Joshua 15:55-57 · Bible study
Joshua 15:55-57 Commentary: The Cities of Judah’s Hill Country
Hebrew · 7 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
How a list of ten cities in Judah’s inheritance connects to David’s refuge in the wilderness of Maon and Ziph, and what it means for God’s faithfulness.
Research Summary
- Meaning: A list of ten cities in the hill country of Judah, part of the tribal inheritance.
- Key words: Maon (H4584, “habitation”), Carmel (H3760, “garden‑land”), Ziph (H2128, “battlement”), Juttah (H3194, “stretched out”), Jezreel (H3157, “God sows”), Jokdeam (H3347, “burning of a people”), Zanoah (H2182, “cast off”), Kain (H7014, “possession”), Gibeah (H1390, “hill”), Timnah (H8553, “portion”).
- Main debate: The exact identification of some sites (e.g., Gibeah vs. Gibeah of Benjamin), but the connection to David’s narratives is widely accepted.
- Theological theme: God’s faithful provision of a specific land as part of His covenant promises.
- Best use: Connecting the land allotment to later historical narratives (David, Nabal, Samson) to show God’s hand in both geography and history.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
55Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah,
56Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
57Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah—ten cities, along with their villages.
WEB World English Bible 2000
55Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Jutah,
56Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah,
57Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.
KJV King James Version 1769
55Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Juttah,
56And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
57Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages:
ASV American Standard Version 1901
55Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Jutah,
56and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
57Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
55Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Juttah,
56and Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
57Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities and their villages.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
55Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Jutah,
56and Jizreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,
57Kain, Gibeah and Timnah: ten cities and their hamlets.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
55Maon and Carmel and Ziph and Jota,
56Jezrael and Jucadam and Zanoe,
57Accain, Gabaa and Thamna: ten cities and their villages.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Joshua 15:55
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The ten cities in these verses belong to the hill-country district of Judah’s inheritance. Gill notes that Maon and Carmel appear in Nabal’s story (1 Sam 25), and Maon gives its name to the wilderness where David hid from Saul (1 Sam 23:25). The Cambridge Bible groups them as “on the south‑east of the two preceding groups, towards the desert.” Clarke adds that Ziph later appears as the region where Saul pursued David (1 Sam 23:14). Commentators agree that the list serves an administrative purpose, delineating the land God promised, and also anchors later events in real geography. There is no dispute about the basic meaning: these are towns assigned to Judah, several of which reappear in narratives of David’s flight.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: This list is part of the detailed inventory of the land allotted to the tribe of Judah, consistent with the conquest narrative.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Historical identification of cities | Many cities (Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Timnah) are known from other biblical accounts. | Some locations are uncertain; commentators differ on site identifications (e.g., whether Gibeah in this list is the same as Gibeah of Benjamin). |
| Connection to David narratives | Maon and Ziph are directly linked to David’s flight from Saul (1 Sam 23, 26). | Whether the author of Joshua intended this connection or it is simply a historical coincidence. |
| Theological significance of city lists | The list demonstrates God’s faithfulness in giving the land to Israel. | Some see it as a plain historical record; others find spiritual lessons in each place (e.g., refuge, testing). |
Historical & Cultural Context
These ten cities lie in the rugged hill country south of Hebron, where the land slopes toward the desert of Judah. Maon, Carmel, Ziph, and Juttah appear together in both this allotment and the narratives of David’s escape from Saul. First Samuel 23:14 records David “in the wilderness of Ziph,” and 1 Samuel 23:25 describes him in the “wilderness of Maon.” The area was pastoral, Nabal had a large flock in Carmel (1 Sam 25:2). The listing of these cities as Judah’s inheritance is more than a record; it provides a geographical anchor for later stories of refuge and deliverance.
In the ancient Near East, territorial lists helped define tribal borders and administrative units. The phrase “ten cities with their villages” reflects this careful organization. The New Testament does not name these locations directly, but the pattern of a faithful king being sheltered in the promised land echoes the believer’s confidence that God provides both physical and spiritual refuge. Historically, this catalog shows the fulfilment of God’s covenant with Abraham: the land was divided and possessed.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for these verses. The Hebrew text is stable across manuscripts, with only minor spelling differences (e.g., “Juttah” spelled with one t in some translations). The list consistently counts ten cities with their villages.
Reception History
In the early church, geographical lists were often read as part of the literal history of Israel, affirming the trustworthiness of Scripture. Jerome’s Onomasticon identified many sites, including Juttah (modern Yatta). Jewish tradition sees these verses as confirming Judah’s inheritance and the fulfilment of the Abrahamic covenant. Protestant commentators like Matthew Henry and Adam Clarke used the list to highlight God’s detailed care and to connect it to narratives of David’s refuge. Modern readers often pass over such lists, but they remain a witness to God’s faithful promises, anchoring salvation history in real places.
Preaching This Verse
Three‑point outline
- God’s detailed provision. Every city listed shows that God cares about the specifics of His people’s inheritance, nothing is too small for His attention.
- Geography as history. Maon, Carmel, and Ziph become backdrops for God’s deliverance of David, reminding us that the places of our lives carry meaning in His story.
- The land as promise. The list confirms God’s faithfulness in giving what He swore to Abraham; it points forward to the ultimate rest found in Christ.
Five‑point outline
- The catalog is part of the larger inheritance of Judah (Joshua 15:20‑63).
- Some cities are obscure, yet each is recorded, every community matters to God.
- Maon and Ziph later provide refuge for David (1 Sam 23:14,25).
- Carmel is the setting for Nabal and Abigail’s story (1 Sam 25:2‑38).
- Timnah appears in the story of Samson (Judges 14).
Illustration hooks
- A family map where every property is marked, showing how a simple list holds stories of provision and struggle.
- A modern city’s historical registry that names streets and parks, each name carries memories of those who lived there.
- A hiking trail that passes by sites mentioned in the Bible, helping you imagine David hiding among these very hills.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why does the Bible include long lists of names and places? Are they just for scholars?
- How does knowing the geography of David’s flight change the way I read those stories?
- What does this passage teach me about God’s care for the details of my own life?
Leading a Discussion
This passage is a simple list of ten cities in Judah’s hill country. But when we connect it to later stories of David, the list becomes a map of God’s protection. Discuss how the land itself becomes part of the story of redemption.
Discussion questions
- What does the phrase “ten cities with their villages” tell you about the way Israel organized its territory?
- Which of these city names do you recognize from other parts of the Bible? What stories are they connected to?
- How does knowing that Maon and Ziph were places of refuge for David deepen your understanding of God’s care for him?
- Why do you think the writer of Joshua included such a detailed list? What does it say about God’s faithfulness?
- How can a list of ancient towns speak to your own life? What does it mean to trust that God keeps His promises down to the smallest detail?
- If you were to make a “map” of the places where God has been faithful in your life, what would it look like?
- How does this passage connect to the bigger story of God giving His people a place to dwell with Him?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Joshua 15:24 | Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, |
| I Samuel 23:14 | David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God didn’t deliver him into his hand. |
| I Samuel 23:15 | David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph in the woods. |
| I Samuel 23:25 | Saul and his men went to seek him. When David was told, he went down to the rock, and stayed in the wilderness of Maon. When Saul heard that, he pursued David in the wilderness of Maon. |
| I Samuel 25:2 | There was a man in Maon whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats; and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. |
| I Samuel 25:7 | Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds have now been with us, and we didn’t harm them. Nothing was missing from them all the time they were in Carmel. |
| I Samuel 26:1 | The Ziphites came to Saul to Gibeah, saying, “Doesn’t David hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, which is before the desert?” |
| I Samuel 26:2 | Then Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having three thousand chosen men of Israel with him, to seek David in the wilderness of Ziph. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
7 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke identifies these towns as specific locations in Judah, distinguishing the village of Carmel near Maon from the famous Mount Carmel. He notes Maon as David's refuge, Carmel as Nabal's home and where Saul raised a trophy, and Timnah as the Philistine town where Samson found his wife.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
This commentary identifies Maon as part of a cluster of ten cities, positioned southeast of two earlier groups and stretching toward the desert. The focus is purely geographical: the writer maps these locations onto the landscape to clarify the region's layout.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Bible's marginal note here simply counts these as ten cities with their villages, drawing attention to the precise record of Judah's territorial inheritance. The editors highlight how Scripture catalogues each location, underlining the ordered and complete nature of the land distribution.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill identifies each obscure town in this list, carefully distinguishing them from other places with the same name elsewhere in Scripture. He notes that Jezreel in Judah is not the royal seat in Israel, and suggests Juttah may be the native place of John the Baptist, while wondering whether the old Canaanites named Cain after Adam's son.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange treats the detailed city list as an extremely valuable geographical record, comparing it to Homer's catalogue of ships. He argues that the Septuagint's additional cities (including Bethlehem) fill a genuine gap in the Masoretic text, and were not an invention.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
The Lot of Judah. ( b. c. 1444.) 20 This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley observes that Ziph is not merely a town but the place that gave its name to the surrounding mountains. This geographical detail explains why the region is called both the wilderness and the mountains of Ziph in the historical account.