Commentaire sur Josué 15:3

And it extended southward to Maalei-Akrabim. The words: וְיָצָא, and it extended, וְנַסֵּב, and it encircled, and וְתָּאַר, and it encompassed, are used only in the place where the boundary line bulges outward, or is indented inward, and does not follow a straight line, and here it bulges outward and reaches to the south of Maalei-Akrabim, in the south of Maalei Akrabim. Thus Maalei-Akrabim is within the line, and [the line] passed it and continued westward,

To Tzin. (צִנָה) is the same as לְצִין , to Tzin. Every word that requires a lamed as, a prefix will have a hei as a suffix.

And went up. Whatever rises eastward towards Yerushalayim goes up higher; and from Yerushalayim and further it descends. From this we learn that Yerushalayim is higher than any place in Eretz Yisroel. Yerushalayim is actually not mentioned in the boundary since it was in the northern boundary of Yehudah³These verses discuss the southern boundary. as is stated later in this chapter.⁴See below verse 8.

And went up from the south to Kodeish-barneia. The line went from the south of Kodeish-barneiah; thus, Kodeish is within the [boundary] line.

And it passed Chetzron. He continues counting (the cities) westward until “and its boundary extended to the sea.”⁵See next verse.