(8) (
Hebrew characters) ((Greek characters))] Six miles S of Ruād, the modern village of
Ṣumra preserves the name of this city: Eg. Ṣamar; TA, Ṣumur; Ass.
Ṣimirra; Gr. (Greek characters). See Strabo, XVI. ii. 12; AE, 187; KAT2, 105;
Del. Par. 281 f.
(9) (Hebrew characters) ((Greek characters))] from the well-known Ḥamath on the Orontes;
now Ḥamā.
The delimitation of the Canaanite boundary in v.19 is very obscure.
It describes two sides of a triangle, from Ẓidon on the N to Gaza or
Gerar in the SW; and from thence to a point near the S end of the
Dead Sea. The terminus (Hebrew characters) (G (Greek characters)) is, however, unknown. The
traditional identification (TJ, Jer.) with (Greek characters), near the N end of
the Dead Sea, is obviously unsuitable. Kittel, BH (very improbably),
suggests (Hebrew characters) (142)). We. (Comp.2 15) reads (Hebrew characters) or (Hebrew characters) (Jos. 1947 (Hebrew characters)) = 'to
Dan' ((Hebrew characters)), the conventional northern limit of Canaan,—thus completing
the E side of the triangle.—Gerar were certainly further S. than Gaza
(see on 201); hence we cannot read 'as far as (v.i.) Gerar, up to Gaza,'
while the rendering 'in the direction of Gerar, as far as Gaza,' would
only be intelligible if Gerar were a better known locality than Gaza.
Most probably (Hebrew characters) is a gloss (Gu. al.).—On the situation of Sodom, etc.,
see on ch. 19.—On any construction of the v. the northern cities of 17. 18a
are excluded.—[E] has an entirely different text: (Hebrew characters),—an
amalgam of 1518 and Dt. 1124.
21, 24, 25-30. The Shemites.—The genealogy of
Shem in J resolves itself entirely into a classification of the
peoples whose origin was traced to 'Eber. These fall into
two main branches: the descendants of Peleg (who are not
here enumerated), and the Yoḳṭanites or S Arabian tribes.
Shem is thus nothing more than the representative of the
unity of the widely scattered Hebraic stock: Shemite and
'Hebrew' are convertible terms. This recognition of the
ethnological affinity of the northern and southern Semites is
a remarkable contrast to P, who assigns the S Arabians to
Ḥam,—the family with which Israel had least desire to be
associated.
(Hebrew characters) is the eponym of (Hebrew characters) (Hebrews), the name by which the Israelites
are often designated in distinction from other peoples, down to
the time of Saul[1] (see G-K. § 2 b: the pass. are cited in BDB, s.v.). It
is strange at first sight that while the (Hebrew characters) of v.21 include all Shemites
known to J, the gentilic word is historically restricted to Israelites.
The difficulty is perhaps removed by the still disputed, but now widely
- ↑ After 1 Sa. it occurs only Dt. 1512, Jer. 349. 14, Jon. 19. But see the cogent criticisms of Weinheimer in ZATW, 1909, 275 ff., who propounds the view that Hebrews and Israelites were distinct strata of the population.
