9 The king of Jericho, one; The king of Ai, which `is' beside Bethel, one;
And Jehovah saith unto Joshua, `See, I have given into thy hand Jericho and its king -- mighty ones of valour, and ye have compassed the city -- all the men of battle -- going round the city once; thus thou dost six days; and seven priests do bear seven trumpets of the jubilee before the ark, and on the seventh day ye compass the city seven times, and the priests blow with the trumpets, and it hath been, in the prolongation of the horn of the jubilee, in your hearing the voice of the trumpet, all the people shout -- a great shout, and the wall of the city hath fallen under it, and the people have gone up, each over-against him.' And Joshua son of Nun calleth unto the priests, and saith unto them, `Bear ye the ark of the covenant, and seven priests do bear seven trumpets of the jubilee before the ark of Jehovah;' and He said unto the people, `Pass over, and compass the city, and he who is armed doth pass over before the ark of Jehovah.' And it cometh to pass, when Joshua speaketh unto the people, that the seven priests bearing seven trumpets of the jubilee before Jehovah have passed over and blown with the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of Jehovah is going after them; and he who is armed is going before the priests blowing the trumpets, and he who is gathering up is going after the ark, going on and blowing with the trumpets; and the people hath Joshua commanded, saying, `Ye do not shout, nor cause your voice to be heard, nor doth there go out from your mouth a word, till the day of my saying unto you, Shout ye -- then ye have shouted.' And the ark of Jehovah doth compass the city, going round once, and they come into the camp, and lodge in the camp. And Joshua riseth early in the morning, and the priests bear the ark of Jehovah, and seven priests bearing seven trumpets of the jubilee before the ark of Jehovah are walking, going on, and they have blown with the trumpets -- and he who is armed is going before them, and he who is gathering up is going behind the ark of Jehovah -- going on and blowing with the trumpets. And they compass the city on the second day once, and turn back to the camp; thus they have done six days. And it cometh to pass, on the seventh day, that they rise early, at the ascending of the dawn, and compass the city, according to this manner, seven times; (only, on that day they have compassed the city seven times); and it cometh to pass, at the seventh time, the priests have blown with the trumpets, and Joshua saith unto the people, `Shout ye, for Jehovah hath given to you the city; and the city hath been devoted, it and all that `is' in it, to Jehovah; only Rahab the harlot doth live, she and all who `are' with her in the house, for she hid the messengers whom we sent; and surely ye have kept from the devoted thing, lest ye devote `yourselves', and have taken from the devoted thing, and have made the camp of Israel become a devoted thing, and have troubled it; and all the silver and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, holy they `are' to Jehovah; into the treasury of Jehovah they come.' And the people shout, and blow with the trumpets, and it cometh to pass when the people hear the voice of the trumpet, that the people shout -- a great shout, and the wall falleth under it, and the people goeth up into the city, each over-against him, and they capture the city; and they devote all that `is' in the city, from man even unto woman, from young even unto aged, even unto ox, and sheep, and ass, by the mouth of the sword.
and the king of Ai he hath hanged on the tree till even-time, and at the going in of the sun hath Joshua commanded, and they take down his carcase from the tree, and cast it unto the opening of the gate of the city, and raise over it a great heap of stones till this day. Then doth Joshua build an altar to Jehovah, God of Israel, in mount Ebal, as Moses, servant of Jehovah, commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses -- an altar of whole stones, over which he hath not waved iron -- and they cause to go up upon it burnt-offerings to Jehovah, and sacrifice peace-offerings; and he writeth there on the stones the copy of the law of Moses, which he hath written in the presence of the sons of Israel. And all Israel, and its elders, and authorities, and its judges, are standing on this side and on that of the ark, over-against the priests, the Levites, bearing the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, as well the sojourner as the native, half of them over-against mount Gerizim, and the half of them over-against mount Ebal, as Moses servant of Jehovah commanded to bless the people of Israel at the first. And afterwards he hath proclaimed all the words of the law, the blessing and the reviling, according to all that is written in the book of the law; there hath not been a thing of all that Moses commanded which Joshua hath not proclaimed before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the infants, and the sojourner who is going in their midst.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Joshua 12
Commentary on Joshua 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
This chapter is a summary of Israel's conquests.
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,
Jos 12:7-24
We have here a breviate of Joshua's conquests.