1And when Jabis (the king of Asor) heard about this, he sent for Jobab (the king of Maron), the kings of SymoOn and Aziph, 2the kings around Sidon, those in the hill country, those in the Araba across from KenerOth, those in the plains, those in Phenaed-Dor, 3the CanaAnites along the eastern border, the Amorites along the borders, the Hittites, the Pherezites, the mountain Jebusites, the Evites, and all those living near Mount Hermon in the land of MasSyma. 4And when all those kings and their armies came together, they were like the sands on the seashore in numbers, with multitudes of horses and chariots. 5All the kings were there in person, and they camped at the waters of Maron to prepare for war with Israel. 6Then Jehovah said to JoShua, ‘Don’t be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this same time I will make them retreat before Israel. Then you must hamstring their horses and burn their chariots.’ 7So JoShua and all the men of war made a surprise attack on them at the waters of Maron, and they also attacked them in the hill country, 8and Jehovah gave them into Israel’s hands. They struck them down and chased them all the way to Sidon, MasEron, and eastward to the plains of MasSoch… they kept destroying until there no one was left. 9Then JoShua did as Jehovah commanded; he hamstrung the horses and burned their chariots in a fire. 10Next, JoShua went back and took Asor and her king (back then, Asor was the capital city of those kingdoms), 11and they killed everything that breathed with swords… they destroyed them all and there was no living thing left there. Then they burned Asor with fire. 12Thereafter, JoShua conquered all the cities that belonged to those kings, and killed everyone with swords. He left no survivors, just as Moses (the servant of Jehovah) had commanded. 13However, they didn’t burn all the walled cities, just Asor. 14This time, the children of Israel looted the cities and killed all the men with swords, leaving no breathing survivors. 15For, this is what Jehovah had commanded His servant Moses to do, and it’s what Moses commanded JoShua to do, so JoShua did everything that Moses commanded. 16Next, JoShua took all the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the plain country, all the [country] to the west, the mountains of Israel, the low country near the mountains 17from Mount ChelCha to Seir (all the way to BalaGad), and the plains to the borders of Lebanon near Mount Hermon. He captured all their kings and destroyed everyone. 18This war that JoShua waged with those kings went on for quite some time, 19and there was no city that Israel warred against which they failed to conquer. 20For Jehovah hardened all the hearts [of the people in those cities] when they went to war against Israel, so that they might be destroyed without mercy, just as Jehovah told Moses. 21Then JoShua went and destroyed the Enakim out of the hill country, from Hebron, to Dabir, to AnabOth, and all the races in the land of Israel, including those in the mountains of Judea and their cities… JoShua destroyed them all, 22for the children of Israel left no one. And among the Enakim, the only survivors were in found in Gaza, Gath, and AselDo. 23Thereafter, JoShua took all their land, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses, and [divided] it among Israel by their tribes as their inheritance. And then the war ended.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 DIVERS KINGS OVERCOME AT THE WATERS OF MEROM. (
Josh 11:1-
Josh 11:9)
And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard those things--The scene of the sacred narrative is here shifted to the north of Canaan, where a still more extensive confederacy was formed among the ruling powers to oppose the further progress of the Israelites. Jabin ("the Intelligent"), which seems to have been a hereditary title (
Judg 4:2), took the lead, from Hazor being the capital of the northern region (
Josh 11:10). It was situated on the borders of lake Merom. The other cities mentioned must have been in the vicinity though their exact position is unknown.
2 the kings that were on the north of the mountains--the Anti-libanus district.
the plains south of Chinneroth--the northern part of the Arabah, or valley of the Jordan.
the valley--the low and level country, including the plain of Sharon.
borders of Dor on the west--the highlands of Dor, reaching to the town of Dor on the Mediterranean coast, below mount Carmel.
3 the Canaanites on the east and on the west--a particular branch of the Canaanitish population who occupied the western bank of the Jordan as far northward as the Sea of Galilee, and also the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.
under Hermon--now Jebel-es-sheikh. It was the northern boundary of Canaan on the east of the Jordan.
land of Mizpeh--now Cślo-Syria.
4 they went out, . . . as the sand that is upon the sea-shore in multitude--The chiefs of these several tribes were summoned by Jabin, being all probably tributary to the kingdom of Hazor. Their combined forces, according to JOSEPHUS, amounted to three hundred thousand infantry, ten thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand war chariots.
with horses and chariots very many--The war chariots were probably like those of Egypt, made of wood, but nailed and tipped with iron. These appear for the first time in the Canaanite war, to aid this last determined struggle against the invaders; and "it was the use of these which seems to have fixed the place of rendezvous by the lake Merom (now Huleh), along whose level shores they could have full play for their force." A host so formidable in numbers, as well as in military equipments, was sure to alarm and dispirit the Israelites. Joshua, therefore, was favored with a renewal of the divine promise of victory (
Josh 11:6), and thus encouraged, he, in the full confidence of faith, set out to face the enemy.
6 to-morrow, about this time will I deliver them up all slain before Israel--As it was impossible to have marched from Gilgal to Merom in one day, we must suppose Joshua already moving northward and within a day's distance of the Canaanite camp, when the Lord gave him this assurance of success. With characteristic energy he made a sudden advance, probably during the night, and fell upon them like a thunderbolt, when scattered along the rising grounds (Septuagint), before they had time to rally on the plain. In the sudden panic "the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them." The rout was complete; some went westward, over the mountains, above the gorge of the Leontes, to Sidon and Misrephothmaim ("glass-smelting houses"), in the neighborhood, and others eastward to the plain of Mizpeh.
8 they left none remaining--of those whom they overtook. All those who fell into their hands alive were slain.
9 Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him--(See
Josh 11:6). Houghing the horses is done by cutting the sinews and arteries of their hinder legs, so that they not only become hopelessly lame, but bleed to death. The reasons for this special command were that the Lord designed to lead the Israelites to trust in Him, not in military resources (
Ps 20:7); to show that in the land of promise there was no use of horses; and, finally, to discourage their travelling as they were to be an agricultural, not a trading, people.
11 he burnt Hazor with fire--calmly and deliberately, doubtless, according to divine direction.
13 as for the cities that stood still in their strength--literally, "on their heaps." It was a Phśnician custom to build cities on heights, natural or artificial [HENGSTENBERG].
16 So Joshua took all that land--Here follows a general view of the conquest. The division of the country there into five parts; namely, the hills, the land of Goshen, that is, a pastoral land near Gibeon (
Josh 10:41); the valley, the plains and the mountains of Israel, i. e., Carmel, rests upon a diversity of geographical positions, which is characteristic of the region.
17 from the mount Halak--Hebrew, "the smooth mountain."
that goeth up to Seir--an irregular line of white naked hills, about eighty feet high, and seven or eight geographical miles in length that cross the whole Ghor, eight miles south of the Dead Sea, probably "the ascent of Akrabbim" [ROBINSON].
unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon--the city or temple of the god of destiny, in Baalbec.
23 Joshua took the whole land--The battle of the take of Merom was to the north what the battle of Beth-horon was to the south; more briefly told and less complete in its consequences; but still the decisive conflict by which the whole northern region of Canaan fell into the hands of Israel [STANLEY].