Connect Joshua 15:2 to God's covenant with Abraham regarding the Promised Land.

The Southern Border of Judah: Joshua 15:2

“ Their southern border began at the bay on the southern tip of the Salt Sea. ”

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Key observations

• The “Salt Sea” is the Dead Sea.

• The “bay” on its southern tip marks the starting point of Judah’s southern boundary.

• This verse launches a detailed survey that traces the tribe’s inheritance through deserts, valleys, and mountain ridges (Joshua 15:2-12).

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Linking Back to God’s Covenant with Abraham

1. Genesis 12:7 — “To your offspring I will give this land.”

2. Genesis 13:14-15 — “Look from the place where you are … for all the land that you see, I will give to you and to your descendants forever.”

3. Genesis 15:18 — “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I have given this land, from the River of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.’”

4. Genesis 17:8 — “I will give to you and your descendants … all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession.”

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How Joshua 15:2 Fulfills the Covenant

• The land promised to Abraham now receives precise tribal boundaries.

• Judah’s territory, starting at the Dead Sea, lies squarely within the region God pledged.

• The shift from promise (“I will give”) to historical record (“Their southern border began”) showcases covenant faithfulness realized.

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Geographic Continuity

• “River of Egypt” (likely Wadi el-Arish) to the Dead Sea basin frames the southern limits of the Promised Land (compare Numbers 34:3-5).

• Joshua’s survey mirrors earlier boundary descriptions, proving that what God mapped out centuries before is what Israel occupies now.

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Faithfulness Across Generations

• Abraham believed without owning so much as “a foot of ground” (Acts 7:5).

• By Joshua’s day, his descendants walk, farm, and build within exact landmarks God named.

• The tangible border at the Salt Sea is evidence that divine promises travel intact through time and lineage.

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Why This Matters

• Scripture’s accuracy anchors trust: real places, fixed points, verifiable fulfillment.

• God’s unbroken commitment to Abraham undergirds every later covenant and ultimately the coming of Messiah through Judah (Genesis 49:10; Matthew 1:1-2).

• The boundary stone at the Dead Sea is a monument to a God who keeps His word down to the last shoreline and hillside.