And the southern side begins at the outskirts of Kiriath-jearim. And the boundary goes from there to Ephron, to the spring of the waters of Nephtoah.
Benjamin lay between Judah and Joseph by God's wise ordering: little Benjamin needed Joseph's strength nearby, yet the Lord Himself covered him all the day long. This position later bound Benjamin to Judah in loyalty to David's throne and Jerusalem's temple, as Providence had appointed.
AI summary
Commenting on Joshua 18:11-28
And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjathjearim,.... Where the western quarter ended: and the border went out on the west; not directly south, but somewhat westerly. It is, in the original, "the sea", and should be rendered, "from the sea", or "from the west" (m); and Jarchi confesses his ignorance, and says, I know not what sea it is; and well he...
The southern boundary of Benjamin runs from Kiriath-jearim westward to the Waters of Nephtoah, exactly the same line as Judah's northern border in chapter 15, only traced in the opposite direction. The text names the boundary itself as the subject of the verb: the border goes out, terminates, and completes its course.
AI summary
Commenting on Joshua 18:15-19