Joshua 19:46 kjv
And Mejarkon, and Rakkon, with the border before Japho.
Joshua 19:46 nkjv
Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the region near Joppa.
Joshua 19:46 niv
Me Jarkon and Rakkon, with the area facing Joppa.
Joshua 19:46 esv
and Me-jarkon and Rakkon with the territory over against Joppa.
Joshua 19:46 nlt
Me-jarkon, Rakkon, and the territory across from Joppa.
Joshua 19 46 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Gen 15:18 | "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates." | God's promise of land to Abraham's descendants. |
| Num 34:1-12 | "The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan...'" | Details of Israel's divinely appointed land boundaries. |
| Josh 1:4 | "From the wilderness and Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory." | Confirmation of the extent of the promised land. |
| Josh 17:7 | "The border of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath, which is east of Shechem..." | Another example of precise border descriptions. |
| Josh 18:11 | "Then the lot for the tribe of the people of Benjamin came up according to their clans..." | Describes the allocation of other tribal territories. |
| Judg 1:34-35 | "The Amorites pressed the people of Dan into the hill country, for they did not allow them to come down to the plain." | Dan's failure to fully dispossess inhabitants in their assigned land. |
| Judg 18:1-2 | "In those days there was no king in Israel... And from Zorah and Eshtaol, from the clan of the Danites, five men..." | Dan's quest for new territory due to difficulties in their initial inheritance. |
| Judg 18:27-29 | "But they took what Micah had made, and the priest who belonged to him, and they came to Laish, to a people quiet and unsuspecting, and struck them..." | Dan's migration and conquest of Laish, renaming it Dan. |
| 1 Ki 5:9 (Jonah 1:3) | "My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea to the place you direct, and there I will break them up..." | Japho/Joppa as a historical port for timber for the Temple. (Jonah fled to Tarshish via Joppa). |
| Acts 9:36 | "Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas." | Joppa (Japho) in the New Testament as a significant early Christian center. |
| Acts 10:5-6 | "Now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter..." | Joppa's role in Peter's vision and the Gentile conversion narrative. |
| Ps 78:55 | "He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a heritage and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents." | God's faithfulness in providing land for Israel. |
| Neh 11:35 | "Lod, and Ono, and the valley of artisans." | Other towns in the general region mentioned, showing settlement patterns. |
| Is 11:14 | "They will swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west..." | Reference to the coastal Philistine area that Dan faced. |
| Jer 47:4 | "...because of the day that is coming to destroy all the Philistines..." | Highlights the Philistine presence in Dan's allotted region. |
| Josh 15:1 | "The allotment for the tribe of the people of Judah according to their clans reached southward to the boundary of Edom..." | Another example of a tribal land description, indicating a structured process. |
| Josh 16:1 | "The allotment for the people of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel..." | Allotment description for Ephraim, showing detailed boundaries. |
| Josh 19:1 | "The second lot came out for Simeon, for the tribe of the people of Simeon according to their clans, and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the people of Judah." | Beginning of the latter set of tribal allotments, of which Dan is one. |
| Ez 48:1-2 | "Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north on the side of the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan, which is beside the border of Damascus..." | Ezekiel's visionary tribal allotments, demonstrating the enduring importance of tribal land. |
| Rom 15:8-9 | "For I tell you that Christ has become a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs..." | The New Testament understanding of God's fulfillment of His promises to Israel, including land. |
| Heb 4:8-9 | "For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later of another day. So then, there remains a Sabbath-rest for the people of God..." | Implied spiritual "rest" from land inheritance to the ultimate rest in Christ. |
Joshua 19 verses
Joshua 19 46 Meaning
This verse specifies key geographical markers—Me-jarkon, Rakkon, and the territory near Japho—that delineate a portion of the inheritance allocated to the tribe of Dan in the land of Canaan. It identifies specific cities or points along their assigned border, particularly emphasizing their location in the fertile coastal plain.
Joshua 19 46 Context
Joshua chapter 19 concludes the detailed record of the allocation of land to the tribes of Israel, following the initial conquests. After the first seven tribes received their portions (Judah, Ephraim, Manasseh, Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali), chapter 19 describes the allotments for the remaining tribes: Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and finally, Dan. The description for each tribe meticulously lists the cities and boundaries assigned to them. Joshua 19:40-48 specifically details the inheritance for the tribe of Dan, which was positioned to the west, along the Mediterranean coast, south of Ephraim and bordering Judah. This verse, therefore, pinpoints crucial geographical landmarks within or immediately adjacent to Dan's allotted territory, signifying the intended boundaries for their settlement and possession in the coastal plain, a highly strategic but also heavily inhabited region, especially by the Philistines and Amorites. This context foreshadows the subsequent challenges faced by the tribe of Dan in securing their promised land.
Joshua 19 46 Word analysis
and Me-jarkon:
- Original Hebrew: מֵי הַיַּרְקוֹן֙ (Mei ha-Yarqon).
- Meaning: Literally "Waters of the Yarkon" or "Yarkon Water."
- Significance: This refers to the Yarkon River (modern Nahal Yarqon), a significant watercourse in the central coastal plain of Israel. It flows westward into the Mediterranean Sea north of modern Tel Aviv. Its inclusion identifies a northern or central marker within Dan's territory or boundary. Access to water was crucial for settlement and agriculture, making this river a vital geographical feature.
and Rakkon:
- Original Hebrew: וְהָֽרַקּוֹן֙ (ve-ha-Raqqon).
- Meaning: Rakkon, likely a town.
- Significance: Scholars generally place Rakkon (Tell er-Reqeitish) near the mouth of the Yarkon River. This town, in conjunction with "Me-jarkon," further delineates the immediate vicinity of the Yarkon River as part of or defining the boundary of the Danite inheritance. Its mention highlights the precise, localized nature of the land distribution.
with the territory over against:
- Original Hebrew: גְּבוּל נֶגֶד (gevul neged).
- Meaning: "boundary facing," "territory opposite," or "border adjacent to."
- Significance: This phrase indicates the proximity or demarcation line in relation to the following geographical point. It doesn't necessarily mean inclusion of Japho within Dan's direct inheritance but marks the border's relationship to it. It sets a relational landmark rather than directly assigning ownership.
Japho:
- Original Hebrew: יָפ֛וֹ (Yafo).
- Meaning: Japho (modern Jaffa or Joppa).
- Significance: A prominent ancient seaport city on the Mediterranean coast. While some scholars debate whether Japho itself was explicitly within Dan's territory or served as a prominent boundary marker, its strategic importance and location are undeniable. Control of a coastal port like Japho would have provided significant economic and military advantages. Its inclusion highlights Dan's challenging coastal allotment, often contended by powerful maritime peoples like the Philistines.
Words-group by words-group analysis:
- "and Me-jarkon, and Rakkon": These two closely located geographical features served as critical anchors for defining the extent of Dan's territory in the northern part of their inheritance. They establish a specific area along the Yarkon River. This pairing underscores the exactitude with which these borders were drawn and recorded, often using both natural landmarks and populated places.
- "with the territory over against Japho": This phrase ties the defined region to a major landmark on the Mediterranean coast. It establishes the western reach of Dan's assigned land or a significant point that its border touched or ran near. Japho's fame as a port meant it was a widely known geographical reference point. This aspect emphasizes the coastal nature of Dan's inheritance, a feature unique among some of the tribal allocations and later proving to be a source of significant challenges.
Joshua 19 46 Bonus section
The allocation of the coastal strip to Dan demonstrates a clear geographical strategy within the tribal divisions, giving Israel a presence on the vital Mediterranean sea. However, this strategic position also brought them into direct conflict with strong, entrenched, non-Israelite populations. The narrative of Dan’s later migration is often viewed as a stark example of a tribe failing to fully possess its inheritance due to a lack of faith and determination in confronting the powerful indigenous peoples. While the land was given by divine decree, its physical possession required persistent obedience and military effort, a lesson profoundly evident in the history of the Danites linked to this verse.
Joshua 19 46 Commentary
Joshua 19:46, while seemingly just a dry list of place names, carries profound implications for the tribe of Dan and their subsequent history. The specific mention of Me-jarkon, Rakkon, and the proximity to Japho underscores the challenging nature of Dan's assigned territory. This area was part of the fertile and strategically vital coastal plain, which was already well-populated by powerful Canaanite groups, particularly the Philistines and Amorites. Unlike some tribes that primarily settled in the central highlands, Dan faced a highly resistant populace along the very lucrative trade routes and coastal regions. This inherent difficulty in dispossessing the inhabitants within their promised inheritance is tragically realized in Judges 1:34-35, where the Amorites "pressed the people of Dan into the hill country." This verse, therefore, subtly sets the stage for the later narrative in Judges 18, where the Danites, unable to secure their allocated land, embark on a migration to the far north, conquering Laish (renaming it Dan) to establish a new, secure inheritance. The meticulous geographical detail here implicitly highlights the gap between divine promise and the human effort required for full possession, and indeed, Dan's struggle to uphold that mandate in their original allocation.