Of Judah only are there any distinct and regular sub- divisions given (for Keil's arrangement of the towns of Simeon in four groups according to Josh, xv, 21-32 iCom- inent. ad loc] is not justified by the parallel passage [Josh, xix, 2-8], nor by the analogy of enumeration in the case of the other subdivisions of Jiidah [xv, 33-62] and Benja- min [xviii, 21-28], nor with the Masoretic punctatiou ["and" being omitted only between difl'eient designa- tions of the sayne locality], nor, finally, with the actual jnxtaposition of the sites). The southernmost section (stretching apparently entirely across from the Dead Sea to the Mediterranean) constituted the territory of Simeon, including (as appears from a comparison of .Josh, xv, 21-32 with xix, 1-8) twenty-nine (strictly twenty-six) cities (inimely, Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, Kedesh [Kadesh-barnea], Hazor, the twofold town Iih- nan-Ziph [Zephath] with its neighboring ruins, Hormah [? Hazar-addar], Telem, Shenia or Sheba [Hazar-shnal], Moladah, Heshnion [Azmon], Beth-palet, Beei-sheba, the twin-towns Bealoth or Balah [Ramath-nekeb] and Biz- jothjah-baalah or Baalath-beer [Le!ii],Iiin, Azem,Eltola(l, Chesil or Beihul, Ziklag, Madinanuah or Belh-marcabotli, Sansannah or Hazar-snsah,Lebaoth or Beth-lebaoth, Shil- him or Sharuhen, and the double town Aiu-rimnmu or En- rimmou), besides three villages dependent upon two of these (namely, Hazor-badattah and Keriotb-hezron or Ha- zor-amam [belonging to Haznr proper], and Ilazar-gaddah [to Hazar-shmil]), and in addition two of the towns in the plaiu (namely. Ether and Ashan), with othei-s doubtless not here enumerated. The plain district or "valley" was again subdivided into four sections — the first comprising (originally) fourteen towns (Gederah and Gederoihaim be- ing the same), situated in the north-western corner of the tribe; the second comprising sixteen towns, situated im- mediately south of this, in tlie western part of the tribe;
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the ihird C(Wi])iising nine towns (two of which, as above, weic Mt"ieiAv;inls set oft' to Simeon, doiibtles^r lying ou tlie (s.iiitlieiii l)iinndiiiy between the tribes), s-iiuated eat^t of itie last frronp and soiuli of the pietediug, in the middle of the tribe, east of the ri)ad leadin:^ from Eleutheropolis to Jernsalem ; the fnuith comprisiiii; the live principal Philistine towns, situated on the extreme west of the tribe aloiis; the Mediterranean coast (Ekron being really ill Dan, and Uath-niizpeh in the "valley"). The highland district, or "mountains," was likewise subdivided into live groups — the tirst containing eleven chief towns, situ- ivied along the border of Simeon in the middle; the second containing' nine chief cities, situated immediately north of the foregoinsr in the southern part of the tiibe around Hebriiii; the third containing teu melroi>olitau towns, situated immediately east of the two preceding; the fiiurth embracing six principal cities, situated immedi- ately north of tlie last two groups, as far as Jerusalem, ou the northern boundary; and the fifth containing only two metropolitan towns, situated in the northern medial au- ^le between the last-named group and the valley district. The remaining distric'ts embraced the desert tract or " wil- <ierness" along the Dead Sea, and included six chief towns (Reth-araliah being in Benjamin). The remarkable addi- tiou in the Sc|)MiaL:int (at ver. ."in) of eleven cities (namely, Tek.iah, Bethlehctn, Phagor, Etam, Kulnn, Tatani, Saris, Karem, Gallim. 15ether, and Meuuchah), probably real lo- calities (s('e eacli in its (ilace), is perhaps entitled to a place in the irenuine text, and would indicate a group between the.thiid and fourih above, reaching to Jerusalem (Kulon, Saris, and Gallim being in Benjamin).
5. Simedii. —'V\us tribe had a portion set oflF from the above biiuiided territory of Jiidah (Josh, xix, 1-8), embrac- ing some seventeen or twenty cities (according as we m.ike several in the list identical or diflerent), of which only two or three have been located with any degree of detiniteness, namely, Beer-sheba (probably Bir-es-Saba), Moladah (per- haps e"l-Mil), and Hormah (or Zephath, possibly represent- ed by the pass es-Sufa); this much only is evident, that they all lay on the extreme south of Jtidah, and we shall thfiefore probably be not far from correct if we draw the diyidiiiir line between Judah and Simeon west by north from the Dead Sea at Massada, up Wady Sebbeh, thence across in the s;une direction from Ehdeit, just south of Arad (Tell Arad) and JattirC.^ttir), to the junction of Wady Khanieilil'eli with Wady Kliulil; thence still in (he same diiection up the former of these wadies to the summit of the mounts of Jndah ; thence west by south (along Wady Sheriah) to the Mediterranean, a short distance south of Gaza (Ghuzzeh).
0. Benjamin. — On the north, following the boundary of Ephraini (Josh, xvi, 1-3, 6,7 ; xviii, 11-13), beginning at the Joidan opposite Jericho (probably at the mouth of Wady Nuvvaimeh); thence (across the plain ofthe Jordan along this wady) to the n(H'thward of Jericho (ver. 12) (so as to include Zemaraim [es-Sumrah], ver. '22); thence northward (ver. 1-') by the water east (i. e. north-east) of Jericho (xvi, 1) {i)erhaps Ras el-Ain, which discharges its water in that direction) through the monntain')ns (xviii, 12) desert (xvi, 1) of Beth-aven (Beni-salim) (xviii, 12), that extends from Jericho to the hilly region of Beth-el (xvi, 1)— a description that api)ears to apply as w'ell as any to the plain north- west of Jel)el Kiiruntnl (Mt. Quarantania), the northern part of which the line would partly traverse, so as to in- clude (xviii, 23, 24) Ophrah (perhaps et-T.iyibeh) and Oph- ni (probably Jifna) (probably up Wady el-Aujeh) as it as- cended Wady Habis, i)assing Naarah (xvi, 7, Naarath- Naaron) on the way, which lay east of Beth-el (1 Chron. vii, 28) (perhaps at el-Nejenieh); from Bethel (now Beitin) (which, being included in Benjamin, the expression "to the side of Luz southward" [Josh, xviii, 13] niust be in- terpreted as indicating that the line ran between Beth-el on the south and the ancient site of Luz a little to the ninth, the two spots being distimrnished in Josh, xvi, 2, although occupying the same vicinity) the line passed (directly south-west along the Nablus road, west of Bireh [Beeroth]), i)assing Archi (situated perhaps at the ruined Kefr-musr) (xvi, 2) to Atarotii (called also Ataroth-adar or Ataroth-addar), in a lower spot near the hill on the south side of Betti-horon the lower (xviii, 13), yet with some interval to the east of this last place (xvi, 3), and at the southern extremity of this part of the line between Ephraim and Benjamin (that faced the east), not far from Beth-horon the upper (ver. 5), and west of Xaarah on that part of the same line near the Jordan (i. e. facing the south) ;ver. 7); indications that all point to some site (for but one place of the name seems to be designated, since these descriptions fyer. 5, 0 last clause, 7] are all of I)arts of the same southern boundfiry <if Ephraim [the first two clauses of ver. (!, and the whole of ver. 8, however, re- fer to the northern border.as Keil.in his Comment.. i\(\m\l«, although he ctnilesses himself unable to clear up the difli- culties of the passage], reckmied tirst [ver. 5, 6 last clause] ^vestward to Beth-horon, and thence back again [ver. 7] more niintitely over the same line and eastward to the .lordau) directly east of Beth-horon (doubtless the Atara, whose ruins are still found at this point, a little north of tlie road from Jaffa to Jerusalem; and iu that case we must locate "the hill south of Beth-horou the nether" among the emiueuces opposite Beit Ur el-Tahta, ou the