What is the meaning of Joshua 19:46? Me-jarkon • “Me-jarkon” opens the verse, identifying a settlement within the seventh lot that fell to the tribe of Dan (Joshua 19:40–46). • The name points to the Yarkon River, a fresh-water outlet that meets the Mediterranean just north of today’s Tel Aviv. The Lord literally drew Dan’s boundary to a life-sustaining waterway, underscoring His provision (cf. Numbers 34:5; Joshua 1:4). • This northern tip of Dan’s coastal strip later lay on the path used to float cedar logs from Lebanon to the temple site (2 Chronicles 2:16); even that engineering feat rested on territory God had already assigned centuries earlier. • Me-jarkon reminds us that every border line in Israel’s inheritance was divinely set—evidence that God’s promises are precise, not approximate. Rakkon • Listed second, Rakkon sat just down the shoreline, likely on the low coastal plain. Its position strengthened Dan’s access to the sea and to maritime trade. • The prophetess Deborah later chided Dan for “lingering with the ships” (Judges 5:17), an allusion that fits a tribe whose God-given towns hugged safe anchorages like Rakkon. • Though small, Rakkon contributed to the strategic value of Dan’s lot; every town—no matter how obscure—counted in God’s blueprint for the nation (cf. Joshua 21:23–24, where even lesser-known Levitical towns receive notice). Territory across from Joppa • The line closes, “including the territory across from Joppa” (Joshua 19:46). Joppa (modern Jaffa) is the only natural harbor on Israel’s central coast, so the phrase marks the coastal frontage opposite that port. • Solomon later shipped cedar there for the temple (2 Chronicles 2:16); Jonah fled from it (Jonah 1:3); Peter received a rooftop vision there that opened the gospel to Gentiles (Acts 9:36–43; 10:9–23). From the start, God placed His people at a gateway to the nations. • Sadly, Dan struggled to hold this prized ground against Amorite and Philistine pressure (Judges 1:34; 13:1), eventually migrating north (Joshua 19:47). Yet Joshua 19:46 records the original, God-ordained inheritance—proof that loss came from disobedience, not from any flaw in God’s gift. summary Joshua 19:46 names Me-jarkon, Rakkon, and the tract facing Joppa to sketch the seaward edge of Dan’s inheritance. Each place highlights a facet of God’s faithfulness: fertile riverside living at Me-jarkon, secure coastline at Rakkon, and a world-linking harbor opposite Joppa. The verse assures us that the Lord parcels out blessings with purpose and precision, inviting His people to trust, occupy, and steward what He assigns. |
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