CHAP. XII.

10 The king of Jerusalem, one; the king Megiddo, one; of Hebron, one;

22 The king of Kedesh, one; the king of

11 The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one; Lachish, one;

23 The king of Dor in the coast of Dor,

12 The king of Eglon, one; the king of one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, Gezer, one;

The king of the nations of Gilgal] This is supposed to mean the higher Galilee, surnamed Galilee of the Lasharon] There is no city of this name known. Gentiles, or nations, as the Hebrew word D'11 goyim Some consider the lamed in the word On this ground it should be read king of Gali

lash-means.

lee of the nations. Others suppose it is the same country with that of which Tidal was king; see Gen. xiv. 1. The place is very uncertain, and commentators have rendered it more so by their conjectures. Verse 24. King of Tirzah] This city appears to have been for a long time the capital of the kingdom of Israel, and the residence of its kings. See 1. Kings xiv. 17; xv. 21, 33. Its situation cannot be exactly ascertained; but it is supposed to have been situated on a mountain about three leagues south of Samaria.

possessed by the Israelites.

had very small territories. Every village or town had its chief; and this chief was independent of his neighbours, and exercised regal power in his own district. In reading all ancient histories, as well as the Bible, this circumstance must be kept constantly in view; for we ought to consider that in those times both kings and kingdoms were but a faint resemblance of those now. Great Britain, in ancient times, was divided into many kingdoms: in the time of the Saxons it was divided into seven, hence called the Saxon heptarchy. But when Julius Cæsar first entered this island, he found four kings in Kent alone; Cingetorix, Carnilius, Taximagulus, and Segonar. Hence we need not wonder at the numbers we read of in the land of Canaan. So many kings in so small a territory, shows that Ancient Gaul was thus divided; and the great numtheir kingdoms must have been very small indeed. ber of sovereign princes, secular bishops, landgraves, The kings of Beth-el and Ai had but about 12,000 | dukes, &c., &c., in Germany, are the modern remains subjects in the whole; but in ancient times all kings of those ancient divisions.

All the kings thirty and one.] The Septuagint say Eikoσi Evveα, twenty-nine, and yet set down but twenty-eight, as they confound or omit the kings of Beth-el, Lasharon, and Madon.

CHAPTER XIII.

The

Joshua being old, the Lord informs him of the land yet remaining to be possessed, 1.. Of the unconquered land among the Philistines, 2, 3. Among the Canaanites, Sidonians, and Amorites, 4, 5. The inhabitants of the hill country and the Sidonians to be driven out, 6. The land on the east side of Jordan, that was to be divided among the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, 7-12. Geshurites and the Maachathites not expelled, 13. The tribe of Levi receive no inheritance, 14. possessions of REUBEN described, 15-23. The possessions of GAD, 24-28. The possessions of the half tribe of Manasseh, 29-31. Recapitulation of the subjects contained in this chapter, 32, 33.

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NOW Joshua was old and 2 This is the land that yet stricken in years; and the remaineth all the borders of Anno ante LORD said unto him, Thou art the Philistines, and all Geshuri, I. Olymp. 668. old and stricken in years, and 3 f From Sihor, which is before. there remaineth yet very much land to be Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron north possessed. ward, which is counted to the Canaanite: Deut. xxxi. 3. Ver. 13; 2 Sam. in. 3; xiii. 37, 38.iii. 3; 1 Sam. vi. 4, 16; west of the land of Canaan. places named Geshuri, but that spoken of here was probably the region on the south of Canaan, towards Arabia, or towards Egypt.-Calmet. Cellarius supposes it to have been a country in the vicinity of the Amalekites.

a See chap. xiv. 10; xxiii. F.

с

Judg. iii. 1.

b Heb. to
Joel
possess it;

4.

NOTES ON CHAP. XIII.

Verse 1. Joshua was old] He is generally reputed to have been at this time about a hundred years of age he had spent about seven years in the conquest of the land, and is supposed to have employed about one year in dividing it; and he died about ten years after, aged one hundred and ten years. It is very likely that he intended to subdue the whole land before he made the division of it among the tribes; but God did not think proper to have this done. So unfaithful were the Israelites that he appears to have purposed that some of the ancient inhabitants should still remain to keep them in check, and that the respective tribes should have some labour to drive out from their allotted borders the remains of the Canaan

itish nations.

There remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.] That is, very much when compared with that on the other side Jordan, which was all that could as yet be said to be in the hands of the Israelites..

Verse 2. The borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri] The borders of the Philistines may mean the land which they possessed on the sea-coast, south

f Jer. ii. 18.- Judg. Zeph. ii. 5.

There were several

Verse 3. From Sihor, which is before Egypt] Supposed by some to be the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, near to the Arabian Desert; called also the river of Egypt, Num. xxxiv. 5; Jer. ii. 18. On this subject an intelligent friend favours me with the following opinion:-

"The river Sihor is supposed by some to be the Nile, or a branch of it. Others think it the same as what is frequently called the river of Egypt, which lay before or towards the borders of Egypt; which arose out of the mountains of Paran, and ran westward, falling into that bay of the Mediterranean which lies south of the land of the Philistines. This river is often mentioned as the boundary of the Israelites to the southwest, as Euphrates, the great river, was on the northeast.

"There was a desert of considerable distance be

The land that remained to be

lords of the Philistines; the | Lebanon, toward the sun-rising,
Gazathites, and the Ashdothites," from Baal-gad under Mount
the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, Hermon unto the entering into
and the Ekronites; also the Hamath.

5 And the land of the Giblites, and all Deut. n. 23.- i Or, the cave.See Chap. xix. 30.Judg. i. 34-1 Kings v. 18; Psa. lxxxiii. 7; Ezek. xxvii. 9. tween what is called the river of Egypt and, the isthmus of Suez. Solomon reigned to the borders of Egypt, i. e., to this desert; but not in Egypt, nor to the river Nile.

"Upon the whole, (though there are difficulties in the matter,) I incline to think that the river in question was not the Nile. Sihor (black) might, from some circumstances, be applied to another river as well as the Nile; though some places in Isaiah and Jeremiah seem to restrict it to the Nile.”—J. C.

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6 All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephoth-maim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee.

To the borders of the Amorites] Though the term Amorite is sometimes used to designate the inhabitants in general of the land of Canaan, yet it must be considered in a much more restricted sense in this place. As no Amorites are known to have dwelt in this quarter, Calmet supposes we should read Aramites or Syrians. Joshua, says he, proceeds from Sidon to Aphek, a city of Syria, between Heliopolis and Babylon, where was the temple of the Venus of Aphek; and which is spoken of in 1 Kings xx. 26; 2 Kings

this Joshua passes on to the frontiers of the Syrians, towards Gebal or Gabala, which, according to Ptolemy, was situated in Phoenicia. This conjecture of Calmet is not supported by any authority either from the ancient versions or MSS. Houbigant, however, approves of it: the emendation is simple, as it consists in the interchange of only two letters in the same word, " haarammi, for n hacmori.

Ekron northward] Ekron was one of the five lord-xiii: 17, as the capital of the kings of Syria. From ships of the Philistines, and the most northern of all the districts they possessed. Baal-zebub, its idol, is famous in Scripture; see 2 Kings i. 2, &c. The five lordships of the Philistines were Gaza, Ashdod; Askalon, Gath, and Ekron. There is no proof that ever the Israelites possessed Ekron; though, from chap. xv.11, some think it was originally given to Judah, but the text does not say so; it only states that the border of the tribe of Judah went out UNTO THE SIDE of Ekron. Froin chap. xix. 43, we learn that it was a part of the lot of Dan, but it does not appear to have been possessed by any of those tribes.

Counted to the Canaanite] It is generally allowed that the original possessors of this country were the descendants of Canaan, the youngest son of Ham. The Philistines sprang from Mizraim, the second son of Ham, and, having dispossessed the Avim from the places they held in this land, dwelt in their stead. See Gen. x. 13, 14.

Five lords of the Philistines] These dynasties are famous in the Scriptures for their successful wars against the Israelites, of whom they were almost the perpetual scourge.

Also the Avites] These must not be confounded with the Hivites. The Avites seem to have been a very inconsiderable tribe, who dwelt in some of the skirts of Palestine. They had been originally deprived of their country by the Caphtorim; and though they lived as a distinct people, they had never afterwards arrived to any authority.

Verse 4. The land of the Canaanites] This lay on the south of the country of the Philistines, towards the sea-coast.

Mearah] Supposed to be the city Maratha, on the Mediterranean Sea.-Calmet. Or the river Majora, which falls into the Mediterranean Sea, between Sidon and Berytus. See PLINY, Hist. Nat. lib. v., c. 20. Aphek] See on chap. xii. 18.

Verse 5. The land of the Giblites] This people dwelt beyond the precincts of the land of Canaan, on the east of Tyre and Sidon. See Ezek. xxvii. 9; Psa. lxxxiii. 7; their capital was named Gebal. See Dodd. All Lebanon] See on chap. xi. 17.

Verse 6. Misrephoth-maim] See on chap. xi. 7. Them will I drive out] That is, if the Israelites continued to be obedient; but they did not, and therefore they never fully possessed the whole of that land which, on this condition alone, God had promised them : the Sidonians were never expelled by the Israelites, and were only brought into a state of comparative subjection in the days of David and Solomon.

Some have taken upon them to deny the authenticity of Divine revelation relative to this business, "because," say they, "God is stated to have absolutely promised that Joshua should conquer the whole land, and put the Israelites in possession of it." This is a total mistake. 1. God never absolutely, i. e., unconditionally, promised to put them in possession of this land. The promise of their possessing the whole was suspended on their fidelity to God. They were not faithful, and therefore God was not bound by his promise to give them any part of the land, after their first act of national defection from his worship. 2. God never said that Joshua should conquer the whole land, and give it to them; the promise was simply this: "Thou shalt bring them into the land, and thou shalt divide it among them :" both of which he did, and procured them footing by his conquests, sufficient

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7 Now therefore divide this | God of Israel made by fire are An. Exod. Isr. land for an inheritance unto the their inheritance, as he said An. Exod. Isr. nine tribes, and the half tribe of unto them. Manasseh,

47. Anno ante I. Olymp. 668. 8 With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them;

9 From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon;

t

10 And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon; 11 u And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah;

12 All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who mained of the remnant of the giants:

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15 And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families.

a

16 And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba;

C

21 And all the cities of the plain, and all re- the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, for which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses these did Moses smite, and cast them out. smote m with the princes of Midian, Evi, 13 Nevertheless the children of Israel ex- and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, pelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maacha- which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the thites but the Geshurites and the Maacha- country. thites dwell among the Israelites until this day.

14 Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD

Num. xxxii. 33; Deut. iii. 12, 13; chap. xxii. 4. Num. xxi. 30. Num. xxi. 24, 25.-" Chap. xii. 5. iii. 11; chap. xii. 4. Num. xxi. 34, 35.y Num. xviii. 20, 23, 24% chap. xiv. 3, 4.xii. 2. Num. xxi. 28.

z Ver. 33. Num. xxi. 30; ver. 9.

Ver. 16;
- Deut.
Ver. 11.
Chap.

to have enabled them to establish themselves in it for ever. 3. It was never said, Thou shalt conquer it all, and then divide it; no. Several of the tribes, after their quota was allotted them, were obliged to drive out the ancient inhabitants. See on chap. xi. 18.

22 n Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.

dOr, the high places of Baal, and house of Baal-meon; see Num. xxxii. 38.- Le Num. xxi. 23. Num. xxxii. 37.- Num. xxxii. 38.- h Deut. iii. 17; chap. xii. 3.- Or, springs of Pisgah, or the hill. Deut. iii. 10.- Numbers xxi. 24. m Num. xxxi. 8.- - Num. xxii. 5; xxxi. 8.-0 o Or, diviner.

the eastern part of the desert. It was given to the Levites, chap. xxi. 37.

Verse 19. Kirjathaim] This city, according to Eusebius, was nine miles distant from Medeba, towards the east. It passed from the Emim to the Moabites, from the Moabites to the Amorites, and from the Amorites to the Israelites, Gen. xiv. 5; Deut. ii. 20. Calmet supposes the Reubenites possessed it till the time they were carried away by the Assyrians; and then the Moabites appear to have taken possession of it anew, as he collects from Jer. xlviii. and Ezek. xxv. Sibmah] A place remarkable for its vines. See See on Isa. xvi. 8, 9; Jer. xlviii. 32.

Verse 7. The nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh] The other half tribe of Manasseh, and the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, had got their inheritance on the other side of Jordan, in the land formerly belonging to Og king of Bashan, and Sihon king of the Amorites.

Verse 9. From Aroer]. See on chap. xii. 2. Verse 11. Border of the Geshurites] chap. xii. 5.

Verse 17. Bamoth-baal] The high places of Baal, probably so called from altars erected on hills for the impure worship of this Canaanitish Priapus.

Verse 18. Jahaza] A city near Medeba and Dibon. It was given to the Levites, 1 Chron. vi. 78. Kedemoth] Mentioned Deut. ii. 26; supposed to have been situated beyond the river Arnon.

Mephaath] Situated on the frontiers of Moab, on

Zareth-shahar, in the mount of the valley] This probably means a town situated on or near to a hill, in some flat country.

Verse 20. Beth-peor] The house or temple of Peor, situated at the foot of a mountain of the same name. See Num. xxv. 3.

Verse 21. The princes of Midian] See the history of this war, Num. xxxi. 1, &c.; and from that place this and the following verse seem to be borrowed, for

27 And in the valley, Beth-aram, and Beth- 32 These are the countries which Moses did nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge" of the sea of Chinneroth on the other side Jordan eastward.

28 This is the inheritance of the children of was their inheritance,