² tn Or “of the plain”; Heb “of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

⁴ tn Or “in the plain”; Heb “in the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

¹ sn See the study note on Jer 48:8 for reference to this tableland or high plain that lay between the Arnon and Heshbon.

³ sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, “sh^ephelah”) refer to the transition region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain.

² tn Heb “Chinneroth,” a city and plain located in the territory of Naphtali in Galilee (BDB 490 s.v. כִּנֶּרֶת, כִּנֲרוֹת).

³ sn The עֲרָבָה (ʿaravah, “rift valley”) extends from Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba. The עַרְבוֹת (ʿar^evot) of Jericho” refer to the parts of the Jordan Valley in the vicinity of Jericho (see HALOT 880 s.v. עֲרָבָה). The region is characterized by gently sloping plains which descend about 450 feet over the five miles from Jericho to the Jordan. Many translation say simply the “plains of Jericho” for the portion west of the Jordan and “plains of Moab” for the eastern portion. The translation here clarifies that the plains are part of the rift valley basin.

¹ sn For the geography involved, see note on the term “Pisgah” in Deut 3:17 and the note on “rift valley plains” in Num 21:1.

¹ sn Avvites. Otherwise unknown, these people were probably also Anakite (or Rephaite) giants who lived in the lower Mediterranean coastal plain until they were expelled by the Caphtorites.

¹ tn Or “and all the plain”; Heb “and all the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

¹ tn Or “the cities of the plain”; Heb “[the cities of] the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

³ sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, shephelah) are the region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain. In much of Old Testament times they served as a divide between the people of Judah and the Philistines, who lived in the coastal plain.

¹ sn Gennesaret was a fertile plain south of Capernaum (see also Matt 14:34). This name was also sometimes used for the Sea of Galilee (Luke 5:1).

¹ sn Gennesaret was a fertile plain south of Capernaum (see also Mark 6:53). The Sea of Galilee was also sometimes known as the Sea of Gennesaret (Luke 5:1).

² sn The Carmel mountain range is a majestic sight. The mountain range borders the southern edge of the plain of Esdraelon, dividing the Palestinian coastal plain into the Plain of Acco to the north and the Plains of Sharon and Philistia to the south. Its luxuriant foliage was legendary (Isa 33:9; Amos 1:2; Nah 1:4). Rising to a height of approximately 1750 feet (525 m), it extends southeast from the Mediterranean for 13 miles (21 km). Due to its greatness and fertility, it was often associated with majesty and power (Isa 35:2; Jer 46:18). The point of the comparison is that her head crowns her body just as the majestic Mount Carmel rested over the landscape, rising above it in majestic and fertile beauty. See ZPEB 1:755; C. F. Pfeiffer and H. F. Vos, Wycliffe Historical Geography of Bible Lands, 100.

¹ sn The foothills (שְׁפֵלָה, sh^ephelah) are the transition region between the Judean hill country and the Mediterranean coastal plain. These are areas of eocene limestone with a distinct pattern of erosion, soil, and vegetation cover.

² sn The “slopes” refer to the ascent from the rift valley up to the plains in the east. The slopes of Pisgah are across from the northern tip of the Dead Sea.

³ tn The שְׁפֵלָה (sh^ephelah) is the geographical region between the Mediterranean coastal plain and the hill country, sometimes called the “western foothills” (NIV, CEV, NLT), “Judean foothills” (Holman), “lowland” (NASB, ESV), or by the Hebrew “Shephelah” (NRSV).

¹ tn The term עַרְבוֹת (ʿar^evot) refers to the sloping plain of the rift valley basin to the north of the Dead Sea and east of the Jordan. See the note at Num 21:1.

² tn Or “all the land of the plain”; Heb “and all the face of the land of the circle,” referring to the “circle” or oval area of the Jordan Valley.

¹ sn The line of attack ran down the eastern side of the Jordan Valley into the desert, and then turned and came up the valley to the cities of the plain.