John Calvin Commentary Joshua 18:11-28

"And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the border of their lot went out between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. And their border on the north quarter was from the Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north, and went up through the hill-country westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Beth-aven. And the border passed along from thence to Luz, to the side of Luz (the same is Beth-el), southward; and the border went down to Ataroth-addar, by the mountain that lieth on the south of Beth-horon the nether. And the border extended [thence], and turned about on the west quarter southward, from the mountain that lieth before Beth-horon southward; and the goings out thereof were at Kiriath-baal (the same is Kiriath-jearim), a city of the children of Judah: this was the west quarter. And the south quarter was from the uttermost part of Kiriath-jearim; and the border went out westward, and went out to the fountain of the waters of Nephtoah; and the border went down to the uttermost part of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the vale of Rephaim northward; and it went down to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of the Jebusite southward, and went down to En-rogel; and it extended northward, and went out at En-shemesh, and went out to Geliloth, which is over against the ascent of Adummim; and it went down to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben; and it passed along to the side over against the Arabah northward, and went down unto the Arabah; and the border passed along to the side of Beth-hoglah northward; and the goings out of the border were at the north bay of the Salt Sea, at the south end of the Jordan: this was the south border. And the Jordan was the border of it on the east quarter. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the borders thereof round about, according to their families. Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth-hoglah, and Emek-keziz, and Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el, and Avvim, and Parah, and Ophrah, and Chephar-ammoni, and Ophni, and Geba; twelve cities with their villages: Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth, and Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah, and Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah, and Zelah, Eleph, and the Jebusite (the same is Jerusalem), Gibeath, [and] Kiriath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families." — Joshua 18:11-28 (ASV)

In the allotment for Benjamin, nothing particularly deserving of notice occurs, except that a small tribe takes precedence over the others. I admit, indeed, that its borders were narrowed in proportion to its small numbers, because it obtained only twenty-six cities; but still, an honor was bestowed on it in the mere fact that it received its inheritance before more distinguished tribes. We may add that, in this way, they were joined and made neighbors to the other children of Joseph, with whom their relationship was closer. For they were placed in the middle, between the children of Ephraim and Manasseh on one side, and those of Judah on the other. They also had the distinguished honor of including Jerusalem in their inheritance, though they afterwards granted it by a kind of precarious tenure to the children of Judah as a royal residence.

It is strange, however, that having obtained such a quiet location, they did not live in peace and friendship with their neighbors. But we have the prophecy of Jacob: “Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf; in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.” (Genesis 49:27).

They must, therefore, have been by nature covetous and turbulent, or from some necessity not now known to us, they must have been driven to live by plunder.

Regarding the city of Luz, the other name is added ("the same is Bethel"), because only then did the name given by Jacob come into common use (Genesis 28:19). It was not far from Beth-Aven, whose name, as it was disgraceful and infamous, was transferred to Bethel itself after it was corrupted and polluted by impious superstitions.

It is probable that Ciriath-Baal was called Ciriath-Jeharim to remove the idol's name, which would have been a stain on its true piety. For it certainly would have been despicable and shameful for the lips of the people to be polluted by the name of a protector who was an enemy of the true God.