Joshua 12:17

From Aroer - Aroer was situated on the western side of the river Arnon, in the middle of the valley through which this river takes its course. The kingdom of Sihon extended from the river Arnon and the city of Aroer on the south to the river Jabbok on the north. And from half Gilead - The mountains of Gilead extended from north to south from Mount Hermon towards the source of the river Arnon, which was about the midst of the extent of the kingdom of Sihon: thus Sihon is said to have possessed the half of Gilead, that is, the half of the mountains and of the country which bore the name of Gilead on the east of his territories. River Jabbok - This river has its source in the mountains of Gilead; and, running from east to west, falls into Jordan. It bounds the territories of Sihon on the north, and those of the Ammonites on the south. Verse 3 The sea of Chinneroth - Or Gennesareth, the same as the lake or sea of Tiberias. The Salt Sea on the east - 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. Beth-jeshimoth - A city near the Dead Sea in the plains of Moab. Ashdoth-pisgah - Supposed to be a city at the foot of Mount Pisgah. Verse 4 Coast of Og king of Bashan - Concerning this person see the notes on Deu 3:11 , and on Num 21:35 , etc. The remnant or the giants - Or, Rephaim. See the notes on Gen 6:4 ; Gen 14:5 , and Deu 2:7 , Deu 2:11 . Verse 5 The border of the Geshurites - The country of Bashan, in the days of Moses and Joshua, extended from the river Jabbok on the south to the frontiers of the Geshurites and Maachathites on the north, to the foot of the mountains of Hermon. Verse 7 From Baal-gad - A repetition of what is mentioned Jos 11:17 . Verse 9 The king of Jericho, etc. - On this and the following verses see the notes on Jos 10:1-3 (note). Verse 13 The king of Geder - Probably the same with Gedor, Jos 15:58 ; it was situated in the tribe of Judah. Verse 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. Verse 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; 1Sam 22:1 . Verse 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 . Hepher - The same, according to Calmet, as Ophrah in the tribe of Benjamin, Jos 18:23 . Verse 18 Aphek - There were several cities of this name: one in the tribe of Asher, Jos 19:30 , another in the tribe of Judah, 1Sam 4:1 ; 1Sam 29:1 ; and a third in Syria, 1Kgs 20:26 , and 2Kgs 13:17 . Which of the two former is here intended cannot be ascertained. 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 . Verse 20 Shimron-meron - See on Jos 11:1 (note). Verse 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 . Verse 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 . 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 . Verse 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. 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. Verse 24 King of Tirzah - This city appears to have been for a long time the capital of the kingdom of Israel, and the residence of its kings. See 1Kgs 14:17 ; 1Kgs 15:21 , 1Kgs 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. 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. Introduction Joshua being old, the Lord informs him of the land yet remaining to be possessed, Jos 13:1 . Of the unconquered land among the Philistines, Jos 13:2 , Jos 13:3 . Among the Canaanites, Sidonians, and Amorites, Jos 13:4 , Jos 13:5 . The inhabitants of the hill country and the Sidonians to be driven out, Jos 13:6 . The land on the east side of Jordan, that was to be divided among the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, Jos 13:7-12 . The Geshurites and the Maachathites not expelled, Jos 13:13 . The tribe of Levi receive no inheritance, Jos 1

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 Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions; 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; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: 9 The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Beth-el, one; 10 The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; 11 The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; 12 The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; 13 The king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; 14 The king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; 15 The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; 16 The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Beth-el, one; 17 The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; 18 The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; 19 The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; 20 The king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; 21 The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; 22 The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one; 23 The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one; 24 The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one. 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. xxxiv. 2 , &c. 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, v. 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 ( Deut. xxxiii. 15 ), which charmed the spectator's eye and filled the owner's hand. And valleys, not mossy and boggy, but covered with corn, Ps. lxv. 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, &c., all of them descended from Canaan, the accursed son of Ham, Gen. x. 15-18 . Seven nations they are called ( Deut. vii. 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. x. 16 and xv. 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, Deut. xxix. 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, Ps. cv. 44, 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, Libnah, 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, Ps. cxxxvi. 17 , &c.