Beth-aram - This city was rebuilt by Herod, and called Livias, in honor of Livia, the wife of Augustus. Josephus calls it Julias, Julia being the name which the Greeks commonly give to Livia. - Calmet.

Succoth - A place between Jabbok and Jordan where Jacob pitched his tents, from which circumstance it obtained its name, see Genesis 33:17.

And in the valley, Betharam,.... The same with Bethharan; see Gill on Numbers 32:36,

and Bethnimrah; sometimes called Nimrah, Numbers 32:3; near to which were some waters, called the waters of Nimrim, Isaiah 15:6; It was in Jerom's (p) time a large village; it seems to have its name from leopards, which perhaps had their haunts hereabout:

and Succoth: the place where Jacob pitched his tent after he had passed over Jabbok; it is called in the Jerusalem Talmud (q) Thaarabah:

and Zaphon; which in the same Talmud is Amatho or Amathus, which Jerom says (r) is a village beyond Jordan, twenty one miles from Pella to the south, though he places it in the tribe of Reuben:

the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon; which was not given to the tribe of Reuben, Joshua 13:21,

Jordan and his border; that is, the cities which were near it, as Kimchi; or that were upon the bank of it, as Jarchi:

even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth; the same with the lake of Gennesaret, Luke 5:1,

on the other side Jordan eastward; the other from that in which the inheritance of Gad lay, which was beyond Jordan, from the land of Canaan.

(p) De loc. Heb. fol. 93. I.((q) T. Hieros. Sheviith, fol. 38. 4. (r) De loc. Heb. fol. 88. E.

On the north, the territory of Gad seems to have extended to the Jabbok, and only to have stretched beyond the Jabbok at Mahanaim, which formed the boundary of half-Manasseh, according to Joshua 13:30. In the valley of the Jordan, on the other hand, the boundary reached to the Sea of Galilee. "The valley" is the valley of the Jordan, or the Arabah from Wady Hesbn above the Dead Sea up to the Sea of Galilee, along the east side of the Jordan, which belonged to the kingdom of Sihon (Joshua 12:3; Deuteronomy 3:17). The northern boundary of the tribe of Reuben must have touched the Jordan in the neighbourhood of the Wady Hesbn. In the Jordan valley were Beth-haram, the future Libias, and present er Rameh (see at Numbers 32:36); Beth-nimra, according to the Onom. five Roman miles to the north, the present ruin of Nimrein (see at Numbers 32:36); Succoth, according to the Onom. trans Jordanem in parte Scythopoleos (see at Genesis 33:17); Zaphon (i.e., north), probably not far from the southern extremity of the Sea of Galilee. "The rest of the kingdom of Sihon," the other part having been given to the Reubenites (Joshua 13:21).

And in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, 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 {g} other side Jordan eastward.

(g) That is, in the land of Moab.

13:27 The rest of the kingdom - The northern part of his kingdom.

13:7-33 The land must be divided among the tribes. It is the will of God that every man should know his own, and not take that which is another's. The world must be governed, not by force, but right. Wherever our habitation is placed, and in whatever honest way our portion is assigned, we should consider them as allotted of God; we should be thankful for, and use them as such, while every prudent method should be used to prevent disputes about property, both at present and in future. Joshua must be herein a type of Christ, who has not only conquered the gates of hell for us, but has opened to us the gates of heaven, and having purchased the eternal inheritance for all believers, will put them in possession of it. Here is a general description of the country given to the two tribes and a half, by Moses. Israel must know their own, and keep to it; and may not, under pretence of their being God's peculiar people, encroach on their neighbours. Twice in this chapter it is noticed, that to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance: see Nu 18:20. Their maintenance must be brought out of all the tribes. The ministers of the Lord should show themselves indifferent about worldly interests, and the people should take care they want nothing suitable. And happy are those who have the Lord God of Israel for their inheritance, though little of this world falls to their lot. His providences will supply their wants, his consolations will support their souls, till they gain heavenly joy and everlasting pleasures.