a confederacy against Israel A. M. 2554. An. Exod. Isr 41. Anno ante 3 And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west, and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite in the I. Olymp. 674. mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh. e h 4 And they went out, they and all their hosts with them, much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude, with horses and chariots very many. e b Chap. xix. 15.- Num. xxxiv. 11. d Ch. Judg. iii. 3. Chap. xiii. 11.- Gen. xxxi. 49.- hGen. xvii. 11; Judg. i. 27; 1 Kings iv. 1. NOTES ON CHAP. XI. xxii. 17; xxxii. 12; Judg. vii. 12; 1 Sam. xiii. 5.. Marath, by Pliny and Pomponius Mela. It cannot be Samaria, as that had its name long after by Omri king of Israel. See 1 Kings xvi. 24. King of Achshaph] Calmet supposes this to have been the city Ecdippe, mentioned by Pliny, Ptolemy, Josephus, and Eusebius. The latter places it within ten miles of Ptolemais, on the road to Tyre. It fell to the tribe of Asher. See chap. xix. 25. Verse 2. On the north of the mountains] Or the mountain, probably Hermon, or some mountain not far from the lake. of Gennesareth. And of the plains] That is, the valleys of the above mountains, which had the sea of Chinneroth or Chinneroth] This city is supposed by St. Jerome and several others since his time, to be the same as was afterwards called Tiberias. From this city or village the sea of Chinneroth or Gennesareth probably had its name. Verse 1. Jabin king of Hazor] It is probable that Jabin was the common name of all the kings of Hazor. That king, by whom the Israelites were kept in a state of slavery for twenty years, and who was defeated by Deborah and Barak, was called by this name; see Judg. iv. 2, 3, 23. The name signifies wise or intelligent. The city of Hazor was situated above the Lake Semechon, in Upper Galilee, according to Josephus, Antiq. lib. v., c. 6. It was given to the tribe of Naphtali, Josh. xix. 36, who it appears did not possess it long; for though it was burnt by Joshua, ver. 11, it is likely that the Canaanites rebuilt it, and restored the ancient government, as we find a power-Gennesareth on the south. ful king there about one hundred and thirty years after the death of Joshua, Judg. iv. 1. It is the same that was taken by Tiglath-pileser, together with Kadesh, to which it is contiguous;, see 2 Kings xv. 29. It is supposed to have given name to the Valley or Plain of Hazor or Nasor, situated between it and Kadesh, where Jonathan and Mattathias defeated the armies of Demetrius, and slew three thousand of their men, 1 Maccab. xi. 63-74. It was in ancient times the metropolitan city of all that district, and a number of petty kings or chieftains were subject to its king, see ver. 10; and it is likely that it was those tributary kings who were summoned to attend the king of Hazor on this occasion; for Joshua having conquered the southern part of the promised land, the northern parts seeing themselves exposed made now a common interest, and, joining with Jabin, endeavoured to put a stop to the progress of the Israelites. See Calmet. Jobab king of Madon] This royal city is nowhere else mentioned in Scripture except in chap. xii. 19. The Vatican copy of the Septuagint reads Mapov, Maron, which, if legitimate, Calmet thinks may mean Maronia or Merath in Phoenicia, to the north of Mount Libanus. The Hebrew text reads 7. Meron, chap. xii. 20, after Shimron, which is probably the same with 1 Madon, ver. 19, the word having casually dropped out of the preceding place into the latter, and theresh and 7 daleth being interchanged, which might have easily happened from the great similarity of the letters. Hence Calmet conjectures that it may be the same place with Meroz, Judg. v. 23, the zain and final nun being interchanged, which they might easily, as they are so very similar. King of Shimron] This city is supposed to be the same with Symira, in Cœlosyria, joined to Maron or And in the borders of Dor] Calmet supposes this to mean the champaign country of the higher and lower Galilee, on to the Mediterranean Sea, and to the village or city of Dor, which was the farthermost city of Phoenicia. Dor was in the lot of the half tribe of Manasseh, and was situated on the Mediterranean Sea, three leagues from Cæsarea, and seven from Ptolemais.. Verse 3. The Canaanite on the east, &c.]. Those who dwelt on the borders of. Jordan, south of the sea of Tiberias. On the west] Those were the Phoenicians who dwelt on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, from Dor north wards, on the way to Mount Libanus.-Calmet. The Hivite under Hermon] Mount Hermon was to the east of Libanus and the fountains of Jordan; it is the same with Syrion and Baal Hermon in Scripture. The land of Mizpeh.] There were several cities of this name: one in the tribe of Judah, (chap. xv. 38;) a second in the tribe of Benjamin, (chap. xviii. 26;) a third beyond Jordan, in the tribe of Gad; and a fourth beyond Jordan, in the tribe of Manasseh, which is that mentioned in the text. See Wells's Geography. Calmet supposes this Mizpeh to be the place where Laban and Jacob made their covenant, and from which circumstance it took its name. See Gen. xxxi. 48, 49. Verse 4. Much people, even as the sand] This form of speech, by some called a hyperbole, conveys simply the idea of a vast or unusual number-a number of which no regular estimate could be easily formed. Josephus, who seldom finds difficulties in such cases, Joshua attacks and A. M. 2554. An. Exod. Isr. k CHAP. XI. utterly discomfits them. A. M. 2554. 41. Anno ante I. Olymp. 674. 5 And when all these kings maim, and unto the valley of were met together, they came Mizpeh, eastward; and they An. Exod. Isr. and pitched together at the waters smote them, until they left them 1. Olymp. 674. of Merom, to fight against Israel. none remaining. 6 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of them for to-morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel thou shalt 'hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire. 7 So Joshua came, and all the people of *Heb. assembled by appointment. Chap. x. 8.- 2 Sam. viii. 4. and makes no scruple of often speaking without book, tells us that the allied armies amounted to 300,000 foot, 10,000 horse, and 20,000 chariots of war.Antiq. lib. v., c. 1.. That chariots were frequently used in war, all the records of antiquity prove; but it is generally supposed that among the Canaanites they were armed with iron scythes fastened to their poles and to the naves of their wheels. Terrible things are spoken of these, and the havoc made by them when furiously driven among the ranks of infantry. Of what sort the cavalry was, we know not; but from the account here given we may see what great advantages these allies possessed over the Israelites, whose armies consisted of infantry only. Verse 5. The waters of Merom] Where these waters were, interpreters are not agreed. Whether they were the waters of the Lake Semechon, or the waters of Megiddo, mentioned Judg. v. 19, cannot be easily determined. The latter is the more probable opinion. 9 And Joshua did unto them as the LORD bade him; he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire. 10 And Joshua at that time turned back, and took Hazor, and smote the king thereof with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms. 11 And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire. Chap. xiii. 6. o Or, salt pits. A -P Heb. burnings. "There lay the vestures of no vulgar art, - Ver. 6, Εκ μεν Σιδωνος πολυχαλκου ευχομαι είναι. "I am of SIDON, famous for her wealth." What this place was is unknown, but Calmet conjecMisrephoth-maim] Or, Misrephoth of the waters. tures it to be the same with Sarepta, a city of Phœnicia, contiguous to Sidon. The word signifies the burning of the waters, or inflammation; probably it was a place noted for its hot springs: this idea seems to have struck Luther, as he translates it, die warme Verse 6. Be not afraid of them] To meet such a formidable host so well equipped, in their own country, furnished with all that was necessary to supply a numerous army, required more than ordinary encourage-asser, the hot waters. ment in Joshua's circumstances. This communication Verse 9. He houghed their horses] The Hebrew from God was highly necessary, in order to prevent the people from desponding on the eve of a conflict, in which their all was at stake. Verse 7. By the waters of Merom suddenly] Joshua, being apprized of this grand confederation, lost no time, but marched to meet them; and before they could have supposed him at hand, fell suddenly upon them, and put them to the rout. Verse 8. Great Zidon] If this were the same with the Sidon of the ancients, it was illustrious long before the Trojan war; and both it and its inhabitants are frequently mentioned by Homer as excelling in works of skill and utility, and abounding in wealth: Ενθ' εσαν οἱ πεπλοι παμποικίλοι, έργα γυναικών word py akar, which we render to hough or hamstring, signifies to wound, cut, or lop off. It is very likely that it means here, not only an act by which they were rendered useless, but by which they were destroyed; as God had purposed that his people should not possess any cattle of this kind, that a warlike and enterprising spirit might not be cultivated among them; and that, when obliged to defend themselves and their country, they might be led to depend upon God for protection and victory. On the same ground, God had forbidden the kings of Israel to multiply horses, Deut. xvii. 16. See the note there containing the reasons on which this prohibition was founded. Burnt their chariots] As these could have been of no use without the horses. Verse 10. Took Hazor] See on ver. 1. The people take the spoils. A, M. 2554.-60. 41-47. Anno ante JOSHUA, Account of the country taken 12 And all the cities of those | servant, so did Moses command A. M. 2554-60 An. Exod. Isr. kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them I. Olymp. 674-68. with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, 13 But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn. Joshua, and so did Joshua ; * he B. C. 1450-44 41-47. 16 So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same, 17 Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon and all a 14 And all the spoil of these cifies, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote their kings he took, and smote them, and slew with the edge of the sword, until they had de-them. stroyed them, neither left they any to breathe. 18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. a * Heb. he removed nothing. -y Chap. xii. 8.- Chap. x. 41. Chap. xii. 7.- b Or, the smooth mountain. - Deut. vii. 24; chap. xii. 7.- -d Till 1445; ver. 23. will be removed. But the first opinion seems best founded; for there is incontestable evidence that several notes have been added to this book since the days of Joshua. See the preface. Verse 17. From the mount Halak] All the mountainous country that extends from the south of the land of Canaan towards Seir unto Baal-gad, which lies at the foot of Mount Libanus or Hermon, called by some the mountains of Separation, which serve as a limit between the land of Canaan and that of Seir; 'see chap. xii. 7. Verse 13. The cities that stood still in their strength] The word tillam, which we translate their strength, and the margin, their heap, has been understood two ways. 1. As signifying those cities which had made peace with the Israelites, when conditions of peace were offered according to the command of the law; and consequently were not destroyed. Such as the cities of the Hivites; see ver. 19. 2. The cities which were situated upon hills and mountains, which, when taken, might be retained with little difficulty. In this sense the place is understood by the Vulgate, as pointing out the cities quæ erant in collibus et tu- The valley of Lebanon] The whole extent of the mulis sita, "which were situated on hills and emi-plain which is on the south, and probably north, of nences." As the cities of the plain might be easily Mount Libanus. Calmét conjectures that Calesyria attacked and carried, Joshua destroyed them, Hazor is here meant. excepted; but as those on mountains, hills, or other eminences, might be retained with little trouble, prudence would dictate their preservation, as places of refuge in any insurrection of the people, or invasion of their adversaries. The passage in Jeremiah, chap. xxx. 18, Jerusalem shall be builded on her own heap, n tillah, if understood as above, conveys an easy and clear sense Jerusalem shall be re-established on her OWN HILL. Verse 18. Joshua made war a long time] The whole of these conquests were not effected in one campaign: they probably required six or seven years. There are some chronological notices in this book, and in Deuteronomy, by which the exact time may be nearly ascertained. Caleb was forty years old when he was sent from Kadesh-barnea by Moses to search out the land, about A. M. 2514; and at the end of this war he was eighty-five years old; (compare chap. xiv. 10 with Num. xiii. and Deut. i. ;) consequently the war ended in 2559, which had begun, by the passage of Jordan, on the tenth day of the first month of the year 2554. From this date to the end of 2559 we find exactly six years; the first of which Joshua seems to have employed in the conquest of the south part of the land of Canaan, and the other five in the conquest of all the territories situated on the north of that country. See Dodd. Verse 14. All the spoil of these cities-Israel took] With the exception of those things which had been employed for idolatrous purposes; see Deut. vii. 25. Verse 16. The mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same] This place has given considerable trouble to commentators; and it is not easy to assign such a meaning to the place as may appear in all respects satisfactory. 1. If we consider this verse and the 21st to have been added after the times in which the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were divided, the diffi- Calmet computes this differently, and allows the term culty is at once removed. 2. The difficulty will be of seven years for the conquest of the whole land. removed if we consider that mountain and valley are "Caleb was forty years old when sent from Kadeshput here for mountains and valleys, and that these in- barnea to spy out the land. At the conclusion of the clude all mountains and valleys which were not in the war he was eighty-five years old, as himself says, chap. lot that fell to the tribe of Judah. Or, 3. If by moun- xiv. 10. From this sum of eighty-five subtract forty, tain of Israel we understand Beth-el, where God his age when he went from Kadesh-barnea, and the appeared to Jacob, afterwards called Israel, and pro-thirty-eight years which he spent in the wilderness mised him the land of Canaan, a part of the difficulty after his return, and there will remain the sum of seven years, which was the time spent in the conquest of the which belonged to the Philistines; and in which some land." of the descendants of Anak were found even in the days of David. Verse 23. So Joshua took the whole land] All the country described here and in the preceding chapter. Besides the multitudes that perished in this war, many of the Canaanites took refuge in the confines of the land, and in the neighbouring nations. Some suppose that a party of these fugitive Canaanites made themselves masters of Lower Egypt, and founded a dynasty there known by the name of the shepherd kings; but it is more probable that the shepherds occupied Egypt long before the time that Jacob went thither to sojourn. It is said they founded Tingris or Tangier, where, according to Procopius, they erected two white pillars 1. By protracting the war the Canaanites had time to repent, having sufficient opportunity to discern the hand of Jehovah. 2. Agriculture was carried on, and thus provision was made even for the support of the conquerors; for had the land been subdued and wasted at once, tillage must have been stopped, and famine would have ensued. 3. Wild beasts would have multiplied upon them, and the land have been desolated by their means. 4. Had these conquests been more rapid the people of Israel would have been less affected, and less instructed by miracles that had passed in such quick succession before their eyes; and, as in this case they would have obtained the dominion with comparatively little exertion, they fight have felt themselves less in-with an inscription in the Phoenician language, of which terested in the preservation of an inheritance, to obtain which they had been but at little trouble and little expense. What we labour under the Divine blessing| to acquire we are careful to retain; but what comes lightly generally goes lightly. God obliged them to put forth their own strength in this work, and only blessed and prospered them while they were workers together with him. See the note on chap. xiii. 6. Verse 20. It was of the Lord to harden-their hearts] They had sinned against all the light they had received, and God left them justly to the hardness, obstinacy, and pride of their own hearts; for as they chose to retain their idolatry, God was determined that they should be cut off. For as no city made peace with the Israelites but Gibeon and some others of the Hivites, ver. 19, it became therefore necessary to destroy them; for their refusal to make peace was the proof that they wilfully persisted in their idolatry. Verse 21. Cut off the Anakims-from Hebron, from Debir] This is evidently a recapitulation of the-military operations detailed chap. x. 36–41, *: Destroyed their cities] That is, those of the Anakims; for from ver. 13 we learn that Joshua preserved certain other cities. Verse 22. In Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod] The whole race of the Anakims was extirpated in this war, except those who had taken refuge in the above cities, this is the translation: WE ARE THE PERSONS WHO HAVE FLED FROM THE FAce of Joshua thE PLUNDERER, THE SON OF NAVE or Nun. See Bochart, Phaleg and Canaan, lib. i., c. xxiv., col. 476. Many, no doubt, settled in different parts of Africa, in Asia Minor, in Greece, and in the different islands of the Ægean and Mediterranean Sea: it is supposed also that colonies of this people were spread over different parts of Germany and Sclavonia, &c., but their descendants are now so confounded with the nations of the earth, as no longer to retain their original name, or to be discernible. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel] He claimed no peculiar jurisdiction over it; his own family had no peculiar share of it, and himself only the ruined city of Timnath-serah, in the tribe of Ephraim, which he was obliged to rebuild. See chap. xix. 49, 50, and see his character at the end of the book. And the land rested from war.] The whole territory being now conquered, which God designed the Israelites should possess at this time. ACCORDING to the apostle, Heb. iv. 8, &c., Joshua himself was a type of Christ; the promised land, of the kingdom of heaven; the victories which he gained, of the victory and triumph of Christ; and the rest he procured for Israel, of the state of blessedness, ́at the Kings conquered by Moses JOSHUA. right hand of God. In this light we should view the on the east of Jordan.. world, the devil, and the flesh; for it is only of those who thus overcome that he says, "They shall sit with me on my throne, as I have overcome, and am set down with the Father on the Father's throne;" Rey iii. 21. Reader, art thou a conqueror ? CHAPTER XII. A list of the kings on the east of Jordan, which were conquered by MOSES, with their territories, 1-6. A lis. of those on the west side of Jordan, conquered by Joshua, in number thirty-one, 7--24. A. M. 2554-60. B. C. 1450-14. An. Exod. Isr. 41-47. Anno ante h B. C. 1450-44. Au. Exod. Isr. 41-47. NOW these are the kings of ❘ to Beth-jeshimoth; and from the A. M. 2554-60. the land, which the children south, under Ashdoth-pisgah : of Israel smote, and possessed 1. Olym. 674–68. their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, a from the river Arnon unto Mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east ; C b 4 And the coast of Og king Anno ante of Bashan, which was of the I. Olym. 674–68. remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, 1 2 Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the bor-6 Them did Moses the servant of the LORD der of the children of Ammon; and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. 3 And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the Salt Sea on the east, the way a Num. xxi. 24. b Deut. iii. 8, 9. ii. 33, 36; iji. 6, 1 Or, Teman. iii. 17; iv. 49. Núm. xxi. 24; Deut. 16. Deut. ii. 17.- Chap. xiii. 20. Or, the springs of Pisgah, or the hill. Deut. NOTES ON CHAP: XII. Verse 1. From the river Arnon unto Mount Hermon] Arnon was the boundary of all the southern coast of the land occupied by the Israelites beyond Jordan; and the mountains of Hermon were the boundaries on the north. Arnon takes its rise in the mountains of Gilead, and having run a long way from north to south falls into the Dead Sea, near the same place into which Jordan discharges itself. i Num. xxi. 35; Deut. iii. 4, 10.- Deut. iii. II; chap. xiii. 12. Deut. i. 4.- m Deut. iii. 8.- n Deut. iii. 10; chap. xiii. 11. Deut. iii. 14. Num. xxi. 24, 33.9 Num. xxxii. 29, 33; Deut. iii. 11, 12; chap. xiii. 8. falls into Jordan: It bounds the territories of Sihon on the north, and those of the Ammonites on the south. Verse 3. The sea of Chinneroth] Or Gennesareth, the same as the lake or sea of Tiberias. The Salt Sea on the east] ``yam hammelach, which is here translated the Salt Sea, is understood by others to mean the sea of the city Melach. Where can we find any thing that can be called a salt sea on And all the plain on the east] All the land from the east of the lake of Gennesareth? Some think that the plains of Moab to Mount Hermon. Verse 2. From Aroer] Aroer was situated on the western side of the river Arnon, in the middle of the valley through which this river takes its course. The kingdom of Sihon extended from the river Arnon and the city of Aroer on the south to the river Jabbok on the north. And from half Gilead] The mountains of Gilead extended from north to south from Mount Hermon towards the source of the river Arnon, which was about the midst of the extent of the kingdom of Sihon: thus Sihon is said to have possessed the half of Gilead, that is, the half of the mountains and of the country which bore the name of Gilead on the east of his territories, River Jabbok] This river has its source in the mountains of Gilead; and, running from east to west, the lake Asphaltites, called also the Dead Sea, Sea of the Desert, Sea of Sodom, and Salt Sea, is here intended.. Beth-jeshimoth] A city near the Dead Sea in the plains of Moab. Ashdoth-pisgah] Supposed to be a city at the foot of Mount Pisgah. Verse 4. Coast of Og king of Bashan] Concerning this person see the notes on Deut. iii. 11, and on Num, xxi. 35, &c. The remnant of the giants] Or, Rephaim. See the notes on Gen. vi. 4, xiv. 5, and Deut. ii. 7, 11. Verse 5. The border of the Geshurites] The country of Bashan, in the days of Moses and Joshua, extended from the river Jabbok on the south to the frontiers of the Geshurites and Maachathites on the north, to the foot of the mountains of Hermon. |