Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary

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Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708)

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J O S H U A

CHAP. XII.

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This chapter is a summary of Israel’s conquests.

I. Their conquests under Moses, on the other side Jordan (for we now

suppose ourselves in Canaan) eastward, which we had the history of,

Num. xxi. 24,

&c. And here the abridgment of that history,

ver. 1-6.

II. Their conquests under Joshua, on this side Jordan, westward.

1. The country they reduced,

ver. 7, 8.

2. The kings they subdued, thirty-one in all,

ver. 9-24.

And this comes in here, not only as a conclusion of the history of the

wars of Canaan (that we might at one view see what they had got), but

as a preface to the history of the dividing of Canaan, that all that

might be put together which they were not to make a distribution

of.

Summary of Israel’s Conquests.	B. C. 1450.

     

1 Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of

Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan

toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount

Hermon, and all the plain on the east:

  2 Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled

from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from

the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the

river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;

  3 And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and

unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the

way to Beth-jeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdoth-pisgah:

  4 And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which was of the

remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,

  5 And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all

Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites,

and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

  6 Them did Moses the servant of the LORD and the children of

Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the LORD gave it for a

possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half

tribe of Manasseh.

     

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,

1. A description of this conquered country, the measure and bounds of

it in general

(v. 1):

From the river Arnon in the south, to Mount Hermon in the

north. In particular, here is a description of the kingdom of Sihon

(v. 2, 3),

and that of Og,

v. 4, 5.

Moses had described this country very particularly

(Deut. ii. 36; iii. 4,

&c.), and this description here agrees with his. King Og is said to

dwell at Ashtaroth and Edrei

(v. 4),

probably because they were both his royal cities; he had palaces in

both, and resided sometimes in one and sometimes in the other; one

perhaps was his summer seat and the other his winter seat. But Israel

took both from him, and made one grave to serve him that could not be

content with one palace.

2. The distribution of this country. Moses assigned it to the two

tribes and a half, at their request, and divided it among them

(v. 6),

of which we had the story at large,

Num. xxxii.

The dividing of it when it was conquered by Moses is here mentioned as

an example to Joshua what he must do now that he had conquered the

country on this side Jordan. Moses, in his time, gave to one part of

Israel a very rich and fruitful country, but it was on the outside of

Jordan; but Joshua gave to all Israel the holy land, the mountain of

God’s sanctuary, within Jordan: so the law conferred upon some few of

God’s spiritual Israel external temporal blessings, which were earnests

of good things to come; but our Lord Jesus, the true Joshua, has

provided for all the children of promise spiritual blessings–the

privileges of the sanctuary, and the heavenly Canaan. The triumphs and

grants of the law were glorious, but those of the gospel far exceed in

glory.

     

7 And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the

children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from

Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that

goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel

for a possession according to their divisions;

  8 In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and

in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country;

the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites,

the Hivites, and the Jebusites:

  9 The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside

Beth-el, one;

  10 The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;

  11 The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;

  12 The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;

  13 The king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;

  14 The king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;

  15 The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;

  16 The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Beth-el, one;

  17 The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;

  18 The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;

  19 The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;

  20 The king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;

  21 The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;

  22 The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one;

  23 The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the

nations of Gilgal, one;

  24 The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.

     

We have here a breviate of Joshua’s conquests.

     

I. The limits of the country he conquered. It lay between Jordan on the

east and the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and extended from Baal-gad

near Lebanon in the north to Halak, which lay upon the country of Edom

in the south,

v. 7.

The boundaries are more largely described,

Num. xxxiv. 2,

&c. But what is here said is enough to show that God had been as

good as his word, and had given them possession of all he had promised

them by Moses, if they would but have kept it.

     

II. The various kinds of land that were found in this country, which

contributed both to its pleasantness and to its fruitfulness,

v. 8.

There were mountains, not craggy, and rocky, and barren, which are

frightful to the traveller and useless to the inhabitants, but fruitful

hills, such as put forth precious things

(Deut. xxxiii. 15),

which charmed the spectator’s eye and filled the owner’s hand. And

valleys, not mossy and boggy, but covered with corn,
Ps. lxv. 13.

There were plains, and springs to water them; and even in that rich

land there were wildernesses too, or forests, which were not so thickly

inhabited as other parts, yet had towns and houses in them, but served

as foils to set off the more pleasant and fruitful countries.

     

III. The several nations that had been in possession of this

country–Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, &c., all of them descended from

Canaan, the accursed son of Ham,

Gen. x. 15-18.

Seven nations they are called

(Deut. vii. 1),

and so many are there reckoned up, but here six only are mentioned, the

Girgashites being either lost or left out, though we find them,

Gen. x. 16 and xv. 21.

Either they were incorporated with some other of these nations, or, as

the tradition of the Jews is, upon the approach of Israel under Joshua

they all withdrew and went into Africa, leaving their country to be

possessed by Israel, with whom they saw it was to no purpose to

contend, and therefore they are not named among the nations that Joshua

subdued.

     

IV. A list of the kings that were conquered and subdued by the sword of

Israel, some in the field, others in their own cities, thirty-one in

all, and very particularly named and counted, it should seem, in the

order in which they were conquered; for the catalogue begins with the

kings of Jericho and Ai, then takes in the king of Jerusalem and the

princes of the south that were in confederacy with him, and then

proceeds to those of the northern association. Now,

1. This shows what a very fruitful country Canaan then was, which could

support so many kingdoms, and in which so many kings chose to throng

together rather than disperse themselves into other countries, which we

may suppose not yet inhabited, but where, though they might find more

room, they could not expect such plenty and pleasure: this was the land

God spied out for Israel; and yet at this day it is one of the most

barren, despicable, 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,

Deut. xxix. 23.

2. It shows what narrow limits men’s ambition was then confined to.

These kings contented themselves with the government, each of them, of

one city and the towns and villages that pertained to it; and no one of

them, for aught that appears, aimed to make himself master of the rest,

but, when there was occasion, all united for the common safety. Yet it

should seem that what was wanting in the extent of their territories

was made up in the absoluteness of their power, their subjects being

all their tenants and vassals, and entirely at their command.

3. It shows how good God was to Israel, in giving them victory over all

these kings, and possession of all these kingdoms, and what obligations

he hereby laid upon them to observe his statutes and to keep his

laws,
Ps. cv. 44, 45.

Here were thirty-one kingdoms, or seigniories, to be divided among nine

tribes and a half of Israel. Of these there fell to the lot of Judah

the kingdoms of Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, Eglon, Debir, Arad, Libnah,

and Adullam, eight in all, besides part of the kingdom of Jerusalem and

part of Geder. Benjamin had the kingdoms of Jericho, Ai, Jerusalem,

Makkedah, Beth-el, and the nations of Gilgal, six in all. Simeon had

the kingdom of Hormah and part of Geder. Ephraim had the kingdoms of

Gezer and Tirzah. Manasseh (that half-tribe) had the kingdoms of

Tappuah and Hepher, Taanach and Megiddo. Asher had the kingdoms of

Aphek and Achshaph. Zebulun had the kingdoms of Lasharon,

Shimron-meron, and Jokneam. Naphtali had the kingdoms of Madon, Hazor,

and Kedesh. And Issachar had that of Dor. These were some of the great

and famous kings that God smote, for his mercy endureth for ever;

and gave their land for a heritage, even a heritage unto Israel his

servant, for his mercy endureth for ever,
Ps. cxxxvi. 17,

&c.

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Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708)

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