Joshua 13:4
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians to Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites:
American King James Version (AKJV)
From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians to Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites:
American Standard Version (ASV)
on the south; all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongeth to the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the border of the Amorites;
Basic English Translation (BBE)
On the south: all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah which is the property of the Zidonians, to Aphek, as far as the limit of the Amorites:
Webster's Revision
From the south all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians, to Aphek to the borders of the Amorites:
World English Bible
on the south; all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the border of the Amorites;
English Revised Version (ERV)
on the south: all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongeth to the Zidonians, unto Aphek, to the border of the Amorites:
Clarke's Joshua 13:4 Bible Commentary
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 - See on Joshua 12:18 (note).
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, הארמי haarammi, for האמרי haemori.
Barnes's Joshua 13:4 Bible Commentary
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 Jezzin"), between Tyre and Sidon, or to a district characterized by deep cave-like ravines near Sidon and Dan-Laish.
Wesley's Joshua 13:4 Bible Commentary
13:4 From the south - That is, from those southern parts of the sea - coast, now possessed by the Philistines, all the more northern parts of the sea - coast being yet inhibited by the Canaanites, almost as far as Sidon. The Amorites - The Amorites were a very strong and numerous people, and we find them dispersed in several parts, some within Jordan, and some without it, some in the south and others in the north, of whom he speaks here.
