Joshua 12:23

7-24 We have here the limits of the country Joshua conquered. A list is given of the kings subdued by Israel: thirty-one in all. This shows how fruitful Canaan then was, in which so many chose to throng together. This was the land God appointed for Israel; yet in our day it is one of the most barren and unprofitable countries in the world. Such is the effect of the curse it lies under, since its possessors rejected Christ and his gospel, as was foretold by Moses, Deuteronomy 29:23. The vengeance of a righteous God, inflicted on all these kings and their subjects, for their wickedness, should make us dread and hate sin. The fruitful land bestowed on his chosen people, should fill our hearts with hope and confidence in his mercy, and with humble gratitude....

Verse Joshua 12:23. _THE KING OF DOR_] The city of this name fell to the lot of the children of Manasseh, Joshua 17:11. Bochart observes that it was one of the oldest royal cities in Phoenicia. The Canaanites held it, Judges 1:27. Antiochus Sydetes besieged it in aftertimes, but could not make himself master of it. See _Bochart_, Canaan, lib. i., c. 28, and _Dodd_. _THE KING OF THE NATIONS OF GILGAL_] This is supposed to mean the higher Galilee, surnamed _Galilee of the Gentiles_ or, _nations_, as the Hebrew word גוים _goyim_ means. On this ground it should be read _king of Galilee of the nations_. Others suppose it is the same country with that of which Tidal

The names of the kings are given in the order of their actual encounter with Joshua. Those enumerated in Joshua 12:10 either belonged to the league of the southern Canaanites (Joshua 10:1 ff), the power of which was broken in the battle of Beth-horon, or were at any rate conquered in the campaign following that battle. Those mentioned in Joshua 12:19 were in like manner connected with the northern confederates (Joshua 11:1 ff), who were defeated at the Waters of Merom. Joshua 12:13 The iden

EXPOSITION THE EXTENT OF JOSHUA'S CONQUESTS. JOSHUA 12:1 NOW THESE ARE THE KINGS. The historian now enters upon a complete description of the whole territory which had, up to this date, fallen into the hands of the Israelites. First he traces out the border of the trans-Jordanic possessions of Israel, which he describes as bounded on the south by the river Arnon, on the west of course by the Jordan, and as extending from Hermon, past the Sea of Chinneroth, to the borders of the Dead Sea. The eastern border is not clearly defined, but the boundary extended far further eastward in the north than in the south, since the territory of Og was much more extensive than that of Sihon. On the west of Jordan the territory is described as extending "from Baal-gad

THE KING OF DOR, IN THE COAST OF DOR, ONE,.... Of which see Joshua 11:2; it fell to the lot of Manasseh, but never was possessed by them, as were not Taanach and Megiddo, before mentioned, Joshua 17:11 Judges 1:27; THE KING OF THE NATIONS OF GILGAL, ONE; not the place where Joshua encamped after he had passed Jordan, for that was then no city; the Septuagint version renders it the land of Galilee; and Dr. Lightfoot s is of opinion that Galilee is meant, and in the Apocrypha: "Who went forth by the way that leadeth to Galgala, and pitched their tents before Masaloth, which is in Arbela, and after they had won it, they slew much people.'' (1 Maccabees 9:2) Galgala is spoken o

THE CONQUERED KINGS CHAPTER 12 _ 1. The kings on the other side of Jordan (Joshua 12:1)_ 2. The kings on this side of Jordan (Joshua 12:7) “The land rested from war” is the concluding statement of the previous chapter. It was after Joshua had made war a long time with all those kings (Joshua 11:18). Deuteronomy 6:10 was also fulfilled. “And it shall be, when the LORD Thy God shall have brought thee into the land, which He sware unto thy Fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildest not, and houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, an

JOSHUA 12. LIST OF THE CONQUERED KINGS. The whole of this chapter, which is a detailed expansion of Joshua 11:16, So Joshua took all that land, is a late composition of the Deuteronomic school; of which it can only be said that the first six verses are probably less removed from historical verity than the last eighteen. The statement (Joshua 12:6, that Moses had given the half tribe of Manasseh land on the east of the Jordan is unhistorical (ch. 17*). Joshua 12:10 (_cf._ Judges 1:7) mentions the king of Jerusalem, but _cf._ Joshua 15:63 and...

COAST. See note on "borders", Joshua 11:7....

Catalogue of the Kings vanquished on the West of the Jordan 7. _And these are the kings_ This and the following verse coincide with ch. Joshua 11:16, and Joshua 10:40-42. They introduce the following narrative....

_VER._ 23. _THE KING OF DOR, IN THE COAST OF DOR_— The city of this name fell to the lot of the children of Manasseh; chap. Joshua 17:11. It appears to have commanded a great territory; and Bochart observes, that it was one of the oldest royal cities in Phoenicia. The Canaanites held it; Judges 1:27. Antiochus Sydetes besieged it in after times, but could not make himself master of it. See Boch. Can. lib. 1: cap. 28. _THE KING OF THE NATIONS OF GILGAL_— The LXX have it, _the king of Gei of Galile,_ or rather, as Dr. Hammond renders it, _of Galilee;_ for so he thinks it should be read: by which _Galilee,_ he understands the Galilee of the nations, the same country whose king was _Tidal,_...