14 The border extended, and turned around on the west quarter southward, from the mountain that lies before Beth Horon southward; and ended at Kiriath Baal (the same is Kiriath Jearim), a city of the children of Judah. This was the west quarter.
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
And compassed the corner - Render "and turned on the west side southward." The meaning is, that at lower Beth-horon the northern boundary-line of Benjamin curved round and ran southward - Beth-horon being its extreme westerly point.
And the border was drawn thence,.... From Bethhoron:
and compassed the corner of the sea southward; it is hard to say what sea is meant, or what by it. Fuller (k) conjectures, that as the Hebrews call any confluence of water a sea, as we call such a "mere", the great waters in Gibeon may be meant, Jeremiah 41:12; for it cannot mean the Mediterranean sea, for Daniel lay between Benjamin and that; and yet if a sea is meant, no other can be; wherefore it is best to render it the "west quarter", as it is in the latter part of this verse; and so the same word is translated, Joshua 18:12; the "west", and not the "sea", as it sometimes is; for the border of Benjamin did not reach the sea any where; though Josephus (l) makes it to extend to it, and says, that the length of it was from the river Jordan to the sea:
the hill that lieth before Bethhoron southward; the hill that lay to the south of nether Bethhoron, as in Joshua 18:13,
and the goings out thereof, the end of the western coast:
were at Kirjathbaal, which is Kirjathjearim, a city of the children of Judah; of which see Joshua 15:9,
this was the west quarter; as thus described.
(k) Pisgah Sight, B. 2. c. 12. p. 251. (l) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 22.)
Kirjath - jearim - The Israelites changed the name, to blot out the remembrance of Baal.
*More commentary available at chapter level.