And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward:
And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem. The boundary approaches Jerusalem through the Valley of Ben-Hinnom (גֵּי בֶן־הִנֹּם), which became Gehenna (γέεννα) in Greek—the New Testament term for hell. This valley's dark history includes child sacrifice to Molech during Israel's apostasy (2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31-32), making it synonymous with divine judgment. That Judah's border ran through this valley of future defilement underscores how covenant promises don't exempt God's people from facing temptation and potential apostasy.
"The Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem" identifies the city by its pre-Israelite inhabitants. The Jebusites, a Canaanite people, controlled Jerusalem until David's conquest (2 Samuel 5:6-9) approximately 400 years after Joshua. This parenthetical note acknowledges incomplete conquest—Jerusalem remained unconquered during the judges period (Joshua 15:63; Judges 1:21). Yet God's purposes weren't thwarted; David's eventual conquest made Jerusalem the political and spiritual capital, and ultimately the city where Christ died and rose.
The border "went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants (Rephaim, רְפָאִים) northward." This precise topographical description locates the boundary at Jerusalem's western heights, marking the division between Judah and Benjamin.
Historical Context
Jerusalem (Hebrew Yerushalayim, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם; Jebusite name probably Urusalim) appears in Egyptian Execration Texts (19th century BCE) and Amarna Letters (14th century BCE), confirming its antiquity and importance. The city's location on a ridge between the Kidron and Hinnom valleys, with water from the Gihon Spring, provided natural defenses making it "impregnable" in Jebusite estimation. The Valley of Hinnom (Ge-Hinnom, corrupted to Gehenna) curves around Jerusalem's western and southern sides. During the monarchical period, apostate kings erected high places here for Molech worship, burning children as offerings—abominations that eventually defiled the valley permanently. King Josiah desecrated the site (2 Kings 23:10), and it became Jerusalem's garbage dump where fires burned continuously, creating the perfect metaphor for eternal judgment that Jesus employed. The Valley of Rephaim ("giants") north of Hinnom was a fertile plain where David later fought Philistines (2 Samuel 5:18-22).
Questions for Reflection
How does Jerusalem's placement on Judah's boundary—partially conquered but ultimately central—illustrate that God's greatest blessings often require patient, persistent faith to fully possess?
What does Hinnom Valley's transformation from inheritance boundary to judgment symbol teach about the consequences of covenant unfaithfulness?
How should knowing that even promised inheritance includes potential sites of future failure (Hinnom) keep you humble and dependent on God's grace?
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Analysis & Commentary
And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem. The boundary approaches Jerusalem through the Valley of Ben-Hinnom (גֵּי בֶן־הִנֹּם), which became Gehenna (γέεννα) in Greek—the New Testament term for hell. This valley's dark history includes child sacrifice to Molech during Israel's apostasy (2 Kings 23:10; Jeremiah 7:31-32), making it synonymous with divine judgment. That Judah's border ran through this valley of future defilement underscores how covenant promises don't exempt God's people from facing temptation and potential apostasy.
"The Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem" identifies the city by its pre-Israelite inhabitants. The Jebusites, a Canaanite people, controlled Jerusalem until David's conquest (2 Samuel 5:6-9) approximately 400 years after Joshua. This parenthetical note acknowledges incomplete conquest—Jerusalem remained unconquered during the judges period (Joshua 15:63; Judges 1:21). Yet God's purposes weren't thwarted; David's eventual conquest made Jerusalem the political and spiritual capital, and ultimately the city where Christ died and rose.
The border "went up to the top of the mountain that lieth before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants (Rephaim, רְפָאִים) northward." This precise topographical description locates the boundary at Jerusalem's western heights, marking the division between Judah and Benjamin.