What Does Joshua 13:27 Mean?
And in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon, king of Heshbon. Jordan and its border, to the edge of the sea of Chinnereth, on the other side of Jordan eastward.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And in the valley, Beth-aram, and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.THE KEY
The Jordan’s name is linked to “descend,” making the river’s downward course part of the boundary that gives this territory its shape.
THE MEANING
This verse makes a portion tangible as a valley, named settlements, a river boundary, and a sea’s edge. What belongs within it takes shape through the exact places where it reaches its limit.
THE ROOT
יַרְדֵּן
Yarden
GROWS FROM
ירד
To descend, go down
“Jordan” in this verse is Yarden. The name Yarden is commonly connected to the root yarad, “to descend.” Here the river is named among the boundary landmarks, so the word’s downward movement and the territory’s edge meet in one name.
ALSO GROWS
yārad: To descend, go down
יָרַד
This is the root verb linked to the Jordan’s name and makes the river’s downward course audible within the place-name.
hōrīd: To bring down
הוֹרִיד
This causative form carries the same movement downward, extending the root’s sense from descending to causing something to descend.
THE PATTERN
A portion becomes legible through the named lines and landmarks that define its reach.
And the border shall go down to Jordan, and its goings out shall be at the salt sea. This shall be your land with its borders round about.The cords fall to me in sweet places; indeed, my inheritance is beautiful.And he made from one blood every nation of humankind to settle upon all the face of the earth, marking out their fitted seasons and setting the boundary stones of their dwelling.THE THREAD
And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages.Both verses name the Jordan as a boundary of an allotted territory. Its name is linked to yarad, “descend”; here the descending river gives the portion a legible edge.
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