Joshua 19:7

Ain, Remmon,.... Of the two first, which were cities of Judah, [See comments on Joshua 15:32]; and Ether, and Ashan; of the two last, see Gill "Joshua 19:42"; four cities and their villages; Ain,

Ain, Remmon, and Ether, and Ashan; four cities and their villages: No JFB commentary on this verse.

XIX. OF SIMEON (Joshua 19:1-9). (1) Their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah.—The southern part of the inheritance of Judah was given up to Simeon. (See Judges 1:3; Judges 1:17.) In this fact a prophecy was fulfilled; for the effect of the allotment was to separate Simeon from the tribes with whom he had been united in the journey through the wilderness (viz., Reuben and Gad), who had cast off Simeon, and united themselves with the half tribe of Manasseh instead. Being also separated from Levi, Simeon was still further isolated: with the result that in the final separation of Israel and Judah, after Solomon’s death, the tribe of Simeon, though adhering to the kingdom of the ten tribes (for the children of Simeon were counted strangers in Judah—2 Chronicles 15:9), was separated from the territory of that kingdom by the whole breadth of the kingdom of Judah. Thus were Jacob’s words brought to pass, which he spoke on his death-bed regarding Simeon and Levi: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.(2) Beer-sheba.—Bir-es-seba. Sheba (Shema). (7) Ain, Remmon.—Timm er-Rumâmîn.The rest of the cities of Simeon are not identified in Conder’s Biblical Gazetteer, with the exception of Sharuhen (Tell esh-Sherî’ah, north-west of Beer-sheba). (9) The part of the children of Judah was too much for them.—In Judges 1 we read that Judah invoked the assistance of Simeon to complete the conquest of his inheritance, and also assisted Simeon to conquer his. This fact illustrates the character of the conquest of Canaan by Joshua, and shows that when his work was done, something was still left for the individual tribes to do.

7. Second Group. 1. Ain = an “eye” and also in the vivid imagery of the East, a spring or natural burst of living water, always distinguished from the artificial “well” or “tank” = Beer or Bor. It generally occurs in combination with other words, defining the locality as En-gedi, En-gannim, En-hakkore, En-rogel. In two cases it stands alone, (a) here, and (b) in Numbers 34:11. Mr Wilton (Negeb, pp. 229–234) would here also connect it with the next name; 2. Remmon, as the name of a single city, Ain or En-Remmon = the spring of the pomegranate, and in the catalogue of the places re-occupied by the Jews after the return from the Captivity the two are joined, and appear in our Version as En-Rimmon, see Nehemiah 11:29; Nehemiah 3. Ether, see ch. Joshua 15:42 Van de Velde heard of a Tel Athar in the desert country below Hebron; 4. Ashan, see above, ch. Joshua 15:42.