Joshua 11:1–23

We have here the same improvement made of this victory as was made of that in the foregoing chapter. 1. The destruction of Hazor is particularly recorded, because in it, and by the king thereof, this daring design against Israel was laid, Jos 11:10, Jos 11:11. The king of Hazor, it seems, escaped with his life out of the battle, and thought himself safe when he had got back into his own city, and Joshua had gone in pursuit of the scattered troops another way. But it proved that that which he thought would be for his welfare was his trap; in it he was taken as in an evil net; there he was slain, and his city, for his sake, burned. Yet we find that the remains of it being not well looked after by Israel the Canaanites rebuilt it, and settled there under another king of the same name, Jdg 4:2. 2. The rest of the cities of that part of the country are spoken of only in general, that Joshua got them all into his hands, but did not burn them as he did Hazor, for Israel was to dwell in great and goodly cities which they builded not (Deu 6:10) and in these among the rest. And here we find Israel rolling in blood and treasure. (1.) In the blood of their enemies; they smote all the souls (Jos 11:1), neither left they any to breathe (Jos 11:14), that there might be none to infect them with the abominations of Canaan, and none to disturb them in the possession of it. The children were cut off, lest they should afterwards lay claim to any part of this land in the right of their parents. (2.) In the wealth of their enemies. The spoil, and the cattle, they took for a prey to themselves, Jos 11:14. As they were enriched with the spoil of their oppressors when they came out of Egypt, wherewith to defray the charges of their apprenticeship in the wilderness, so they were now enriched with the spoil of their enemies for a stock wherewith to set up in the land of Canaan. Thus is the wealth of the sinner laid up for the just.

the kings that were on the north of the mountains--the Anti-libanus district. the plains south of Chinneroth--the northern part of the Arabah, or valley of the Jordan. the valley--the low and level country, including the plain of Sharon. borders of Dor on the west--the highlands of Dor, reaching to the town of Dor on the Mediterranean coast, below mount Carmel.

the Canaanites on the east and on the west--a particular branch of the Canaanitish population who occupied the western bank of the Jordan as far northward as the Sea of Galilee, and also the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. under Hermon--now Jebel-es-sheikh. It was the northern boundary of Canaan on the east of the Jordan. land of Mizpeh--now CÅ“lo-Syria.

they went out, . . . as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude--The chiefs of these several tribes were summoned by Jabin, being all probably tributary to the kingdom of Hazor. Their combined forces, according to JOSEPHUS, amounted to three hundred thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand war chariots. with horses and chariots very many--The war chariots were probably like those of Egypt, made of wood, but nailed and tipped with iron. These appear for the first time in the Canaanite war, to aid this last determined struggle against the invaders; and "it was the use of these which seems to have fixed the place of rendezvous by the lake Merom (now Huleh), along whose level shores they could have full play for their force." A host so formidable in numbers, as well as in military equipments, was sure to alarm and dispirit the Israelites. Joshua, therefore, was favored with a renewal of the divine promise of victory (Jos 11:6), and thus encouraged, he, in the full confidence of faith, set out to face the enemy.

to-morrow, about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel--As it was impossible to have marched from Gilgal to Merom in one day, we must suppose Joshua already moving northward and within a day's distance of the Canaanite camp, when the Lord gave him this assurance of success. With characteristic energy he made a sudden advance, probably during the night, and fell upon them like a thunderbolt, when scattered along the rising grounds (Septuagint), before they had time to rally on the plain. In the sudden panic "the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them." The rout was complete; some went westward, over the mountains, above the gorge of the Leontes, to Sidon and Misrephothmaim ("glass-smelting houses"), in the neighborhood, and others eastward to the plain of Mizpeh.

Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him--(See Jos 11:6). Houghing the horses is done by cutting the sinews and arteries of their hinder legs, so that they not only become hopelessly lame, but bleed to death. The reasons for this special command were that the Lord designed to lead the Israelites to trust in Him, not in military resources (Psa 20:7); to show that in the land of promise there was no use of horses; and, finally, to discourage their travelling as they were to be an agricultural, not a trading, people.

as for the cities that stood still in their strength--literally, "on their heaps." It was a Phœnician custom to build cities on heights, natural or artificial [HENGSTENBERG].

[224] Josh. xi. 8. “And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them even unto great Zidon.” Bedford, in his Scripture Chronology, p. 195, and 493. supposes that great numbers of them made their escape from thence, and from neighbouring sea-ports, by shipping, to all the shores which lay round the Mediterranean and Egean seas, and even to other parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa, of which, says he, the learned Bochart hath given us a large account, in his incomparable Canaan, and particularly shown that the names of most places are of Phœnician or Hebrew extraction. About this time they set up their two pillars at Tangier, with this inscription in the Phœnician language, ”We are they who fled from the face of Joshua the robber, the son of Nun.“ About this time they built the city of Carthage, which at first they called Carthada, which in the Chaldee and Syriac languages signifies The New City. This building of Carthage, says he, p. 195. not only appears from the common consent of all historians, but also from the remains of the Carthaginian language, which we have in Plautus, where he brings in a youth from thence, speaking in such a manner that many learned men have proved it to be the Hebrew, or language of Canaan, and the Carthaginians are frequently called Phœnicians and Tyrians, because they came from this country. Being thus used to sailing and merchandise, they soon carried on a larger trade, and settled other colonies near Gibraltar, both in Europe and Africa. The learned Bochart thus tells us, that these expeditions were computed to be in the times of the heroes. And Bedford says, p. 493, that hence the story of Dido and Eneas, as mentioned in Virgil, must be false and groundless. Neither is it probable, says he, that the widow of a priest flying the country unknown to the king, could carry with her so great a number of men to a new colony, as should undertake to build so great a city. So she brought not inhabitants there, but found them there, and did not so properly build, as repair and enlarge, the town to which she came. She built the tower which was called Bozrah, or A Fort, in Hebrew, and from thence called Byrsa, or A Hide, in Greek, and so occasioned the fabulous story that Dido bought the place to build the city on with little bits of leather marked, which was anciently used instead of money. But others tell us that when she arrived on the coast of Africa she was forbidden to tarry there by Hiarbas, king of the country, lest she, with her company, might seize on a great part of his dominion, and therefore she craftily desired of him only to buy so much ground as might be compassed with an ox hide; which, when she had obtained, she cut it into small thongs, and therewith compassed two and twenty furlongs, on which she built the city afterward named Carthage, and called the castle Byrsa, or Hide. All this we owe to the fertile invention of the Greeks, to make every thing derived from them: whereas Dido, coming from Tyre, knew nothing of that language; and besides, the old Carthaginian language was the Phœnician or Hebrew, as appears by the old remains thereof, which we have in Plautus’s Pœanulus.

It looks exceedingly probable, that when Joshua had smitten the vast army of Hazor, and the kings that were with him, and chased them into Zidon, that all that could, would flee by ship; for that was a great sea-port, and therefore they had opportunity to escape this way, and they had enough to terrify them to it, for they had heard how Jehovah, the God of Israel, with a strong hand had brought off the people from Egypt, and had divided the Red sea, and drowned the Egyptians there, and fear and dread had fallen upon them, and their hearts had melted at the news, Exod. xv. 14, 15, 16. And they had heard how that God was among the people in the wilderness, and how he was seen face to face, and how that his cloud stood over them, and how he went before them in a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. Numb. xiv. 14. And their dread and astonishment was renewed by hearing how they had destroyed Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, the king of Bashan; they had trembled, and anguish had taken hold on them, at the news. Deut. ii. 25. As Rahab told the spies that terror was fallen upon them, and all the inhabitants of the land did faint, and even melt, neither was there any more courage left in any man because of them. Josh. ii. 9, 10, 11. God did as he promised. Exod. xxiii. 27. “I will send my fear before thee, and I will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.” Their terror was greatly increased by God’s drying up the Jordan, Josh. v. 1. and then causing the walls of Jericho to fall down flat, and after that his causing the sun to stand still, and so miraculously destroying the five kings of the Amorites in a storm of thunder, and lightning, and hail, and their utterly destroying their cities in all the southern parts of Canaan, and they had heard how that Joshua was positively commanded to smite them, and utterly destroy them, and make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them, and how that Joshua had given no quarters to their neighbours. And now when the king and people in all the northern parts of Canaan had gathered together such a vast strength of people, as the sands upon the sea-shore, with innumerable horses and chariots, as Josh. xi. 4. And yet they were suddenly vanquished. Joshua was still pursuing with a design utterly to destroy them according to his order, and had pursued them even to great Zidon. When they therefore came there, they must needs be in the utmost consternation, and if there were any ships there it could be no otherwise, but that all that could fled in them; and that they would not trust to the walls of Zidon, for they did not know but they would fall down flat, as the walls of Jericho had done; and that not only multitudes should be slain, but many of them driven away to the ends of the earth, agrees best with the expression so often used of God’s driving them out before the children of Israel.

And besides there could be no room for such multitudes in Zidon, and a few neighbouring cities; for they, with those that Joshua had slain of them, had before filled all the land of Canaan, north of the tribe of Ephraim, even to mount Hermon, and to Zidon, and they were under a necessity to seek new seats abroad where they could find them.

And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard these things,.... The taking of Jericho and Ai, the defeat of the five kings, and the conquest of the southern part of the land of Canaan; he was alarmed by them, and sent to all the northern kings to join with him against Israel; and he the rather took this upon him, because as Adonizedek king of Jerusalem was the principal king in the southern part of the land, so was he in the northern part; see Joshua 11:10; Hazor fell to the tribe of Naphtali, Joshua 19:36. It was situated, as Josephus (n) says, on the lake Samachonitis, the same with the waters of Merom, Joshua 11:5. According to Adrichomius (o), it was four miles from the castle Theron to the north, six miles from Caesarea Philippi to the southwest, and nine miles from the great sea to the east; and was, in the times of Christ, one of the ten principal cities of the region of Decapolis, in which he preached, Matthew 4:25; and is now called Antiopia; and in the Arabic version here it is called Caesarea, and, according to Bunting (p), it lay eighty miles from Jerusalem to the north: that he sent to Jobab king of Madon; of which place we nowhere else read but in Joshua 12:19; though Brocard (q) finds a place near Dan, called Madan by the Turks at this day: and to the king of Shimron; not Samaria, as many think, for that was built by Omri, king of Israel, and had its name from Shemer, the owner of the hill on which it was built some hundreds of years after this; besides Samaria was in the tribe of Ephraim, this in the tribe of Zebulun, Joshua 19:15; and is called Shimronmeron, Joshua 12:20; and in the Jerusalem Talmud (r) Simoniah, and here in the Septuagint version Symoson: and to the king of Achshaph: a city which fell to the lot of the tribe of Asher, Joshua 19:25. The Septuagint calls it Aziph, as if it was the same with Achzib, or Ecdippa, now called Zib: but Achshaph and Achzib are manifestly distinguished, Joshua 19:25. Jerom says (s), in his time it was a little village, and went by the name of Chasalus, eight miles from Diocaesarea, at the foot of Mount Tabor. The Arabic version adds a fourth king that Jabin sent to, called "the king of Mausel"; but we read not of any such place in the land of Canaan. (n) Antiqu. l. 5. c. 5. sect. 1.((o) Theatrum Terrae Sanct. p. 102. (p) Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 101. (q) Apud Fuller's Pisgah Sight, B. 2. c. 4. p. 114. (r) Megillah, fol. 70. 1.((s) De loc. Heb. fol. 88. C. D.

And to the kings that were on the north of the mountains,.... Of Libanus and Antilibanus, with others near them; so Josephus (t) says, the kings about Lebanon being Canaanites, fought against them, i.e. the Israelites; for Lebanon lay to the north of the land: and of the plains south of Cinneroth; or Gennesaret, of the land and lake of which we read in the New Testament, Matthew 14:34; and seems to have respect chiefly to the famous plain of Jezreel, or Esdraelon, of which See Gill on Hosea 1:5, and in the valley; which may more especially design the valley of Jezreel, as it is called in the above place, and distinguish it from other plains; it was two miles broad, and ten long: and in the borders of Dor, on the west; which fell to the lot of the tribe of Manasseh, Joshua 17:11; which Pliny (u) calls Dorum, and mentions it along with the promontory of Carmel; so Josephus says (w), in Phoenicia, near Mount Carmel, is a city called Dora, four days' journey distant from Judea; that is, that part of the land of Israel particularly so called; some copies read Idumea. According to Jerom (x), it was nine miles from Caesarea of Palestine, as you go to Tyre; and in his time a desert. It was a haven in the Mediterranean sea, and lies three leagues from the castle of the "pilgrims" near Mount Carmel; and, as a traveller says, is now so decayed, that there is nothing more extant than a large and high tower, which the inhabitants still call Dorteite (y). (t) Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 18. (u) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c 19. (w) Contr. Apion. l. 2. c. 9. (x) De loc. Heb. fol. 92. I.((y) Rauwolff's Travels, par. 3. c. 1. p. 211. Ed. Ray.

And to the Canaanites on the east and on the west,.... That is, that particular nation of the seven so called, part of which dwelt in the eastern part of the land, by the dead sea, and by the coast of Jordan, Numbers 13:29; and others dwelt on the coast of the Mediterranean sea, which was to the west of the land: and to the Amorite, and to the Hittite, and to the Perizzite: which were scattered about in several parts of the country: and the Jebusite in the mountains; in the mountainous part of Judea, in the mountains about Jerusalem, and which they still inhabited, and did to the times of David: and to the Hivite under Hermon, in the land of Mizpeh, so described to distinguish them from the Gibeonites, who were also Hivites. Mizpeh is the place, as Kimchi thinks, where the people of Israel are often said to meet together; which he supposes they did, on account of the great salvation wrought here in Joshua's time. Hermon was a mountain that adjoined to Lebanon, where it is certain some of the Hivites dwelt, Judges 3:3.

And they went out,.... The several kings and people sent to; these went out from the places they inhabited: they and all their hosts with them; the kings of those several places, with their armies: much people, even as the sand that is upon the seashore in multitude; a proverbial expression, to denote an exceeding great number: with horses and chariots very many; being supplied with horses from Egypt, and their chariots were chariots of iron; see Judges 4:3; Josephus (z) gives us the number of this great army, and says it consisted of three hundred thousand footmen, ten thousand horse, and thirty thousand chariots; some copies read only twenty thousand; and these chariots were armed with iron hooks or scythes, to cut down men as they drove along, and so were very terrible. (z) Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 18.

And when all those kings were met together,.... At some certain place, which Jabin had appointed: they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom: Josephus (a) says it was at Berotha; perhaps it should be Merotha, a city of upper Galilee, not far from Cedesa, the same he elsewhere calls (b) Meroth, These waters are the same with the lake Samachonitis, on which Hazor was situated; so that it was near Jabin where the rendezvous was. This lake is thought (c) to have its name from the Arabic word "Samacha", which signifies high, as Merom does in Hebrew. It was, as Josephus says (d) thirty furlongs broad, and sixty long, and its waters clayish. Jerom says (e), in his time there was here a village called Merrus, twelve miles from the city Sebaste by Dothaim: here the kings and their armies met to fight against Israel; so that they were the aggressors, which made the war still more lawful. (a) Ibid. (Antiq. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 8.) (b) De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 20. sect. 6. (c) Reland. Palestin. Illustrat. tom. 1. p. 262. (d) De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 1. sect. 1. & l. 3. c. 9. sect. 7. (e) De loc. Heb. fol. 93. D.

And the Lord said unto Joshua, be not afraid because of them,.... Of their number, of their horsemen, and of their scythed chariots; which might at first hearing occasion some fear and dread. And according to Josephus (f), the multitude of them terrified both Joshua and the Israelites; and therefore the Lord appeared and spoke to him for his encouragement: though what was said was for the sake of the Israelites, and to animate them who might be disheartened, rather than for the sake of Joshua, who was of a bold and courageous spirit. Whether this was said to him at Gilgal, and out of the tabernacle there, quickly after the tidings of the combination of the kings were brought to him, or whether when upon his march towards them, is uncertain: for tomorrow about this time will I deliver them up slain before Israel; as many were, and others wounded and put to flight, as the word signifies, so as to be as good as dead. If Gilgal was twenty two miles from the waters of Merom, as Bunting says (g), and supposing this to be said to him before he set out, he must travel all night to reach thither the next day; and if it was sixty miles, as some say, this must be said to him when on his march, and within a day's march of the enemy; for Josephus says (h) it was on the fifth day that he came up with them, and fell upon them: thou shalt hough their horses; cut their nerves under their hams, or hamstring them, so that they might be useless hereafter; for the kings of Israel were not to multiply horses; and Joshua, as their chief ruler, was to have no advantage of them by their falling into his hands: and burn their chariots with fire; that so they might not be used by the Israelites afterwards, who might be tempted to put their trust and confidence in them, as many did. (f) Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 18. (g) Travels, p. 96. (h) Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 18.)

So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him, against them,.... Being encouraged by the Lord, they set out with Joshua at the head of them, to fight the kings and their forces. It is highly probable that these were not the whole body of armed men in the camp of Israel, but a select company Joshua took of them, and who would be able to make quicker marches on this expedition: by the waters of Merom suddenly; the Targum is,"they lay by the waters of Merom;''as they were thoughtless and careless, and not on their guard, Joshua and his forces came to them suddenly, unawares, and they not provided for them: and they fell upon them; at once, which threw them into disorder and confusion.

And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel,.... The whole host, who either were killed or wounded, or put to flight: it was of the Lord that Israel was directed to make so quick a march, and come upon them so suddenly, and that they were off their guard, and unprovided for them, and so fell into their hands: who smote them; with the edge of the sword killed and wounded great numbers; and the rest fleeing, they chased them unto great Zidon; not that there was another Zidon called the less, as Kimchi and Ben Melech thought there seemed to be, and which also Jerom (i) suggests; but this was so called because of its greatness, the large extent of it, and the abundance of wealth and riches in it: Curtius says (k), it was renowned for its antiquity and the fame of its buildings; and Mela says (l), that before it was conquered by the Persians, it was the greatest of the maritime cities, though now greatly reduced: Mr Maundrell (m) says of it,"Sidon is stocked well enough with inhabitants but is very much shrunk from its ancient extent, and more from its splendour, as appears from a great many beautiful pillars that lie scattered up and down the gardens without the present walls:''it lay, according to Strabo, not more than two hundred furlongs from Tyre (n), or twenty five miles: it was more ancient than that, which is called the daughter of it: Homer speaks much of Sidon, as the same writer observes, but not a word of Tyre: Josephus (o) thinks it had its name from Sidon, the firstborn of Canaan, and that he built it, Genesis 10:15; but Justin says (p) it had its name from the plenty of fishes there: and Tzaid in the Chaldee and Syriac languages signifies fishing and a fisherman: hence Bethsaida, a city mentioned in the New Testament, Matthew 11:21, had its name; and Sidon is at this day called Said, and is now in the hands of the Turks: and though it was a part of the land of Canaan, and belonged to the tribe of Asher, never was conquered and possessed by them, but remained an Heathen city to the time of Christ: and unto Misrephothmaim, or "boilings of water", it seems as if it was a place of hot baths, but the Targum renders it "pits of water", which Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech say, were pits into which the salt waters of the sea were drawn, and where they were heated by the sun, and made salt of; and so it is thought this was a place of salt pits, where salt was boiled, either by the heat of the sun or by fire (q): Junius and Tremellius render the word by "glass furnaces", furnaces in which glass was made; and it is certain, that at Sidon, and near it, within the borders of which this place was, Joshua 13:6; glass was made: Pliny (r) calls Sidon the artificer of glass, or a city where glass was made: and Strabo says (s), that between Ace and Tyre is a shore which bears glassy sand, but they say it is not melted there, but carried to Sidon to be melted; and some say the Sidonians have a glassy sand fit for melting: Calmet (t) thinks this place is the same with Sarepta, Luke 4:26; which had its name from melting: of what construction the furnaces were in this place cannot be said, no doubt great improvement has been since made (u): and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward, and they smote them, until they left them none remaining; the same with the valley of Lebanon; now as Sidon lay northwest and this was eastward, it seems that the armies of the Canaanites, in their consternation and confusion, fled some to the west and some to the east, who were pursued by different bodies of the army of Israel, separated for that purpose. (i) De loc. Heb. fol. 92. B. (k) Hist. l. 4. c. 1. 4. (l) De Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 12. (m) Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 45. (n) Geograph. l. 16. p. 521. (o) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 2.((p) E Trogo, l. 19. c. 3.((q) Vid. Adrichom. Theatrum Terrae Sanct. sect. p. 2.((r) Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 19. (s) Ut supra. (Geograph. l. 16. p. 521.) (t) Dictionary on this word. (u) Vid. Merrett de Fornac. Vitriar. p. 421, &c.

And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him,.... Namely, in the following instances: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire; not consulting his own worldly interest or that of the people of Israel, but the command of God, which he carefully obeyed, and reserved none for himself or them, as David in another case afterwards did; see 2 Samuel 8:4.

And Joshua at that time turned back and took Hazor,.... After he had chased the Canaanites to the places mentioned, he returned to Hazor, near to which Joshua first fell upon them, but through the pursuit he was led on many miles beyond it: Bunting says (w), it was thirty two miles from Sidon: and smote the king thereof with the sword; who, very probably, upon the surprise at the waters of Merom, fled to his capital for safety; but that being taken by Joshua, he was slain by him with the sword: for Hazor beforetime was the head of all those kingdoms; before mentioned, Joshua 11:1; but not of all the land of Canaan: Jerom (x) says, it was the metropolis of all the kingdoms of the Philistines; and though they were not now subject to it, and had kings of their own, yet it appears that the king of this place was in great authority, and regard was paid unto him; and this seems to be the reason why Joshua hasted to take this city, slay the king of it, and burn it with fire, because it had been the principal in this war, and might, if not prevented, raise new troubles; wherefore, as a precaution to that, and to deter the rest, he hastened the conquest and destruction of it. (w) Travels, p. 96. (x) De loc. Heb. fol. 88. B.

And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them,.... Men, women, and children: there was not any left to breathe; any human creature; for as for the cattle they were taken for a prey: and he burnt Hazor with fire; as he did Jericho and Ai, though no other cities he had taken; but it seems that this city, though burnt, was built again and inhabited by Canaanites, who had a king over them of the same name with this in the times of Deborah, Judges 4:2.

And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them did Joshua take,.... As particularly Madon, Shimron, and Achshaph, with others which he marched unto, after he had burnt Hazor; in which he took their kings, whither they had fled, or else he had taken them before in the pursuit: and smote them with the edge of the sword; both the kings and the inhabitants of those cities: and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded; so that, in doing what he did, he did not indulge a spirit of revenge, cruelty, and avarice, but had regard purely to the command of Moses, which was of God, Deuteronomy 7:1.

But as for the cities that stood still in their strength,.... Whose walls were not demolished when taken, as Kimchi and Jarchi interpret it, or that "stood upon their heaps" (y); upon an eminence, being built on hills and mountains: Israel burned none of them; but reserved them for their own habitations, being well fortified, and having no need of new walls being built to them, or being in a very agreeable situation: save Hazor only, that did Joshua burn; because it was the chief city where the scheme was formed, and the combination against Israel was made, and was the rendezvous of the confederate forces against them: the Jews have a tradition (z), that God said to Moses, and Moses said to Joshua, that he should burn it, and that only. (y) "super tumulum eorum", Montanus; "quae erant in collibus et in tamulis sitae", V. L. (z) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 81. fol. 71. 1.

And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves,.... The gold, silver, household goods, corn, wine, oil, or any mercantile goods, together with cattle of every sort, all were taken by them for a prey, for their own use and benefit, which was allowed them: but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe; for which they had warrant so to do from the Lord, as follows.

As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua,.... Which was to destroy the people of the land, Deuteronomy 7:1, so did Joshua, he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses; both with respect to the destruction of the people, and of all their images, pictures, altars, groves, and high places; see Exodus 34:11.

they left none remaining--of those whom they overtook. All those who fell into their hands alive were slain.

he burnt Hazor with fire--calmly and deliberately, doubtless, according to divine direction.

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, Co1 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.

from the mount Halak--Hebrew, "the smooth mountain." that goeth up to Seir--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]. unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon--the city or temple of the god of destiny, in Baalbec.

Joshua took the whole land--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]. Next: Joshua Chapter 12

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 Luke 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, Joshua 10:40, and all the land of Goshen; see Joshua 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, Ezekiel 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. (a) De loc. Heb. fol. 94. M.

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.

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, Joshua 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. (b) Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 19. (c) Seder Olam Rabba, c. 11. p. 31. (d) Annal. Vet. Test. p. 39, 40.

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 Joshua 9:1, all other they took in battle; refusing to submit to them and make peace with them. (e) Hieros. Sheviith, fol. 37. 3.

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; Deuteronomy 7:1. (f) Comment. Ebr. p. 272.

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, Judges 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 Joshua 10:36, from Anab; a city which fell to the lot of the tribe of Judah, Joshua 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. (g) De loc. Heb. fol. 88. C.

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 Joshua 13:3; of the city of Gaza; see Gill on Amos 1:7; See Gill on Amos 1:8; and See Gill on Zephaniah 2:4; and of Gath; see Gill on Amos 6:2; Ashdod is the same with Azotus; see Gill on Acts 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 Isaiah 20:1. (h) De Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 10.

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 Deuteronomy 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.