Jos 19:24-31 | Clarke

Joshua 19:24-31

Verse 26

Carmel - The vineyard of God; a place greatly celebrated in Scripture, and especially for the miracles of Elijah; see 1 Kings 18:19-40. The mountain of Carmel was so very fruitful as to pass into a proverb. There was another Carmel in the tribe of Judah, (see Jos 15:55), but this, in the tribe of Asher, was situated about one hundred and twenty furlongs south from Ptolemais, on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Calmet observes that there was, in the time of Vespasian, a temple on this mountain, dedicated to a god of the same name. There was a convent, and a religious order known by the name of Carmelites, established on this mountain in honor of Elijah: the time of the foundation of this order is greatly disputed. Some pretend that it was established by Elijah himself; while others, with more probability, fix it in a.d. 1180 or 1181, under the pontificate of Pope Alexander III. Verse 27

Cabul on the left hand - That is, to the north of Cabul, for so the left hand, when referring to place, is understood among the Hebrews. We must not confound this town or Cabul with the twenty cities given by Solomon to Hiram, with which he was displeased, and which in contempt he called the land of Cabul, the dirty or paltry land, 1Kgs 9:11-13 : there was evidently a town of this name, widely different from the land so called, long before the time of Solomon, and therefore this cannot be adduced as an argument that the book of Joshua was written after the days of David. The town in question is supposed to be the same which Josephus in his Life calls Χωβουλω Choboulo, and which he says was situated by the sea-side, and nigh to Ptolemais. De Bell. Jud., lib. iii., c. 4. Verse 28

Unto great Zidon - The city of Sidon and the Sidonians are celebrated from the remotest antiquity. They are frequently mentioned by Homer. See the note on Jos 11:8. Verse 29

The strong city Tyre - I suspect this to be an improper translation. Perhaps the words of the original should be retained: And the coast turneth to Ramah and to the city, מבצר צר mibtsar tsor. Our translators have here left the Hebrew, and followed the Septuagint and Vulgate, a fault of which they are sometimes guilty. The former render the place ἑως πολεως οχυρωματος των Τυριων, unto the fortified city of the Tyrians. The Vulgate is nearly the same: ad civitatem munitissimam Tyrum, to the well-fortified city Tyre; but this must be incorrect for the famous city of Tyre was not known till about A.M. 2760, about two hundred years after the days of Joshua. Homer, who frequently mentions Sidon and the Sidonians, never mentions Tyre; a proof that this afterwards very eminent city was not then known. Homer is allowed by some to have flourished in the time of Joshua, though others make him contemporary with the Israelitish judges. The word צר Tsor or Tsar, which we translate or change into Tyre, signifies a rock or strong place; and as there were many rocks in the land of Judea, that with a little art were formed into strong places of defense, hence several places might have the name of Tsar or Tyre. The ancient and celebrated Tyre, so much spoken of both in sacred and profane history, was a rock or small island in the sea, about six or seven hundred paces from the main land. In order to reduce this city, Alexander the Great was obliged to fill up the channel between it and the main land, and after all took it with much difficulty. It is generally supposed that a town on the main land, opposite to this fortified rock, went by the same name; one being called old Tyre, the other, new Tyre: it was out of the ruins of the old Tyre, or that which was situated on the main land, that Alexander is said to have filled up the channel between it and the new city. Of this city Isaiah, Isaiah 23:1-18, and Ezekiel, Ezekiel 27:1-28:26, have given a very grand description, and also predicted its irreparable ruin which prophecies have been most literally fulfilled. See more on the above places.

Achzib - Called afterwards Ecdippe, and now called Zib; it is about nine miles' distance from Ptolemais, towards Tyre. Verse 30

Twenty and two cities - There are nearly thirty cities in the above enumeration instead of twenty-two, but probably several are mentioned that were but frontier towns, and that did not belong to this tribe, their border only passing by such cities; and on this account, though they are named, yet they do not enter into the enumeration in this place. Perhaps some of the villages are named as well as the cities.