1Na, i te rongonga o Ihapini kingi o Hatoro, ka tono tangata ia ki a Iopapa kingi o Marono, ki te kingi o Himirono, ki te kingi hoki o Akahapa, 2Ki nga kingi ano hoki i te raki, ki era i nga maunga, i te mania hoki ki te tonga o Kinerota, i te whenua raorao, a i nga hiwi o Roro ki te hauauru, 3Ki te Kanaani i te rawhiti me te hauauru, ki te Amori, ki te Hiti, ki te Perihi, ki te Iepuhi i te whenua pukepuke, ki te Hiwi hoki i raro o Heremona i te whenua o Mihipa. 4Na ka haere mai, me a ratou ope katoa, he tini te tangata, me te onepu i te taha o te moana te tokomaha, me nga hoiho, me nga hariata, tona tini. 5Na ka huihui enei kingi katoa; a ka haere mai ratou, ka noho huihui ki nga wai o Meromo, ki te whawhai ki a Iharaira. 6Na ko te meatanga a Ihowa ki a Hohua, Kei wehi i a ratou: kia penei hoki apopo ka hoatu katoa ratou e ahau, mate rawa, ki a Iharaira: me whakangonge a ratou hoiho, me tahu hoki a ratou hariata ki te ahi. 7Na huakina tatatia ana ratou e Hohua ratou ko te hunga hapai pakanga katoa ki nga wai o Meromo; heoi kokiri ana ratou ki a ratou. 8Na homai ana ratou e Ihowa ki te ringa o Iharaira, a patua iho ratou, a whaia ana e ratou a tae noa ki Hairona nui, ki Mihirepoto Maimi, ki te raorao hoki o Mihipe whaka te rawhiti; a patupatua ana ratou, kahore rawa he morehu i waiho kia toe. 9A rite tonu ta Hohua i mea ai ki a ratou ki ta Ihowa i korero ai ki a ia: i whakangongea e ia a ratou hoiho, i tahuna hoki a ratou hariata ki te ahi. 10A i taua wa ka tahuri a Hohua, a horo ana i a ia a Hatoro, patua iho hoki e ia tona kingi ki te hoari: ko Hatoro hoki te upoko o aua kingitanga katoa i mua. 11Na patua iho e ratou nga mea ora katoa o reira ki te mata o te hoari a poto noa: kahore i mahue tetahi mea whai manawa: i tahuna hoki e ia a Hatoro ki te ahi. 12Na i riro katoa i a Hohua nga pa katoa o era kingi, me nga kingi katoa o reira, a patua iho e ia ki te mata o te hoari a poto noa; i pera ano ia me ta Mohi, me ta te pononga a Ihowa i whakahau ai. 13Ko nga pa ia i tu i runga i nga pukepuke, kihai ena i tahuna e Iharaira, heoi ano ko Hatoro anake; i tahuna tena e Hohua. 14Otiia ko nga taonga parakete katoa o aua pa, me nga kararehe, i tangohia e nga tama a Iharaira ma ratou; ko nga tangata katoa ia i patua ki te mata o te hoari a poto noa ratou, kihai i mahue tetahi mea whai manawa. 15Ko ta Ihowa i whakahau ai ki tana pononga ki a Mohi, ko ta Mohi ano tera i whakahau ai ki a Hohua; a koia ta Hohua i mea ai; kihai i kapea e ia tetahi o nga mea katoa i whakahaua e Ihowa ki a Mohi. 16Na riro ana i a Hohua taua whenua katoa, te whenua pukepuke, me nga wahi katoa o te tonga, me te whenua katoa o Kohena, me te raorao, me te mania, me te whenua pukepuke o Iharaira, me tona raorao; 17Atu i Maunga Haraka, e anga nei whakarunga ki Heira, a tae noa ki Paarakara i te raorao o Repanona, i raro iho o Maunga Heremona: a, ko o ratou kingi katoa, i mau i a ia, a patua iho, whakamatea iho. 18He maha nga ra i whawhai ai a Hohua ki aua kingi katoa. 19Na kahore he pa i hohou rongo ki nga tama a Iharaira, heoi anake ko nga Hiwi i noho i Kipeono: i riro katoa i a ratou i runga i te whawhai. 20Na Ihowa hoki i whakapakeke o ratou ngakau, kia turia ai e ratou a Iharaira ki te riri, kia tino whakangaromia ai ratou e ia, kia kore ai hoki ratou e tohungia, engari kia whakangaromia ratou e ia, kia peratia me ta Ihowa i whakahau ai ki a Mohi. 21I taua wa ano ka haere atu a Hohua, a huna iho e ia nga Anakimi o nga maunga, o Heperona, o Repiri, o Anapa, o nga maunga katoa o Hura, o nga maunga katoa ano hoki o Iharaira: i tino whakangaromia rawatia ratou e Hohua me o ratou pa. 22Kihai tetahi o nga Anakimi i mahue i te whenua o nga tama a Iharaira: toe ake ko etahi anake i Kaha, i Kata, i Aharoro. 23Na ka riro i a Hohua te whenua katoa, ka pera me nga mea katoa i korerotia e Ihowa ki a Mohi; a hoatu ana e Hohua hei kainga tupu mo Iharaira, he mea whakarite ki o ratou wehenga, ki o ratou iwi. Na ka takoto marie te whenua i te whawhai.
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].