portion lay in the very heart of the land of Canaan. It extended from Jordan in the east, v. 1. to the sea, the Mediterranean sea, in the west, so that it took up the whole breadth of Canaan from side to side; and, no question, the fruitfulness of the soil answered the blessings both of Jacob and Moses, Gen. 49. 25, 26. and Deut. 33. 13, &c.
The portions allotted to Ephraim and Manasseh are not so particularly described as those of the other tribes; we have only the limits and boundaries of them, not the particular cities in them, as before we had of the cities of Judah, and afterward those of the other tribes. For which no reason can be assigned, unless we may suppose that Joshua, being himself of the children of Joseph, they referred it to him alone to distribute among them the several cities that lay within their lot, and therefore did not bring in the names of their cities to the great council of their princes which sat upon this affair; by which means it came to pass that they were not inserted with the rest in the books.
5. And the border of the children of Ephraim, according to their families, was thus; even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth-addar, unto Beth-horon the upper: 6. And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah, on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanath-shiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah: 7. And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan. 8. The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families. 9. And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. 10. And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.
Here,
1. The border of the lot of Ephraim is set down, by which it was divided on the south from Benjamin and Dan, who lay between it and Judah, and on the north from Manasseh; for east and west it reached from Jordan to the great sea. The learned, who aim to be exact in drawing the line according to the directions here, find themselves very much at a loss, the description here being short and intricate. The report of those who in these latter ages have travelled those countries, will not serve to clear the difficulties, so vastly unlike is it now to what it was then; not only cities have been so destroyed, as that no mark or footstep of them remains, but brooks are dried up, rivers alter their courses, and even the mountain falling cometh to naught, and the rock is removed out of his place, Job. 14. 18. Unless I could hope to solve the doubts that arise upon this draught of the border of Ephraim, it is to no purpose to mention them; no doubt, they were then perfectly understood, so as that the first intention of recording them was effectually answered, which was to notify the ancient landmarks, which posterity must by no means remove.
2. Some separate cities are spoken of, that lay not within these borders, at least, not if the line were drawn direct, but lay within the lot of Manasseh, v. 9. which might better be read, and there were separate cities for the children of Ephraim, among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh; because it proved that Manasseh could spare them, and Ephraim had need of them, and it might be hoped
