Joshua 15:2 - Ellicott's Commentary On The Whole Bible

Their south border. — The southern boundary of Judah is thus described by Conder (Bible Handbook, p. 257): — “The south boundary of Judah is described from east to west, and became afterwards that of Simeon (see Joshua 19:1). Although the points mentioned along the border are not all certainly known, there is no doubt that the great mountain wall which extends from the Dead Sea to the water-shed south of Rehoboth (Er-Ruheibeh) formed the natural and recognised boundary of Palestine, while the river of Egypt (Joshua 15:4) is generally supposed to be the present Wâdy-el’-Arish, the northern boundary between Syria and Egypt. The north branch of this valley (Wâdy-el-Abiad) rises near ‘Abdeh (Ebodah), south of Rehoboth, and thus carries on the boundary from the mountain rampart. A new identification of importance may be here mentioned, namely, Hezron (Joshua 15:3), the next point to Kadesh-barnea on the west side. Kadesh has been shown to lie probably in the neighbourhood of Wâdy-el-Yemen, and immediately west of that valley is the mountain called Hadîreh, a name radically identical with Hezron.”