Joshua 15:8, commentary and pictures

The verse belongs to the geographical record describing how the land was divided among the tribes of Israel, a section based on written documents that accurately described the property boundaries. It stands in the part of Joshua dealing with the conquering of the Canaanites and the division of the land that follows Achan's sin and its fearful consequences.

The verse traces the southern border of Benjamin and the boundary of Judah going up by the valley of the son of Hinnom to the south side of the Jebusite city, which is Jerusalem, and on to the top of the mountain before the valley of Hinnom westward at the end of the valley of the giants northward. It thus presents Jerusalem as a mountain city on Judah's boundary, with the border running by the Valley of Hinnom and the Valley of the Giants and bounding the city on the south. Jerusalem here is formerly the little city of Salem where Melchizedek reigned, called Jebus or Jebusi after it fell into possession of the Jebusites, lying in the portion that fell by lot to Judah near Benjamin's southern border and recognized by Abraham's children as Jew-Salem or Jerusalem. The lot of Judah so described thus included the land where Abraham pitched his tent after his separation from Lot, built an altar and worshiped God, and where the Lord met him and made the promise.

The Valley of Hinnom in the verse is a real, deep dell or ravine beside and south of Jerusalem, lying on the boundary of Judah. It is identified as the valley bounding Jerusalem on the south and located in relation to the mountain and the valley of the giants. The valley gives its name behind the Greek word Gehenna, the New Testament term for the place of future and final punishment. The verse is one of the Old Testament passages naming that valley and records the geographical setting later associated with Gehenna, which Jesus used as an illustration of the final destruction of the wicked, so understanding Gehenna begins with the valley's location and history.