Joshua 19:18

And their border was towards Jezreel,.... Which was a royal seat in the time of Ahab, 1 Kings 21:1; and according to Jerom was near to Maximianopolis; [See comments on Hosea 1:5]; and the same writer

And the fourth lot came out to Issachar, for the children of Issachar according to their families. The fourth lot came out to Issachar.

Jezreel, the royal city, . This tribe, because it lay between Benjamin on the south and Zebulun on the north, is not here described by its borders, which were the same with theirs; but by some of its cities. Shunera, the birth-place of Abishag, .

Joshua 19:18 And their border was toward Jezreel, and Chesulloth, and Shunem,Ver. 18. And their border was toward Jezreel, &c.] In a rich and fat soil, according to that was foretold by Jacob and Moses; - "And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant: and he bowed his shoulders to bear, and became a servant to tribute." This was a low poor spirit, and his posterity were, for the general, very unworthy and vile: for his lot here fell in Galilee. Now "doth any good come from Galilee?" saith good Nathanael.

(18) Zerin (sheet 8), Iksal (sheet 6), Sûlem (sheet 9).

Verse 18. Jezreel] This city, according to Calmet, was situated in an open country, having the town of Legion on the west, Bethshan on the east, on the south the mountains of Gilboa, and on the north those of Hermon. Shunem] This city was rendered famous by being the occasional abode of the prophet Elisha, and the place where he restored the son of a pious woman to life. 2Kg 4:8. It was the place where the Philistines were encamped on that ruinous day in which the Israelites were totally routed at Gilboa, and Saul and his sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, killed. 1 Samuel 28:4; 1 Samuel 31:1, &c.

18. And their border] lay above that of Manasseh, and, according to Josephus, “extended in length from Carmel to the Jordan, and in breadth to Mount Tabor.” was toward Jezreel] Observe in this verse that the description of the boundaries of this tribe, though begun, is not continued. Instead, the names of the cities are given, which were included in it. Jezreel] (= the planting, or seed-plot, of God, now Zerin), stood in the celebrated plain of the name between Gilboa and little Hermon on the brow of a very steep rocky slope of at least 100 feet in a strong and central position, commanding the view towards the Jordan on the east (2 Kings 9:17), and visible from Carmel on the west (1 Kings 18:46). The splendid site induced Ahab to make it his chief residence. Here (a) he had his palace and “ivory house” (1 Kings 21:1; 1 Kings 22:39); here (b) he had a watch-tower whence sentinels were able to give timely notice of danger (2 Kings 9:17); here (c) Jezebel lived, and from her high window facing eastward watched the entrance of the conquering Jehu (2 Kings 9:30). Chesulloth] (= “the loins”) was probably so called from its position on the slopes of some mountain, possibly between Jezreel and Shunem. On Mr Grove’s map it is marked direct north of Jezreel, and is identified with Chisloth-tabor, the “Xaloth” of Josephus (B. J. iii. 3.1), the “Chasalus” of Jerome. and Shunem] Now Solâm, three miles to the N.E. of Jezreel in the Esdraelon plain, “full in view of the sacred spot on Mount Carmel, and situated in the midst of the finest corn-fields in the world.” Here (a) the Philistines encamped before the fatal battle of Gilboa (1 Samuel 28:4); here (b) was the native place of Abishag (1 Kings 1:3); here (c) Elisha often lodged in the house of the “Shunammite woman,” and here (d) he raised her son to life (2 Kings 4:8-37; 2 Kings 8:1-6).

Jezreel and its famous and fertile plain are the choicest part of the inheritance of Issachar Joshua 17:16. Shunem - Here the Philistines pitched before the battle of Gilboa 1 Samuel 28:4.

18. Their border was toward Jezreel — Or, rather, it encompassed this city. The writer begins to trace the border, but really enumerates the cities included within it. These were all in the eastern part of the plain of Esdraelon.