יהושע, פרק ט״ו, פסוק ל״ב

At the conclusion of the list of cities located in the Negev region, a noticeable numerical discrepancy arises. The final tally records twenty-nine cities, yet a manual count of the locations detailed previously reveals a total of thirty-eight. The primary approach among commentators is that this difference of nine cities occurs because they were subtracted from the portion of the tribe of Judah and transferred to the tribe of Simeon, whose territory was established within Judah's borders [רש״י, רד״ק, מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ].

When comparing this inventory of cities to the later list of Simeon's territory, there appear to be ten overlapping locations rather than nine. To resolve this and maintain the precise calculation of nine transferred cities, it is explained that similar names appearing in both lists, such as Balah and Baalah, or Bethul and Chesil, do not refer to the same places, but rather to entirely different cities [רד״ק]. One of the cities transferred to Simeon, Ziklag, went through an interesting historical journey. After being conquered by the Israelites and falling into Simeon's portion, it was taken from them by the Philistine king of Gath. Later, when the city was given to David, it returned to the control of the kings of Judah from that day forward [רד״ק].

In addition to the main cities, there were also small, unwalled settlements and agricultural lands that surrounded them [שטיינזלץ]. The final count of twenty-nine refers exclusively to the central cities themselves, meaning these smaller surrounding settlements and farming areas were not included in the total calculation [מצודת דוד].