Text -- Joshua 11:16--12:24 (NET)

A Summary of Israel’s Victories

11:16 Joshua conquered the whole land, including the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the lowlands, the Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its lowlands, 11:17 from Mount Halak on up to Seir, as far as Baal Gad in the Lebanon Valley below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and executed them. 11:18 Joshua campaigned against these kings for quite some time. 11:19 No city made peace with the Israelites (except the Hivites living in Gibeon); they had to conquer all of them, 11:20 for the Lord determined to make them obstinate so they would attack Israel. He wanted Israel to annihilate them without mercy, as he had instructed Moses. 11:21 At that time Joshua attacked and eliminated the Anakites from the hill country– from Hebron, Debir, Anab, and all the hill country of Judah and Israel. Joshua annihilated them and their cities. 11:22 No Anakites were left in Israelite territory, though some remained in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. 11:23 Joshua conquered the whole land, just as the Lord had promised Moses, and he assigned Israel their tribal portions. Then the land was free of war. 12:1 Now these are the kings of the land whom the Israelites defeated and drove from their land on the east side of the Jordan, from the Arnon Valley to Mount Hermon, including all the eastern Arabah: 12:2 King Sihon of the Amorites who lived in Heshbon and ruled from Aroer (on the edge of the Arnon Valley)– including the city in the middle of the valley and half of Gilead– all the way to the Jabbok Valley bordering Ammonite territory. 12:3 His kingdom included the eastern Arabah from the Sea of Kinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), including the route to Beth Jeshimoth and the area southward below the slopes of Pisgah. 12:4 The territory of King Og of Bashan, one of the few remaining Rephaites, who lived in Ashtaroth and Edrei 12:5 and ruled over Mount Hermon, Salecah, all of Bashan to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and half of Gilead as far as the border of King Sihon of Heshbon. 12:6 Moses the Lord’s servant and the Israelites defeated them and Moses the Lord’s servant assigned their land to Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. 12:7 These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal Gad in the Lebanon Valley to Mount Halak on up to Seir. Joshua assigned this territory to the Israelite tribes, 12:8 including the hill country, the lowlands, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negev– the land of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites: 12:9 the king of Jericho (one), the king of Ai– located near Bethel– (one), 12:10 the king of Jerusalem (one), the king of Hebron (one), 12:11 the king of Jarmuth (one), the king of Lachish (one), 12:12 the king of Eglon (one), the king of Gezer (one), 12:13 the king of Debir (one), the king of Geder (one), 12:14 the king of Hormah (one), the king of Arad (one), 12:15 the king of Libnah (one), the king of Adullam (one), 12:16 the king of Makkedah (one), the king of Bethel (one), 12:17 the king of Tappuah (one), the king of Hepher (one), 12:18 the king of Aphek (one), the king of Lasharon (one), 12:19 the king of Madon (one), the king of Hazor (one), 12:20 the king of Shimron Meron (one), the king of Acshaph (one), 12:21 the king of Taanach (one), the king of Megiddo (one), 12:22 the king of Kedesh (one), the king of Jokneam near Carmel (one), 12:23 the king of Dor– near Naphath Dor– (one), the king of Goyim– near Gilgal– (one), 12:24 the king of Tirzah (one), a total of thirty-one kings.

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Wesley: Jos 11:16

Of Canaan, whose parts here follow.

Wesley: Jos 11:16

Or, the mountain, that is, the mountainous country, namely, of Judea. A considerable part of Judea was called the hilly or the mountainous country, Luk 1:39, Luk 1:65.

Wesley: Jos 11:16

That is, not only the mountainous part, but all the country of Judea, which lay in the southern part of Canaan, and often comes under the name of the south.

Wesley: Jos 11:16

The low countries.

Wesley: Jos 11:16

The fields or campaign grounds.

Wesley: Jos 11:16

The mountains or mountainous country of Israel.

Wesley: Jos 11:17

That is, To the country of Seir or Edom; namely, that part of it which was south from Judea, not that which was eastward from it, as appears from hence, that here is mention of the two extreme bounds of the land conquered by Joshua; whereof the other which follows being in the north, this must needs be in the south of the land.

Wesley: Jos 11:17

Gad - A part of mount Lebanon.

Wesley: Jos 11:18

For divers years together, as is evident by the following history. And this is here expressed, lest it should be thought that as all these wars are here recorded in a short narration, so they were dispatched in a short time. And God would have the land to be conquered gradually, for many weighty reasons; Lest the sudden extirpation of those nations should have made a great part of the land desert, and thereby have increased the number of wild beasts, Deu 7:22. Lest being done suddenly and easily, it should soon be forgotten and despised, as the nature of man is apt to do in those cases. That by long exercise the Israelites might grow skilful in the art of war. For the trial and exercise of their patience and courage, and trust in God. To oblige them to the greater care to please God, whom they yet need for their help against their enemies.

Wesley: Jos 11:19

Namely, all that were taken by Joshua, were taken by the sword, and therefore it is no wonder that the war was long, when the enemy was so obstinate.

Wesley: Jos 11:20

It was the design of God's providence not to soften their hearts to a compliance with the Israelites, but to give them up to their own animosity, pride, confidence and stubbornness; that so their abominable and incorrigible wickedness might be punished, and that the Israelites might not be mixed with them, but be entire among themselves in the possession of the land.

Wesley: Jos 11:21

In that war, but in divers years.

Wesley: Jos 11:21

Or, mountains, the singular number for the plural; these barbarous and monstrous persons either chose to live in the dens or caves, which were frequent in the mountains of those parts, or else they were driven thither by the arms and success of the Israelites.

Wesley: Jos 11:21

From the territories belonging to these cities, as we have often seen in this history, cities mentioned for the country subject to them.

Wesley: Jos 11:21

It doth not follow from hence, that this book was written by some other person long after Joshua's death, even after the division of the Israelites into two kingdoms. of Israel and Judah; but only that this was one of those clauses which were added by Ezra or some other prophet; though that be not necessary: for since it was evident to Joshua, from Gen 49:10, &c. that the tribe of Judah was to be the chief of all these tribes, and some dawnings of its eminency appeared in that time, in their having the first lot in the land of Canaan, Jos 15:1, and the largest inheritance, Jos 19:9, it is no wonder that it is mentioned apart, and distinguished from the rest of the tribes of Israel, though that also be one of them. But how could Joshua utterly destroy these, when Caleb and Othniel destroyed some of them after Joshua's death? Jos 14:12; Jdg 1:10-12. This might be, either Because these places being in part destroyed and neglected by the Israelites, were repossessed by the giants, and by them kept 'till Caleb destroyed them. Or rather Because this work, though done by the particular valour of Caleb, is ascribed to Joshua as the general of the army, according to the manner of all historians; and therefore it is here attributed to Joshua, though afterwards, that Caleb might not lose his deserved honour, the history is more particularly described, and Caleb owned as the great instrument of it, Jos 14:6-15 and Jdg 1:12-20.

Wesley: Jos 11:23

That is, the greatest and best part of it, for some parts are expressly excepted in the following history.

Wesley: Jos 11:23

God had promised to drive out the nations before them. And now the promise was fulfilled. Our successes and enjoyments are then doubly comfortable, when we see them flowing to us from the promise. This is according to what the Lord hath said: our obedience is acceptable, when it has an eye to the precept. And if we make a conscience of our duty, we need not question the performance of the promise.

Wesley: Jos 12:1

On the east of Jordan, called the plain, Deu 1:1.

Wesley: Jos 12:2

It is not unusual even among us, for a river to be divided between two lords, and for their territories or jurisdictions to meet in the middle of the river: and besides, here is a very particular reason for this expression, because the city Ar, which was no part of Sihon's dominions, but belonged to the Moabites, Deu 2:9, Deu 2:18, was in the middle of the river Arnon, Deu 2:36, Deu 3:16, and therefore the middle of the river is properly here mentioned, as the bound of Sihon's dominion on that side.

Wesley: Jos 12:2

Heb. and the half Gilead, that is, half of the country of Gilead; this doth not denote the bound from which his dominion began, but the country, over which his dominion was, which began at Arnon, and took in half Gilead, and ended at Jabbok, beyond which was the other half of Gilead which belonged to Og.

Wesley: Jos 12:3

Which words describe the situation not of the sea of Cinneroth, which was part of the western border of Sihon's dominion, but of the plain, which is here said to lie eastward from the sea of Cinneroth, and also eastward from the salt sea. And this was indeed the situation of the plains of Moab, which are here spoken of; they lay between the two seas, that of Cinneroth and the salt sea, and eastward to them both.

Wesley: Jos 12:3

The salt sea was a famous plain, pleasant and fruitful, before it was turned into a sea.

Wesley: Jos 12:4

Sometimes at the one, sometimes at the other city; both being his royal mansions. But Israel made one grave serve him, who could not be contented with one palace.

Wesley: Jos 12:6

Fresh mercies must not drown the remembrance of former mercies: nor must the glory of the present instruments of good to the church, diminish the just honour of those that went before them. Joshua's services were confessedly great. But let not those under Moses be forgotten. Both together proclaim God to be the Alpha and Omega of his peoples salvation.

Wesley: Jos 12:8

This word here and elsewhere in scripture notes not a land wholly desert and uninhabited, but one thin of inhabitants, as 1Ki 2:34, 1Ki 9:18; Mat 3:1, Mat 3:3. The Gargashites either were now incorporated with some other of these nations, or as the tradition of the Jews is, upon the approach of Israel under Joshua, they all withdrew and went unto Africk, leaving their land to be possessed by the Israelites, with whom they saw, it was fruitless to contend.

Wesley: Jos 12:23

Not of that Gilgal where Joshua first lodged after his passage over Jordan; where it doth not appear, that there was either king or city; but of a city of the same name, probably in Galilee towards the sea, where divers people might possibly resort for trade and merchandise, over whom this was a king, as formerly Tidal seems to have been, Gen 14:1.

Wesley: Jos 12:24

Each being king only of one city or small province belonging to it, which was by the wise and singular providence of God, that they might be more easily conquered. But what a fruitful land must Canaan then be, which could subsist so many kingdoms! And yet at this day it is one of the most barren and despicable countries in the world. Such is the effect of the curse it lies under, since its inhabitants rejected the Lord of glory!

JFB: Jos 11:16

Here follows a general view of the conquest. The division of the country there into five parts; namely, the hills, the land of Goshen, that is, a pastoral land near Gibeon (Jos 10:41); the valley, the plains and the mountains of Israel, i. e., Carmel, rests upon a diversity of geographical positions, which is characteristic of the region.

JFB: Jos 11:17

Hebrew, "the smooth mountain."

JFB: Jos 11:17

An irregular line of white naked hills, about eighty feet high, and seven or eight geographical miles in length that cross the whole Ghor, eight miles south of the Dead Sea, probably "the ascent of Akrabbim" [ROBINSON].

JFB: Jos 11:17

The city or temple of the god of destiny, in Baalbec.

JFB: Jos 11:23

The battle of the take of Merom was to the north what the battle of Beth-horon was to the south; more briefly told and less complete in its consequences; but still the decisive conflict by which the whole northern region of Canaan fell into the hands of Israel [STANLEY].

JFB: Jos 12:1

This chapter contains a recapitulation of the conquests made in the promised land, with the additional mention of some places not formerly noted in the sacred history. The river Arnon on the south and mount Hermon on the north were the respective boundaries of the land acquired by the Israelites beyond Jordan (see Num 21:21-24; Deu 2:36; Deu 3:3-16 [and see on Deu 2:24]).

JFB: Jos 12:7

(See on Jos 11:17). A list of thirty-one chief towns is here given; and, as the whole land contained a superficial extent of only fifteen miles in length by fifty in breadth, it is evident that these capital cities belonged to petty and insignificant kingdoms. With a few exceptions, they were not the scenes of any important events recorded in the sacred history, and therefore do not require a particular notice.

Clarke: Jos 11:16

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 difficulty is at once removed

2.    The difficulty will be removed if we consider that mountain and valley are put here for mountains and valleys, and that these include all mountains and valleys which were not in the lot that fell to the tribe of Judah. Or

3.    If by mountain of Israel we understand Beth-el, where God appeared to Jacob, afterwards called Israel, and promised him the land of Canaan, a part of the difficulty 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.

Clarke: Jos 11:17

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 Jos 12:7

Clarke: Jos 11:17

The valley of Lebanon - The whole extent of the plain which is on the south, and probably north, of Mount Libanus. Calmet conjectures that Coelesyria is here meant.

Clarke: Jos 11:18

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 Jos 14:10 with Numbers 13, and Deuteronomy 1); 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. Calmet computes this differently, and allows the term of seven years for the conquest of the whole land. "Caleb was forty years old when sent from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land. At the conclusion of the war he was eighty-five years old, as himself says, Jos 14:10. From this sum of eighty-five subtract forty, his age when he went from Kadesh-barnea, and the thirty-eight years which he spent in the wilderness after his return, and there will remain the sum of seven years, which was the time spent in the conquest of the land.

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 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 might have felt themselves less interested in the preservation of an inheritance, to obtain which they had been but at little trouble and little expense

What we labor 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 Jos 13:6.

Clarke: Jos 11:20

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, Jos 11:19, it became therefore necessary to destroy them; for their refusal to make peace was the proof that they wilfully persisted in their idolatry.

Clarke: Jos 11:21

Cut off the Anakims - from Hebron, from Debir - This is evidently a recapitulation of the military operations detailed Jos 10:36-41

Clarke: Jos 11:21

Destroyed - their cities - That is, those of the Anakims; for from Jos 11:13 we learn that Joshua preserved certain other cities.

Clarke: Jos 11:22

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, which belonged to the Philistines; and in which some of the descendants of Anak were found even in the days of David.

Clarke: Jos 11:23

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 neighboring 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 with an inscription in the Phoenician language, of which 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 Aegean and Mediterranean Sea: it is supposed also that colonies of this people were spread over different parts of Germany and Sclavonia, etc., but their descendants are now so confounded with the nations of the earth, as no longer to retain their original names, or to be discernible

Clarke: Jos 11:23

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 Jos 19:49, Jos 19:50, and see his character at the end of the book, Jos 24:33 (note)

Clarke: Jos 11:23

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 4:8, etc., 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 right hand of God. In this light we should view the whole history, in order to derive those advantages from it which, as a portion of the revelation of God, it was intended to convey. Those who finally reign with Christ are they who, through his grace, conquer the 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;"Rev 3:21. Reader, art thou a conqueror?

Clarke: Jos 12:1

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

Clarke: Jos 12:1

And all the plain on the east - All the land from the plains of Moab to Mount Hermon.

Clarke: Jos 12:2

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

Clarke: Jos 12:2

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

Clarke: Jos 12:2

River Jabbok - This river has its source in the mountains of Gilead; and, running from east to west, falls into Jordan. It bounds the territories of Sihon on the north, and those of the Ammonites on the south.

Clarke: Jos 12:3

The sea of Chinneroth - Or Gennesareth, the same as the lake or sea of Tiberias

Clarke: Jos 12:3

The Salt Sea on the east - ים המלח 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 the east of the lake of Gennesareth? Some think that the lake Asphaltites, called also the Dead Sea, Sea of the Desert, Sea of Sodom, and Salt Sea, is here intended

Clarke: Jos 12:3

Beth-jeshimoth - A city near the Dead Sea in the plains of Moab

Clarke: Jos 12:3

Ashdoth-pisgah - Supposed to be a city at the foot of Mount Pisgah.

Clarke: Jos 12:4

Coast of Og king of Bashan - Concerning this person see the notes on Deu 3:11, and on Num 21:35, etc

Clarke: Jos 12:4

The remnant or the giants - Or, Rephaim. See the notes on Gen 6:4; Gen 14:5, and Deu 2:7, Deu 2:11.

Clarke: Jos 12:5

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.

Clarke: Jos 12:7

From Baal-gad - A repetition of what is mentioned Jos 11:17.

Clarke: Jos 12:9

The king of Jericho, etc. - On this and the following verses see the notes on Jos 10:1-3 (note).

Clarke: Jos 12:13

The king of Geder - Probably the same with Gedor, Jos 15:58; it was situated in the tribe of Judah.

Clarke: Jos 12:14

The king of Hormah - Supposed to be the place where the Israelites were defeated by the Canaanites see Num 14:45; and which probably was called Hormah, הרמה chormah , or destruction, from this circumstance.

Clarke: Jos 12:15

Adullam - A city belonging to the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:35. In a cave at this place David often secreted himself during his persecution by Saul; 1Sa 22:1.

Clarke: Jos 12:17

Tappuah - There were two places of this name: one in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:34, and another in the tribe of Ephraim on the borders of Manasseh; but which of the two is meant here cannot be ascertained. See the note on Jos 15:53

Clarke: Jos 12:17

Hepher - The same, according to Calmet, as Ophrah in the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 18:23.

Clarke: Jos 12:18

Aphek - There were several cities of this name: one in the tribe of Asher, Jos 19:30, another in the tribe of Judah, 1Sa 4:1; 1Sa 29:1; and a third in Syria, 1Ki 20:26, and 2Ki 13:17. Which of the two former is here intended cannot be ascertained

Clarke: Jos 12:18

Lasharon - There is no city of this name known. Some consider the ל lamed in the word לשרון lashsharon to be the sign of the genitive case, and in this sense it appears to have been understood by the Vulgate, which translates rex Saron , the king of Sharon. This was rather a district than a city, and is celebrated in the Scriptures for its fertility; Isa 33:9; Isa 35:2. Some suppose it was the same with Saron, near Lydda, mentioned Act 9:35.

Clarke: Jos 12:20

Shimron-meron - See on Jos 11:1 (note).

Clarke: Jos 12:21

Taanach - A city in the half tribe of Manasseh, to the west of Jordan, not far from the frontiers of Zebulun, Jos 17:11. This city was assigned to the Levites, Jos 21:25.

Clarke: Jos 12:22

Kedesh - There was a city of this name in the tribe of Naphtali, Jos 19:37. It was given to the Levites, and was one of the cities of refuge, Jos 20:7

Clarke: Jos 12:22

Jokneam of Carmel - This city is said to have been at the foot of Mount Carmel, near the river Belus, in the tribe of Zebulun, Jos 19:11. It was given to the Levites, Jos 21:34.

Clarke: Jos 12:23

The king of Dor - The city of this name fell to the lot of the children of Manasseh, Jos 17:11. Bochart observes that it was one of the oldest royal cities in Phoenicia. The Canaanites held it, Jdg 1:27. Antiochus Sydetes besieged it in aftertimes, but could not make himself master of it. See Bochart, Canaan, lib. i., c. 28, and Dodd

Clarke: Jos 12:23

The king of the nations of Gilgal - This is supposed to mean the higher Galilee, surnamed Galilee of the Gentiles or, nations, as the Hebrew word גוים goyim means. On this ground it should be read king of Galilee of the nations. Others suppose it is the same country with that of which Tidal was king, see Gen 14:1. The place is very uncertain, and commentators have rendered it more so by their conjectures.

Clarke: Jos 12:24

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 1Ki 14:17; 1Ki 15:21, 1Ki 15:33. Its situation cannot be exactly ascertained; but it is supposed to have been situated on a mountain about three leagues south of Samaria

Clarke: Jos 12:24

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

So many kings in so small a territory, shows that their kingdoms must have been very small indeed. The kings of Beth-el and Ai had but about 12,000 subjects in the whole; but in ancient times all kings had very small territories. Every village or town had its chief; and this chief was independent of his neighbors, 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 Caesar first entered this island, he found four kings in Kent alone; Cingetorix, Carnilius, Taximagulus, and Segonax. Hence we need not wonder at the numbers we read of in the land of Canaan. Ancient Gaul was thus divided; and the great number of sovereign princes, secular bishops, landgraves, dukes, etc., etc., in Germany, are the modern remains of those ancient divisions.

Calvin: Jos 11:16

16.So Joshua took all that land, etc In the uninterrupted series of victories, when the land, of its own accord, spewed out its old inhabitants, to give free possession to the Israelites, it was visibly manifest, as is said in the Psalm, (Psa 44:3)

“They got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou had a favor unto them.”

The design of enumerating the places and districts is to let us know that the work which God had begun he continued to carry on without interruption. But it is a mistake to suppose: as some do, that by the name Israel a certain mountain is meant. For it will be plain, from the end of the chapter, (Jos 11:21) that the term is applied indiscriminately to the mountainous part of Israel and Judah. There is therefore an enlarge in the enumeration, because the mountains of the ten tribes are tacitly compared with the mountains of Judah. Accordingly, an antithesis is to be understood. In the other mountain (Jos 11:17) the surname is ambiguous. Some understand it to mean division, as if it had been cut in two; ¹¹⁵ others to mean smooth, as it was destitute of trees, just as a head is rendered smooth by baldness. As the point is uncertain, and of little importance, the reader is at liberty to make his choice.

Calvin: Jos 11:18

18.Joshua made war a long time, etc Before, he had, in a short time, and, as it were, with the swiftness of running, seized possession of five kingdoms; in the others the case was different, not from hesitation, or weariness, or sloth, but because the Lord exercised his people variously, that he might give a brighter display of his manifold grace, which usually loses its value in our eyes, if it is exhibited only in one and the same way. Therefore, as the divine power had formerly been signally manifested by incredible facility of accomplishment, when the enemy were routed in an instant, so a lingering warfare now furnished numerous proofs of heavenly aid. ¹¹⁶ Nor did this happen suddenly and unexpectedly; for God had foretold by Moses that so it would be, lest, if the land were at once converted into a desert, the wild beasts might gain the ascendancy. (Deu 7:22) In short, we here perceive, as in a mirror, that whatever the Lord had promised by Moses was accomplished in reality, and by no dubious event. But while we recognize the certainty of the promises of God, we ought also to meditate on the favor confirmed towards his chosen people, in that he acted as the provident head of a family, not neglecting or omitting anything which tended to their advantage.

Calvin: Jos 11:19

19.There was not a city that made peace, etc This sentence appears, at first sight, contradictory to what is everywhere said in the books of Moses, that the Israelites were not to enter into any league with those nations, or make any terms of peace with them, but, on the contrary, to destroy them utterly, and wipe out their race and name. (Exo 23:32; Deu 7:2) ¹¹⁷ Seeing the nations were thus excluded from the means of making any paction, and would in vain have made any proposals for peace, it seems absurd to ascribe the destruction, which they had not even the means of deprecating, to their obstinacy.

For, let us suppose that they had sent ambassadors before them with olive branches in their hands, and had been intent on pacific measures, Joshua would at once have answered that he could not lawfully enter into any negotiation, as the Lord had forbidden it. Wherefore, had they made a hundred attempts to avoid war, they must, nevertheless, have perished. Why, then, are they blamed for not having sought peace, as if they had not been driven by necessity to right, after they saw they had to do with an implacable people? But if it was not free to them to act otherwise, it is unjust to lay any blame upon them when they acted under compulsion in opposing the fury of their enemy.

To this objection, I answer, that the Israelites, though they were forbidden to show them any mercy, were met in a hostile manner, in order that the war might be just. And it was wonderfully arranged by the secret providence of God, that, being doomed to destruction, they should voluntarily offer themselves to it, and by provoking the Israelites be the cause of their own ruin. The Lord, therefore, besides ordering that pardon should be denied them, also incited them to blind fury, that no room might be left for mercy. And it behooved the people not to be too wise or prying in this matter. For while the Lord, on the one hand, interdicted them from entering into any covenant, and, on the other, was unwilling that they should take hostile measures without being provoked, a too anxious discussion of the procedure might have greatly unsettled their minds. Hence the only way of freeing themselves from perplexity was to lay their care on the bosom of God. And he in his incomprehensible wisdom provided that when the time for action arrived, his people should not be impeded in their course by any obstacle. Thus the kings beyond the Jordan, as they had been the first to take up arms, justly suffered the punishment of their temerity. For the Israelites did not assail them with hostile arms until they had been provoked. In the same way, also, the citizens of Jericho, by having shut their gates, were the first to declare war. The case is the same with the others, who, by their obstinacy, furnished the Israelites with a ground for prosecuting the war.

It now appears how perfectly consistent the two things are. The Lord commanded Moses to destroy the nations whom he had doomed to destruction; and he accordingly opened a way for his own decree when he hardened the reprobate. In the first place, then, stands the will of God, which must be regarded as the principal cause. For seeing their iniquity had reached its height, he determined to destroy them. This was the origin of the command given to Moses, a command, however, which would have failed of its effect had not the chosen people been armed to execute the divine judgment, by the perverseness and obstinacy of those who were to be destroyed. God hardens them for this very end, that they may shut themselves out from mercy. ¹¹⁸ Hence that hardness is called his work, because it secures the accomplishment of his design. Should any attempt be made to darken so clear a matter by those who imagine that God only looks down from heaven to see what men will be pleased to do, and who cannot bear to think that the hearts of men are curbed by his secret agency, what else do they display than their own presumption? They only allow God a permissive power, and in this way make his counsel dependent on the pleasure of men. But what says the Spirit? That the hardening is from God, who thus precipitates those whom he means to destroy.

Calvin: Jos 11:21

21.And at that time came Joshua, etc Of the sons of Anak we have spoken elsewhere. They were a race of giants, with the account of whose mighty stature the spies so terrified the people, that they refused to proceed into the land of Canaan. Therefore, seeing they were objects of so much dread, it was of importance that they should be put out of the way, and the people made more alert by their good hopes of success. It would have been exceedingly injurious ¹¹⁹ to keep objects which filled them with alarm and anxiety always present before their minds, inasmuch as fear obscured the glory ascribed to God for former victories, and overthrew their faith, while they reflected that the most difficult of all their contests still awaited them. Therefore, not without cause is it mentioned among the other instances of divine aid, that by purging the land of such monsters, it was rendered a fit habitation for the people. The less credible it seemed that they could be warred against with success, the more illustriously was the divine power displayed.

Calvin: Jos 11:23

23.So Joshua took the whole land, ¹²⁰ etc Although it was far from being true that Joshua had actually acquired the whole land, yet he is truly said to have obtained it as God had declared to Moses, the latter clause restricting the meaning of the general sentence. For it had been expressly added that the conquest which God had promised would be made gradually, lest it should afterwards become necessary to war with the ferocious wild beasts of the woods, if they pressed forward into a desert waste. Therefore, we are at liberty to say, that though the Lord had not yet placed his people in possession of the promised land, yet he had virtually performed what he had agreed to do, inasmuch as he gave a commodious habitation, and one which was sufficient for the present time. And the words used imply that other district, which had not yet come into their full and actual possession, are included; for it is said that that which they had acquired was distributed according to families. And, in short, we afterwards see in the division that the lands were divided into lots which were not actually subdued by the people till Joshua was dead, nay, till many ages after. ¹²¹ The meaning of the words, which is now plain, is simply this, that while Joshua was still alive, a certain specimen of the promise was exhibited, making him feel perfectly secure in dividing the land by lot. ¹²²

Calvin: Jos 12:1

1.NOW these are the kings, etc This chapter does not need a lengthened exposition, as it only enumerates the kings of whose territories the Israelites gained possession. Two of them are beyond the Jordan, Og and Sihon, whose rule was extensive; in the land of Canaan there are thirty-one. But though each of those now summarily mentioned was previously given more in detail, there is very good reason for here placing before our eyes as it were a living picture of the goodness of God, proving that there had been a complete ratification and performance of the covenant made with Abraham as given in the words, “Unto thy seed will I give this land.” (Gen 12:7; Gen 13:15; Gen 15:18) This living image of the grace of God is here set before us as if the reality were actually present. ¹²³ Joshua was eighty years of age when he entered the land. In this aged man how could there be so much vigor ¹²⁴ as to fit him for carrying on so many wars and enduring the fatigues of warfare, had not celestial virtue furnished him with more than mortal strength? And were not his uninterrupted career of victory, his success under all circumstances, the ease, free from doubt and uncertainty, with which he stormed cities, the rapidity of his movements, and his inflexible firmness — were not all these clear evidences of the hand of God, just as if it had appeared from heaven?

The object of defining the countries by their boundaries was to give a better display of the divine power by setting forth their extent; but this of course was only for those to whom their site was known. Hence, for any one not acquainted with the geography to dwell upon the names, would be vain and foolish curiosity. I admit, indeed, that it is useful to pay attention to the places with which, from their being often mentioned in Scripture, our knowledge ought to be somewhat more familiar, as when the boundaries are fixed by the brook Jabok, in the district of Lebanon and the lake of Gennesaret, here called the Sea of Cineroth, and elsewhere Cinereth. For a slight attention will help us to understand the narrative. If we cannot go farther, let us leave those who are better skilled to give a more searching discussion of what is beyond our reach. ¹²⁵ But although the dominions of these petty kings were narrow and not very populous, we shall however see that many towns were annexed to their principal cities; their number may be ascertained especially from what is said of the lot of the Levites. On the other hand, if we reflect how one small territory could receive and maintain old men, women, and children, nay, a great part of the people with their domestic animals, we cannot fail to admire the inestimable goodness of God which prevented all things from being thrown into complete and irremediable confusion. ¹²⁶

TSK: Jos 11:16

all that land : Gen 15:18-21; Num 34:2-13; Deu 34:2, Deu 34:3

hills : Jos 9:1, Jos 12:8

the land : Jos 10:41

the mountain : Jos 11:21; Eze 17:23, Eze 36:1-3, Eze 36:8

TSK: Jos 11:17

the mount Halak : or, the smooth mountain

that goeth : Gen 32:3; Deu 2:1, Deu 33:2

Seir : Jos 11:3, Jos 1:4, Jos 12:7, Jos 13:5

all their : Josh. 12:7-24; Deu 7:24

TSK: Jos 11:18

a long time : Caleb was forty years old when sent from Kadesh-barnea to spy the land, and he was eighty-five at the conclusion of this war (Jos 14:10). Almost thirty-nine years of this time were spent before Israel passed Jordan; which leaves between six and seven for the term of Joshua’ s wars. Jos 11:23, Jos 14:7-10

TSK: Jos 11:19

the Hivites : Josh. 9:3-27

TSK: Jos 11:20

it was : Exo 4:21, Exo 9:16; Deu 2:30; Jdg 14:4; 1Sa 2:25; 1Ki 12:15, 1Ki 22:20-23; 2Ch 25:16; Isa 6:9, Isa 6:10; Rom 9:18, Rom 9:22, Rom 9:23

as the Lord : Jos 11:12-15; Deu 20:16, Deu 20:17

TSK: Jos 11:21

the Anakims : Jos 14:12-14, Jos 15:13, Jos 15:14; Num 13:22, Num 13:23; Deu 1:28, Deu 2:21, Deu 9:2; Jdg 1:10, Jdg 1:11, Jdg 1:20; Jer 3:23, Jer 9:23; Amo 2:9

Joshua destroyed : Jos 10:42, Jos 24:11, Jos 24:12; Psa 110:5, Psa 110:6, Psa 149:6-9; Rev 6:2, Rev 19:11-21

TSK: Jos 11:22

only in Gaza : Jdg 3:3; 1Sa 17:4; 2Sa 21:16-22; 1Ch 18:1, 1Ch 29:4-8

Ashdod : Jos 15:46; 2Ch 26:6; Neh 13:23, Neh 13:24

TSK: Jos 11:23

according to all : Exo 23:27-31, Exo 34:11; Num 34:2-13; Deu 11:23-25

according to their : Josh. 14:1-19:51; Num 26:52-55

And the land : Jos 11:18, Jos 14:15, Jos 21:44, Jos 21:45, Jos 22:4, Jos 23:1; Psa 46:9; 2Ti 4:7, 2Ti 4:8; Heb 4:8, Heb 4:9

TSK: Jos 12:1

on the other : Jos 1:15, Jos 22:4

from the : Num 21:13, Num 21:24; Deu 2:24; Jdg 11:18; Isa 16:2, unto the mount, Jos 11:3, Jos 11:17; Deu 3:8, Deu 3:9, Deu 4:48; Psa 133:3

TSK: Jos 12:2

Sihon : Num 21:23-30; Deu 2:24-37, Deu 3:6-17; Neh 9:22; Psa 135:11, Psa 136:19, Psa 136:20

Jabbok : Gen 32:22; Jdg 11:13, Jdg 11:22

TSK: Jos 12:3

sea of Chinneroth : This inland sea, or rather lake, which drives its several names, the Lake of Tiberias, Sea of Galilee, Lake of Gennesareth, from the territory which forms its western and south-western border, is computed to be between seventeen and eighteen miles in length, and from five to six in breadth. The waters of this lake, which are sweet and agreeable, lie in a deep basin, surrounded with lofty hills, except at the north and south, where it is a plain country or level. There is a current through the whole lake even to the shore; and the Jordan through it is discernible by the smoothness of the surface in that part. Its appearance from the north- western extremity is said by Mr. Buckingham to be exceedingly grand; but the barren aspect of the mountains on each side, and the total absence of wood, give a cast of dullness to the picture. Jos 11:2; Deu 3:17; Joh 6:1, Sea of Tiberias

the sea : Jos 3:16, Jos 15:2, Jos 15:5; Gen 14:3, Gen 19:25; Deu 3:17

Bethjeshimoth : Jos 13:20

the south : or, Teman

Ashdothpisgah : or, the springs of Pisgah, or, the hill, Num 21:20; Deu 3:17 *marg. Deu 4:49

TSK: Jos 12:4

the coast : Num 21:33-35; Deu 3:1-7, Deu 3:10

the remnant : Jos 13:12; Deu 3:11

dwelt : Deu 1:4

TSK: Jos 12:5

Hermon : Jos 12:1, Jos 11:3; Deu 3:8, Deu 3:9, Deu 4:47, Deu 4:48

Salcah : Jos 13:11; Deu 3:10

unto the : Deu 3:14; 1Sa 27:8; 2Sa 3:3, 2Sa 13:37, 2Sa 15:8, 2Sa 23:34; 2Ki 25:23

TSK: Jos 12:6

did Moses : Num 21:24-35

gave it : Josh. 13:8-32; Luk 22:29-42; Deu 3:11-17

TSK: Jos 12:7

on this side : Jos 12:1, Jos 3:17, Jos 9:1

Baalgad : Jos 11:17, Jos 13:5

Seir : Gen 14:6, Gen 32:3, Gen 36:8, Gen 36:20, Gen 36:30; Deu 2:1, Deu 2:4

Joshua gave : Jos 1:3, Jos 1:4, Jos 11:23, 13:1-19:51; Deu 11:23, Deu 11:24

TSK: Jos 12:8

the mountains : Jos 10:40, Jos 11:16

the Hittites : Jos 9:1; Gen 15:18-21; Exo 3:8, Exo 23:23, Exo 23:28-31; Deu 7:1, Deu 9:1

TSK: Jos 12:9

Jericho : Josh. 6:2-21

Ai : Jos 8:1, Jos 8:17, Jos 8:29-35

TSK: Jos 12:10

Jerusalem : Jos 10:23

Hebron : Jos 10:3, Jos 10:23, Jos 10:36, Jos 10:37

TSK: Jos 12:11

Jarmuth : Placed by Eusebius and Jerome four miles from Eleutheropolis, near Eshtaol; but, in Jermus, which is probably the same, they state it to be ten miles from Eleutheropolis, towards Jerusalem; which is supposed to be nearer the truth. Josh. 10:3-23

Lachish : Eusebius and Jerome say it was a village in their time, seven miles south from Eleutheropolis. Jos 10:3, Jos 10:23, Jos 10:31, Jos 10:32

TSK: Jos 12:12

Eglon : Jos 10:3, Jos 10:23, Jos 15:39

Gezer : Gezer appears to have situated in the tribe of Ephraim, near Beth-horon, between it and the sea. Eusebius and Jerome place it four miles north of Nicopolis or Emmaus. Jos 10:33

TSK: Jos 12:13

Debir : Jos 10:3, Jos 10:38

Geder : Jos 15:36

TSK: Jos 12:14

Hormah : Num 14:45, Num 21:3

Arad : Eusebius places this city in the neighbourhood of Kadesh, four miles from Malathis, and twenty from Hebron. Num 21:1

TSK: Jos 12:15

Libnah : Eusebius and Jerome inform us, that Libnah was a town or village in their time, lying in the district of Eleutheropolis. Jos 10:29, Jos 10:30

Adullam : 1Sa 22:1

TSK: Jos 12:16

Makkedah : Jos 10:28

Bethel : Jos 8:17; Gen 12:8, Gen 28:19; Jdg 1:22

TSK: Jos 12:17

Tappuah : Jos 15:34

Hepher : Jos 19:13; 1Ki 4:10

TSK: Jos 12:18

Aphek : Jos 19:30; 1Sa 4:1

Lasharon : or, Sharon, Isa 33:9

TSK: Jos 12:19

Madon : Jos 11:1

Hazor : Jos 11:1, Jos 11:10, Jos 11:11; Jdg 4:2

TSK: Jos 12:20

Shimronmeron : Jos 11:1, Jos 19:15

Achshaph : Jos 11:1, Jos 19:25

TSK: Jos 12:21

Taanach : Jos 17:11; Jdg 5:19

Megiddo : 1Ki 4:12; 2Ki 23:29, 2Ki 23:30

TSK: Jos 12:22

Kedesh : Jos 15:23, Jos 19:37, Jos 21:32

Jokneam : Jos 19:11

Carmel : Jos 15:55; 1Sa 25:2; Isa 35:2

TSK: Jos 12:23

Dor : Jos 11:2, Jos 17:11

the nations : Gen 14:1, Gen 14:2; Isa 9:1

Gilgal : Jos 4:19, Jos 5:9, Jos 5:10

TSK: Jos 12:24

Tirzah : 1Ki 16:23; 2Ki 15:14

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: Jos 11:17

The mount Halak - See the margin and reference. The name serves to mark the southern limit of Joshua’ s conquests. It suits equally well several of the ranges near the south border of Palestine, and it is uncertain which of them is the one here indicated.

Baal-gad Jos 12:7; Jos 13:5 is probably Paneas, the Caesarea Philippi of later times. The name means "troop or city of Baal,"or a place where Baal was worshipped as the giver of "good luck."Compare Isa 65:11. It was probably the same as Baal-Hermon (Jdg 3:3; 1Ch 5:23; and see Deu 3:9).

Barnes: Jos 11:18

A long time - At least five years; according to others, seven years (see Jos 14:10, and Introduction). This and the preceding chapter contain a very condensed account of the wars of Joshua, giving particulars about leading events only.

Barnes: Jos 11:20

See the marginal references.

Barnes: Jos 11:21

At that time - i. e. in course of the "long time"mentioned in Jos 11:18.

The Anakims - See Num 13:22. As it was the report of the spies respecting the Anakims which, above all, struck terror into the Israelites in the wilderness, and caused their faithless complaining and revolt, so the sacred writer goes back here in his story to record pointedly the overthrow of this gigantic and formidable race. They had their chief settlements in the mountains around Hebron Jos 10:3 or Debir. See Jos 15:15.

Anab was a city in the mountain district of Judah, lying some distance south of Hebron. It still bears its ancient name.

Barnes: Jos 11:22

Gaza, Gath, Ashdod - See the Jos 13:3 note.

Barnes: Jos 11:23

These words import that Joshua had overcome all overt resistance. There were, however, many districts by no means thoroughly and finally subdued Jos 13:1-6.

Barnes: Jos 12:1-6

All the plain on the east - i. e. the Arabah or depressed tract along the east bank of Jordan, the modern El-Ghor (see Num 22:1).

Jos 12:2

From the middle of the river - i. e. as appears from Jos 13:9, Jos 13:16, "from the city that is in the midst of the river;"namely,, Ar Moab (see Deu 2:36).

Jos 12:3

From the plain - Render "over the plain;"for the words describe not one of the boundaries of Sihon’ s kingdom, but part of the territory included in it, i. e. the eastern portion of the Ghor, between the Sea of Tiberias and the Dead Sea.

Barnes: Jos 12:7-24

The names of the kings are given in the order of their actual encounter with Joshua. Those enumerated in Jos 12:10-18 either belonged to the league of the southern Canaanites (Jos 10:1 ff), the power of which was broken in the battle of Beth-horon, or were at any rate conquered in the campaign following that battle. Those mentioned in Jos 12:19-24 were in like manner connected with the northern confederates (Jos 11:1 ff), who were defeated at the Waters of Merom.

Jos 12:13-20

The identification of several of these places is still uncertain: the same name (e. g. Aphek, Jos 12:18) being applied to various places in various parts of Palestine. Geder, or Gedor Jos 15:58, a city in the mountain district in the south of the territory of Judah, is no doubt the modern "Jedur".

Jos 12:21

Taanach - A Levitical town Jos 21:25 in the territory of Issachar, but assigned to the Manassites (Jos 17:11; Compare 1Ch 7:29), is identified with "Taanuk". It was here that Barak encountered the host of Sisera Jdg 5:19. Megiddo was near it, and is thought to have been "el Lejjun"(the Roman Legion), (or Mujedd’ a (Conder)).

Jos 12:22

Kedesh - i. e. Kedesh Naphtali, a city of refuge, a Levitical city, and the home of Barak Jdg 9:6.

Jokneam - A Levitical city in the territory of Zebulon Jos 19:11; perhaps the modern "Kaimon". "Tell Kaimon"is a conspicuous and important position, commanding the main pass across the ridge of Carmel from Phoenicia to Egypt. This famous mountain range (about 15 miles long) no doubt received the name Carmel (the word means "a fruitful field"as opposed to "wilderness") as descriptive of its character; and thus the name became an emblem of beauty and luxuriance (Isa 35:2; Son 7:5, etc.). Its highest part, about 4 miles from Tell Kaimon, is nearly 1,750 feet above the sea. Its modern name, "Jebel Mar Elias", preserves still that association with the great deeds of Elijah, from which Carmel derives its chief Biblical interest. Mount Carmel was probably, like Lebanon, from very ancient Canaanite times, regarded as especially sacred; and since the altar of the Lord repaired by Elijah 1Ki 18:30 was an old one which had been broken down, Carmel was probably no less esteemed by the Israelites also. In later times the caves which abound toward the western bluffs of the range have been frequented by Christian, Jewish, and Mussulman anchorites. The order of Carmelite or barefooted friars took its rise from the convent founded by Louis, which still crowns the western headland.

Jos 12:23

The king of the nations - See Gen 14:1 and note. It means king of certain mixed and probably nomadic tribes, which regarded Gilgal Jos 9:19 as their center and capital.

Jos 12:24

Tirzah - This place, the capital of Jeroboam and his successors until the clays of Omri (1Ki 14:17; 1Ki 15:21, etc.), is identified by some with "Tulluzah", a town 3 miles northeast of Nablous, (by others with Teiasir).

Poole: Jos 11:16

All that land of Cannaan, whose parts here follow. The hill , or, the mountain , i.e. the mountainous country, to wit, of Judea, as may seem,

1. Because in the following enumeration he begins in the south parts, where there was an eminent mountain, Num 13:17 .

2. Because a considerable part of Judea was called the hilly or the mountainous country, Luk 1:39,65 , which is not likely to be omitted in this particular description of the land; the rather because Hebron, one of the places taken by Joshua, Jos 10:36,37 was in the mountain of Judah, Jos 20:7 .

3. Because this is here distinguished from the mountain of Israel, and therefore most likely to be the mountain of Judah , especially if you compare this with Jos 10:21 , where having mentioned the mountain in general, from which Joshua cut off the Anakims, he comes to particularize, and names only two, all the mountain of Judah, and all the mountain of Israel . All the south country , i.e. not only the mountainous part, but all the country of Judea, which lay in the southern part of Canaan, and oft comes under the name of the south , as Num 13:22,29 21:1 Jos 10:40 18:5 , &c. the land of Goshen ; of which see Jos 10:41 . The vale ; the low countries.

The plain the fields or champaign grounds.

The mountain of Israel either,

1. Some one particular and eminent mountain, possibly the hill of Samaria , mentioned 1Ki 16:24 ; or rather,

2. The mountains or mountainous country of Israel. See the second note on this verse. The vale of the same , i.e. of Israel.

Poole: Jos 11:17

That goeth up to Seir i.e. to the country of Seir or Edom, to wit, that part of it which was south from Judea, not that which was eastward from it, as appears from hence, that here, as also Jos 12:7 , is mention of the two extreme bounds of the land conquered by Joshua; whereof the other which follows being in the north, this must needs be in the south of the land.

Baal-gad a part of Mount Lebanon.

Poole: Jos 11:18

For divers years together, as is evident by the following history, and by comparing Deu 2:14 with Jos 14:7 , &c. And this is here expressed, lest it should be thought that as all these wars are here recorded in a short narration, so they were despatched in a short time. And God would have the land to be conquered gradually, for many weighty reasons:

1. Lest the sudden extirpation of those nations should have made a great part of the land desert, and thereby have increased the numbers of wild beasts, Deu 7:22 .

2. Lest being done suddenly and easily, it should soon be forgotten and despised, as the nature of man is apt to do in those cases.

3. That by long exercise the Israelites might grow skilful in the art of war, which was very useful and needful for them in that land.

4. For the trial and exercise of their patience, and courage, and trust in God.

5. To oblige them to the greater care to please and obey God, whom they yet needed for their help against their enemies.

Poole: Jos 11:19

To wit, all that were taken by Joshua, were taken by the sword, and therefore it is no wonder that the war was long, when the enemy was so obstinate.

Poole: Jos 11:20

It was the design of God’ s providence not to soften their hearts to a compliance with the Israelites, but to give them up to their own animosity, pride, confidence, and stubbornness; that so both their abominable and incorrigible wickedness might be severely punished and that the Israelites might not be mixed with them, but be entire among themselves in the possession of the land. Compare Deu 2:30 , and for the phrase, Exo 7:13 9:12 14:17 .

Poole: Jos 11:21

At that time i.e. in that war; for it cannot be meant of any particular and short time, because the work here related was done in divers times and years.

The Anakims ; a race of giants, of which see Num 13:33 .

From the mountain , or, mountains, the singular number for the plural: these barbarous and monstrous persons either chose to live in the dens or caves, which were frequent in the mountains of those parts; or else they were driven thither by the arms and success of the Israelites.

From Debir ; either,

1. From the territories belonging to these cities, as we have oft seen in this history, cities mentioned for the country subject to them; for the cities were taken before by Joshua, Jos 10:36-38 . Or,

2. From the cities themselves; and so either the cities were retaken by the giants, which it is not probable that God would permit in Joshua’ s time; or he speaks here of that time when he took those places mentioned here and Jos 10 , which history he here in part repeats and enlargeth with this memorable circumstance, that, together with the rest, he destroyed also the giants which were in those places.

Anab a place in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:50 .

From all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: it doth not follow from hence, which some conclude, that this book was written by some other person long after Joshua’ s death, even after the division of the Israelites into two kingdoms, of Israel and Judah; but only that this was one of those clauses which were added or altered and suited to the style of the present times by Ezra, or some other prophet, though that be not necessary; for since it was evident to Joshua, from Gen 49:9 , &c., that the tribe of Judah was to be the chief of all the tribes, and some dawnings of its eminency appeared in that time, in their having the first lot in the land of Canaan, Jos 15:1 , and the largest inheritance, Jos 19:9 , it is no wonder that it is mentioned apart, and distinguished from the rest of the tribes of Israel, though that also be one of them; even as the daughter of Pharaoh is distinguished from the strange women , 1Ki 11:1 , and Saul from all David’ s enemies, Psa 18:1 , and Peter from the disciples , Mar 6:7 , though they were each of the same nature and quality with the rest. Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities .

Quest. How could Joshua utterly destroy these, when Caleb and Othniel destroyed some of them after Joshua’ s death, Jos 14:12 Jud 1:10-13 .

Answ This might be, either,

1. Because these places being in part destroyed and neglected by the Israelites, might be repossessed by the giants, either in Joshua’ s time, or after his death, and by them kept till Caleb dispossessed and destroyed them. Or rather,

2. Because this work, though done by the particular valour and industry of Caleb, is ascribed to Joshua as the general of the army, according to the manner of all historians; and therefore it is here attributed to Joshua, though afterwards, that Caleb might not lose his deserved honour, the history is more particularly described, and Caleb owned as the great instrument in the achievement of it, Jos 14 Jud 1 .

Poole: Jos 11:22

Three cities of the Philistines, to which they retired, and where we find some of them afterwards, 1Sa 17:4 2Sa 21:16 ; which may be one reason why the Israelites durst not make an attempt upon these places, though they were a part of their possession.

Poole: Jos 11:23

The whole land synecdochically, i.e. the greatest and the best part of it, for some parts and places are expressly excepted in the following history.

From war from actual war; so far that they could now quietly survey, and distribute, and possess the land.

Poole: Jos 12:2

From the middle of the river: it is not unusual, even amongst us, for a river to be divided between two lords, and for their territories or jurisdictions to meet in the middle of the river; and besides, here is a very particular reason for this expression, because the city Ar, which was no part of Sihon’ s dominions, but belonged to the Moabites, Deu 2:9,18 , was in the middle of the river Arnon, Deu 2:36 Deu 3:16 ; and therefore the middle of the river is most fitly and properly here mentioned, as the bound of Sihon’ s dominion on that side.

And from half Gilead Heb. and the half Gilead , i.e. half of the country of Gilead: the particle from is not in the original, and this doth not seem to denote the term or bound from which his dominion begun, as our version implies, for so indeed it was not; but the place or country in and over which his dominion was, which, as is here said, began at Arnon, and took in half Gilead, and ended at Jabbok, beyond which was the other half of Gilead, which belonged to Og, as is expressly said, Jos 12:5 , where the words being wholly the same that are here, it is most reasonable to understand and translate them in the same manner.

Poole: Jos 12:3

To the sea of Chinneroth on the east which words describe the situation not of the sea of Chinneroth, which was part of the western border of Sihon’ s dominion, but of the plain, which is here said to lie eastward from the sea of Chinneroth, and also eastward from the Salt Sea, as it here follows. And this was indeed the situation of the plains of Moab, which are here spoken of, to wit, that they lay between the two seas, that of Chinneroth and the Salt Sea, and eastward to them both.

The sea of the plain the Salt Sea is so called because it was a famous plain, pleasant and fruitful, before it was turned into a salt sea. From the south, or, on or towards the south.

Poole: Jos 12:4

To wit, successively; sometimes at the one, sometimes at the other city; both being his royal mansions.

Poole: Jos 12:5

The Geshurites of which see Deu 3:14 Jos 13:13 2Sa 13:37 15:8 .

Poole: Jos 12:8

The wilderness: this word here and elsewhere in Scripture notes not a land wholly desert and uninhabited, but one thin of inhabitants, as 1Ki 2:34 9:18 Mat 3:1,3 .

Poole: Jos 12:9

Which is beside Beth-el: this is added to distinguish it from Ai of the Ammonites, of which Jer 49:3 .

Poole: Jos 12:23

Dor of which Jos 11:2 .

Gilgal not of that Gilgal where Joshua first lodged after his passage over Jordan; where it doth not appear that there was either king or city; but of another city of the same name, (as was frequent in those parts,) probably in Galilee towards the sea whither divers people might possibly resort for trade and merchandise, over whom this was king, as formerly Tidal seems to have been, Gen 14:1 .

Poole: Jos 12:24

Each being confined to a narrow compass, and being king only of one city, or small province belonging to it, which was by the wise and singular providence of God, that they might be more easily and successively conquered by the Israelites one after another, as they were.

Haydock: Jos 11:16

So. Here follows a recapitulation of the victories of Josue. ---

Israel, or of Ephraim, which was the chief tribe of the kingdom of Israel: after the commencement of which, this seems to have been inserted; (Calmet) or having designated the southern parts by the name of Juda, (ver. 21,) the more northern countries are called the mountain of Israel, which refers particularly to Samaria, or Bethel, which might receive the appellation of Israel, among his descendants, from the vision of the ladder, with which that patriarch was favoured. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jos 11:17

And part. Hebrew, "from Mount Halak, (Haydock; or the bald mountain, destitute of wood) going up to Seir, (which is very shady; that is, from the southern parts of Chanaan, by Seir) as far as Baalgad," on the east side of the Jordan, perhaps unto Cœlosyria. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jos 11:18

A long time. Seven years, as appears from chap. xiv. 10., (Challoner) where Caleb informs us that he was 85 years old. He was 40 when he went to explore the country, and 38 years were spent in the wilderness. God was pleased to allow the Chanaanites time to repent, and he would not render the country desolate all at once, lest wild beasts should overrun it, Exodus xxiii. 19., and Wisdom xii. 10. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jos 11:20

Hardened. This hardening of their hearts, was their having no thought of yielding or submitting: which was a sentence or judgment of God upon them, in punishment of their enormous crimes. (Challoner) ---

God might indeed by his all-powerful grace have changed their hearts, but their crimes caused him to withhold that grace; and thus they were suffered to shut their eyes to their true interest. (Calmet) ---

They alone therefore were the cause of their own obduracy, which God only did not prevent, Exodus vii. (Worthington)

Haydock: Jos 11:21

Time. Among his other conquests, after the victory of Gabaon, Josue defeated the Enacim at Hebron, &c. Many of them fled into the country of the Philistines, and afterwards seized an opportunity of re-establishing themselves, so that Caleb had to drive them out afresh, chap. xv. 14. ---

Cities, or inhabitants. We have seen that he did not demolish all the cities, which were built on a commanding situation, ver. 13. ---

Enacim. Goliah[Goliath] is supposed to have been of this family, being six cubits and a span high, 1 Kings xvii. 4. (Calmet) ---

The Phœnicians probably took their name from Enak, bene anak, "sons of Enak;" whence Phœnix might easily be formed. (Bochart) ---

Carthage was founded by them, and styled Chadre-Anak, "the dwelling of Anak," (Plautus) as they chose to pass for descendants of that giant, though they were not in reality. Anak means "a chain;" and some have asserted that he wore one, as the kings of the Madianites did when they were vanquished by Gedeon, and the Torquati at Rome, as a mark of honour. But this is uncertain. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jos 11:22

Gaza, the most southern city of the Philistines, was afterwards taken by the tribe of Juda, but lost again in a short time. It was particularly addicted to the worship of Jupiter, Marnas, or "the Lord." ---

Geth was probably taken by David, who found a refuge with its king, 1 Kings xxi. After the reign of Solomon, it returned to its former masters. ---

Azotus, or as the Hebrew writes, Asdod, on the Mediterranean, was noted for the temple of Dagon, (1 Kings v. 1,) which Jonathas destroyed. (Josephus, [Antiquities?] xxii. 8.) (Calmet) ---

Wars, of a general nature. The different tribes had only to take some cities, chap. xv. 1. (Worthington)

Haydock: Jos 12:1

Jachanan was near Mount Carmel. Sometimes Josue specifies both the city and the canton, where it was situated; at other times he only mentions the latter, as in the following verse.

Haydock: Jos 12:1

Wilderness. Hebrew, "all the plain country ( Arabia ) on the east."

Haydock: Jos 12:2

Galaad. Sehon occupied from the middle of the torrent Arnon, as far as half of the mountains of Galaad, and the torrent Jaboc. (Calmet) ---

Og possessed the other half of the mountains northward, while the Ammonites had the eastern parts. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jos 12:3

Bethsimoth is ten miles from Jericho, (Eusebius) near the Dead Sea, in the plains of Moab. (Calmet) ---

Phasga. Asedoth lay at the foot of this mountain, being well supplied with water. Subjacet Acedoth usque Phasga, the southern limits of Sehon's dominions had "abundance of springs, as far as Phasga." (Haydock)

Haydock: Jos 12:4

Og. See Numbers xxi. 33., and Deuteronomy iii. 11.

Haydock: Jos 12:7

Seir. The same expression occurs, chap xi. 17. Hebrew, "from Baalgad, in the vale of Libanus, even unto Mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir." (Haydock) ---

Halak means, "bald or naked." It is not know what mountain it denotes. Josue, (Calmet) or the Israelites, (Haydock) conquered "all the country beyond the Jordan, on the north from Baalgad, at the foot of Libanus, and from Hermon, where these mountains meet, as far as the mountains of separation," which divide the country of Chanaan from that of Seir, on the south of Judea. (Calmet) ---

Baalgad was situated on the north western borders of this territory, not of the Jordan. (Haydock)

Haydock: Jos 12:8

Asedoth, or "in the springs," or valleys, ver. 3.

Haydock: Jos 12:14

Herma, "a curse," where the Israelites defeated king Arad, Numbers xiv. 45., and xxi. 3.

Haydock: Jos 12:15

Odullam, ten miles east of Eleutheropolis, and famous for the retreat of David. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jos 12:16

Bethel. Josue perhaps slew the king, but did not take the city, Judges i. 22. (Menochius)

Haydock: Jos 12:18

Aphec. A place of this name was in the tribe of Aser, another in that of Juda. ---

Saron. Hebrew, "Lasharon;" probably Sarona, (Acts ix. 35,) or a canton near Joppe. (Eusebius)

Haydock: Jos 12:19

Madon, or Maron, Septuagint, chap xi. 1. This place is joined with Semeron, in Hebrew (ver. 20,) improperly. Perhaps it may be the Meros, (Judges v. 23,) or Maronia, a city of Phœnicia.

Haydock: Jos 12:21

Thenac, a city of the Levites, but seized afterwards by the Chanaanites, Judges i. 27. It was near the town of Legion, built by the Romans. ---

Mageddo, where Josias was overcome, 2 Paralipomenon xxxv. 22. (Calmet)

Haydock: Jos 12:23

Galgal, not where the Israelites had encamped, but that part which was afterwards called the Galilee of the Gentiles, in some corner of which the king in question had fixed his residence. For we cannot suppose that he ruled over all that country, extending from Tyre to beyond the Jordan. His people might probably be a mixed multitude of various nations, as Strabo (xvi.) observes, that many parts of Palestine were peopled by men of this description.

Haydock: Jos 12:24

Thersa. Here the kings of Israel kept their court, till Amri built Samaria, (Calmet) about nine miles more to the north. (Brocard.) ---

One. The two kings slain by Moses (Worthington) are not included. (Menochius)

Gill: Jos 11:16

So Joshua took all that land,.... The whole land of Canaan, described as follows, both as to the southern and northern parts of it:

the hills; the hill country of Judea, of which see Luk 1:39,

and all the south country; where lived the five kings; and those of other places, the account of the taking of which we have in the preceding chapter, Jos 10:40,

and all the land of Goshen; see Jos 10:41,

and the valley, and the plain; the low places and campaign fields which lay between the hills and mountains; particularly all the plain and campaign country near Eleutheropolis, towards the north and west, Jerom says, in his day, was called "Sephela", or "the vale" ^a:

and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same; by which may be meant Jerusalem, situated on a mountain, and is so called, Eze 17:23; and its valley may be the valley of Hinnom or of Jehoshaphat, as they were after called, which were near it: some think the hill of Samaria or the mountains about that are meant.

Gill: Jos 11:17

Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up unto Seir,.... Or the "smooth" and "bald" mountain, which had no trees on it, as some interpret it, observed by Kimchi; it was a mount on the borders of Edom, to which the land of Canaan reached on that side:

even unto Baalgad, in the valley of Lebanon, under Mount Hermon; and so describes the northern part of the land conquered by Joshua:

and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them; both in the southern and northern parts of the land.

Gill: Jos 11:18

Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. For, though the account of the conquest of them is put together, and lies in a small compass, yet those victories were not obtained at once, or in a few days, as were those of the five kings, and others, related in the preceding chapter, Jos 10:10; but were the work of some years; Josephus ^b says five years, but the common notion of the Jews is, that Joshua was seven years in subduing the land of Canaan ^c; our Bishop Usher ^d thinks it was done in six years; and it may be concluded that it was about six or seven years ere this work was completely finished.

Gill: Jos 11:19

There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel,.... Though, according to the Jews, Joshua, upon his first landing in Canaan, sent letters and messages to all the inhabitants of the land, offering them peace on certain terms; particularly that he sent three messages, or proposed three things to them; that those who had a mind to flee might flee; that those who were desirous of making peace might make it; and they that were for war, let them fight; all were for the last, and so perished ^e:

save the Hivites and the inhabitants of Gibeon; these, some have thought, did not hear of the offers of peace, others think they did, and at first rejected them, but repenting were obliged to take the crafty methods they did to obtain it, of which see Jos 9:1,

all other they took in battle; refusing to submit to them and make peace with them.

Gill: Jos 11:20

For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts,.... As he hardened the hearts of Pharaoh and the Egyptians, that his power might be displayed in their destruction:

that they should come against Israel battle; and so fall in it:

that he might destroy them utterly; for their abominable wickedness, idolatry, incest, &c. they had been guilty of:

and that they might have no favour; which they would have had, had they made peace as the Gibeonites did; or that they might not pray and make supplication, the Lord not giving them a spirit of supplication, but an hard heart, as Gussetius ^f observes the words may be interpreted, though he seems to prefer the former, sense:

but that he might destroy them, as the Lord commanded Moses; Deu 7:1.

Gill: Jos 11:21

And at that time came Joshua,.... After he had made a conquest of the land, or at the time he made it, as before related:

and cut off the Anakims from the mountains; whither, upon the conquest of the land, they had betaken themselves, and lived in dens and caves: these were giants, so called from Anak the father of them; though these are not to be restrained to his posterity, but include all other giants in the land; and the Targum renders the word by "mighty men"; and as some of them dwelt in mountains, others in cities, as follows:

from Hebron; where the children of Anak dwelt when the spies were sent into the land between forty and fifty years before this; and though the inhabitants of Hebron had been before destroyed by Joshua, these Anakims, who very likely then made their escape, returned and took possession of it after Joshua's departure, and while he was engaged in making other conquests; as we find that after this others of the same race again possessed it, and were in the possession of it after the death of Joshua, when they were slain by the tribe of Judah, Jdg 1:10; from Debir: where others of them also had got after the conquest of it; unless we suppose, as I see no great reason to object to it, that these were cut off both at Hebron and Debir, at the time of the taking of them, of which see Jos 10:36,

from Anab; a city which fell to the lot of the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:50. Jerom ^g says, in his time it was a village, near Diospolis or Lydda, about four miles from it to the east, and called Bethoannaba; but he says, that most affirm it to be eight miles from it, and called Bethannaba: Masius conjectures, that it is the same with the city of Nob; for, he says, that travellers in those parts affirm, that the city Nob is called Bethanoba and Bethanopolis:

and from all the mountains of Judah; the hill country of Judea, and the mountains round about Jerusalem:

and from all the mountains of Israel; as those about Samaria, and elsewhere:

Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities; which they had formerly inhabited, or had got into the possession of.

Gill: Jos 11:22

There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel,.... For those that escaped the sword fled elsewhere, particularly to the following places:

only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod there remained; that is, some of the Anakims or giants; these were three of the five principalities of the Philistines, and were never conquered and possessed by Israel, see Jos 13:3; of the city of Gaza; see Gill on Amo 1:7; See Gill on Amo 1:8; and See Gill on Zep 2:4; and of Gath; see Gill on Amo 6:2; Ashdod is the same with Azotus; see Gill on Act 8:40, Mela says ^h, the port of Azotus was a mart for the merchandises of Arabia, and was built on such an eminence, that from the top of it, at the fourth watch, might be seen the rising of the sun at the mountain Azotus; see"Who discomfited the right wing, and pursued them unto the mount Azotus.'' (1 Maccabees 9:15)this city held out a siege of twenty nine years against Psammitticus, king of Egypt; see Gill on Isa 20:1.

Gill: Jos 11:23

So Joshua took the whole land,.... Of Canaan, the far greater and better part of it, all before described; all that he went against, he failed not in any of his attempts; no place stood out against him that he besieged or summoned, all yielded to him:

according to all that the Lord said unto Moses: in Deu 11:23,

and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel, according to their divisions by their tribes; as is after related in this book:

and the land rested from war; there were no combinations of any of the dispersed Canaanites, or insurrections made by them, nor any annoyance given to Israel by the Philistines, who inhabited five principal cities, with what belonged to them; nor did Joshua attempt anything more in a warlike manner: and so it became a land of rest, as the heavenly Canaan will be to the spiritual Israel and church of God, after their militant state is ended, in which they now are; being engaged with many spiritual enemies, the Canaanites that are in the land, but then their warfare will be ended.

Gill: Jos 12:1

Now these are the kings of the land which the children of Israel smote,.... In the days of Moses, as Jarchi remarks, and as it clearly appears from what follows:

and possessed, their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun; on the east of the land of Canaan:

from the river Arnon unto the mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east; Arnon was the border of Moab between them and the Amorites, Num 21:13; and from hence to Hermon, a mountain adjoining to Lebanon, lay the country of the two kings of the Amorites after mentioned, Deu 3:8; and the plain on the east were the plains of Moab, which lay to the east of Jordan.

Gill: Jos 12:2

Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon,.... Which he took from the Moabites, and made his capital city, Num 21:26,

and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river of Arnon; a city of Moab, which never fell into the hands of Sihon, and therefore he is said to rule from it but not over it:

and from the middle of the river; that is, the river Arnon, which being the boundary of the Moabites and Amorites, the king of the Amorites might be said to rule from the middle of it:

and from half Gilead even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; so it is said to be, Deu 3:16; it should be rendered, not "from half Gilead", but "and half Gilead", as it is in the Hebrew text, and so in the Targum; for half Gilead belonged to the kingdom of Sihon, as the other half did to the kingdom of Og, as in Jos 12:5; and so Jarchi remarks.

Gill: Jos 12:3

And from the plain,.... Or rather, "and the plain", the plains of Moab, which, before possessed by the Israelites, belonged to the kingdom of Sihon; and the plains of Jordan, which reached

to the sea of Cinneroth on the east; the same with the lake of Gennesaret, and sea of Tiberias, mentioned in the New Testament, Mat 14:34,

and unto the sea of the plain; where stood the cities of the plain, Sodom, Gomorrah, &c.

even the salt sea on the east; the same with the dead sea, into which the plain the above cities stood on was converted:

the way to Bethjeshimoth; which was a place in the plains of Moab, Num 33:49,

and from the south under Ashdothpisgah; or the springs of Pisgah, which flowed from the mount of that name, Deu 3:17.

Gill: Jos 12:4

And the coast of Og king of Bashan,.... The country that he reigned over, who was another king of the Amorites, smitten by Israel in the times of Moses:

which was of the remnant of the giants; See Gill on Deu 3:11,

that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei; of which two places see Deu 1:4; it seems as if Og had a palace in each of those cities, and sometimes was at one and sometimes at another, as is usual with kings.

Gill: Jos 12:5

And reigned in Mount Hermon,.... That is, over all the people that inhabited that mount or dwelt under it, Jos 11:17, and adjacent to it, of which mountain; see Gill on Deu 3:8 and See Gill on Deu 3:9,

and in Salcah: which was a city belonging to the kingdom of Og, Deu 3:10,

and in all Bashan; or Batanea, a country famous for pasturage, Mic 7:14, and for fat cattle, Eze 39:18, and for oaks, Isa 2:13, frequently mentioned in Scripture:

unto the border of the Geshurites, and the Maachathites; which were two nations the Israelites never expelled, Jos 13:13; of which see Deu 3:14,

and half Gilead; which belonged to Og, as the other half did to Sihon, before observed, which was as follows:

the border of Sihon king of Heshbon; here the two kingdoms joined, even in the midst of Gilead, which was divided between them, but now wholly fell into the hands of Israel.

Gill: Jos 12:6

Them did Moses the servant of the Lord, and the children of Israel, smite,.... That is, the inhabitants of those kingdoms they smote with the edge of the sword, and took possession of them, the history of which see in Num 21:1,

and Moses the servant of the Lord gave it; the whole dominion of the two kings before mentioned:

for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh: of which grant, and the conditions of it, see Num 32:1.

Gill: Jos 12:7

And these are the kings of the country,.... After particularly named, Jos 12:9,

which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west; that is, on the west of Jordan:

from Baalgad, in the valley of Lebanon, even unto the mount Halak,

that goeth up to Seir; of which see Jos 11:17,

which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession,

according to their divisions; as after related in this book.

Gill: Jos 12:8

In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country,.... Which is a description of the whole land of Canaan; some parts of which were hills and mountains, others vales and champaign fields; others were dry and barren, and others well watered; some part of it lay to the north, as towards Lebanon, and others to the south, towards Seir:

the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; which were the nations that inhabited the land of Canaan before it was taken and possessed by the Israelites.

Gill: Jos 12:9

The king of Jericho, one,.... Who was first taken, and so named first, Jos 6:21,

the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; who was next taken and though Bethel was so near Ai, it had a king of its own, after mentioned, see Jos 7:1.

Gill: Jos 12:10

The king of Jerusalem, one,.... Whose name was Adonizedek, and was one of the five kings taken and hanged, Jos 10:1,

the king of Hebron, one; another of the five kings, whose name was Hoham, Jos 10:3.

Gill: Jos 12:11

The king of Jarmuth, one,.... Whose name was Piram, a third of the five kings before observed, Jos 10:3,

the king of Lachish, one; another of them, whose name was Japhia, Jos 10:3.

Gill: Jos 12:12

The king of Eglon, one,.... The last of the five kings, and his name was Debir, Jos 10:3,

the king of Gezer, one; who came up to help Lachish, and his name was Horam, Jos 10:33.

Gill: Jos 12:13

The king of Debir, one,.... The same with Kirjathsepher, of which place; see Gill on Jos 10:38,

the king of Geder, one: Jerom ^h seems to confound this with the tower of Eder, beyond which Jacob pitched his tent, Gen 35:21; and he speaks of a Gaddera in the tribe of Judah, in his time a village belonging to the country about Aelia or Jerusalem, and of Gahedur in the tribe of Judah, a large village, ten miles from Diospolis or Lydda, as you go to Eleutheropolis: it seems to be the same with Gederah, Jos 15:36, or Gedor, Jos 15:58.

Gill: Jos 12:14

The king of Hormah, one,.... Which was formerly called Zephath, Jdg 1:17; see Jos 15:3,

the king of Arad, one; perhaps the same with Arath, which, Jerom ⁱ says, is the border of the land of Judah, and is twenty miles distant from Hebron to the south; see Num 21:1.

Gill: Jos 12:15

The king of Libnah, one,.... Taken at the same time as the kings of Makkedah, Debir, and of other places were, Jos 10:29,

the king of Adullam, one; a city in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:35; Jerom says ^k there was a village in his time, not a small one, called by this name, ten miles to the east of Eleutheropolis: near to this place was a cave where David hid himself when he fled from Saul, 1Sa 22:1; See Gill on Mic 1:15.

Gill: Jos 12:16

The king of Makkedah, one,.... In a cave near to which five kings hid themselves, and were taken out and hanged, and the city afterwards was taken by Joshua, Jos 10:16; which fell to the lot of the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:41,

the king of Bethel, one; a city near to Ai, about a mile from it, and yet had a king over it: it was taken at the same time that Ai was, Jos 7:2; and fell to the lot of Benjamin, Jos 18:22.

Gill: Jos 12:17

The king of Tappuah, one,.... Which Jerom calls ^l Thaffu; it signifies an apple, and perhaps had its name from plenty of that fruit that grew there: a city of this name fell to the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:34; where also was another place called Bethtappuah, Jos 15:53; and both different from another Tappuah on the border of Manasseh, which belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, Jos 17:8; by some thought to be meant here:

the king of Hepher, one; mention is made of Gittahhepher as on the border of Zebulun, Jos 19:13; the same with Gathhepher, of which place was the Prophet Jonah, 2Ki 14:25; and of the land of Hepher in 1Ki 4:10; which is said by Jerom to be in the same tribe, and not far from Diocaesarea or Zippore; and we read of a Chepher or Hepher in the Jewish writings ^m, which, according to the account of it there given, could not be far from the same place, at least it must be less than twelve miles from it.

Gill: Jos 12:18

The king of Aphek, one,.... There was a place called Aphekah in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:53; and an Aphek that was on the border of the Amorites, Jos 13:4; and another in the tribe of Asher, Jos 19:30; but Adrichomius ⁿ places this Aphek in the tribe of Issachar, whose king Joshua smote, and takes it to be the same place where the Philistines in the times of Samuel and David brought their armies against Israel, 1Sa 4:1; and where the king of Syria fought against Israel, 1Ki 20:26; and says that its ruins were now shown in the great plain not far from Gilboa to the east of Mount Carmel, and five miles from Tabor:

the king of Lasharon, one; which, according to the Vulgate Latin version, is the same with Saron, which, in Act 9:35, in some copies is called Assaron; so Adrichomius ^o, who places it in the tribe of Ephraim, and takes it to be the same Sharon Isaiah speaks of, Isa 33:9; and of which Jerom says ^p, to this day there is a country between Tabor and the lake of Tiberias called Saronas, and also that from Caesarea of Palestine to the town of Joppa, all the land that is seen bears that name.

Gill: Jos 12:19

The king of Madon, one,.... Whose name was Jobab, Jos 11:1,

the king of Hazor, one; whose name was Jabin, and of him and his city; see Gill on Jos 11:1.

Gill: Jos 12:20

The king of Shimronmeron, one,.... See Jos 11:1, this place fell to the tribe of Zebulun, Jos 19:15,

the king of Achshaph, one; see Jos 11:1; this city fell to the lot of Asher, Jos 19:25.

Gill: Jos 12:21

The king of Taanach, one,.... It was in the tribe of Manasseh, Jos 17:11; Jerom says ^q, in his time it was a large village, distant from Legion on the plain of Esdraelon three miles:

the king of Megiddo, one; which belonged to the same tribe, Jos 17:11; near this place were some waters where the Canaanites fought with the Israelites, Jdg 5:19; and a valley where Josiah was slain, 2Ch 35:22.

Gill: Jos 12:22

The king of Kedesh, one,.... Which afterwards fell to the tribe of Naphtali, and was one of the cities of refuge, Jos 19:37; it was situated in upper Galilee on Mount Naphtali, four miles from the city of Sephet, and as many from Capernaum, and twenty miles from Tyre ^r:

the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one; a city that came to the lot of the tribe of Zebulun, Jos 19:11; and was given to the Levites, Jos 21:34; it was not far from Mount Carmel, from whence it is described.

Gill: Jos 12:23

The king of Dor, in the coast of Dor, one,.... Of which see Jos 11:2; it fell to the lot of Manasseh, but never was possessed by them, as were not Taanach and Megiddo, before mentioned, Jos 17:11 Jdg 1:27,

the king of the nations of Gilgal, one; not the place where Joshua encamped after he had passed Jordan, for that was then no city; the Septuagint version renders it the land of Galilee; and Dr. Lightfoot ^s is of opinion that Galilee is meant, and in the Apocrypha:"Who went forth by the way that leadeth to Galgala, and pitched their tents before Masaloth, which is in Arbela, and after they had won it, they slew much people.'' (1 Maccabees 9:2)Galgala is spoken of as near to Arbel, a city in Galilee: Jerom ^t takes this to be the same with Glagulis, which in his time was a village six miles from Antipatris to the north.

Gill: Jos 12:24

The king of Tirzah, one,.... To what tribe this place fell is nowhere said: Adrichomius ^u places it in the tribe of Manasseh; and so does Bunting ^w, who says of it, that it was a fair and beautiful city, situated on a high and pleasant mountain, in the tribe of Manasseh, twenty four miles from Jerusalem to the north: here Jeroboam had his royal seat, and so his successors unto Omri, 1Ki 14:17; and Dr Lightfoot ^x seems to suspect as if Shechem in Mount Ephraim and Tirzah were the same; for, he says, if Shechem and Tirzah were not one and the same town, it appears that Jeroboam had removed his court, when his son died, from where it was when he first erected his idols; compare 1Ki 12:25, with 1Ki 14:17; and so it may argue that there was some space between: it was, no doubt, a very pleasant and beautiful city, as not only appears from its name, but from the allusion to it in Son 6:4,

all the kings thirty and one: it may seem strange that, in so small a country as Canaan was, there should be so many kings in it, since the length of it from Dan to Beersheba was scarce an hundred sixty miles, as Jerom ^y says; who further observes, that he was ashamed to give the breadth of it, lest it should give occasion to Heathens to blaspheme; for, adds he, from Joppa to our little village Bethlehem (where they then were) were forty six miles, to which succeeded only a vast desert: but it may be observed, that in ancient times, in other countries, there were a great many kings, as here in Britain, and in France, Spain, and Germany, as Bishop Patrick has observed from several writers; and Strabo ^z testifies the same of the cities of Phoenicia or Canaan, that they had each of them separate kings, as Joshua here describes them.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jos 11:16

¹ tn Heb “Joshua took all this land.”

² tn Or “foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”

NET Notes: Jos 11:17

¹ tn Heb “and struck them down and killed them.”

NET Notes: Jos 11:18

¹ tn Heb “made war with.”

² tn Heb “for many days.”

NET Notes: Jos 11:19

¹ tn The LXX omits this parenthetical note, which may represent a later scribal addition.

² tn Heb “the whole they took in battle.”

NET Notes: Jos 11:20

¹ tn Heb “for from the Lord it was to harden their heart[s] to meet for the battle with Israel, in order to annihilate them, so that they would receive no mercy, in order annihilate them, as the Lord commanded Moses.”

NET Notes: Jos 11:21

¹ tn Heb “went and cut off the Anakites from the hill country.”

² tn Heb “and from all the hill country of Israel.”

NET Notes: Jos 11:23

¹ tn Heb “took.”

² tn Heb “according to all which the Lord said to Moses.” The translation assumes this refers to the promise of the land (see 1:3). Another possibility is that it refers to the Lord’s instructions, in which case the phrase could be translated, “just as the Lord had instructed Moses” (so NLT; cf. also NIV “had directed Moses”).

³ tn Heb “and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their allotted portions by their tribes.”

NET Notes: Jos 12:1

¹ tn Heb “and took possession of their land.”

² tn Heb “beyond the Jordan, toward the rising of the sun.”

NET Notes: Jos 12:2

¹ tn Or perhaps, “reigned.”

² tc The MT reads here, “and the middle of the valley,” but the reading “the city in the middle of valley” can be reconstructed on the basis of Josh 13:9, 16.

NET Notes: Jos 12:3

¹ tn The words “his kingdom included” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

² sn The Sea of Kinnereth is another name for the Sea of Galilee. See the note on the word “Kinnereth” in 11:2.

³ sn The Salt Sea is another name for the Dead Sea.

NET Notes: Jos 12:4

¹ tn Heb “from the remnant of the Rephaites.”

sn The Rephaites were apparently an extremely tall ethnic group. See Deut 2:10-11, 20; 3:11.

² tn Or perhaps “who reigned.”

NET Notes: Jos 12:6

¹ tn Heb “gave it for a possession.”

NET Notes: Jos 12:7

¹ tn Heb “Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their allotted portions.”

NET Notes: Jos 12:8

¹ tn Or “the foothills”; Heb “the Shephelah.”

² tn The words “the land of” are supplied in the translation for clarification.

NET Notes: Jos 12:9

¹ map For location see Map5 B2; Map6 E1; Map7 E1; Map8 E3; Map10 A2; Map11 A1.

NET Notes: Jos 12:10

¹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

NET Notes: Jos 12:16

¹ map For location see Map4 G4; Map5 C1; Map6 E3; Map7 D1; Map8 G3.

NET Notes: Jos 12:19

¹ map For location see Map1 D2; Map2 D3; Map3 A2; Map4 C1.

NET Notes: Jos 12:21

¹ map For location see Map1 D4; Map2 C1; Map4 C2; Map5 F2; Map7 B1.

Geneva Bible: Jos 11:16

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 ^{( i )} mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;

^{( i )} That is, Samaria.

Geneva Bible: Jos 11:17

[Even] from the mount ^{( k )} Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them.

^{( k )} So called, because it was bare and without trees.

Geneva Bible: Jos 11:20

For it was of the LORD to ^{( l )} harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, [and] that they might have no favour, but that he might destroy them, as the LORD commanded Moses.

^{( l )} That is, to give them over to themselves: and therefore they could not but rebel against God and seek their own destruction.

Geneva Bible: Jos 11:22

There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, ^{( m )} in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.

^{( m )} Out of which came Goliath, (1Sa 17:4).

Geneva Bible: Jos 12:1

Now these [are] the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the ^{( a )} other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east:

^{( a )} From Gilgal where Joshua camped.

Geneva Bible: Jos 12:7

And these [are] the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount ^{( b )} Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel [for] a possession according to their divisions;

^{( b )} Read (Jos 11:17).

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: Jos 11:1-23

1 Divers kings overcome at the waters of Merom.

10 Hazor is taken and burnt.

16 All the country taken by Joshua.

21 The Anakims cut off.

23 The land rest from war.

TSK Synopsis: Jos 12:1-24

1 The two kings whose countries Moses took and disposed of.

7 The one and thirty kings on the other side of Jordan which Joshua smote.

MHCC: Jos 11:15-23

Never let the sons of Anak be a terror to the Israel of God, for their day to fall will come. The land rested from war. It ended not in a peace with the Canaanites, that was forbidden, but in a peace from them. There is a rest, a rest from war, remaining for the people of God, into which they shall enter, when their warfare is accomplished. That which was now done, is compared with what had been said to Moses. God's word and his works, if viewed together, will be found mutually to set each other forth. If we make conscience of our duty, we need not question the performance of the promise. But the believer must never put off his armour, or expect lasting peace, till he closes his eyes in death; nay, as his strength and usefulness increase, he may expect more heavy trials; yet the Lord will not permit any enemies to assault the believer till he has prepared him for the battle. Christ Jesus ever lives to plead for his people, and their faith shall not fail, however Satan may be permitted to assault them. And however tedious, sharp, and difficult the believer's warfare, his patience in tribulation may be encouraged by the joyfulness of hope; for he will, ere long, rest from sin and from sorrow in the Canaan above.

MHCC: Jos 12:1-6

Fresh mercies must not drown the remembrance of former mercies, nor must the glory of the present instruments of good to the church diminish the just honour of those who went before them, since God is the same who wrought by both. Moses gave to one part of Israel a very rich and fruitful country, but it was on the outside of Jordan. Joshua gave to all Israel the holy land, within Jordan. So the law has given to some few of God's spiritual Israel worldly blessings, earnests of good things to come; but our Lord Jesus, the true Joshua, provided for all the children of promise spiritual blessings, and the heavenly Canaan.

MHCC: Jos 12:7-24

We have here the limits of the country Joshua conquered. A list is given of the kings subdued by Israel: thirty-one in all. This shows how fruitful Canaan then was, in which so many chose to throng together. This was the land God appointed for Israel; yet in our day it is one of the most barren and unprofitable countries in the world. Such is the effect of the curse it lies under, since its possessors rejected Christ and his gospel, as was foretold by Moses, Deu 29:23. The vengeance of a righteous God, inflicted on all these kings and their subjects, for their wickedness, should make us dread and hate sin. The fruitful land bestowed on his chosen people, should fill our hearts with hope and confidence in his mercy, and with humble gratitude.

Matthew Henry: Jos 11:15-23

We have here the conclusion of this whole matter.

I. A short account is here given of what was done in four things: - 1. The obstinacy of the Canaanites in their opposition to the Israelites. It was strange that though it appeared so manifestly that God fought for Israel, and in every engagement the Canaanites had the worst of it, yet they stood it out to the last; not one city made peace with Israel, but the Gibeonites only, who understood the things that belonged to their peace better than their neighbours, Jos 11:19. It is intimated that other cities might have made as good terms for themselves, without ragged clothes and clouted shoes, if they would have humbled themselves, but they never so much as desired conditions of peace. We here are told whence this unaccountable infatuation came: It was of the Lord to harden their hearts, Jos 11:20. As Pharaoh's heart was hardened by his own pride and wilfulness first, and afterwards by the righteous judgment of God, to his destruction, so were the hearts of these Canaanites. To punish them for all their other follies, God left them to this, to make those their enemies whom they might have made their friends. This was it that ruined them: they came against Israel in battle, and gave the first blow, and therefore might have no favour shown them. Those know not what they do who give the provocation to divine justice, or the authorized instruments of it. Are we stronger than God? Observe here, That hardness of heart is the ruin of sinners. Those that are stupid and secure, and heedless of divine warnings, are already marked for destruction. What hope is there of those concerning whom God has said, Go, make their hearts fat? 2. The constancy of the Israelites in prosecuting this war (Jos 11:18): Joshua made war a long time; some reckon it five years, others seven, that were spent in subduing this land: so long God would train up Israel to war, and give them repeated instances of his power and goodness in every new victory that he gave them. 3. The conquest of the Anakim at last, Jos 11:21, Jos 11:22. Either this was done as they met with them where they were dispersed, as some think, or rather it should seem the Anakim had retired to their fastnesses, and so were hunted out and cut off at last, after all the rest of Israel's enemies. The mountains of Judah and Israel were the habitations of those mountains of men; but not their height, nor the strength of their caves, nor the difficulty of the passes to them, could secure, no, not these mighty men, from the sword of Joshua. The cutting off of the sons of Anak is particularly mentioned because these had been such a terror to the spies forty years before, and their bulk and strength had been thought an insuperable difficulty in the way of the reducing of Canaan, Num 13:28, Num 13:33. Even that opposition which seemed invincible was got over. Never let the sons of Anak be a terror to the Israel of God, for even their day will come to fall. Giants are dwarfs to Omnipotence; yet this struggle with the Anakim was reserved for the latter end of the war, when the Israelites had become more expert in the arts of war, and had had more experience of the power and goodness of God. Note, God sometimes reserves the sharpest trials of his people by affliction and temptation for the latter end of their days. Therefore let not him that girds on the harness boast as he that puts it off. Death, that tremendous son of Anak, is the last enemy that is to be encountered; but it is to be destroyed, 1Co 15:26. Thanks be to God, who will give us the victory. 4. The end and issue of this long war. The Canaanites were rooted out, not perfectly (as we shall find after in the book of Judges), but in a good measure; they were not able to make any head either, (1.) So as to keep the Israelites out of possession of the land: Joshua took all that land, Jos 11:16, Jos 11:17. And we may suppose the people dispersed themselves and their families into the countries they had conquered, at least those that lay nearest to the head-quarters at Gilgal, until an orderly distribution should be made by lot, that every man might know his own. Or, (2.) So as to keep them in action, or give them any molestation (Jos 11:23): The land rested from war. It ended not in a peace with the Canaanites (that was forbidden), but in a peace from them. There is a rest, a rest from war, remaining for the people of God, into which they shall enter when their warfare is accomplished.

II. That which was now done is here compared with that which had been said to Moses. God's word and his works, if viewed and considered together, will mutually illustrate each other. It is here observed in the close, 1. That all the precepts God had given to Moses relating to the conquest of Canaan were obeyed on the people's part, at least while Joshua lived. See how solemnly this is remarked (Jos 11:15): As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, by whose hand the law was given, so did Moses command Joshua, for Moses was faithful, as a law-giver, to him that appointed him; he did his part, and then he died: but were the commands of Moses observed when he was in his grave? Yes, they were: So did Joshua, who was, in his place, as faithful as Moses in his. He left nothing undone (Heb. he removed nothing ) of all that the Lord commanded Moses. Those that leave their duty undone do what they can to remove or make void the command of God, by which they are bound to do it; but Joshua, by performing the precept, confirmed it, as the expression is, Deu 27:26. Joshua was himself a great commander, and yet nothing was more his praise than his obedience. Those that rule others at their will must themselves be ruled by the divine will; then their power is indeed their honour, and not otherwise. The pious obedience for which Joshua is here commended respects especially the command to destroy the Canaanites, and to break down their altars and burn their images, Deu 7:2-5; Exo 23:24; Exo 34:13. Joshua, in his zeal for the Lord of hosts, spared neither the idols nor the idolaters. Saul's disobedience, or rather his partial obedience, to the command of God, for the utter destruction of the Amalekites, cost him his kingdom. It should seem Joshua himself gives this account of his most careful and punctual observance of his orders in the execution of his commission, that in all respects he had done as Moses commanded him; and then it intimates that he had more pleasure and satisfaction in reflecting upon his obedience to the commands of God in all this war, and valued himself more upon that, than upon all the gains and triumphs with which he was enriched and advanced. 2. That all the promises God had given to Moses relating to this conquest were accomplished on his part, Jos 11:23. Joshua took the whole land, conquered it, and took possession of it, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses. God had promised to drive out the nations before them (Exo 33:2; Exo 34:11), and to bring them down, Deu 9:3. And now it was done. There failed not one word of the promise. Our successes and enjoyments are then doubly sweet and comfortable to us when we see them flowing to us from the promise (this is according to what the Lord said ), as our obedience is then acceptable to God when it has an eye to the precept. And, if we make conscience of our duty, we need not question the performance of the promise.

Matthew Henry: Jos 12:1-6

Joshua, or whoever else is the historian before he comes to sum up the new conquests Israel had made, in these verses receives their former conquests in Moses's time, under whom they became masters of the great and potent kingdoms of Sihon and Og. Note, Fresh mercies must not drown the remembrance of former mercies, nor must the glory of the present instruments of good to the church be suffered to eclipse and diminish the just honour of those who have gone before them, and who were the blessings and ornaments of their day. Joshua's services and achievements are confessedly great, but let not those under Moses be overlooked and forgotten, since God was the same who wrought both, and both put together proclaim him the Alpha and Omega of Israel's great salvation. Here is, 1. A description of this conquered country, the measure and bounds of it in general (Jos 12:1): From the river Arnon in the south, to Mount Hermon in the north. In particular, here is a description of the kingdom of Sihon (Jos 12:2, Jos 12:3), and that of Og, Jos 12:4, Jos 12:5. Moses had described this country very particularly (Deu 2:36; Deu 3:4, etc.), and this description here agrees with his. King Og is said to dwell at Ashtaroth and Edrei (Jos 12:4), probably because they were both his royal cities; he had palaces in both, and resided sometimes in one and sometimes in the other; one perhaps was his summer seat and the other his winter seat. But Israel took both from him, and made one grave to serve him that could not be content with one palace. 2. The distribution of this country. Moses assigned it to the two tribes and a half, at their request, and divided it among them (Jos 12:6), of which we had the story at large, Num. 32. The dividing of it when it was conquered by Moses is here mentioned as an example to Joshua what he must do now that he had conquered the country on this side Jordan. Moses, in his time, gave to one part of Israel a very rich and fruitful country, but it was on the outside of Jordan; but Joshua gave to all Israel the holy land, the mountain of God's sanctuary, within Jordan: so the law conferred upon some few of God's spiritual Israel external temporal blessings, which were earnests of good things to come; but our Lord Jesus, the true Joshua, has provided for all the children of promise spiritual blessings - the privileges of the sanctuary, and the heavenly Canaan. The triumphs and grants of the law were glorious, but those of the gospel far exceed in glory.

Matthew Henry: Jos 12:7-24

We have here a breviate of Joshua's conquests.

I. The limits of the country he conquered. It lay between Jordan on the east and the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and extended from Baal-gad near Lebanon in the north to Halak, which lay upon the country of Edom in the south, v. 7. The boundaries are more largely described, Num 34:2, etc. But what is here said is enough to show that God had been as good as his word, and had given them possession of all he had promised them by Moses, if they would but have kept it.

II. The various kinds of land that were found in this country, which contributed both to its pleasantness and to its fruitfulness, Jos 12:8. There were mountains, not craggy, and rocky, and barren, which are frightful to the traveller and useless to the inhabitants, but fruitful hills, such as put forth precious things (Deu 33:15), which charmed the spectator's eye and filled the owner's hand. And valleys, not mossy and boggy, but covered with corn, Psa 65:13. There were plains, and springs to water them; and even in that rich land there were wildernesses too, or forests, which were not so thickly inhabited as other parts, yet had towns and houses in them, but served as foils to set off the more pleasant and fruitful countries.

III. The several nations that had been in possession of this country - Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, etc., all of them descended from Canaan, the accursed son of Ham, Gen 10:15-18. Seven nations they are called (Deu 7:1), and so many are there reckoned up, but here six only are mentioned, the Girgashites being either lost or left out, though we find them, Gen 10:16 and Gen 15:21. Either they were incorporated with some other of these nations, or, as the tradition of the Jews is, upon the approach of Israel under Joshua they all withdrew and went into Africa, leaving their country to be possessed by Israel, with whom they saw it was to no purpose to contend, and therefore they are not named among the nations that Joshua subdued.

IV. A list of the kings that were conquered and subdued by the sword of Israel, some in the field, others in their own cities, thirty-one in all, and very particularly named and counted, it should seem, in the order in which they were conquered; for the catalogue begins with the kings of Jericho and Ai, then takes in the king of Jerusalem and the princes of the south that were in confederacy with him, and then proceeds to those of the northern association. Now, 1. This shows what a very fruitful country Canaan then was, which could support so many kingdoms, and in which so many kings chose to throng together rather than disperse themselves into other countries, which we may suppose not yet inhabited, but where, though they might find more room, they could not expect such plenty and pleasure: this was the land God spied out for Israel; and yet at this day it is one of the most barren, despicable, and unprofitable countries in the world: such is the effect of the curse it lies under, since its possessors rejected Christ and his gospel, as was foretold by Moses, Deu 29:23. 2. It shows what narrow limits men's ambition was then confined to. These kings contented themselves with the government, each of them, of one city and the towns and villages that pertained to it; and no one of them, for aught that appears, aimed to make himself master of the rest, but, when there was occasion, all united for the common safety. Yet it should seem that what was wanting in the extent of their territories was made up in the absoluteness of their power, their subjects being all their tenants and vassals, and entirely at their command. 3. It shows how good God was to Israel, in giving them victory over all these kings, and possession of all these kingdoms, and what obligations he hereby laid upon them to observe his statutes and to keep his laws, Psa 105:44, Psa 105:45. Here were thirty-one kingdoms, or seigniories, to be divided among nine tribes and a half of Israel. Of these there fell to the lot of Judah the kingdoms of Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, Eglon, Debir, Arad, Libnan, and Adullam, eight in all, besides part of the kingdom of Jerusalem and part of Geder. Benjamin had the kingdoms of Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem, Makkedah, Beth-el, and the nations of Gilgal, six in all. Simeon had the kingdom of Hormah and part of Geder. Ephraim had the kingdoms of Gezer and Tirzah. Manasseh (that half-tribe) had the kingdoms of Tappuah and Hepher, Taanach and Megiddo. Asher had the kingdoms of Aphek and Achshaph. Zebulun had the kingdoms of Lasharon, Shimron-meron, and Jokneam. Naphtali had the kingdoms of Madon, Hazor, and Kedesh. And Issachar had that of Dor. These were some of the great and famous kings that God smote, for his mercy endureth for ever; and gave their land for a heritage, even a heritage unto Israel his servant, for his mercy endureth for ever, Psa 136:17, etc.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 11:16-17

Retrospective View of the Conquest of the Whole Land. - Jos 11:16, Jos 11:17. Joshua took all this land, namely, those portions of Southern Canaan that have already been mentioned in Jos 10:40-41; also the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and its lowlands (see Jos 11:2), i.e., the northern part of the land (in the campaign described in Jos 11:1-15), that is to say, Canaan in all its extent, " from the bald mountain which goeth up to Seir "in the south, "to Baal-gad, in the valley of Lebanon under Hermon." The " bald mountain " ( Halak ), which is mentioned here and in Jos 12:7 as the southern boundary of Canaan, is hardly the row of white cliffs which stretches obliquely across the Arabah eight miles below the Dead Sea and forms the dividing line that separates this valley into el-Ghor and el-Araba ( Rob. Pal. ii. pp. 489, 492), or the present Madara , a strange-looking chalk-hill to the south-west of the pass of Sufah ( Rob. ii. p. 589), a steep bare mountain in a barren plain, the sides of which consist of stone and earth of a leaden ashy hue ( Seetzen , R. iii. pp. 14, 15); but in all probability the northern edge of the Azazimeh mountain with its white and glistening masses of chalk. Baal-gad , i.e., the place or town of Baal, who was there worshipped as Gad (see Isa 65:11), also called Baal-hermon in Jdg 3:3 and 1Ch 5:23, is not Baalbek, but the Paneas or Caesarea Philippi of a later time, the present Banjas (see at Num 34:8-9). This is the opinion of v. Raumer and Robinson , though Van de Velde is more disposed to look for Baal-gad in the ruins of Kalath (the castle of) Bostra , or of Kalath Aisafa , the former an hour and a half, the latter three hours to the north of Banjas, the situation of which would accord with the biblical statements respecting Baal-gad exceedingly well. The " valley of Lebanon "is not Coele-Syria , the modern Bekâa , between Lebanon and Antilibanus, but the valley at the foot of the southern slope of Jebel Sheik (Hermon).

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 11:18-20

Joshua made war with the kings of Canaan a long time; judging from Jos 14:7, Jos 14:10, as much as seven years, though Josephus (Ant. v. 1, 19) speaks of five (see at Jos 14:10). No town submitted peaceably to the Israelites, with the exception of Gibeon: they took the whole in war. " For it was of the Lord "(Jos 11:20), i.e., God ordered it so that they (the Canaanites) hardened their heart to make war upon Israel, that they might fall under the ban, and be destroyed without mercy. On the hardening of the heart as a work of God, see the remarks upon the hardening of Pharaoh (Exo 4:21). It cannot be inferred from this, that if the Canaanites had received the Israelites amicably, God would have withdrawn His command to destroy them, and allowed the Israelites to make peace with them; for when they made peace with the Gibeonites, they did not inquire what as the will of the Lord, but acted in opposition to it (see at Jos 9:14). The remark is made with special reference to this, and has been correctly explained by Augustine (qu. 8 in Jos.) as follows: "Because the Israelites had shown mercy to some of them of their own accord, though in opposition to the command of God, therefore it is stated that they (the Canaanites) made war upon them so that none of them were spared, and the Israelites were not induced to show mercy to the neglect of the commandment of God."

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 11:21-23

In Jos 11:21, Jos 11:22, the destruction of the Anakites upon the mountains of Judah and Israel is introduced in a supplementary form, which completes the history of the subjugation and extermination of the Canaanites in the south of the land (Josh 10). This supplement is not to be regarded either as a fragment interpolated by a different hand, or as a passage borrowed from another source. On the contrary, the author himself thought it necessary, having special regard to Num 13:28, Num 13:31., to mention expressly that Joshua also rooted out from their settlements the sons of Anak, whom the spies in the time of Moses had described as terrible giants, and drove them into the Philistine cities of Gaza, Bath, and Ashdod. " At that time "points back to the "long time,"mentioned in Jos 11:18, during which Joshua was making war upon the Canaanites. The words "cut off,"etc., are explained correctly by Clericus : "Those who fell into his hands he slew, the rest he put to flight, though, as we learn from Jos 15:14, they afterwards returned."(On the Anakim , see at Num 13:22.) They had their principal settlement upon the mountains in Hebron ( el Khulil , see Jos 10:3), Debir (see at Jos 10:38), and Anab. The last place ( Anab ), upon the mountains of Judah (Jos 15:50), has been preserved along with the old name in the village of Anâb , four or five hours to the south of Hebron, on the eastern side of the great Wady el Khulil , which runs from Hebron down to Beersheba ( Rob. Pal. ii. p. 193). " And from all (the rest of) the mountains of Judah, and all the mountains of Israel :"the latter are called the mountains of Ephraim in Jos 17:15. The two together form the real basis of the land of Canaan, and are separated from one another by the large Wady Beit Hanina (see Rob. Pal. ii. p. 333). They received their respective names from the fact that the southern portion of the mountain land of Canaan fell to the tribe of Judah as its inheritance, and the northern part to the tribe of Ephraim and other tribes of Israel.

(Note: The distinction here made may be explained without difficulty even from the circumstances of Joshua's own time. Judah and the double tribe of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) received their inheritance by lot before any of the others. But whilst the tribe of Judah proceeded into the territory allotted to them in the south, all the other tribes still remained in Gilgal; and even at a later period, when Ephraim and Manasseh were in their possessions, all Israel, with the exception of Judah, were still encamped at Shiloh. Moreover, the two parts of the nation were now separated by the territory which was afterwards assigned to the tribe of Benjamin, but had no owner at this time; and in addition to this, the altar, tabernacle, and ark of the covenant were in the midst of Joseph and the other tribes that were still assembled at Shiloh. Under such circumstances, then, would not the idea of a distinction between Judah, on the one hand, and the rest of Israel, in which the double tribe of Joseph and then the single tribe of Ephraim acquired such peculiar prominence, on the other, shape itself more and more in the mind, and what already existed in the germ begin to attain maturity even here? And what could be more natural than that the mountains in which the "children of Judah"had their settlements should be called the mountains of Judah ; and the mountains where all the rest of Israel was encamped, where the "children of Israel"were gathered together, be called the mountains of Israel , and, as that particular district really belonged to the tribe of Ephraim, the mountains of Ephraim also? (Jos 19:50; Jos 20:7; also Jos 24:30.))

Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod were towns of the Philistines; of these Gaza and Ashdod were allotted to the tribe of Judah (Jos 15:47), but were never taken possession of by the Israelites, although the Philistines were sometimes subject to the Israelites (see at Jos 13:3). - With Jos 11:23 , " thus Joshua took the whole land "etc., the history of the conquest of Canaan by Joshua is brought to a close; and Jos 11:23 , "and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel," forms a kind of introduction to the second part of the book. The list of the conquered kings in Josh 12 is simply an appendix to the first part.

The taking of the whole land does not imply that all the towns and villages to the very last had been conquered, or that all the Canaanites were rooted out from every corner of the land, but simply that the conquest was of such a character that the power of the Canaanites was broken, their dominion overthrown, and their whole land so thoroughly given into the hands of the Israelites, that those who still remained here and there were crushed into powerless fugitives, who could neither offer any further opposition to the Israelites, nor dispute the possession of the land with them, if they would only strive to fulfil the commandments of their God and persevere in the gradual extermination of the scattered remnants. Moreover, Israel had received the strongest pledge, in the powerful help which it had received from the Lord in the conquests thus far obtained, that the faithful covenant God would continue His help in the conflicts which still remained, and secure for it a complete victory and the full possession of the promised land. Looking, therefore, at the existing state of things from this point of view, Joshua had taken possession of the whole land, and could now proceed to finish the work entrusted to him by the Lord, by dividing the land among the tribes of Israel. Joshua had really done all that the Lord had said to Moses. For the Lord had not only promised to Moses the complete extermination of the Canaanites, but had also told him that He would not drive out the Canaanites at once, or "in one year,"but only little by little, until Israel multiplied and took the land (Exo 23:28-30; cf. Deu 7:22). Looking at this promised, therefore, the author of the book could say with perfect justice, that " Joshua took the whole land according to all that (precisely in the manner in which) the Lord had said to Moses ."But this did not preclude the fact, that a great deal still remained to be done before all the Canaanites could be utterly exterminated from every part of the land. Consequently, the enumeration of towns and districts that were not yet conquered, and of Canaanites who still remained, which we find in Jos 13:1-6; Jos 17:14., Jos 18:3; Jos 23:5, Jos 23:12, forms no discrepancy with the statements in the verses before us, so as to warrant us in adopting any critical hypotheses or conclusions as to the composition of the book by different authors. The Israelites could easily have taken such portions of the land as were still unconquered, and could have exterminated all the Canaanites who remained, without any severe or wearisome conflicts; if they had but persevered in fidelity to their God and in the fulfilment of His commandments. If, therefore, the complete conquest of the whole land was not secured in the next few years, but, on the contrary, the Canaanites repeatedly gained the upper hand over the Israelites; we must seek for the explanation, not in the fact that Joshua had not completely taken and conquered the land, but simply in the fact that the Lord had withdrawn His help from His people because of their apostasy from Him, and had given them up to the power of their enemies to chastise them for their sins. - The distribution of the land for an inheritance to the Israelites took place "according to their divisions by their tribes." מחלקות denote the division of the twelve tribes of Israel into families, fathers' houses, and households; and is so used not only here, but in Jos 12:7 and Jos 18:10. Compare with this 1Ch 23:6; 1Ch 24:1, etc., where it is applied to the different orders of priests and Levites. "And the land rested from war:" i.e., the war was ended, so that the peaceable task of distributing the land by lot could now be proceeded with (vid., Jos 14:15; Jdg 3:11, Jdg 3:30; Jdg 5:31).

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 12:1-6

List of the kings whom the Israelites smote, and whose land they took, on the other side of the Jordan , - namely, the land by the brook Arnon (Mojeb; see Num 21:13) to Hermon (Jebel es Sheikh, Deu 3:8), and the whole of the eastern Arabah (the valley of the Jordan on the eastern side of the river).

Jos 12:2-3

On Sihon and his kingdom, see Num 21:24; Deu 2:36; Deu 3:16-17. "Aroër on the Arnon:" the present ruins of Araayr , on the northern bank of the Mojeb (see Num 32:34). הנּחל ותוך , " and (from) the middle of the valley onwards :"i.e., according to the parallel passages in Jos 13:9, Jos 13:16, and Deu 2:36, from the town in the Arnon valley, the city of Moab mentioned in Num 22:36, viz., Ar or Areopolis (see at Num 21:15) in the neighbourhood of Aroër, which is mentioned as the exclusive terminus a quo of the land taken by the Israelites along with the inclusive terminus Aroër. "Half-Gilead," i.e., the mountainous district on the south side of the Jabbok (see at Deu 3:10), "to the river Jabbok," i.e., the upper Jabbok, the present Nahr Ammân (see at Num 21:24).

Jos 12:3

" And (over) the Arabah , etc., Sihon reigned ,"i.e., over the eastern side of the Ghor, between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea (see at Deu 3:17). " By the way to Bethjeshimoth, and towards the south below the slopes of Pisgah "(see at Num 21:15 and Num 27:12), i.e., to the north-eastern border of the desert by the Dead Sea (see at Num 22:1).

Jos 12:4-5

"And the territory of Og," sc., they took possession of (Jos 12:1). On Og, vid., Deu 3:11; and on his residences, Ashtaroth (probably to be seen in Tell Ashtereh) and Edrei (now Draa or Dêra ), see at Gen 14:5 and Num 21:33. On his territory, see Deu 3:10, Deu 3:13-14.

Jos 12:6

These two kings were smitten by Moses, etc.: vid., Num 21:21., and Num 32:33.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 12:7-8

List of the thirty-one kings of Canaan whom Joshua smote on the western side of the Jordan, " from Baal-gad, in the valley of Lebanon, to the bald mountain that goeth up towards Seir "(see Jos 11:17). This land Joshua gave to the other tribes of Israel. (On the different parts of the land, see at Jos 9:1; Jos 10:40, and Jos 11:2.)

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 12:9-18

The different kings are given in the order in which they were defeated: Jericho (Jos 6:1); Ai (Jos 7:2); Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon (Jos 10:3); Gezer (Jos 10:33); and Debir (Jos 10:38). Those given in Jos 12:13 and Jos 12:14 are not mentioned by name in Josh 10. Geder , possibly the same as Gedor upon the mountains of Judah (Jos 15:58), which has been preserved under the old name of Jedur ( Rob. Pal. ii. p. 186, and Bibl. Res. p. 282). Hormah (i.e., banning) was in the south of Judah (Jos 15:30), and was allotted to the Simeonites (Jos 19:4). It was called Zephath by the Canaanites (Jdg 1:17; see at Num 21:3), was on the southern slope of the mountains of the Amalekites or Amorites, the present ruins of Sepâta , on the western slope of the table-land of Rakhma , two hours and a half to the south-west of Khalasa (Elusa: see Ritter , Erdk. xiv. p. 1085). Arad , also in the Negeb, has been preserved in Tell Arad (see at Num 21:1). Libnah (see at Jos 10:29). Adullam , which is mentioned in Jos 15:35 among the towns of the plain between Jarmuth and Socoh, was in the neighbourhood of a large cave in which David took refuge when flying from Saul (1Sa 22:1; 2Sa 23:13). It was fortified by Rehoboam (2Ch 11:7), and is mentioned in 2 Macc. 12:38 as the city of Odollam. The Onomast. describes it as being ten Roman miles to the east of Eleutheropolis; but this is a mistake, though it has not yet been discovered. So far as the situation is concerned, Deir Dubbân would suit very well, a place about two hours to the north of Beit Jibrin, near to a large number of caves in the white limestone, which form a kind of labyrinth, as well as some vaulted grottos (see Rob. Pal. ii. p. 353, and Van de Velde , Reise, pp. 162-3). Makkedah : possibly Summeil (see at Jos 10:10). Bethel , i.e., Beitin (see Jos 8:17). The situation of the towns which follow in Jos 12:17 and Jos 12:18 cannot be determined with certainty, as the names Tappuach, Aphek, and Hefer are met with again in different parts of Canaan, and Lassaron does not occur again. But if we observe, that just as from Jos 12:10 onwards those kings'-towns are first of all enumerated, the capture of which has already been described in Josh 10, and then in Jos 12:15 and Jos 12:16 certain other towns are added which had been taken in the war with the Canaanites of the south, so likewise in Jos 12:19 and Jos 12:20 the capitals of the allied kings of northern Canaan are given first, and after that the other towns that were taken in the northern war, but had not been mentioned by name in Josh 11: there can be no doubt whatever that the four towns in Jos 12:17 and Jos 12:18 are to be classed among the kings'-towns taken in the war with the king of Jerusalem and his allies, and therefore are to be sought for in the south of Canaan and not in the north. Consequently we cannot agree with Van de Velde and Knobel in identifying Tappuach with En-Tappuach (Jos 17:7), and looking for it in Atûf , a place to the north-east of Nablus and near the valley of the Jordan; we connect it rather with Tappuach in the lowlands of Judah (Jos 15:34), though the place itself has not yet been discovered. Hefer again is neither to be identified with Gath-hepher in the tribe of Zebulun (Jos 19:13), nor with Chafaraim in the tribe of Issachar (Jos 19:19), but is most probably the capital of the land of Hefer (1Ki 4:10), and to be sought for in the neighbourhood of Socoh in the plain of Judah. Aphek is probably the town of that name not far from Ebenezer (1Sa 4:1), where the ark was taken by the Philistines, and is most likely to be sought for in the plain of Judah, though not in the village of Ahbek ( Rob. Pal. ii. p. 343); but it has not yet been traced. Knobel imagines that it was Aphek near to Jezreel (1Sa 29:1), which was situated, according to the Onom. , in the neighbourhood of Endor (1Sa 29:1; 1Ki 20:25, 1Ki 20:30); but this Aphek is too far north. Lassaron only occurs here, and hitherto it has been impossible to trace it. Knobel supposes it to be the place called Saruneh , to the west of the lake of Tiberias, and conjectures that the name has been contracted from Lassaron by aphaeresis of the liquid. This is quite possible, if only we could look for Lassaron so far to the north. Bachienne and Rosenmüller imagine it to be the village of Sharon in the celebrated plain of that name, between Lydda and Arsuf.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 12:19-20

Madon, Hezor, Shimron-meron, and Achshaph (see at Jos 11:1).

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 12:21

Taanach , which was allotted to the Manassites in the territory of Issachar, and given up to the Levites (Jos 17:11; Jos 21:25), but was not entirely wrested from the Canaanites (Jdg 1:27), is the present Tell Taënak , an hour and a quarter to the south-east of Lejun, a flat hill sown with corn; whilst the old name has been preserved in the small village of Taânak, at the south-eastern foot of the Tell (see Van de Velde , i. p. 269, and Rob. Pal. iii. p. 156). - Megiddo , which was also allotted to the Manassites in the territory of Issachar, though without the Canaanites having been entirely expelled (Jos 17:11; Jdg 1:27), was fortified by Solomon (1Ki 9:15), and is also well known as the place were Ahaziah died (2Ki 9:27), and where Josiah was beaten and slain by Pharaoh Necho (2Ki 23:29-30; 2Ch 35:20.). Robinson has shown that it was preserved in the Legio of a later time, the present Lejun (Pal. iii. pp. 177ff.; see also Bibl. Res. p. 116).

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 12:22

Kedesh , a Levitical city and city of refuge upon the mountains of Naphtali (Jos 19:37; Jos 20:7; Jos 21:32), the home of Barak (Jdg 4:6), was conquered and depopulated by Tiglath-Pileser (2Ki 15:29), and was also a well-known place after the captivity (1 Macc. 11:61ff.) It is now an insignificant village, still bearing the ancient name, to the north-west of the lake of Huleh, or, according to Van de Velde (Reise. ii. p. 355), nothing but a miserable farmstead upon a Tell at the south-west extremity of a well-cultivated table-land, with a large quantity of antiquities about, viz., hewn stones, relics of columns, sarcophagi, and two ruins of large buildings, with an open and extensive prospect on every side (see also Rob. Bibl. Res. pp. 367ff.). Jokneam , near Carmel , as a Levitical town in the territory of Zebulun (Jos 19:11; Jos 21:34). Van de Velde and Robinson (Bibl. Res. p. 114) suppose that they have found it in Tell Kaimôn , on the eastern side of the Wady el Milh , at the north-west end of a chain of hills running towards the south-east; this Tell being 200 feet high, and occupying a very commanding situation, so that it governed the main pass on the western side of Esdraelon towards the southern plain. Kaimôn is the Arabic form of the ancient Καμμωνά , Cimana , which Eusebius and Jerome describe in the Onom. as being six Roman miles to the north of Legio , on the road to Ptolemais.

Keil-Delitzsch: Jos 12:23-24

Dor : see Jos 11:2. Gilgal : the seat of the king of the Goyim (a proper name, as in Gen 14:1), in all probability the same place as the villa nomine Galgulis mentioned in the Onom. ( s. v. Gelgel ) as being six Roman miles to the north of Antipatris, which still exists in the Moslem village of Jiljule (now almost a ruin; see Rob. Bibl. Res. p. 136), although this village is only two miles E.S.E. of Kefr Sâba, the ancient Antipatris (see Ritter , Erdk. xvi. pp. 568-9). Thirza, the capital of the kings of Israel down to the time of Omri (1Ki 14:17; 1Ki 15:21, 1Ki 15:33; 1Ki 16:6.), is probably the present Talluza, an elevated and beautifully situated place, of a considerable size, surrounded by large olive groves, two hours to the north of Shechem (see Rob. Bibl. Res. p. 302, and Van de Velde , ii. p. 294).

Constable: Jos 5:13--13:1

C. Possession of the land 5:13-12:24

Before Israel entered the land of Canaan, God had been preparing for His people to take possession of it by sovereignly directing the political affairs of Egypt. Egypt had maintained control over Canaan for many years. However with the ascension of Pharaoh Amenhotep II (1417--1379 B.C.) to the throne, Egyptian interest in Canaanite affairs began to decline. Consequently some of the Canaanite kings asserted their independence from Egyptian control and began to increase their influence and to dominate their neighbors. In addition, foreigners besides the Israelites invaded portions of Canaan. Some of the victims of oppression wrote letters to Pharaoh asking for Egyptian assistance. They sent these letters to Amarna, the capital of Egypt at this time, and they are known today as the Amarna Letters. They wrote these documents in cuneiform script. Archaeologists discovered them at Amarna in A.D. 1887. They provide much valuable information on the political and military climate in Canaan during the period of Israel's conquests.⁶⁹

"While Akhenaten [Amenhotep III, 1379-1361 B.C., the son and successor of Amenhotep II] spent his life preoccupied with religious reform, Egyptian prestige in Asia sank to a low ebb. As the Amarna Letters abundantly show, no effort was made by the court to answer the frantic appeals for help made by some princes who still professed loyalty to Egypt. The most common complaint in these letters is that unless Egypt would send troops urgently the land would fall into the hands of the Khapiru. Some historians are inclined to see in these Khapiru the Hebrews of the Bible who at this time were overrunning Palestine."⁷⁰

When the Israelites began their conquest, the Canaanite city-states did not have the protection of Egypt or any other strong world power that they had enjoyed in the past.

Constable: Jos 11:16-23

The conquest of the land 11:16-23

The writer referred to Canaan as "the land of the sons of Israel" first here in Scripture (v. 22). The Anakim were the mighty warriors that the 10 spies had feared (Num. 13:28). Israel destroyed most of these.

"The hardening of their hearts [v. 20] was punitive. Their iniquity was now full (cf. Gen. 15:16). The long respite granted to them by a long-suffering God wrought no repentance in them."¹⁵³

"Here is a biblical lesson which has always been difficult for the people of God to learn. Deuteronomy commanded Israel to obey God, destroy the inhabitants, have no mercy, make no covenant, make no marriages (7:1-3). Such a command had a divine purpose. It removed the temptations to follow other gods. From the days of the Judges and especially from the period of Solomon onward, the great temptation was to make political alliances through covenants and political marriages between royal families (1 Kgs 11:1-8; 16:31; 20:30-43). To protect Israel against the major sin of idolatry, God commanded her not to show mercy to the enemy. To enable her to keep his commandment, God caused her enemies to fight her rather than seek mercy and peace."¹⁵⁴

Joshua subdued the whole land (v. 23) in the sense that there were no more pitched battles by the combined Israelite tribal forces following Joshua's conquests. God expected individual tribes to subdue the remaining towns and pockets of resistance from then on (cf. 13:1; Judg. 1:1).

"The taking of the whole land does not imply that all the towns and villages to the very last had been conquered, or that all the Canaanites were rooted out from every corner of the land, but simply that the conquest was of such a character that the power of the Canaanites was broken, their dominion overthrown, and their whole land so thoroughly given into the hands of the Israelites, that those who still remained here and there were crushed into powerless fugitives, who could neither offer any further opposition to the Israelites, nor dispute the possession of the land with them, if they would only strive to fulfil the commandments of their God and persevere in the gradual extermination of the scattered remnants."¹⁵⁵

"The error of contrasting Joshua's rapid campaigns (misread as permanent conquest) with slower occupation in Judges 1 misses the point entirely. And how often the proponents of this theory omit even to read Joshua 13! Thirty-one dead kinglets (Joshua 12) were not a conquest in depth, merely a cropping of the leadership. At the end of Joshua's career, there still remained very much land to be possessed' (13:1)--both the areas listed (13:2-6) largely unreached by Joshua's vigour, as well as the in-depth settlement of most of the districts already raided. That process was more painfully slow, even in Joshua's lifetime; cf. the remarks in Joshua 18:2-3 (Joshua's rebuke), besides the frustrated efforts recorded here and there (Josh. 15:63; 16:10; 17:12, 16)."¹⁵⁶

The words of God to Moses to which the writer alluded (v. 23) are probably those in Exodus 23:27-33 (cf. Deut. 7:22). There God told Moses He would not drive all the Canaanites out of the land in one year but little by little. This is how the conquest of the land had advanced thus far and how it should have continued to its completion.

The major war with the Canaanites ended (v. 23), but minor battles and mopping up operations were still necessary. Not only did the Israelites obtain the land, but they defeated the Canaanite kings and broke their power.

"There has never been a greater war for a greater cause. The battle of Waterloo decided the fate of Europe, but this series of contests in far-off Canaan decided the fate of the world."¹⁵⁷

Constable: Jos 12:1-6

The slaughter of the eastern kings 12:1-6

Sihon and Og were the first Canaanite kings the Israelites defeated.

Constable: Jos 12:7-24

The slaughter of the western kings 12:7-24

The writer identified 31 kings in the order in which Joshua defeated them.

"Many of the same names appear in the Amarna letters, thus confirming the historicity of our text."¹⁵⁸

"The description was not complete. Shechem is not mentioned, and the hills of Ephraim are sparsely represented, as is the territory north of Hazor. Completeness is not the object. The writer seeks to compile a list that will impress the readers with the greatness of the feat of God in working for Israel and of the greatness of the leadership of Joshua in following the example of Moses and completing the task first given to Moses. Still, the writer is aware that much remains to be done."¹⁵⁹

This summary concludes the record of the conquest of the land (chs. 1-12), Joshua's first major responsibility. He was now able to divide the land among the Israelites (chs. 13-21), his second great work (1:6).

Guzik: Jos 11:1-23

Joshua 11 - The Northern Canaanite Armies Defeated

A. The defeat of the northern kings.

1. (1-5) The northern kings of Canaan gather against Israel.

And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard these things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Achshaph, and to the kings who were from the north, in the mountains, in the plain south of Chinneroth, in the lowland, and in the heights of Dor on the west, to the Canaanites in the east and in the west, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite in the mountains, and the Hivite below Hermon in the land of Mizpah. So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots. And when all these kings had met together, they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.

a. And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor heard these things: After hearing of Israel's total conquest of the south, the northern kings came together to defeat Israel. The huge army assembled together reflects an attitude that they believe they must stop Israel now or never.

i. All this is prompted by what the northern kings heard regarding Israel's success and victory; walking in victory means that we become targets - when we are revived, so is the devil.

b. Two things indicate that now Israel is facing challenges they had never faced before. First, the size of the enemy army: as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude. Second, the technological superiority of the Canaanites: with very many horses and chariots.

i. The challenges brought to Israel seem to increase at each step, from Jericho, to Ai, to the battle with the southern kings, now to this battle.

ii. We often find that the challenges facing us in our Christian life increase at each step. God uses each previous victory as a springboard for what we face in the future.

2. (6) God's encouragement to Joshua.

But the LORD said to Joshua, "Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire."

a. Tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel: This attack was new, and more severe than previous challenges. Joshua needed a fresh confirmation of God's promise for his life, and the LORD was faithful to bring it.

b. Do not be afraid because of them: This means that fear was an issue for Joshua and the people of Israel. God has a reason for everything He does, and He would not have assured them do not be afraid unless there was a reason for the encouragement.

3. (7-9) Joshua attacks the northern armies, and they are defeated.

So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and they attacked them. And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who defeated them and chased them to Greater Sidon, to the Brook Misrephoth, and to the Valley of Mizpah eastward; they attacked them until they left none of them remaining. So Joshua did to them as the LORD had told him: he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire.

a. So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly: Joshua fought with boldness and strategy, he surprised them with an unexpected ambush.

b. So Joshua did to them as the LORD had told him: Joshua fought with obedience, doing exactly what the LORD told them to do, even destroying the Canaanite "weapons" (the horses and the chariots) instead of taking them for his own army.

i. Here is a lesson in the matter of "taking the devil's tools." Many Christians do not hesitate to use the "horses and chariots" of their spiritual enemy. Perhaps they should believe that God may want them to fight the battle on a different level - a level of complete trust in Him.

c. Joshua fought with passion and commitment; he not let up until he had accomplished as much as he could (they attacked them until they left none of them remaining).

4. (10-15) The defeat of Hazor, the head of the northern Canaanite kingdoms.

Joshua turned back at that time and took Hazor, and struck its king with the sword; for Hazor was formerly the head of all those kingdoms. And they struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them. There was none left breathing. Then he burned Hazor with fire. So all the cities of those kings, and all their kings, Joshua took and struck with the edge of the sword. He utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded. But as for the cities that stood on their mounds, Israel burned none of them, except Hazor only, which Joshua burned. And all the spoil of these cities and the livestock, the children of Israel took as booty for themselves; but they struck every man with the edge of the sword until they had destroyed them, and they left none breathing. As the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

a. They struck all the people who were in it with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them. There was none left breathing: The staggering completeness of the destruction (especially in human terms) shows us the completeness of God's judgment, Israel's obedience, and the depravity of the Canaanites.

B. Israel is secure in Canaan.

1. (16-20) Complete victory over Canaan, over north and south.

Thus Joshua took all this land: the mountain country, all the South, all the land of Goshen, the lowland, and the Jordan plain; the mountains of Israel and its lowlands, from Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, even as far as Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon below Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings, and struck them down and killed them. Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. All the others they took in battle. For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them, and that they might receive no mercy, but that He might destroy them, as the LORD had commanded Moses.

a. For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might utterly destroy them: We are told that in part, this judgment on the Canaanites was accomplished when God did harden their hearts against Israel. The hardening of men's hearts is when God gives man up to the sin that is in his heart (Romans 1:24-28).

b. We need not think that God parceled out some particular judgment upon the Canaanites. He dealt with their hearts the same way He deals with all men's hearts, but God's grace either hardens the heart or it softens it.

2. (21-22) The Anakim are defeated.

And at that time Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains: from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua utterly destroyed them with their cities. None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod.

a. At that time Joshua came and cut off the Anakim from the mountains: It was a fear of the Anakim - this tribe of exceptionally large and strong people - that had made Israel too afraid to enter the land some forty years ago (Numbers 13:27-33).

b. None of the Anakim were left in the land of the children of Israel: Here, the foes of 40 years ago fall. They were no match for an army that was blessed and directed by God.

i. Significantly, Israel faced the Anakim last, only after God had trained them in battle and in working with Him through the months of conquest.

ii. When Israel refused to enter Canaan out of a fear of the Anakim, they did not realize that God would manage their affairs so they would face this most difficult challenge last. God knows how to manage the battles in your life.

iii. And we must allow God to manage those battles. All too often we are convinced that we must go out and fight the Anakim first, when God would have us face them last.

c. They remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod: The Anakim remained only in these coastal cities occupied by the Philistines. The giant Goliath comes from the city of Gath some five hundred years later (1 Samuel 17:4).

3. (23) Complete victory, and the land rests from war.

So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war.

a. So Joshua took the whole land: This brings us to another section of the book of Joshua. The power of the Canaanite kings within the land has been crushed, and in this sense, Joshua took the whole land. Yet, not every small town and village had been conquered and occupied. That was up to each individual tribe to do in the land that was apportioned to them.

b. The end of this phase of conquest was a greater invitation to the cooperation of the tribes with God.

i. "Much territory was yet to be possessed, but it was left to each tribe to possess what potentially it had received through the conquest of the whole people in which it had taken part. Each tribe was to apply individually the lessons it had learned in united war if it was to possess its inheritance. That the tribes failed to do so was not a reflection on the power of God, but on the failure to take for themselves what Joshua had given and allotted to each one of them." (Redpath)

c. In the same sense, Jesus has already defeated the enemy and conquered the land, but He also calls us into battle to gain what is ours.

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Guzik: Jos 12:1-24

Joshua 12 - List of the Conquered Kings

A. Kings defeated by Moses.

1. (1) Introduction: kings conquered by Israel under the leadership of Moses.

These are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated, and whose land they possessed on the other side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the eastern Jordan plain:

a. These are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated: The land of these kings comprised Israel's land on the eastern side of the Jordan river, on the other side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun.

b. Why do we have such an exhaustive, and seemingly tedious list? It only seems tedious to us because we do not live in the land. For those who really had their inheritance there, these were essential matters that touched every day life, answering the question: "What land belongs to Israel?"

2. (2-3) The defeat of Sihon, king of the Amorites and his land that Israel possessed.

One king was Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon and ruled half of Gilead, from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, from the middle of that river, even as far as the River Jabbok, which is the border of the Ammonites, and the eastern Jordan plain from the Sea of Chinneroth as far as the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), the road to Beth Jeshimoth, and southward below the slopes of Pisgah.

3. (4-5) The defeat of Og, kind of Bashan, and his land that Israel possessed.

The other king was Og king of Bashan and his territory, who was of the remnant of the giants, who dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, and reigned over Mount Hermon, over Salcah, over all Bashan, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and over half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

4. (6) The eastern lands are deeded to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

These Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of Israel had conquered; and Moses the servant of the LORD had given it as a possession to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

a. Half the tribe of Manasseh: Half of the tribe of Manasseh lived east of the Jordan River, and half of the tribe lived west of the Jordan River.

B. Kings defeated by Joshua.

1. (7-8) A broad description of the lands and Canaanite nations conquered by Israel under the leadership of Joshua.

And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel conquered on this side of the Jordan, on the west, from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon as far as Mount Halak and the ascent to Seir, which Joshua gave to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions, in the mountain country, in the lowlands, in the Jordan plain, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the South; the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:

a. Again, this only seems tedious to us because it is not our land. If it were our land, we would read each line with great interest.

2. (9-24) A specific recounting of the 31 kings conquered by Joshua.

The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one; the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; the king of Shimron Meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; the king of Dor in the heights of Dor, one; the king of the people of Gilgal, one; the king of Tirzah, one; all the kings, thirty-one.

a. These descriptions are also important because they make it clear that these things happened in real time, and in real space. These are not fairy tales that begin with "once upon a time," this is history that begins with specific places and people and rulers.

b. As well, it was a way that Israel could forever remember the great things God had done for them. "Sometimes in the course of human experience it is good to sit down and reflect on what has been conquered by the grace of God." (Redpath)

c. With all these kings conquered - with every one of these "principalities and powers" over the land defeated - there is no doubt that the land belongs to Israel, but the individual tribes still have much to possess for their own.

© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission

Commentary -- Other

Critics Ask: Jos 11:18

JOSHUA 11:18 —Was Canaan conquered quickly or only gradually?

PROBLEM: This verse declares that “Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.” But earlier (in Joshua 10:42 ) it affirms that “all these kings and their land Joshua took at one time.”

SOLUTION: These two texts refer to different kings at different times. The first passage speaks of the southern campaigns which went rapidly. But the other verse has reference to the northern battles which took much longer.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:1

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:2

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:3

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:4

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:5

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:6

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:7

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:8

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:9

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:10

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:11

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:12

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:13

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:14

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:15

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:16

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:17

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:18

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:19

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:20

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:21

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:22

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:23

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Critics Ask: Jos 12:24

JOSHUA 12:1-24 —Were these kings defeated here or not until later?

PROBLEM: The text declares that “these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated.” However, many of these cities were not captured until later (cf. Josh. 15:63 ; 17:12 ; Jud. 1:22 , 29 ).

SOLUTION: There is a difference between defeating a king’s army on the field of battle and later destroying his capital city. Once defeated in battle, the king and his remaining troops would retreat to their stronghold where it was much more difficult to root them out. Sudden victory andpermanent vanquishing are two different things. So understood, there is absolutely no contradiction between these texts.   

Introduction / Outline

JFB: Joshua (Book Introduction)

JOSHUA. The title of this book is derived from the pious and valiant leader whose achievements it relates and who is commonly supposed to have been its author. The objections to this idea are founded chiefly on the clause, "unto this day," which occurs several times (Jos 4:9; Jos 6:25; Jos 8:28). But this, at least in the case of Rahab, is no valid reason for rejecting the idea of his authorship; for assuming what is most probable, that this book was composed toward the close of Joshua's long career, or compiled from written documents left by him, Rahab might have been still alive. A more simple and satisfactory way of accounting for the frequent insertion of the clause, "unto this day," is the opinion that it was a comment introduced by Ezra, when revising the sacred canon; and this difficulty being removed, the direct proofs of the book having been produced by a witness of the transactions related in it, the strong and vivid descriptions of the passing scenes, and the use of the words "we" and "us," (Jos 5:1-6), viewed in connection with the fact, that, after his farewell address to the people, Joshua "wrote these words in the book of the law of God" [Jos 24:26] --all afford strong presumptive proof that the entire book was the work of that eminent individual. Its inspiration and canonical authority are fully established by the repeated testimonies of other Scripture writers (compare Jos 6:26 with 1Ki 16:34; compare Jos 10:13 with Hab 3:11; Jos 3:14 with Act 7:45; Jos 6:17-23 with Heb 11:30; Jos. 2:1-24 with Jam 2:25; Psa 44:2; Psa 68:12-14; Psa 78:54-55). As a narrative of God's faithfulness in giving the Israelites possession of the promised land, this history is most valuable, and bears the same character as a sequel to the Pentateuch, that the Acts of the Apostles do to the Gospels.

JFB: Joshua (Outline)

• THE LORD APPOINTS JOSHUA TO SUCCEED MOSES. (Jos. 1:1-18)
• RAHAB RECEIVES AND CONCEALS THE TWO SPIES. (Jos 2:1-7)
• THE COVENANT BETWEEN HER AND THEM. (Jos 2:8-21)
• JOSHUA COMES TO JORDAN. (Jos 3:1-6)
• THE LORD ENCOURAGES JOSHUA. (Jos 3:7-8)
• JOSHUA ENCOURAGES THE PEOPLE. (Jos 3:9-13)
• THE WATERS OF JORDAN ARE DIVIDED. (Jos 3:14-17)
• TWELVE STONES TAKEN FOR A MEMORIAL OUT OF JORDAN. (Jos 4:1-8)
• TWELVE STONES SET UP IN THE MIDST OF JORDAN. (Jos 4:9)
• THE PEOPLE PASS OVER. (Jos 4:10-13)
• GOD MAGNIFIES JOSHUA. (Jos 4:14-24)
• THE CANAANITES AFRAID. (Jos 5:1)
• CIRCUMCISION IS RENEWED. (Jos 5:2-12)
• AN ANGEL APPEARS TO JOSHUA. (Jos 5:13-15)
• JERICHO SHUT UP. (Jos 6:1-7)
• THE CITY COMPASSED SIX DAYS. (Jos 6:8-19)
• THE WALLS FALL DOWN. (Jos 6:20-21)
• RAHAB IS SAVED. (Jos 6:22-25)
• THE REBUILDER OF JERICHO CURSED. (Jos 6:26-27)
• ACHAN'S TRESPASS. (Jos 7:1)
• THE ISRAELITES SMITTEN AT AI. (Jos. 7:2-26)
• GOD ENCOURAGES JOSHUA. (Jos. 8:1-28)
• THE KING HANGED. (Jos 8:29)
• JOSHUA BUILDS AN ALTAR. (Jos 8:30-31)
• THE KINGS COMBINE AGAINST ISRAEL. (Jos. 9:1-27)
• FIVE KINGS WAR AGAINST GIBEON. (Jos 10:1-5)
• JOSHUA RESCUES IT. (Jos 10:6-9)
• GOD FIGHTS AGAINST THEM WITH HAILSTONES. (Jos 10:10-11)
• THE SUN AND MOON STAND STILL AT THE WORD OF JOSHUA. (Jos 10:12-15)
• DIVERS KINGS OVERCOME AT THE WATERS OF MEROM. (Jos 11:1-9)
• THE TWO KINGS WHOSE COUNTRIES MOSES TOOK AND DISPOSED OF. (Jos 12:1-6)
• THE ONE AND THIRTY KINGS ON THE WEST SIDE OF JORDAN, WHICH JOSHUA SMOTE. (Jos. 12:7-24)
• BOUNDS OF THE LAND NOT YET CONQUERED. (Jos. 13:1-33)
• THE NINE TRIBES AND A HALF TO HAVE THEIR INHERITANCE BY LOT. (Jos 14:1-5)
• CALEB BY PRIVILEGE REQUESTS AND OBTAINS HEBRON. (Jos 14:6-15)
• BORDERS OF THE LOT OF JUDAH. (Jos 15:1-12)
• CALEB'S PORTION AND CONQUEST. (Jos 15:13-15)
• OTHNIEL, FOR HIS VALOR, HAS ACHSAH TO WIFE. (Jos 15:16-20)
• THE GENERAL BORDERS OF THE SONS OF JOSEPH. (Jos 16:1-4)
• THE BORDERS OF THE INHERITANCE OF EPHRAIM. (Jos 16:5-9)
• LOT OF MANASSEH. (Jos 17:1-6)
• THIS COAST. (Jos 17:7-11)
• CANAANITES NOT DRIVEN OUT. (Jos 17:12-13)
• THE CHILDREN OF JOSEPH ASK FOR ANOTHER LOT. (Jos 17:14-18)
• THE TABERNACLE SET UP AT SHILOH. (Jos 18:1)
• THE REMAINDER OF THE LAND DESCRIBED. (Jos 18:2-9)
• DIVIDED BY LOT. (Jos 18:10)
• THE LOT OF SIMEON. (Jos 19:1-9)
• OF ZEBULUN. (Jos 19:10-16)
• OF ISSACHAR. (Jos 19:17-23)
• OF ASHER. (Jos 19:24-31)
• OF NAPHTALI. (Jos 19:32-39)
• OF DAN. (Jos 19:40-48)
• THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL GIVE AN INHERITANCE TO JOSHUA. (Jos 19:49-51)
• THE LORD COMMANDS THE CITIES OF REFUGE. (Jos 20:1-6)
• THE ISRAELITES APPOINT BY NAME THE CITIES OF REFUGE. (Jos 20:7-9)
• EIGHT AND FORTY CITIES GIVEN BY LOT OUT OF THE OTHER TRIBES UNTO THE LEVITES. (Jos 21:1-8)
• GOD GAVE THEM REST. (Jos 21:43-45)
• JOSHUA DISMISSES THE TWO TRIBES AND A HALF, WITH A BLESSING. (Jos 22:1-9)
• THEY BUILD THE ALTAR OF TESTIMONY ON THEIR JOURNEY. (Jos 22:10)
• THE DEPUTIES SATISFIED. (Jos 22:30-34)
• JOSHUA'S EXHORTATION BEFORE HIS DEATH. (Jos 23:1-2)
• BY FORMER BENEFITS. (Jos 23:3)
• BY PROMISES. (Jos 23:5-11)
• BY THREATENINGS IN CASE OF DISOBEDIENCE. (Jos 23:12)
• JOSHUA ASSEMBLING THE TRIBES. (Jos 24:1)
• RELATES GOD'S BENEFITS. (Jos 24:2-13)
• HIS AGE AND DEATH. (Jos 24:29-30)

TSK: Joshua (Book Introduction)

The Book of Joshua is one of the most important documents in the Old Testament. The rapid conquest of the Promised Land, and the actual settlement of the Israelites in it, afford a striking accomplishment of the Divine predictions to Abraham and the succeeding patriarchs; and at the same time bear the most unequivocal and ample testimony to the authenticity of this sacred book. Several of the transactions related in it are confirmed in a very extraordinary manner, by the traditions current among heathen nations, and preserved by ancient profane historians of undoubted character. Thus there are monuments still in existence, which prove that the Carthaginians were a colony of Syrians who escaped from Joshua; as also that the inhabitants of Leptis, in Africa, came originally from the Sidonians, who abandoned their country on account of the calamities with which it was overwhelmed. Procopius relates that the Phoenicians fled before the Hebrews into Africa, and spread themselves abroad as far as the pillars of Hercules; and adds, " In Numidia, where now stands the city Tigisis (Tangiers), they have erected two columns, on which, in Phoenician characters, is the following inscription: " We are the Phoenicians who fled from the face of Jesus (Joshua) the son of Naue" (Nun).

TSK: Joshua 11 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Jos 11:1, Divers kings overcome at the waters of Merom; Jos 11:10, Hazor is taken and burnt; Jos 11:16, All the country taken by Joshua; Jos 11:21, The Anakims cut off; Jos 11:23, The land rest from war.

TSK: Joshua 12 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

Jos 12:1, The two kings whose countries Moses took and disposed of; Jos 12:7, The one and thirty kings on the other side of Jordan which Joshua smote.

Poole: Joshua (Book Introduction)

BOOK OF JOSHUA

THE ARGUMENT

IT is not material to know who was the penman of this book, whether Joshua, as seems most probable from Jos 24:26 , or some other holy prophet. It is sufficient that this book was a part of the Holy Scriptures, or oracles of God, committed to and carefully kept by the Jews, and by them faithfully delivered to us, as appears by the concurring testimony of Christ and his apostles, who owned and approved of the same Holy Scriptures which the church of the Jews did. But this is certain, that divers passages in this book were put into it after Joshua’ s death, as Jos 10:13 , compared with 2Sa 1:18 Jos 19:47 , compared with Jud 18:1 ; and Jos 24:29,30 . And such like insertions have been observed in the five books of Moses.

Poole: Joshua 11 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 11

The other kings and cities of Canaan gather themselves together to fight against Israel, Jos 11:1-5 . God encourages Joshua, promising him victory, Jos 11:6 . The Canaanites destroyed; their cities taken; Hazor burnt; the Anakims cut off, Jos 11:7-21 ; those in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod excepted, Jos 11:22,23 .

Poole: Joshua 12 (Chapter Introduction)

CHAPTER 12

A catalogue of the kings, and their possessions, out of which they were driven by the Israelites; first in the time of Moses on the other side Jordan, Jos 12:1-6 , and afterwards by Joshua on this side of Jordan, Jos 12:7-23 ; in all one and thirty kings, Jos 12:24 .

On the east of Jordan, called the plain Deu 1:1 , and the plains of Moab, Deu 34:1 .

MHCC: Joshua (Book Introduction)

Here is the history of Israel's passing into the land of Canaan, conquering and dividing it, under the command of Joshua, and their history until his death. The power and truth of God in fulfilling his promises to Israel, and in executing his justly threatened vengeance on the Canaanites, are wonderfully displayed. This should teach us to regard the tremendous curses denounced in the word of God against impenitent sinners, and to seek refuge in Christ Jesus.

MHCC: Joshua 11 (Chapter Introduction)

(Jos 11:1-9) Divers kings overcome at the waters of Merom.

(Jos 11:10-14) Hazor is taken and burned.

(Jos 11:15-23) All that country subdued, the Anakims cut off.

MHCC: Joshua 12 (Chapter Introduction)

(Jos 12:1-6) The two kings conquered by Moses.

(v. 7-24) The kings whom Joshua smote.

Matthew Henry: Joshua (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Book of Joshua

I. We have now before us the history of the Jewish nation in this book and those that follow it to the end of the book of Esther. These books, to he end of the books of the Kings, the Jewish writers call the first book of the prophets, to bring them within the distribution of the books of the Old Testament, into the Law, the Prophets, and the Chetubim, or Hagiographa, Luk 24:44. The rest they make part of the Hagiographa. For, though history is their subject, it is justly supposed that prophets were their penmen. To those books that are purely and properly prophetical the name of the prophet is prefixed, because the credibility of the prophecies depended much upon the character of the prophets; but these historical books, it is probable, were collections of the authentic records of the nation, which some of the prophets (and the Jewish church was for many ages more or less continually blessed with such) were divinely directed and helped to put together for the service of the church to the end of the world; as their other officers, so their historiographers, had their authority from heaven. - It should seem that though the substance of the several histories was written when the events were fresh in memory, and written under a divine direction, yet, under the same direction, they were put into the form in which we now have them by some other hand, long afterwards, probably all by the same hand, or about the same time. The grounds of the conjecture are, 1. Because former writings are so often referred to, as the Book of Jasher (Jos 10:13, and 2Sa 1:18), the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel and Judah, and the books of Gad, Nathan, and Iddo. 2. Because the days when the things were done are spoken of sometimes as days long since passed; as 1Sa 9:9, He that is now called a prophet was formerly called a seer. And, 3. Because we so often read of things remaining unto this day; as stones (Jos 4:9; Jos 7:26; Jos 8:29; Jos 10:27; 1Sa 6:18), names of places (Jos 5:9; Jos 7:26; Jdg 1:26; Jdg 15:19; Jdg 18:12; 2Ki 14:7), rights and possessions (Jdg 1:21; 1Sa 27:6), customs and usages (1Sa 5:5; 2Ki 17:41), which clauses have been since added to the history by the inspired collectors for the confirmation and illustration of it to those of their own age. And, if one may offer a mere conjecture, it is not unlikely that the historical books, to the end of the Kings, were put together by Jeremiah the prophet, a little before the captivity; for it is said of Ziklag (1Sa 27:6) that it pertains to the kings of Judah (which style began after Solomon and ended in the captivity) unto this day. And it is still more probable that those which follow were put together by Ezra the scribe, some time after the captivity. However, though we are in the dark concerning their authors, we are in no doubt concerning their authority; they were a part of the oracles of God, which were committed to the Jews, and were so received and referred to by our Saviour and the apostles.

In the five books of Moses we had a very full account of the rise, advance, and constitution, of the Old Testament church, the family out of which it was raised, the promise, that great charter by which it was incorporated, the miracles by which it was built up, and the laws and ordinances by which it was to be governed, from which one would conceive and expectation of its character and state very different from what we find in this history. A nation that had statutes and judgments so righteous, one would think, should have been very holy; and a nation what had promises so rich should have been very happy. But, alas! a great part of the history is a melancholy representation of their sins and miseries; for the law made nothing perfect, but this was to be done by the bringing in of the better hope. And yet, if we compare the history of the Christian church with its constitution, we shall find the same cause for wonder, so many have been its errors and corruptions; for neither does the gospel make any thing perfect in this world, but leaves us still in expectation of a better hope in the future state.

II. We have next before us the book of Joshua, so called, perhaps, not because it was written by him, for that is uncertain. Dr. Lightfoot thinks that Phinehas wrote it. Bishop Patrick is clear that Joshua wrote it himself. However that be, it is written concerning him, and, if any other wrote it, it was collected out of his journals or memoirs. It contains the history of Israel under the command and government of Joshua, how he presided as general of their armies, 1. In their entrance into Canaan, ch. 1-5. 2. In their conquest of Canaan, ch. 6-12. 3. In the distribution of the land of Canaan among the tribes of Israel, ch. 22-24. In all which he was a great example of wisdom, courage, fidelity, and piety, to all that are in places of public trust. But this is not all the use that is to be made of this history. We may see in it, 1. Much of God and his providence - his power in the kingdom of nature, his justice in punishing the Canaanites when the measure of their iniquity was full, his faithfulness to his covenant with the patriarchs, and his kindness to his people Israel, notwithstanding their provocations. We may see him as the Lord of Hosts determining the issues of war, and as the director of the lot, determining the bounds of men's habitations. 2. Much of Christ and his grace. Though Joshua is not expressly mentioned in the New Testament as a type of Christ, yet all agree that he was a very eminent one. He bore our Saviour's name, as did also another type of him, Joshua the high priest, Zec 6:11, Zec 6:12. The Septuagint, giving the name of Joshua a Greek termination, call him all along Iesous Jesus, and so he is called Act 7:45, and Heb 4:8. Justin Martyr, one of the first writers of the Christian church ( Dialog. cum Tryph. p. mihi 300), makes that promise in Exo 23:20, My angel shall bring thee into the place I have prepared, to point at Joshua; and these words, My name is in him, to refer to this, that his names should be the same with that of the Messiah. It signifies, He shall save. Joshua saves God's people from the Canaanites; our Lord Jesus saves them from their sins. Christ, as Joshua, is the captain of our salvation, a leader and commander of the people, to tread Satan under their feet, to put them in possession of the heavenly Canaan, and to give them rest, which (it is said, Heb 4:8) Joshua did not.

Matthew Henry: Joshua 11 (Chapter Introduction)

This chapter continues and concludes the history of the conquest of Canaan; of the reduction of the southern parts we had an account in the foregoing chapter, after which we may suppose Joshua allowed his forces some breathing-time; now here we have the story of the war in the north, and the happy success of that war. I. The confederacy of the northern crowns against Israel (Jos 11:1-5). II. The encouragement which God gave to Joshua to engage them (Jos 11:6). III. His victory over them (Jos 11:7-9). IV. The taking of their cities (Jos 11:10-15). V. The destruction of the Anakim (Jos 11:21, Jos 11:22). VI. The general conclusion of the story of this war (Jos 11:16-20, Jos 11:23).

Matthew Henry: Joshua 12 (Chapter Introduction)

This chapter is a summary of Israel's conquests. I. Their conquests under Moses, on the other side Jordan (for we now suppose ourselves in Canaan) eastward, which we had the history of, Num 21:24, etc. And here the abridgment of that history (Jos 12:1-6). II. Their conquests under Joshua, on this side Jordan, westward. 1. The country they reduced (Jos 12:7, Jos 12:8). 2. The kings they subdued, thirty-one in all (v. 9-24). And this comes in here, not only as a conclusion of the history of the wars of Canaan (that we might at one view see what they had got), but as a preface to the history of the dividing of Canaan, that all that might be put together which they were not to make a distribution of.

Constable: Joshua (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Title

The name of this book in Hebrew, Greek, and English comes from the principle character in it rather than from the writer. Joshua may or may not have been the writer of this book.

The title is appropriate because "Joshua" means, "Yahweh saves." Joshua is the Hebrew name that translates into Aramaic as Jesus. What Jesus is to God's people in a larger sense Joshua was to the Israelites in a smaller sense. Joshua brought God's people into the realization of many of God's plans and purposes for them. This book is a record of God's deliverance of the Israelites into what He had promised them.

In the English Bible, Joshua is one of the historical books (Genesis through Esther). In the Hebrew Bible, it is in the second of the three main divisions of the Old Testament, namely, the Prophets. The Law and the Writings are the first and third divisions. Joshua is the first book in the first half of the Prophets, the Former Prophets. The Former Prophets section contains four books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) as does the second division, the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve [minor prophets]). The fact that the Hebrews included mainly historical books such as Joshua in the Prophets section reveals a basic attitude of God's people. They viewed what God revealed here not primarily as a historical record as much as an authoritative record of selected historical events designed to teach important spiritual lessons. We should recognize Joshua, therefore, not simply as a record of history but as a selective history intended to reveal God's will. In the Prophets section of the Old Testament, God revealed Himself through historical events as well as through the oracles of individual prophets.

"The Book of Joshua, like all other books of the Bible, is primarily a book of theology. Through it God has revealed himself and continues to do so."¹

Date and Writer

The Book of Joshua evidently came into being several years after the events recorded in the book took place. A number of statements point to a time of composition beyond the conquest and perhaps beyond the lifetime of Joshua. For example, the phrase "to this day" (4:9; 5:9; 6:25; 7:26; 8:28, 29; 9:27; 13:13; 14:14; 15:63; 16:10) refers to a time considerably after the events referred to happened. How much later is hard to say. These references point to a time of composition many years later than the actual occurrence of the events recorded.²

However the writer claims to have crossed the Jordan River when Israel entered the land (5:1 [marginal reading], 6). Therefore he must have written the book not too long after the conquest. This conclusion finds support in the general impression the reader receives that an eyewitness of the events recorded wrote the book. An editor may or may not have added the account of Joshua's death (24:29-33) to the book later (cf. Deut. 34:10-12). This depends on whether the writer wrote it before or after Joshua died.

According to Jewish tradition Joshua himself wrote the book.³ Many modern conservative Old Testament scholars believe that he did.⁴ However other good, conservative scholars believe the writer was not Joshua but a contemporary of his, possibly one of the elders of Israel.⁵ Many more scholars are unsure.⁶ I prefer the traditional view that Joshua wrote the book because I find the arguments of those who believe the writer could not have been Joshua unconvincing.

Scope

As I have explained previously, the date of the Exodus was about 1446 B.C. (cf. 1 Kings 6:1).⁷ Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness (Exod. 16:35; Num. 14:33-34). Thus Israel crossed the Jordan River and entered the land about 1406 B.C. The Book of Joshua therefore begins with events in or very close to the year 1406 B.C.

Josephus said the conquest of the land took five years.⁸ However when Caleb received his town of Hebron he said God had promised that he would enter Canaan 45 years earlier (14:10; cf. Num. 14:24). Since God gave that promise 38 years before Israel crossed the Jordan the conquest seems to have taken closer to seven years (ca. 1406-1399 B.C.). The record of this conquest occupies the first half of the Book of Joshua.

When Caleb said these words he was 85 years old (14:10). Joshua appears to have been about the same age as Caleb, perhaps a little younger. Joshua died when he was 110 (24:29). Assuming Joshua was 75 when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River, the amount of time the Book of Joshua spans may be about 35 years.⁹

The first half of the book (chs. 1-12) covers about seven years. Most of this material, specifically, chapters 1-9, deals with events that probably happened in less than one full year.

Message¹⁰

Joshua reveals that God hates sin because He loves people. (This is the message statement.) Of course He also hates sin because it offends His holiness. However in Joshua I believe the emphasis is on God's concern for the Israelites more than the vindication of His holiness.

The writer of this book portrayed Yahweh as a God of war. This side of God's character has created problems for many people. How could God be loving and yet deal so severely with the Canaanites? In view of Jesus Christ's commands to love our enemies (Matt. 5:44) and be peacemakers (Matt. 5:9) how can we justify God's dealings with the Canaanites that this book records?

The righteous side of God's character is, of course, a consistent emphasis throughout Scripture. In the Pentateuch God dealt severely with all those who oppressed the patriarchs and their descendents (cf. Exod. 15:3). In the historical books we find the same thing. The psalmist referred to Yahweh as "mighty in battle" against the forces opposed to His will (e.g., Ps. 24:8; 45:3). The prophets, especially Jeremiah, warned that God will judge sin. In the Gospels we hear and see the wrath of God manifested in Jesus' words and works against the Pharisees for their sins. In the Book of Revelation, especially chapters 6-19, John pictured the wrath of God being poured out in judgment on the whole world. In Joshua, too, we see God commanding and leading the Israelites in violent mortal conflict with sinners.

The reason God wages war against sin and sinners is that He loves people and wants to save them from destruction by sin and its consequences (cf. Rom. 6:23). If God is not a God of war, then He cannot be a God of love.

We can see God's hatred of sin in His dealings with the Canaanites and in His dealings with the Israelites in Joshua.

In the Pentateuch we discovered many statements and warnings about the Canaanites. Their wickedness was great even in Abraham's day. The Sodomites were Canaanites (Gen. 19), but the measure of their iniquity was not yet full (Gen. 15:16; cf. Lev. 18:24-28). The Ras Shamra Tablets have shed much light on Canaanite religion and culture. Archaeologists discovered these written records in northwest Syria at the site of an ancient city, Ugarit. They date from the fourteenth century B.C., the time of the conquest by Joshua.

The Canaanites wrote them in the Ugaritic language in cuneiform script. These records reveal that Canaanite culture was extremely immoral and inhumane. The Canaanites practiced prostitution of both sexes, many kinds of sexual perversion, and human sacrifice widely. They were religious practices.

As Israel anticipated entering the land occupied by these people it was a case of destroy or be destroyed. In commanding the Israelites to annihilate the Canaanites God was performing surgery to remove a cancer from human society. He was not murdering an innocent primitive people as the liberal critics of the Bible used to say. God had been extremely patient with the Canaanite tribes. They had had hundreds of years to repent after the witness of Melchizedek, Abraham, and many other God-fearing people who had lived among them. Because they did not repent, God used Israel as a broom to sweep away their filth and purify the land. He did not drive the Canaanites out simply to make room for Israel. He did so also to remove this cancerous society and its malignant influence. Israel exercised considerable restraint in dealing with the Canaanites compared with the way some other ancient Near Eastern countries dealt with people they defeated. The Assyrians, for example, were very brutal.

God also manifested His hatred of sin in His dealings with the Israelites. We have seen this already in the Pentateuch as God disciplined His chosen people when they sinned. In Joshua, when Israel lusted after the things of Canaan He dealt with her severely. Achan's sin (ch. 7) affected the whole nation. God judged Achan as He did to teach the Israelites a strong lesson concerning how serious sin is. God's dealings with His own people were even more severe than His dealings with the Canaanites.

In short, Joshua reveals that God wages war against sin wherever He finds it. He patiently waits for people to repent, but if they do not judge sin themselves, He will judge it (Acts 17:30-31; 1 Cor. 11:31). God deals more severely with His own people than with others because privilege heightens responsibility.

Not only does Joshua reveal that God wages war against sin, but it also teaches us how He does it.

God uses the forces of nature to wage war against sin. He restrained the waters of a river, shook the walls of a city, sent hail from heaven, and lengthened the hours in a day to accomplish His purposes. God rarely works in as direct ways to judge sin today. This should not lead us to conclude that He never did or never will. He will again shake the heavens and the earth to bring down His wrath on sinners (cf. Rev. 6-19). We have the privilege of living in the day of His grace when God is being patient with sinners (2 Pet. 3:9-10). Nevertheless that day will end, and He will bring judgment on our world as He did on the world of the Canaanites.

God also uses people who are loyal to Him to wage war against sin. The people God used in Joshua were men and women of faith (Heb. 11:30). God's methods are unpredictable and often seem strange to His servants. They frequently appear foolish to us. Therefore God asks that we simply trust and obey Him. Faith in Joshua means refraining from what God forbids (e.g., at Ai) as well as doing all that God directs (e.g., at Jericho). Joshua is one of the clearest illustrations in the Bible that consistent trust in and obedience to the Word of God results in overcoming, victorious, powerful, successful living. Joshua clarifies three characteristics of faith.

1. Faith involves accepting God's standard of holiness. We tend to undervalue the need for personal and corporate holiness in our day because God is not judging sin immediately as He did in Joshua's day. This is the day of His patience. Nevertheless Joshua teaches that without holiness there can be no spiritual power or consistent victory in our experience (cf. 1:8; 24:19-25).

2. Faith also means abandonment to God's will. God has revealed in His Word how His people can experience all He wants them to have. Because God's ways are not the ways we would choose from our finite carnal viewpoint we have trouble trusting God and committing ourselves wholeheartedly to His will. The Israelites succeeded at Jericho as they did because they committed themselves completely to engaging in that battle as God had commanded. They did so even though it must have looked like suicide to obey.

3. Faith also involves achievement in God's might. It is God who wins the victories. Without God His people can do nothing productive (John 15:5). However with Him all things are possible (Matt. 19:26; Phil. 4:13). The Israelites learned this when they failed at Ai. Success does not really come as a result of our action as we obey God. It comes as a result of God's action working through instruments that He finds usable.

In summary, Joshua reveals that God hates sin. He is at war with it because it offends Him but also because it destroys the people He has created to have fellowship with Himself. God uses the forces of nature and people who are loyal to Him to root out sin and bring deliverance to His people. However the people He uses must accept His standard of holiness for themselves. They must abandon themselves to His way of doing things. They must also acknowledge that victories are the result of His might, not their own.

Constable: Joshua (Outline)

Outline

I. The conquest of the land chs. 1-12

A. Preparations for entering Canaan chs. 1-2

1. God's charge to Joshua 1:1-9

2. Joshua's charge to Israel 1:10-18

3. The spying out of Jericho ch. 2

B. Entrance into the land 3:1-5:12

1. Passage through the Jordan chs. 3-4

2. Circumcision and celebration of the Passover 5:1-12

C. Possession of the land 5:13-12:24

1. The conquest of Jericho 5:13-6:27

2. Defeat at Ai ch. 7

3. Victory at Ai 8:1-29

4. Renewal of the covenant 8:30-35

5. The treaty with the Gibeonites ch. 9

6. Victory over the Amorite alliance at Gibeon 10:1-27

7. Other conquests in southern Canaan 10:28-43

8. Conquests in northern Canaan 11:1-15

9. Summary of Joshua's conquests 11:16-12:24

II. The division of the land chs. 13-21

A. The land yet to be possessed 13:1-7

B. The land east of the Jordan 13:8-33

C. The land west of the Jordan chs. 14-19

1. The rationale for the allotments 14:1-5

2. Caleb's inheritance 14:6-15

3. Judah's inheritance ch. 15

4. Joseph's inheritance chs. 16-17

5. Survey of the remaining land 18:1-10

6. The inheritance of the remaining tribes 18:11-19:51

D. The special cities 20:1-21:42

1. The cities of refuge ch. 20

2. The cities of the Levites 21:1-42

E. The faithfulness of God 21:43-45

III. Joshua's final acts and death chs. 22-24

A. The return of the two and one-half tribes to their inheritances ch. 22

B. Joshua's farewell address to the Israelites ch. 23

1. A reminder of past blessings 23:1-13

2. A warning of possible future cursing 23:14-16

C. Israel's second renewal of the covenant 24:1-28

1. Preamble 24:1

2. Historical prologue 24:2-13

3. Covenant stipulations 24:14-24

4. Provisions for the preservation of the covenant 24:25-28

D. The death and burial of Joshua and Eleazar 24:29-33

Constable: Joshua

Joshua

Bibliography

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Goetz, Ronald. "Joshua, Calvin, and Genocide." Theology Today 32 (October 1975):263-74.

Good, Robert M. "The Just War in Ancient Israel." Journal of Biblical Literature 104:3 (September 1985):385-400.

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_____. A Exposition of the Old and New Testament. Vol. 2: Joshua-1 Kings. New ed. London: James Hisbet & Co., 1934.

Herr, Larry G. "What Archaeology Can and Cannot Do." Ministry 56:2 (February 1983):28-29.

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Kallai, Zecharia. "The Conquest of Northern Palestine in Joshua and Judges." Proceedings of the Fifth World Congress of Jewish Studies. Vol 1. Jerusalem: World Union of Jewish Studies, 1969.

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Kemp, Barry J. "Preliminary Report on the El-'Amarna Expedition, 1981-2." Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 69:5 (1983):5-24.

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_____. The Bible In Its World. Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1977.

_____. "The Old Testament in its Context: 2 From Egypt to the Jordan." Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 60 (1971):3-11.

_____. "The Old Testament in its Context: 3 From Joshua to Solomon." Theological Students' Fellowship Bulletin 61 (1971):5-14.

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: Joshua (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION.

THE BOOK OF JOSUE.

This book is called Josue , because it contains the history of what passed under him, and, according to the common opinion, was written by him. The Greeks call him Jesus; for Josue and Jesus, in the Hebrew, are the same name, and have the same signification, viz., A Saviour. And it was not without a mystery, that he who was to bring the people into the land of promise, should have his name changed from Osee (for so he was called before, Numbers xiii. 17,) to Josue , or Jesus , to give us to understand, the Moses, by his law, could only bring the people within sight of the promised inheritance, but that our Saviour, Jesus , was to bring us into it. (Challoner) --- The Hebrews who had been so rebellious under Moses, behaved with remarkable fidelity and respect towards his successor; who, by these means, more forcibly represented the Christian Church, (Du Hamel) which will be ever obedient to her divine head and observe his directions. Josue had been trained up a long time under the hand of Moses, and God had given him the commission to govern his people, in so public a manner, that no one offered to claim that high and arduous office. In effect, the whole conduct of Josue before and after his exaltation, shewed him to be most deserving of command. (Haydock) --- Josue, says the Holy Ghost, (Ecclesiasticus xlvi. 1,) was successor of Moses among the prophets , or, according to the Greek, "in prophecies." Many explain this of the obligation incumbent on him, to continue the sacred history (Calmet) and revelations where Moses had left off. The last chapter of this book informs us that he did so. Perhaps some additions, by way of farther explication, have been made by subsequent inspired writers, though most of the passages which are adduced to prove this assertion, seem to be of little force. Respecting the death of Josue, we may make the same observations as on that of Moses. It may have been written by the author of the Book of Judges. Theodoret seems to have thought that the work before us, was compiled out of the public registers, which are quoted chap. x. under the name of the book of the Lord . See Numbers xxi. 14. The Samaritans have a book or chronicle of Josue, which relates in 39 or 47 chapters, many facts of scriptural history, (Haydock) down to the reign of Adrian, intermingled with a variety of fables. It seems to be of modern date. Hottinger undertook to publish it in Latin, but was prevented by death. (Calmet) --- The true history of Josue sets before us the passage of the Jordan, the conquest of Chanaan, and the distribution of the country. After the pious general had performed all that could be expected from him, after he had twice ratified the covenant between God and his people, and exhorted the latter, with his last breath, to observe an inviolable fidelity to the only Lord, he departed this life in peace, in the 110th year of his age, and was buried at Thamnath Sare, which he had built for the place of his abode. (Haydock) --- As the five books of Moses contain the law, intermixed with history, so this first of the historical books exhibits a variety of useful precepts and predictions. The prophetical and sapiential books must be considered in the same light. (Worthington) --- They all tend to promote true wisdom and the salvation of men, provided they be perused in the same spirit with which they were written. (Haydock)

Gill: Joshua (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA

The Jews distinguish the prophets into former and latter; the first of the former prophets is Joshua, or Sepher Joshua, the book of Joshua, as it is commonly called in the Hebrew copies; the Syriac inscription is,

"the book of Joshua, the son of Nun, the disciple of Moses:''

in the Arabic version it is reckoned a book of the judges, which adds,

"the first among the judges of the children of Israel was Joshua, the son of Nun, the twenty eighth from Adam, who reigned over Israel after the Prophet Moses.''

This book bears the name of Joshua, either because it is concerning him, his actions and exploits in the land of Canaan, or because it was written by him, or both; though some ascribe it to Ezra, and others to Isaiah; but it must have been written before the times of Ahab, as appears from 1Ki 16:34; and even before the times of David, as is clear from Jos 15:63, compared with 2Sa 5:6; for though mention is made in it of the mountains of Judah and of Israel, from whence some have concluded, that the writer must have lived after the times of Rehoboam, in whose days the kingdom was divided; yet we find the distinction of Israel and Judah took place before, even in the times of David and Asaph, Psa 76:1; It is most likely that this book was written by Joshua himself, as the Jews in their Talmud ^a assert; and, indeed, who more fit for it than himself? and if written or put together by another, it is most probable that it was taken out of his diary, annals, or memoirs; and though there are some things recorded in it, which were done after his death, these might be inserted under a divine direction and influence by Eleazar, or Phinehas, or Samuel, to each of whom some ascribe the writing of this book, just as Joshua is supposed to add some verses concerning Moses at the end of the Pentateuch: however, be it wrote by whom it may, there is no doubt to be made of the divine inspiration and authenticity of it by us Christians, since some histories recorded in it are taken from it, or referred to, in Heb 11:30; and the promise made to Joshua is quoted, and applied to every believer, Heb 13:5; and the Apostle James refers to the case of Rahab, her character and conduct in it, Jam 2:25. The subject matter of this book is Joshua's taking upon him the government of the children of Israel, after the death of Moses, by a divine commission, exhortation, and encouragement given him to engage in war with the Canaanites; his conquests of them, the division of the land of Canaan to the children of Israel, and their settlement in it. It is of great use not only to give us the geography of the land of Canaan, and the history of the church of God, from the death of Moses to the times of the judges; but shows the exact fulfilment of prophecy, and the faithfulness of God to his promises in giving the land of Canaan to Israel, according to those made to their fathers, and the justice of God in punishing the Canaanites for their abominable sins, as had been foretold; and the wonderful care, of God, and his love to the people of Israel in preserving and protecting them, and in settling them in such a good land, notwithstanding all their murmurings, ingratitude, and unbelief, in the wilderness; and may serve to lead us to Christ, whose type Joshua was in the whole affair here related: his name has the signification of the salvation of the Lord in and he is by the Greek writers, and so in the New Testament, called Jesus, a Saviour, Act 7:45, Heb 4:8; and as they agree in their name, so they do in their state, condition, and character; Joshua was a servant of Moses, Christ was made under the law, and became subject to it, both moral and ceremonial; and also in their office, Joshua was the governor of Israel, and the commander of their forces, for which he was well qualified with wisdom, courage, and integrity; Christ is King of saints, the Leader and Commander of the people, who has fought their battles for them, being abundantly qualified, having the spirit of wisdom, counsel, might, and of the fear of the Lord, resting on him. Joshua was a type of Christ in various actions of his; in leading the people through the river Jordan, an emblem either of baptism, or of afflictions, or of death itself, in which Christ is with his people, and carries them through; in saving Rahab and her family, so Christ saves the worst and chief of sinners; in receiving the Gibeonites, who submitted to him, as Christ does all that come to him; in his conquest of the several kings of the Canaanites, so Christ has conquered all the spiritual enemies of his people, sin, Satan, and the world; in bringing and settling the people of Israel in the land of Canaan, their rest, and dividing it to them by lot, which Moses might not do; so Christ only brings souls into the true rest, into spiritual rest here, and eternal rest hereafter; in whom they obtain the inheritance of the heavenly glory by lot, and by whom only they enjoy salvation and eternal life, and not by the works of the law. This book contains an history of Joshua, of his government, his acts and deeds, from the death of Moses to his own; how long that was is not certain; the Jewish chronologers ^b observe, that the time of his principality we find not in the text; though they ^c say he succeeded Moses when he was eighty two years of age, and governed Israel twenty eight years; Eupolemus ^d, an Heathen writer, says thirty years. Christian writers commonly make his reign to be twenty seven years ^e; but an Arabic writer ^f stretches it further to thirty one years; he says, he took the government of the people in the seventy ninth year of his age, and reigned thirty one; but it seems more probable that he was ninety three years of age when Moses died, who lived to be an hundred ten, so that only seventeen years intervened between the death of the one and of the other; seven years Joshua was in subduing the land, and ten years more were taken up in dividing it to the people, and settling them in it, and in the government of them; after which Eleazar might rule ten years more, whose death is mentioned in it; so indeed the book may be reckoned an history of twenty seven years, though Joshua lived only seventeen of them. The Chronicle, to which the Samaritans give the name of the book of Joshua, is a spurious work; an epitome of which Hottinger ^g has compiled, and translated out of the Arabic exemplar into Latin.

Gill: Joshua 11 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 11

This chapter relates how that the kings of the northern parts of Canaan combine together against Joshua, Jos 11:1; and that the Lord encouraged him to fight with them, and did deliver them into his hands, who, with all their people, were smitten by him, Jos 11:6; and how that he took their cities, and destroyed the inhabitants of them, and took the spoil of them for a prey, Jos 11:12; and so became master of the whole country, both southern and northern, which is described Jos 11:16; and the chapter is concluded with an account of his cutting off the Anakim from various parts, which finished the conquest of the whole land, Jos 10:21.

Gill: Joshua 12 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 12

This chapter gives a short account of the conquests made by the Israelites, both in the times of Moses and of Joshua, and first of the kingdom of Sihon and Og on the other side Jordan, in the times of Moses, and which he gave to the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and which are particularly described, Jos 12:1; and then of the kings and the countries on this side Jordan whom Joshua conquered, Jos 12:7; and the names of the thirty one kingdoms are recited, that so it might be exactly known and observed what were afterwards divided among the tribes and possessed by them, Jos 12:9.