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Jerome's Latin Vulgate
Josue 13:4
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Dominum Deum vestrum sequimini, et ipsum timete, et mandata illius custodite, et audite vocem ejus : ipsi servietis, et ipsi adhærebitis.
meridie; et omnis terra Chanaan de Ara Sidoniorum usque Apheca et terminos Amorraei;
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
the land of: Joshua 10:40, Joshua 11:3, Joshua 12:7, Joshua 12:8
Mearah: or, the cave
Aphek: This is probably the Aphek spoken of in 1 Kings 20:26. 2 Kings 13:18, as the capital of the kings of Syria; and the same as is mentioned by Sozomen, Eusebius, and Theophanes, as situated near the river Adonis - now Nahr Ibrahim between Heliopolis and Byblos, and celebrated for the infamous temple of Venus the Aphacite. The village Afka, situated in the bottom of a valley, and hour and three quarters from Akoura, and three hours' distance from Lake Liemoun, is supposed to occupy its site. Burckhardt, however, could not hear of any remains of antiquity in it neighbourhood. Joshua 19:30, 1 Samuel 4:1
the Amorites: Judges 1:34-36
Gill's Notes on the Bible
From the south, all the land of the Canaanites,.... That is, of those Canaanites who were particularly so called, in distinction from those of the other nations or tribes, and who dwelt in several parts of the land, some in the east and others in the west, see
Joshua 11:3; and, as it seems here, some in the south: now on the side of the south, as Kimchi interprets it, all the land of the Canaanites was left, that is, remained unconquered and not possessed:
and Mearah that [is] beside the Sidonians; the inhabitants of Sidon, and parts adjacent: what this place was, which belonged to the Sidonians, for so it may better be rendered, is not certain; some take it to be a cave belonging to them: Sandys b speaks of a number of caves cut out of the rock in those parts, called the caves of the Sidonians, and afterwards the caves of Tyre; so it is interpreted by the Targum, and in the Syriac and Arabic versions others take it to be the river Magoras, Pliny c makes mention of as on the borders of Lebanon near Zidon and Berytus: mention is made of the waters of Mearah along with the waters of Tiberias in Jewish writings d; but rather something of more importance than a cave or a river is meant; most likely a tract of land near Sidon, and which belonged to it, and reached
unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites; of this place,
Joshua 11:3- :.
b Travels, l. 3. p. 169. Ed. 5. c Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 20. d Misn. Sabbat. c. 22. sect. 5. T. Hieros. Sabbat, fol. 6. 1.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Read “on the south,†and connect the words with the verse preceding. They indicate the southern limit of the still unconquered territory in this neighborhood, as Joshua 13:3 gives the northern one.
Mearah - The “cave†(see the margin) has been referred to “Mugar Jczzin†(“cave of Jezzinâ€), between Tyre and Sidon, or to a district characterized by deep cave-like ravines near Sidon and Dan-Laish.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Joshua 13:4. The land of the Canaanites — This lay on the south of the country of the Philistines, towards the sea-coast.
Mearah — Supposed to be the city Maratha, on the Mediterranean Sea. - Calmet. Or the river Majora, which falls into the Mediterranean Sea, between Sidon and Berytus. See PLINY, Hist. Nat. lib. v., c. 20.
Aphek — Joshua 12:18; Joshua 12:18.
To the borders of the Amorites — Though the term Amorite is sometimes used to designate the inhabitants in general of the land of Canaan, yet it must be considered in a much more restricted sense in this place. As no Amorites are known to have dwelt in this quarter, Calmet supposes we should read Aramites or Syrians. Joshua, says he, proceeds from Sidon to Aphek, a city of Syria, between Heliopolis and Babylon where was the temple of the Venus of Aphek, and which is spoken of in 1 Kings 20:26; 2 Kings 13:17, as the capital of the kings of Syria. From this Joshua passes on to the frontiers of the Syrians, towards Gebal or Gabala, which, according to Ptolemy, was situated in Phoenicia. This conjecture of Calmet is not supported by any authority either from the ancient versions or MSS. Houbigant, however, approves of it: the emendation is simple as it consists in the interchange of only two letters in the same word, ×”×רמי haarammi, for ×”×מרי haemori.