And it went out to the south side to Maalehacrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadeshbarnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa: (Joshua 15:3)
Literally, “hill of scorpions,” or “ascent of scorpions” (see Num. 34:4), perhaps because of the number of scorpions in that area. It was probably situated halfway between Mt. Halak and the Dead Sea. Mt. Halak is mentioned also in Joshua 11:17, 12:7.
Passed along to Zin.
It is more accurate to read, “crossed over toward Zin,” that is, the line passed over the mountain.
Kadesh-barnea.
The complete clause reads, literally, “and went up from the south to Kadesh-barnea,” a considerable distance south of Beersheba. Some have identified it with ‘Ain el-Qudeirât, 73 mi. (118 km.) south of Hebron; others, with ‘Ain Qedeis, about 5 mi. (8 km.) southeast.
Hezron.
The exact locations of Hezron, Adar, and Karkaa are not known. The border evidently ran northwesterly from Kadesh as far as Adar, and then made a turn to the west, following probably the border between the Wilderness of Paran and the Wilderness of Zin. Kadesh-barnea seems to have been situated on this border, since it is spoken of as being in both wilderness (Num. 13:26; 20:1).