holds,' thereof]; ... as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir." As Joshua had been moving eastward to Hebron, his return from Hebron could not have been by moving farther eastward or southeastward, it must have been by a westerly or a southwesterly course; hence Debir (or, Debeer) is to be sought in that direction from Hebron. And there Debir has been fairly identified. Its more Debir is a noteworthy place on many accounts. ancient name is said to have been Kirjath-sepher,2 or Book-town, or City of Books;3 and again Kirjath-sannah, or City of Instruction; indicating its prominence as a literary and religious centre. Its later name, Debir,6 is a term sometimes applied to the inner sanctuary of a temple, or the seat of a sacred oracle. And the reference to its outlying strongholds [" cities"], and to its exceptionally secure fastnesses, would seem to show it as a military position of importance. After Joshua's first capture of it, it seems to have been retaken by the sons of Anak, or other formidable 1 The Hebrew word is 'eer (~'1'), 83, supra). It is not to be supposed that there were separate "cities" connected with Debir; but it is probable that there were outlying “enclosures." an "enclosed place," as already shown (see page Josh. 10: 38, 39; 15: 15; Judges 1: 11. " 3 As to this meaning there is no question. See Gesenius and Fürst, s. vv. 'Qir" "Sepher." jath," * Josh. 15:49. 5 Grove (Smith-Hackett Bib. Dic., s. v. "Debir ") and Thomson (South. Pal., Land and Book), and some others, render this "City of the Palm;" but Schröder (Die Phōnizische Sprache, p. 8, note) shows its most probable meaning as "City of the Law;" as the Arabic sinnah, "the Law," would indicate. The Septuagint translates both names, Qirjath-sepher as well as Qirjath-sannah, by "City of Letters." Nor is Schröder alone in this rendering. It is a word from a root of varied significations. See Gesenius and Fürst, s. v. "Debeer." Its root meanings include "behind," "inner," "to speak," etc.; hence it is applied to the inner sanctuary of a temple (see 1 Kings 6: 5, 19, 22; 8:6-8; 2 Chron. 3: 16; 4: 7-9); or again to the oracle speaking from the sanctuary. inhabitants of Canaan; for it was then that Caleb deemed it a prize worthy of the best efforts of the most heroic, and said: “He that smiteth Kirjath-sepher, and taketh it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife." And Othniel, who took the city and won its reward, was afterwards a judge of Israel,3 while his city became a city of the priests.* 8 5 Various sites have been suggested for ancient Debir; nearly all of them, however, within a few miles range, and all of them westerly or southwesterly of Hebron. Of late the identification at Dhahareeyeh, a somewhat remarkable village on the road from Hebron to Beersheba has gained confidence, and now has general acceptance. Knobel was perhaps the first to point to this identification, and Conder, Tristram, and Thomson, strengthened its claims to approval. Robinson,10 Wilson," Ritter," and Palmer,13 had, before this, emphasized the importance of the site of the ruins of Dhahareeyeh. It is at the junction of the two great roads; that from Hebron to Gaza, and that from Hebron to the desert and to Egypt the "Way of Shur." "A castle or fortress apparently once stood here," says Robinson; "the remains of a square tower are still to be seen, now used as a dwelling; and the doorways of many hovels are of hewn stone with arches. It would seem to have been one of the line of small fortresses, which apparently once existed all along the southern border of Palestine." It is a remarkable fact that to the present day Dhahareeyeh is counted the border town of Palestine. The Teeyâhah Arabs who 1 Comp. Josh. 10: 38, 39, and Josh. 15: 13-15. 2 Josh. 15: 16, 17. 3 Judges 3: 9-11. Josh. 21: 9-15. 5 Smith-Hackett Bib. Dic., s. v., "Debir"; Schaff-Lange Com. at Josh. 10: 38. As cited in Lange, as above. 8 Bible Places, p. 61. 10 Bib. Res., I., 209-11. Tent Work in Pal., II., 93. 12 Geog. of Pal., III., 193, 288 f. 11 Lands of Bible, I., 349-354. 13 Des. of Exod., II., 394-396. convoy the traveler from Castle Nakhl toward Hebron are unable to carry him by Dhahareeyeh; unless, indeed, a new agreement is made at that point, by the payment for Dhahareeych horses to Hebron, at an added cost beyond the hire of the Teeyâhah camels. As Ritter states it': "The first place of any importance in Palestine is the village ed-Dhoheriyeh, five or six hours southwest of Hebron [Robinson called it four hours. I found it about four and a half]. It derives its interest from the fact that here converge the west road leading through Wadi es-Seba and Beersheba, the great highway to Gaza and Egypt, and the great eastern road from Petra and Sinai." Palmer calls attention to the fact that "Murray's Handbook "3 says of this important site: "There is nothing here either to interest or detain the traveler;" and he adds: "But we found it, on the contrary, a very interesting place. The dwellings consist for the most part of caves cut in the natural rock, some of them having rude arches carved over the doorways, and all of them being of great antiquity... They are exactly like what the old Horite dwellings must have been, and have doubtless been inhabited by generation after generation, since the days of that now forgotten race." ... says: Conder and Thomson would find a resemblance in the meanings of Dhahareeyeh and Debeer. The latter "The Arabic name, edh-Dhoherîyeh, may be translated 'ridge' or 'promontory,' and hence this signification corresponds with its position, and also with the meaning of the word." Yet Robinson (or Eli Smith) renders the word as "noon." In fact the Arabic root of this word is as varied in its significations as its Hebrew correspondent, Debeer. It means "back," "behind," "backbone," "ridge," "road through the desert," "summer-noon," summer-noon," "to conquer," "to disclose," etc. 1 Geog. of Pal., III., 193. Des. of Exod., II., 39 f. Syria and Pal., p. 99. South. Pal. (Land and Book), p. 300. 5 Bib. Res., III., 208, first ed. Hence, while the correspondence of name is not such as to be in itself conclusive, there is enough else to render it more than probable that the important site of Dhahareeyeh is also the site of the important ancient Debir; and a similarity in the names can easily be found. Yet Dhahareeyeh as it is to-day, with its mud walls, and its wretched people, its multitude of dogs, and its many myriads of fleas, has little to suggest the military stronghold, the literary centre, the sacred metropolis, which once existed there. But herein is an illustrative contrast between the Land of Promise as it was, and as it is. And from Hebron to Debir and beyond, Joshua swept on in his conquering march. "So Joshua smote all of the hills [the hillcountry of Judah], and of the south [the Negeb], and of the vale [the Shephelah], and of the springs [the upper springs and the nether springs,' which were added to Achsah's dowry (Josh. 15: 17-19), near Debir]. . . . And Joshua smote them from Kadeshbarnea even unto Gaza." The only consistent explanation of this statement is, that Joshua moved along southwesterly from Hebron to Debir and Kadesh-barnea; from Hebron to the southernmost point of the southern boundary-line of Canaan, and thence onward toward Gaza and the sea-coast. And this explanation coincides with all that has before been shown as to the location of Kadeshbarnea. 14. THE PROMISED LAND'S SOUTHERN BOUNDARY. And now for the various mentions of Kadesh-barnea as a boundary-line landmark in the Bible story. Both in the incidental references to, and in the detailed descriptions of, the southern boundary of the Promised Land as a whole, and again of the possessions of the tribe of Judah (before the portion of Simeon was taken from them), the location of Kadesh-barnea conforms to the indica tions already noted, at the same time that it is fixed yet more definitely. In Numbers 34: 3-5, Moses declares, from Jehovah, to the Israelites: "Your south quarter [or, side] shall be [or, extend] from the Wilderness of Zin along by the coast [or, boundary] of Edom [or, which resteth upon the side of Edom]." This general statement of the southern boundary line is followed by a closer description of its salient points. "And your south border shall be [or, shall start from] the outmost coast [or, the extremity] of the Salt Sea [the Dead Sea] eastward [or, on the east]; and your border shall turn from [or, on] the south to [or, of] the Ascent of Akrabbim, and [shall] pass on to Zin [or, Zinward]; and the going forth thereof shall be from the south [or, the extent of its reach on the south shall be] to Kadesh-barnea [or, south of Kadesh-barnea], and shall go on [or, shall reach forth thence] to Hazar-addar [or, the village, or settlement, of 'Addar], and shall pass on to Azmon [or, 'Azmonward]; and the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto [or, from 'Azmon the border shall turn to] the river of Egypt [or, Wady-of-Egypt-ward], and the goings out of it shall be at [or, its reach shall be to] the [Mediterranean] Sea [or, seaward].” In Joshua 15: 1-4, this southern boundary line' is re-described with more particularity: "To the border [or, boundary] of Edom, the wilderness of Zin southward was [or, as] the uttermost part of the south coast." Or, as some would read this: "On the south, to the border of Edom [their boundary was], the wilderness of Zin, from the extremity of Teman." This general description is followed, as in Numbers, by a detailed one: "And their 1 The southern boundary of Judah was also the southern boundary of the Land of Promise as a whole. 2 So, the Arabic translator and Houbigant, as quoted and followed by Geddes, in his Revision, in loco; also the Latin Revision of Sebastian Schmidt. This point will be fully considered farther on. |