Joshua 10

NOW it came to pass, when Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it (as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai, and her king) and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them i. e. Were conversant with them, had yielded themselves to their disposal, submitted themselves to their Laws, had mingled interests with them.,

That they i. e. He and his people, the King being spoken of v. 1. as a publick person representing all his people. Or, He an... the following Kings, v. 3. But this fear is mentioned, v. 2. as the cause why he sent to those Kings. feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the † royal cities Either 1. really a Royal City, the Hebrew particle Caph oft signifying the truth of a thing, as Hos. 4. 4. and 5. 10. and oft elsewhere. Or 2. equal to one of the Royal Cities, though it had no King, but seems to be governed Aristocratically by their Elders, Ios. 9. 11., and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty.

Wherefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent Either because he was Superior to them in Power or Dignity, or because he was nearest the danger, and most fo... ward in the work., unto Hoham king of Hebron, and unto Piram king of Jarmuth, and unto Japhia king of Lachish, and unto Debir king of Eglon, saying,

Come up unto me, and help me, that we may smite Gibeon: for it has made peace with Joshua, and with the children of Israel.

Therefore the five Kings of the Amorites This name being here taken largely or generally for any of the Canaanites, as is frequent; for to speak strictly, the Citizens of Hebron here mentioned, v. 3. were Hittites; thus the Gibeonites, who were Hivites, Ios. 11. 19. are called Amorites, 2 Sam. 21. 2. It is reasonably supposed, that the Amorites being numerous and victorious beyond Iordan, did pour forth Colonies or Forces into the land of Canaan, and there subdued divers places, and so communicated their name to all the rest., the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, the king of Eglon gathered themselves together and went up, they, and all their hosts, and encamped before Gibeon, and made war against it.

¶ And the men of Gibeon sent Or, had sent, when their enemies were drawing towards them, which they could easily learn. unto Joshua to the camp to Gilgal, saying, Slack not thy hand Do not neglect nor delay to help us. from thy servants Whom thou art obliged to protect both in Duty, as thou art our Master and Ruler; and by thy own Interest, we being part of thy Possessions; and in ingenuity, because we have given our selves to thee, and put our selves under thy Protection., come up to us quickly, and save us, and help us: for all the kings of the Amorites, that dwell in the mountains In the mountainous Country., are gathered together against us.

So Joshua ascended Having, no doubt, asked advice of God first, which is implied by the Answer God gives to him, v. 8. from Gilgal, he, and all the people of war with him, and Or, even, or that is, as this Particle is oft used, has been noted before. So it seems put here by way of Explication and Restriction; having said all the people of war, he now adds, even all the mighty men, &c. i. e. an Army of the most valiant men picked out from the rest; for it is not probable, either that he would take so many hundred thousands with him, which would have hindred one another; or that he would leave the Camp without an Army to defend it. all the mighty men of valour.

¶ And the LORD said unto Joshua, Fear them not: for I have delivered them into thine hand; there shall not a man of them stand before thee.

Joshua therefore came unto them suddenly Though assured by God of the Victory, yet he useth all prudent means, and surprizeth them., and went up from Gilgal all night It is not said, that he went from Gilgal to Gibeon in a nights space; but only that he travelled all night: unto which you may add part either of the foregoing, or of the following day..

And the LORD discomfited them before Israel, and slew them Or, he slew them; either God, or Israel; for Gods work is described v. 11. with a great slaughter at Gibeon Heb. in Gibeon, not in the City, but in the Territory belonging to it; as Ioshua is said to be in Iericho, Josh. 5. 13., and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah.

And it came to pass as they fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethoron, that the LORD cast down great stones i. e. Hailstones of extraordinary greatness and hardness, cast down with that certainty, as to hit the Canaanites, and not their Pursuers the Israelites; and with that force as to kill them. Iosephus affirms, That Thunder and Lightning were mixed with the Hail, which may seem probable from Habak. 3. 11. from heaven upon them unto Azekah, and they died; they were moe which died with hailstones, than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword.

¶ Then spake Joshua to the LORD To wit, in way of Petition for this Miracle: being moved to beg it out of zeal to destroy Gods Enemies, and directed to it by the motion of Gods Spirit, and receiving a gracious Answer, and being filled with holy Confidence of the success, he speaks the following words before the people, that they might be Witnesses of it. in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites before the children of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel i. e. In the presence and audience of Israel; seeing being sometimes put for hearing, as Gen. 42. 1. compare with Act. 7. 12 Although these words may seem rather to be joyned with the following, thus, in the sight of Israel, stand still, O Sun, &c. which sense the Hebrew accents favour., Sun † stand thou still upon Gibeon i. e. Over and above, or against Gibeon, i. e. In that place and posture in which now it stands towards, and looks upon Gibeon. Let it not go down lower, and by degrees, out of the sight of Gibeon. It may seem, that the Sun was declining, and Ioshua perceiving that his Work was great and long, and his time but short, begs of God the lengthning out of the day, and that the Sun and Moon might stop their course, and keep the place in which they now were., and thou moon in the valley Or, upon the valley; as before, upon Gibeon; the Preposition being the same there and here. of Ajalon Either, 1. that Ajalon which was in the Tribe of Zebulun, Judg. 12. 12. Northward from Gibeon. Or rather, 2. that Ajalon which was in the Tribe of Dan, Josh. 19. 42. Judg. 1. 35. Westward from Gibeon. For, 1. this was nearer Gibeon than the other. 2. This was most agreeable to the Course of the Sun and Moon, which is from East to West. 3. This way the Battel went from Gibeon Westward to Ajalon, and so further Westward, even to Lachish, v. 31. And he mentions two places, Gibeon and Ajalon, not as if the Sun stood over the one, and the Moon over the other, which is absurd and ridiculous to affirm, especially these places being so near one to the other; but partly to vary the Phrase, as is common in Poetical Passages; partly because he was in his March and the Pursuit of his Enemies, to pass from Gibeon to Ajalon; and he begs that he may have the help and benefit of longer light to pursue them, and to that end that the Sun might stand still, and the Moon also; not that he needed the Moons light when he had the Suns; but because it was fit, either that both Sun and Moon should go, or that both should stand still to prevent Disorder and Confusion in the heavenly Bodies..

And the sun stood still Heb. was silent; i. e. still, as this Phrase is commonly used, as 1 Sam. 14. 9. Psal. 4. 4. Ionah 1. 12. the cessation of the Tongues motion being put synecdochically for the cessation of any other Motion or Action., and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies i. e. Till they had utterly destroyed them, as is mentioned in the following Chapter.. Is not this written in the book of † Jasher Either of a man so called, or of the righteous or upright, wherein possibly the memorable Actions of worthy men were recorded, and this amongst the rest. And this Book was written and published before Ioshua wrote his, and so is fitly alledged here. But this, as well as some few other historical Books, is lost, not being a Canonical Book, and therefore not preserved by the Iews with the same care as they were.? so the sun stood still Here is no mention of the Moon, because the Suns standing was the only thing which Ioshua desired and needed; and the Moons standing he desired only by accident to prevent irregularity in the Motions of those celestial Lights. Some take this to be but a Poetical Phrase and Relation of the Victory, that Ioshua did so many, and such great things in that day, as if the Sun and Moon had stood still and given him longer time for it. But the frequent Repetition, and magnificent Declaration of this Wonder, manifestly confutes that fancy. That the Sun and Moon did really stand still, is affirmed Habak. 3. 11. and Sirach 46. 5, 6. And if it seem strange to any one, that so wonderful a Work observed by the whole World that then was, should not be mentioned in any Heathen Writers; he must needs be satisfied, if he considers, that it is confessed by the generality of Writers, Heathens and others, that there is no certain History or Monument in Heathen Authors of any thing done before the Trojan Wars, which was a thousand years after Ioshua's time; and that all time before that, is called by the learnedst Heathens, the uncertain, unknown, or obscure time. in the midst of heaven Not Mathematically, in the very Meridian or middle part of that Hemisphere; but morally, and with some Latitude, when it had begun a little to decline, the consideration whereof seems to have given Ioshua occasion for his desire., and hasted not to go down about a whole day i. e. For the space of a whole day. Understand an artificial day between Sun-rising and Sun-setting; for that was the day which Ioshua needed and desired, a day to give him light for his work..

And there was no day like that To wit, In those parts of the World of which he here speaks, and about which the Comparison is here made: vain therefore is that Objection, that the days are longer near the Northern and Southern Poles, where they are constantly longer at certain seasons, and that by the order of nature; whereas the length of this day was purely contingent, and granted by God in answer to Ioshua's Prayer, as is here added. Obj. In Hezekiah's time, and at his Prayer there was a day which may seem to have been longer; for the Sun went backward ten Degrees in ten hours, and then returned again ten Degrees in ten hours, and so it was 20. hours longer than a common day, and so longer than this. Ans. It is not certain, either that each Degree designed an hour, and not rather half an hour, or a quarter, as others think; or that the Sun returned those ten Degrees as slowly as he went down before or after. Besides, it was now near Summer Solstice, when the day was longest, and about 14. hours; and that being doubled, the artificial day was 28. hours: and because there is not the least evidence that Hezekiahs day was longer, but rather of the contrary; it is much more reasonable to believe this Scripture-assertion, than to deny or question upon mere Suppositions or idle Conjectures., before it, or after it, that the LORD hearkened unto the voice of a man To wit, in such a manner to alter the Course of nature, and of the heavenly Bodies, that a man might have more time to pursue and destroy his Enemies.: for the LORD fought for Israel This is added as the reason why God was so ready to answer Ioshua's Petition herein, because he was engaged and resolved to fight for Israel, and that in... more than ordinary manner..

¶ And Joshua returned Not immediately, or upon that same day, but after he had dispatched the matter which here follows; as appears by v. 43. where the very same words are repeated to show, that that was the meaning of them. And they are put here to close the general discourse of the fight which begun v. 10. and ends here; which being done, he particularly describes some remarkable Passages, and closeth them with the same words., and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.

But these five kings Named above, v. 3. fled, and hid themselves in a cave As a place of most secrecy or security; but there is no escaping the eye or hand of God, who here brought them into a Net of their own making. at Makkedah Heb. in Makkedah, not in the city, for that was not yet taken; but in the Territory of it, as in Gibeon, v. 10..

And it was told Joshua, saying, The five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah.

And Joshua said, Roll great stones upon the mouth of the cave, and set men by it, for to keep them.

And stay ye not Lose not your opportunity by your sloth or negligence., but pursue after your enemies, and † smite the hindmost of them Their rereward, all whom you can overtake., suffer them not to enter into their cities Whereby they will recover their strength, and renew the War., for the LORD your God has delivered them into your hand Your work will be easie, God has already done the work to your hands..

And it came to pass when Joshua and the children of Israel i. e. Ioshua by the Children of Israel; or the Children of Israel, i. e. a Party of them, by the Command, Direction and Encouragement of Ioshua; for Ioshua himself went not with them, but abode in the Siege before Makkedah, v. 21. had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed, that the rest which remained of them, entred into fenced cities.

And all the people returned to the camp To the body of the Army which were encamped there with Ioshua to besiege that place. to Joshua at Makkedah in peace: none moved his tongue Not so much as a Dog, as it is expressed Exod. 11. 7. Not only their men of War could not find their hands, but they were all so confounded, that they could not move their Tongues in way of Insultation or Reproach, as doubtless they did when the Israelites were first repulsed and smitten at Ai; but now they were silenced as well as conquered: they durst no more provoke nor injure the Israelites. against any of the children of Israel.

Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.

And they did so, and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave, the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon.

And it came to pass when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings This he did not from Pride and Contempt of their Dignity in it self; but partly as a punishment of their impious Rebellion against their Sovereign Lord; partly in pursuance of that Curse of servility due to all this people, Gen. 9. 25. partly as a token to assure his Captains, that God would subdue the proudest of them all under their feet; and partly to oblige and teach his people severely to execute the Judgment of God upon them, and not to spare any of them, either out of a foolish Pity, or out of respect to their Dignity, as Saul afterwards spared Agag to his own ruine.. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them.

And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong, and of good courage: for thus shall the LORD do to all your enemies against whom ye fight.

And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them After they were dead, as a brand of Infamy, and for the Terror and Instruction of others. on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.

And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave, wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the caves mouth That neither wild Beasts could come at them to devour them, nor any of their people to give them honourable Burial., which remain unto this very day.

¶ And that day On which the Sun stood still, or on which the five Kings were hanged. Nor is it strange, that so much work was done, and places so far distant, taken in one day, when the day was so long, and the Canaanites struck with such a terror. Joshua took Makkedah, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof he utterly destroyed them, and all the souls that were therein, he let none and he did to the king of Makkedah, as he the king of Jericho Who was hanged, or otherwise killed, as appears from Iosh. 6. 2..

Then Joshua passed down from Makkedah, and all Israel To wit, who were with him in this Expedition. with him, unto Libnah A City of Iudah, Josh. 15. 42., and fought against Libnah.

And the LORD delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel, and he smote it with the edg of the sword, and all the souls i. e. The humane Souls; for all the Cattel they had for a prey that were therein; he let none remain in it, but did unto the king thereof, as he did unto the king of Jericho.

¶ And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish, and encamped against it, and fought against it.

And the LORD delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which took it on the second day Either the day after his first laying of the Siege; or, after the taking of Makkedah and Libnah., and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah.

¶ Then Horam king of Gezer Either that in Ephraim, of which Iosh. 16. 3. Iudg. 1. 29. But that seems too remote from the other places; or rather, that in Iudah, which was near Lachish, 1 Chron. 14. 16. whose King therefore was more capable, and more obliged to help them for his own sake. came up to help Lachish, and Joshua smote him and his people, until he had left him none remaining.

¶ And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon A City of Iudah, Josh. 15. 39., and all Israel with him, and they encamped against it, and fought against it.

And they took it on that day On which they first attempted it., and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, he utterly destroyed that day, according to all that he had done to Lachish.

And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him unto Hebron Which though they took and killed all its Inhabitants, yet they did not keep it; and therefore when Joshua and his Army had forsaken it, and were returned to Gilgal, it seems the Giants and other Canaanites being burnt out, or driven away from their former seats, planted and fortified themselves there; which made it necessary for Caleb to take it a second time, as is recorded Iosh. 15. 14. Iudg. 1. 10. Or, this is the same Story, and the same Conquest of Hebron which is here generally related, and afterwards repeated, and more particularly described, Iosh. 15. 13, 14., and they fought against it.

And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof Either him mentioned before, v. 23. whose death is here repeated in this account of the general Destruction of all the Inhabitants of that place; or his Heir or Successor., and all the cities thereof Which were subject to its Jurisdiction; this being, it seems, a Royal City, as Gibeon was, v. 2. and having Cities under it, as that had, Iosh. 9. 17., and all the souls that were therein, he left none remaining, according to all that he had done to Eglon: but † destroyed it utterly, and all the souls that were therein.

And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him to Debir He is said to return thither, not as if he had been there before, but because having gone as far Westward and Southward as he thought fit, even as far as Gaza, v. 41. he now returned towards Gilgal, which lay Northward and Eastward from him, and in his return fell upon Debir, see on Iosh. 15. 15., and fought against it,

And he took it, and the king thereof, and all the cities thereof, and they smote them with the edge of the sword, and utterly destroyed all the souls that were therein, he left none remaining: as he had done to Hebron, so he did to Debir, and to the king thereof, as he had done also to Libnah, and to her king.

¶ So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings, he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed † all that breathed i. e. All mankind, by a Synecdoche: for they reserved the Cattel for their own uses., as the LORD God of Israel commanded This is added for the Vindication of the Israelites, whom God would not have to suffer in their Reputation for executing his commands; and therefore he acquits them of that implacable hatred and heinous cruelty, which they might be thought guilty of, and ascribes it to himself and his own just Indignation against this most wicked people..

And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea Which lay in the South of Canaan, Numb. 34. 4. Deut. 1. 19. Josh. 15. 3., even unto Gaza Which was in the South-west of Canaan. So he here signifies, that Ioshua did in this expedition subdue all those parts which lay South and West from Gilgal., and all the country of Goshen Not that Goshen in Egypt, but another in Iudah, Josh. 11. 16. and 15. 51., even unto Gibeon.

And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.

And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal.