Joshua 15:20

THE CITIES OF JUDAH ENUMERATED

"This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah, according to their families.

"And the uttermost cities of the tribe of the children of Judah toward the border of Edom in the South were: Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur, and Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adada, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan, Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth, and Hazor-hadattah, and Keiloth-hezron (the same is Hazor), Amam, and Shema, and Moladah, and Hazar-gaddah, and Heshmon, and Beth-Pelet, and Hazar-shuai, and Beersheba, and Biziothiah, Baalah, and Iim, and Ezem, and Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah, and Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah, and Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty-nine, with their villages.

"In the lowland Eshtaol, and Zorah, and Ashnah, and Zanoah, and Engannim, Tappuah, and Enam, Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah, and Shaharaim, and Adithaim, and Gederah, snd Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages.

"Zenan, and Hadashah. and Magdal-gad, and Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel, Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon, and Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Chitlish, and Gederoth, Beth-dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages.

"Libmnah, and Ether, and Ashan, and iphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib, and Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages.

"Ekron, with its towns and its villages; from Ekron even unto the sea, all that were by the side of Ashdod, with their villages.

"Ashdod, its towns and its villages, Gaza, its towns and its villages; unto the brook of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof.

"And in the hill-country, Shamir, and Jattir, and Secoh, and Dannah, and Kiriath-sannah (the same is Debir), and Ahab, and Estemoh, and Anim, and Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh, eleven cities with their villages.

"Arab, and Dumah, and Eshan, and Janim, and Bethtappuah, and Aphekah, and Humtah, and Kiriah-arba (the same is Hebron), and Zior; nine cities with their villages.

"Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Jutah, and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah, Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.

"Halhul, Beth-zur, and Gedor, and Maarath, and Beth-anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages.

"Kiriath-baal (the same is Keilath-jearim), and Rabbah; two cities with their villages.

"In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, and Middin, and Secacah, and Nibshan, and the City of Salt, and Engedi; six cities with their villages.

"And as for the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day."

Due to the classification of these cities having fallen into about 10 groups, critics jump to the conclusion that, "This grouping corresponds to the administrative districts of the kingdom of Judah, probably as represented on an official province list of the ninth century B.C."[7] What an unreasonable criticism! The last verse here (Joshua 15:63) effectively refutes such an error. Note that when this list was written, the Jews did NOT control Jerusalem, nor had they ever done so at that time, but in the 9th century B.C., Jerusalem had been in the hands of David and his successors for ages. Many criticisms, in the final analysis, just as in the case here, are flatly contradicted by the Word of God.

Since our task is not that of writing a Bible dictionary, we shall refrain from any city-by-city comment on these 119 towns and cities in the territory of Judah. In the previous chapters, we have already supplied notes and comments regarding many of these towns.

Nevertheless, we have compiled the following alphabetical list of these towns, and it reveals several towns such as Ziph and Zanoah having sister towns of the same name. Thus, there are two Ziph's (Joshua 15:34,55), two Zanoah's (Joshua 15:34,56), two Ashnah's (Joshua 15:33,43), and two Socoh's (Joshua 15:35,48).

AN ALPHABETICAL LIST OF CITIES

NAME OF CITY: VERSE:

ACHZIB..............................44

ADADAH..............................22

ADITHAIM............................36

ADULLAM.............................35

AIN.................................32

ANAB................................50

ANIM................................50

AMAM................................26

APHEKAH.............................53

ARAB................................52

ASHAN...............................42

ASHDOD..............................47

ASHNAH..............................33

ASHNAH..............................43

AZEKAH..............................35

BAALAH..............................29

BEALOTH.............................24

BEERSHEBA...........................28

BIZIOTHIAH..........................28

BETH-ANOTH..........................59

BETH-ARABAH.........................61

BETH-DAGON..........................41

BETH-PELET..........................27

BETH-TAPPUAH........................53

BETH-ZUR............................58

BOZKATH.............................39

CABBON..............................40

CARMEL..............................55

CHESIL..............................30

CHITLISH............................40

CITY OF SALT........................62

DANNAH..............................49

DILEAN..............................38

DIMONAH.............................22

DUMAH...............................52

EDER................................21

EGLON...............................39

EKRON...............................45

ELTEKON.............................59

ELTOLAD.............................30

ENAM................................34

ENGANNIM............................34

ENGEDI..............................62

ESHAN...............................52

ESHTAOL.............................33

ESHTEMOH............................50

ETHER...............................42

EZEM................................29

GAZA................................47

GEDERAH.............................36

GEDEROTH............................41

GEDEROTHAIM.........................36

GEDER...............................58

GIBEAH..............................57

GILOH...............................51

GOSHEN..............................51

HADASHA.............................37

HALUL...............................58

HAZAR-GADDAH........................27

HAZAR-HADATTAH......................25

HAZAR-SHUAL.........................28

HAZ.................................23

HESHMON.............................27

HOLON...............................51

HORMAH..............................30

HUMTAH..............................54

IIM.................................29

IPHTAH..............................43

ITHNAN..............................23

JAGUR...............................21

JANIM...............................53

JARMUTH.............................35

JATTIR..............................48

JERUSALEM...........................63

JEZREEL.............................56

JOKDEAM.............................56

JOKTHEAL............................38

JUTAH...............................55

KABZEEL.............................21

KAIN................................57

KEDESH..............................23

KEILAH..............................44

KIRIATH-ARBA (HEBRON)...............54

KIRIATH-BAAL (KIRIATH-JEARIM).......60

KIRIATH-SANNAH (DEBIR)..............49

KERIOTH-HEZRON (HAZOR)..............25

KINAH...............................22

LACHISH.............................39

LAHMAM..............................40

LEBAOTH.............................32

LIBNAH..............................42

MAARATH.............................59

MADMANNAH...........................31

MAKKEDAH............................41

MAON................................55

MARESHAH............................44

MIDDIN..............................61

MIGDAL-GAD..........................37

MIZPEH..............................38

MOLADAH.............................26

NAAMAH..............................41

NEZIB...............................43

NIBSHAN.............................62

RABBAH..............................60

RIMMON..............................32

SANSANNAH...........................31

SECACAH.............................61

SHAMIR..............................48

SHAARAIM............................36

SHEMA...............................26

SHILHIM.............................32

SOCOH...............................48

SOCOH...............................35

TAPPUAH.............................34

TELEM...............................24

TIMNAH..............................57

ZANOAH..............................34

ZANOAH..............................56

ZENAN...............................37

ZIKLAG..............................31

ZIOR................................54

ZIPH................................55

ZIPH................................24

ZORAH...............................33

(Note this list is longer than the total of 119 given earlier. It has some names of cities not awarded to Judah but appearing in this chapter, for example "Jerusalem").