Joshua - 19:15



15 Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.

Verse In-Depth

Explanation and meaning of Joshua 19:15.

Differing Translations

Compare verses for better understanding.
And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.
And Cateth and Naalol and Semeron and Jedala and Bethlehem: twelve cities and their villages.
and Kattath, and Nahalal, and Shimron, and Jidalah, and Beth-lehem: twelve cities and their hamlets.
and Kattath, and Nahalal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Beth-lehem: twelve cities with their villages.
And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and Beth-lehem; twelve cities with their villages.
And Kattath and Nahalal and Shimron and Idalah and Beth-lehem; twelve towns with their unwalled places.
Kattath, Nahalal, Shim'on, Idalah, and Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.
Et Catthath, et Nahalal, et Simron, et Idalah, et Bethlehem: urbes duodecim, et villae earum.

*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.


Historical Commentaries

Scholarly Analysis and Interpretation.

Twelve cities - Only five have been mentioned, and the names in the verses preceding are apparently not names of Zebulonite cities, but merely of points in or near the boundary line. It would therefore appear that seven names have disappeared from the text, and perhaps also the definition of the western frontier.

Shimron - See on Joshua 12:20 (note).
Beth-lehem - The house of bread; a different place from that in which our Lord was born.

And Kattath, and Nahallal, and Shimron, and Idalah, and (d) Bethlehem: twelve cities with their villages.
(d) There was another Bethlehem in the tribe of Judah.

And Kattath, and Nahallal,.... Of the two first of these we read nowhere else, but in Joshua 21:34,
and Shimron was a royal city, the king of which Joshua took and hanged, Joshua 11:1,
and Idalah is a place Bochart conjectures (t) where the goddess Venus was worshipped, Idalia being one of her names:
and Bethlehem is a different place from that which was the birthplace of our Lord, called Bethlehem of Judah, to distinguish it from this:
twelve cities with their villages; more are named, but some of them belonged to other tribes, and only lay on the borders of this; and others might not be properly cities, but small towns.
(t) Canaan, l. 1. c. 3. col. 356.

Beth - lehem - Not that where Christ was born, which was in Judah, but another. Twelve cities - There are more numbered here, but the rest either were not cities properly so called, or were not within this tribe, but only bordering upon it, and belonging to other tribes.

*More commentary available at chapter level.


Discussion on Joshua 19:15

User discussion of the verse.






*By clicking Submit, you agree to our Privacy Policy & Terms of Use.