Now the allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah extended to the border of Edom, to the Wilderness of Zin at the extreme southern boundary:
Parallel translations
- WEB The lot for the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families was to the border of Edom, even to the wilderness of Zin southward, at the uttermost part of the south.
- KJV This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast.
- NKJV So this was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah according to their families: The border of Edom at the Wilderness of Zin southward was the extreme southern boundary.
- NASB Now the lot for the tribe of the sons of Judah according to their families reached the border of Edom, southward to the wilderness of Zin at the extreme south.
- NLT The allotment for the clans of the tribe of Judah reached southward to the border of Edom, as far south as the wilderness of Zin.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Judah, the leading tribe, receives the first lot, reaching from Edom's border to the southern wilderness of Zin. The dividing of the land by lot has begun.
Overview
As the chief tribe through whom the royal line and ultimately the Messiah would come (Genesis 49:10), Judah is allotted first and most fully. The lot, cast before the Lord, expressed God's sovereign assignment rather than human preference (Proverbs 16:33). This careful inheritance fulfills the promise made to Abraham and prepares the stage for the line of David and of Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Num 26:55–56Indeed, the land must be divided by lot; they shall receive their inheritance according to the names of the tribes of their fathers.
- Josh 14:2Their inheritance was assigned by lot for the nine and a half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.
- Num 33:36–37They set out from Ezion-geber and camped at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.
- Ezek 47:19On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, and along the Brook of Egypt to the Great Sea. This will be the southern boundary.
- Num 34:3–5Your southern border will extend from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. On the east, your southern border will run from the end of the Salt Sea,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Joshua — the same name as Jesus, 'the LORD saves' — leads God's people into their inheritance, a shadow of the greater Joshua who brings us into the true rest and the promised land that remains.
How Joshua 15:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.