6 Moses the servant of Yahweh and the children of Israel struck them: and Moses the servant of Yahweh gave it for a possession to the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Moses gave to them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, according to the cities of it with [their] borders, even the cities of the land round about.
Israel struck him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, even to the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. Israel took all these cities: and Israel lived in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the towns of it. For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even to the Arnon. Therefore those who speak in proverbs say, Come you to Heshbon; Let the city of Sihon be built and established: For a fire is gone out of Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon: It has devoured Ar of Moab, The lords of the high places of the Arnon. Woe to you, Moab! You are undone, people of Chemosh: He has given his sons as fugitives, His daughters into captivity, To Sihon king of the Amorites. We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even to Dibon, We have laid waste even to Nophah, Which [reaches] to Medeba. Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took the towns of it, and drove out the Amorites who were there. They turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. Yahweh said to Moses, Don't fear him: for I have delivered him into your hand, and all his people, and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon. So they struck him, and his sons and all his people, until there was none left him remaining: and they possessed his land.
Moses said to them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every man who is armed to battle, before Yahweh, and the land shall be subdued before you; then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:
(For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of the Rephaim; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; isn't it in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length of it, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.) This land we took in possession at that time: from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, and half the hill-country of Gilead, and the cities of it, gave I to the Reubenites and to the Gadites: and the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, gave I to the half-tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, even all Bashan. (The same is called the land of Rephaim. Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called them, even Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth Jair, to this day.) I gave Gilead to Machir. To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even to the valley of the Arnon, the middle of the valley, and the border [of it], even to the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; the Arabah also, and the Jordan and the border [of it], from Chinnereth even to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward.
With him the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of Yahweh gave them: from Aroer, that is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain of Medeba to Dibon; and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, to the border of the children of Ammon; and Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah; all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (the same was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for these did Moses strike, and drove them out. Nevertheless the children of Israel didn't drive out the Geshurites, nor the Maacathites: but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day. Only to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance; the offerings of Yahweh, the God of Israel, made by fire are his inheritance, as he spoke to him. Moses gave to the tribe of the children of Reuben according to their families. Their border was from Aroer, that is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain by Medeba; Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamoth Baal, and Beth Baal Meon, and Jahaz, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, and Kiriathaim, and Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar in the mount of the valley, and Beth Peor, and the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, and all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck with the chiefs of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land. Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel kill with the sword among the rest of their slain. The border of the children of Reuben was the Jordan, and the border [of it]. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and the villages of it. Moses gave to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad, according to their families. Their border was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, to Aroer that is before Rabbah; and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir; and in the valley, Beth Haram, and Beth Nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, the Jordan and the border [of it], to the uttermost part of the sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan eastward. This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and the villages of it. Moses gave [inheritance] to the half-tribe of Manasseh: and it was for the half-tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families. Their border was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities: and half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even for the half of the children of Machir according to their families. These are the inheritances which Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho, eastward.
I confer on you a kingdom, even as my Father conferred on me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my Kingdom. You will sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." The Lord said, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat, but I prayed for you, that your faith wouldn't fail. You, when once you have turned again, establish your brothers{The word for "brothers" here may be also correctly translated "brothers and sisters" or "siblings."}." He said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death!" He said, "I tell you, Peter, the rooster will by no means crow today until you deny that you know me three times." He said to them, "When I sent you out without purse, and wallet, and shoes, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing." Then he said to them, "But now, whoever has a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet. Whoever has none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword. For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: 'He was counted with the lawless.' For that which concerns me has an end." They said, "Lord, behold, here are two swords." He said to them, "That is enough." He came out, and went, as his custom was, to the Mount of Olives. His disciples also followed him. When he was at the place, he said to them, "Pray that you don't enter into temptation." He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw, and he knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done."
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Keil & Delitzsch Commentary » Commentary on Joshua 12
Commentary on Joshua 12 Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
List of the Kings Slaughtered by the Israelites - Joshua 12
In the historical account of the wars of Joshua in the south and north of Canaan, the only kings mentioned by name as having been conquered and slain by the Israelites, were those who had formed a league to make war upon them; whereas it is stated at the close, that Joshua had smitten all the kings in the south and north, and taken possession of their towns ( Joshua 10:40; Joshua 11:17). To complete the account of these conquests, therefore, a detailed list is given in the present chapter of all the kings that were slain, and not merely of those who were defeated by Joshua in the country on this side of the Jordan, but the two kings of the Amorites who had been conquered by Moses are also included, so as to give a complete picture of all the victories which Israel had gained under the omnipotent help of its God.
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 Numbers 21:13) to Hermon (Jebel es Sheikh, Deuteronomy 3:8), and the whole of the eastern Arabah (the valley of the Jordan on the eastern side of the river).
Joshua 12:2-3
On Sihon and his kingdom, see Numbers 21:24; Deuteronomy 2:36; Deuteronomy 3:16-17. “ Aroër on the Arnon :” the present ruins of Araayr , on the northern bank of the Mojeb (see Numbers 32:34). הנּחל ותוך , “ and (from) the middle of the valley onwards :” i.e., according to the parallel passages in Joshua 13:9, Joshua 13:16, and Deuteronomy 2:36, from the town in the Arnon valley, the city of Moab mentioned in Numbers 22:36, viz., Ar or Areopolis (see at Numbers 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 Deuteronomy 3:10), “ to the river Jabbok ,” i.e., the upper Jabbok, the present Nahr Ammân (see at Numbers 21:24).
Joshua 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 Deuteronomy 3:17). “ By the way to Bethjeshimoth, and towards the south below the slopes of Pisgah ” (see at Numbers 21:15 and Numbers 27:12), i.e., to the north-eastern border of the desert by the Dead Sea (see at Numbers 22:1).
Joshua 12:4-5
“ And the territory of Og ,” sc., they took possession of (Joshua 12:1). On Og, vid., Deuteronomy 3:11; and on his residences, Ashtaroth (probably to be seen in Tell Ashtereh) and Edrei (now Draa or Dêra ), see at Genesis 14:5 and Numbers 21:33. On his territory, see Deuteronomy 3:10, Deuteronomy 3:13-14.
Joshua 12:6
These two kings were smitten by Moses, etc.: vid., Numbers 21:21., and Numbers 32:33.
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 Joshua 11:17). This land Joshua gave to the other tribes of Israel. (On the different parts of the land, see at Joshua 9:1; Joshua 10:40, and Joshua 11:2.)
The different kings are given in the order in which they were defeated: Jericho (Joshua 6:1); Ai (Joshua 7:2); Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon (Joshua 10:3); Gezer (Joshua 10:33); and Debir (Joshua 10:38). Those given in Joshua 12:13 and Joshua 12:14 are not mentioned by name in Josh 10. Geder , possibly the same as Gedor upon the mountains of Judah (Joshua 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 (Joshua 15:30), and was allotted to the Simeonites (Joshua 19:4). It was called Zephath by the Canaanites (Judges 1:17; see at Numbers 21:3), was on the southern slope of the mountains of the Amalekites or Amorites, the present ruins of Sepגta , 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 Numbers 21:1). Libnah (see at Joshua 10:29). Adullam , which is mentioned in Joshua 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 (1 Samuel 22:1; 2 Samuel 23:13). It was fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 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 Dubbגn 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 Joshua 10:10). Bethel , i.e., Beitin (see Joshua 8:17). The situation of the towns which follow in Joshua 12:17 and Joshua 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 Joshua 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 Joshua 12:15 and Joshua 12:16 certain other towns are added which had been taken in the war with the Canaanites of the south, so likewise in Joshua 12:19 and Joshua 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 Joshua 12:17 and Joshua 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 (Joshua 17:7), and looking for it in Atf , 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 (Joshua 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 (Joshua 19:13), nor with Chafaraim in the tribe of Issachar (Joshua 19:19), but is most probably the capital of the land of Hefer (1 Kings 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 (1 Samuel 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 (1 Samuel 29:1), which was situated, according to the Onom. , in the neighbourhood of Endor (1 Samuel 29:1; 1 Kings 20:25, 1 Kings 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 Rosenmller imagine it to be the village of Sharon in the celebrated plain of that name, between Lydda and Arsuf.
Madon, Hezor, Shimron-meron, and Achshaph (see at Joshua 11:1).
Taanach , which was allotted to the Manassites in the territory of Issachar, and given up to the Levites (Joshua 17:11; Joshua 21:25), but was not entirely wrested from the Canaanites (Judges 1:27), is the present Tell Taכnak , 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 Taגnak, 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 (Joshua 17:11; Judges 1:27), was fortified by Solomon (1 Kings 9:15), and is also well known as the place were Ahaziah died (2 Kings 9:27), and where Josiah was beaten and slain by Pharaoh Necho (2 Kings 23:29-30; 2 Chronicles 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).
Kedesh , a Levitical city and city of refuge upon the mountains of Naphtali (Joshua 19:37; Joshua 20:7; Joshua 21:32), the home of Barak (Judges 4:6), was conquered and depopulated by Tiglath-Pileser (2 Kings 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 (Joshua 19:11; Joshua 21:34). Van de Velde and Robinson (Bibl. Res. p. 114) suppose that they have found it in Tell Kaimפn , 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. Kaimפn 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.
Dor : see Joshua 11:2. Gilgal : the seat of the king of the Goyim (a proper name, as in Genesis 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 Sגba, the ancient Antipatris (see Ritter , Erdk. xvi. pp. 568-9). Thirza, the capital of the kings of Israel down to the time of Omri (1 Kings 14:17; 1 Kings 15:21, 1 Kings 15:33; 1 Kings 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).