This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah by their families; even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast.
This then was the lot of the tribe of the children of Judah. In what manner the lot was drawn on this occasion the sacred historian does not say; but it is probable that the method adopted was similar to that described in Joshua 18:1-28. Though the general survey of the country had not been completed, some rough draught or delineation of the first conquered part must have been made, and satisfactory evidence obtained that it was large enough to furnish three cantons, before all the tribes cast lots for them; and they fell to Judah, Ephraim, and the half tribe of Manasseh. The lot of Judah came first, in token of the pre-eminence of that tribe over all the others; and its destined superiority thus received the visible sanction of God.
Even to the border of Edom. Literally rendered, the passage stands thus: х 'el (H413) gªbuwl (H1366)] 'upon (unto) the boundary of Edom, the wilderness of Zin to the Negeb, even х miqtseeh (H7097) teeymaan (H8486)] from the extremity of Teman' - i:e., the mountainous district of the A'zazimeh. This is the translation in the Arabic version; and it is preferred by Houbigant, Boothroyd, etc.