The Pulpit Commentary — Joshua — Section 302

Ver. 4.~-The river of Egypt (see above, eh, This is now the Wady Kelt. Gllgal Keil xiii. 3). "Westward, as for ae Egypt, there says that this is not the Gilgal where the is a sandy, salt, barren, unfruitful, and un- Israelites first encamped. It is called inhabitable waste" (Knobel). The land. he Geliloth, or" circles," in eh. xviii. 17, where adds, is better near Gaza, but near the sea the same place is obviously meant as here. it is still pure waste. And the goings out or The question is one of some difficulty. If tha.t coast were at the sea. The word coast, it be not the Gilgal mentioned in eh. iv. 19, derived through the French from the Lo.tin which is described as being eastward of costa, signifies, like it, a side. It is now Jericho, still less can it be Jiljiliah (see used only of the border formed by the sea, note on eh. ix. 6) which was near Bethel, but at an earlier period it had a wider and therefore on the northern border of signification. The Hebrew word is transla- Benjamin. In that case the only supposition ted "border" in ver. 1. The meaning is that that will meet the facts in this case is that the boundary line of Judah ran as far as Gilgal, which signifies a wheel or circle, the sea. This shall be your south coast. was the common name given to all the Or, this shall be to you the southern bound- Israelitish encampments. But there seems ary. The historian here quotes the direc- no reason to doubt that the Gilgal of tions given to Moses in Num. xxxiv., with eh. iv. 19 is meant. This is Ewaltl's view in the evident intention of pointing out that his 'History of Israel,' ii. 245. Adu.mmim, or the south border of the children of Israel "the red (places)," has been identified with coincided with that of the tribe of Judah. Maledomim, i.e. Maaleh Adummim, or To.lat Ver. 5.-To the end of Jordan. The spot el Dumm (Conder), on the road from .Jeru- where it emptied itself into the Dead Sea. salem to Jericho. Jerome explains it as The bay of the sea at the uttermost pa.rt of "ascensus ruforum seu rubentinm proptcr Jordan. As in ver. a, the word here trans- sanguinem qui illic crebro a latronibns fnn- lated bay is tongue in the original. What ditur." Every one will at once call to mind is meant is that the northern boundary the na.rrative in St. Luke x., which has no started from the point where the Jordan doubt suggested this explanation. But at one entered the Dead Sea. particular point in the route from Jerusalem Ver. 6.-Beth-bogla (see eh. xviii. 19). to Jericho a " large mass of purplish rock " It is still known as .A.in Hadjla or Hajla, is found (Stanley, 'Sinai and Palestine,' where, says Keil, a beautiful spring of fresh p. 424, note). It was called " tern ruffa," and clear water is to be found. The place " the red earth," from the colour of the lies about two miles from Jordan. Beth- ground, and recent travellers st11te that it is hogla means " the house of the partridge." called the "reel field" still, from this cause. "Leaving the probable site of the ancient Conder tells ns the name is derived from Gilgal and advancing southward along the "the brick-red marks here found amid a pilgrims' route to the Jordan, an hour and district of red chalk (see also Mr. Tyrn-hitt a quarter brings us to the spring Ain Drake in Pal. Exp!. Fund Quart. Paper, Hajla, in e. small and well-watered grove " April, 1874). So Knobel speaks, on the (Ritter). He adds, " Robinson and Wilson authority of numberless tra,ellers of "dcr both recognised in the name Hajla the rothen Farbe des dortigen gesteins." Arnl ancient Canaanitish city Beth-hogla." Beth- the Quarterly Paper just quoted mentions araba.b. Or " the house of the Arabah " or the "bright limestone and marl." Which is desert. Its site is not known (see ver. 61 on the south side of the river. The Saha!, and eh. xviii. 18, 22). The Beth-embah in or summer torrent, in the original ; "the ver. 61, however, must have been another Wndy Kelt, south of Riha" (Knobel). The place, since it was in the wilderness of waters of En-shemesb, or the fountain of Judma, not far from the Dead Sea. The the sun, supposed to be Ain Hanel, or stone of Bohan the son of Reuben. All we the" Apostles' well," near Bethany. There know of this stone is that it was westward is an Arak (cave) esh Shems, about two miles of Beth-arabah. The boundary of Benjamin off. All these places have been i,lrntifie,l in eh. xviii. is mentioned in precisely reverse on or near the pilgrims' route to the Jord,U1. order, and since here the stone was on the Enrogel (see eh. xtiii. 17). It was close by ascent from Beth-araba, an.cl there (ver. 17) Jerusalem, and was where Jonathan nllll it is described as on the descent from Ahimaaz lingered to gain ti,!ings for Da,id, Geliloth, it must have been on the side of ancl where Adonijah repaii:e,l to hold the the declivity. 01 Bohan nothing further is great feast when he endeavoured to obtain !mown. We must understand here, 11s in the kingdom. "Now Ain Um ed Demj in many other places of Scripture, descendant the Kedron Valley" (Conder). VnJHlevelcle by" son " (cf. eh. vii. 24). supposes it to be Bir Eyub, Joab's well, at Ver. 7.-Toward Deblr. Not the Debir the point where the Ked.ron Valley meets «if eh. x. Th~ valley of Achor (see eh. viii. 26). the Gni Hinnom. This seems most prob-_ 248 THE BOOK OF JOSHUA. tou. xv. 1-6B,