Commentary - Joshua 15:20-32

Bird's-eye view

At first glance, a passage like this one in Joshua 15 can appear to be little more than a dusty old property map. We read a long list of unfamiliar names, and our eyes are tempted to glaze over. But we must resist that temptation, because God does not waste ink. This is not filler material. This detailed accounting of the inheritance of Judah is a glorious display of God's absolute faithfulness to His covenant promises. Hundreds of years before this, God had promised a particular land to Abraham and his descendants. Now, through Joshua, He is signing the deed. Every town name is another hammer blow, driving home the truth that God keeps His word, down to the last acre.

Moreover, this is the inheritance of Judah. This is not just any tribe. This is the royal tribe, the tribe from which David would come, and ultimately, the tribe from which our Lord Jesus, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, would spring. So this is not just a description of real estate. This is the mapping out of the heartland of redemption. These towns and villages are the places where the story of our salvation would unfold. God's sovereignty is not a vague, abstract thing. It is a detailed, on-the-ground, town-by-town reality. God is in control of Kabzeel and Eder and Jagur, and He is in control of your life as well.

Outline

Context In Joshua

The book of Joshua is a book of conquest and inheritance. The first half details the military campaigns that secured Israel's foothold in the Promised Land. The second half, where our passage resides, details the division of that land among the tribes. This is the peaceful portion of the book, but it is no less important. The wars were fought for a purpose, and this is that purpose: for God's people to receive their inheritance and to dwell securely in the land He had sworn to give them.

Chapter 15 focuses entirely on the allotment for the tribe of Judah. It is the first and most extensive allotment described, which befits Judah's preeminence among the tribes. This detailed description serves as a legal and theological anchor for the rest of the divisions. It establishes a pattern: God promises, God provides, and God's provision is specific, detailed, and abundant.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families.

The verse begins with a formal declaration. This is it. This is the inheritance. The word is freighted with covenantal significance. An inheritance is not something you earn through your own hard work; it is something you receive because of your relationship to the one who gives it. Israel received this land not because they were mighty warriors, but because they were sons of the covenant God made with Abraham. And notice, it is given "according to their families." God's blessings are not just for individuals in isolation. He deals with us in covenant communities, in families. The family is the basic building block of a godly society, and God provides for His people on a familial basis. This is a principle that runs from Genesis to Revelation.

v. 21 Now the cities at the far end of the tribe of the sons of Judah toward the border of Edom in the south were Kabzeel and Eder and Jagur,

Now the details begin, and we should pay attention. The list starts in the south, the Negeb, near the border of Edom. This is frontier territory. An inheritance is not a cushy retirement plan; it is a stewardship that often requires you to live on the boundary, right next to your enemies. Edom, descended from Esau, was a perennial adversary of Israel. God gives Judah land right up to the enemy's doorstep. This is a picture of the Christian life. Our inheritance in Christ is secure, but we are called to possess it in a world that is hostile to our King. Kabzeel, by the way, was the hometown of Benaiah, one of David's mighty men (2 Sam. 23:20). Mighty men come from these frontier towns.

v. 22 and Kinah and Dimonah and Adadah,

The list continues. We may not know the history of every one of these towns, but God does. He knows every person who ever lived in Dimonah. He knows every transaction that took place in the market of Kinah. The modern mind, particularly the secular mind, thinks of history in broad, impersonal strokes. But the Bible shows us a God who is intimately involved in the specifics. He is the God of geography and census lists. This meticulous detail is a testimony to His exhaustive sovereignty. Not a sparrow falls, and not a town is named, outside His purview.

v. 23 and Kedesh and Hazor and Ithnan,

More names, more places. Each one represents a real location, with hills and wells and fields. This is not mythological territory. This is dirt-under-your-fingernails reality. God's redemption is not a fairy tale; it is an invasion of real history and real geography. When God saves, He saves real people and places them in real communities. The name Hazor appears several times, indicating it was a common name, perhaps meaning "enclosure" or "settlement." God is in the business of building settlements for His people, places of order and community in the midst of a chaotic world.

v. 24 Ziph and Telem and Bealoth,

The list rolls on, like a surveyor calling out boundary markers. Each name is a stake in the ground, a declaration of God's ownership and His gift to His people. Ziph would later be a place where David hid from Saul (1 Sam. 23:14-15). These places, given here as a peaceful inheritance, would become the backdrop for Israel's later struggles and triumphs. The land God gives us is the stage upon which our faithfulness, and sometimes our unfaithfulness, is played out.

v. 25 and Hazor-hadattah and Kerioth-hezron (that is, Hazor),

Here we have a clarification. Kerioth-hezron is identified as another "Hazor." The biblical author, under the inspiration of the Spirit, wants to be precise. This precision is for the benefit of the people. Clear boundaries make for good neighbors. God is a God of order, not confusion. This also reminds us that the Bible is a reliable historical document. These are not made-up names from a fantasy novel. This is a record of God's dealings with His people in a particular time and place.

v. 26 Amam and Shema and Moladah,

And the list continues. Moladah would later be resettled by the people of Judah after the Babylonian exile (Neh. 11:26). This is a beautiful picture of God's faithfulness across generations. Even when Israel's sin caused them to be cast out of the land, God's promise remained. He brought them back, and they resettled the very towns their ancestors had first inherited under Joshua. God's long-term purposes are never thwarted by our short-term failures.

v. 27 and Hazar-gaddah and Heshmon and Beth-pelet,

Each of these names, obscure as they are to us, was a home to generations of Israelites. It was their place, their inheritance. This is where they would raise their children, plant their crops, and worship their God. The Christian faith is an embodied faith. Our spiritual inheritance in Christ is meant to be worked out in the concrete realities of our homes, our neighborhoods, and our churches.

v. 28 and Hazar-shual and Beersheba and Biziothiah,

Beersheba is a famous name. It was a place central to the story of the patriarchs. Abraham planted a tamarisk tree there and called on the name of the Lord (Gen. 21:33). Isaac and Jacob both had significant encounters with God there. By including Beersheba in Judah's inheritance, God is tying the present fulfillment back to the ancient promises made to the fathers. This is not a new plan. This is the culmination of a plan centuries in the making. God's faithfulness is deep and wide and long.

v. 29 Baalah and Iim and Ezem,

The cadence of the list is itself a form of instruction. It teaches us patience. It teaches us that God's work is often detailed, methodical, and not always flashy. We want the drama of Jericho, but God also wants us to see the glory in the patient, administrative work of dividing the land. Building a civilization requires both conquering heroes and careful surveyors.

v. 30 and Eltolad and Chesil and Hormah,

Hormah means "destruction." This was the place where the Israelites were defeated when they presumptuously tried to enter the land without God's blessing decades earlier (Num. 14:45). Now, the place of their previous shame and defeat is given to them as part of their inheritance. This is the gospel in miniature. God takes the places of our greatest failure and, through the work of Christ, transforms them into places of blessing and inheritance.

v. 31 and Ziklag and Madmannah and Sansannah,

Ziklag is another name that will feature prominently in the life of David. It was a town given to him by the Philistine king Achish, and it became David's base of operations for a time (1 Sam. 27:6). Even when David was in exile, living on the margins, he was living within the territory God had long ago allotted to his tribe. God's sovereign hand was guiding him, even when the path seemed strange and uncertain.

v. 32 and Lebaoth and Shilhim and Ain and Rimmon; in all, twenty-nine cities with their villages.

The list for this southern district concludes with a tally. Twenty-nine cities, plus their surrounding villages. This is not a small gift. This is an abundant, generous provision. God is not stingy. When He gives an inheritance, He gives it lavishly. The final tally serves to emphasize the sheer scope of God's goodness. He has brought His people into a wide and fruitful land, just as He promised. The God of the covenant is a God who can be trusted to provide, and to provide in abundance.

Application

So what does a list of ancient cities in the Negeb have to do with us? Everything. First, it is a rock-solid testimony to the faithfulness of God. Our God keeps His promises. If He was this meticulous in fulfilling His promise of land to Judah, how much more certain is His promise of eternal life to all who are in Christ Jesus, the true King from Judah? We can rest in His promises because He has a perfect track record.

Second, this passage reminds us that our inheritance in Christ is a real and substantial thing. It is not a wispy, ethereal sentiment. We have been given "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:3). Just as Judah was given a list of specific cities, we have been given specific promises: forgiveness of sins, adoption as sons, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the hope of resurrection. We should take inventory of our inheritance and live like the wealthy sons and daughters of the King that we are.

Finally, just as Judah had to possess their inheritance and drive out the remaining enemies, so we are called to a life of faith and obedience. God has given us the victory in Christ, but we are to "work out" our salvation with fear and trembling (Phil. 2:12). We are to put sin to death and walk according to the Spirit. Our inheritance is secure, but it must be possessed. God gives us the land, but we have to go in and take it, town by town, confident that He who promised is faithful to complete the work He has begun in us.