1OYENDO esto Jabín rey de Asor, envió a Jobab rey de Madón, y al rey de Semrón, y al rey de Ascaf; 2Y a los reyes que estaban a la parte del norte en las montañas y en el llano al mediodía de Cenerot: y en los llanos, y en las regiones de Dor al occidente; 3Y al Cananeo que estaba al oriente y al occidente: y al Amorreo, y al Jetteo, y al Ferezeo, y al Jebuseo en las montañas: y al Heveo que estaba debajo de Hermón en tierra de Maspa. 4Estos salieron, y con ellos todos sus ejércitos, un pueblo mucho en gran manera, como la arena que está a la orilla de la mar, caballos y carros, muchos en gran manera. 5Todos estos reyes se juntaron, y viniendo juntaron los campos junto a las aguas de Merom, para pelear contra Israel. 6Mas Jehová dijo a Josué: No tengas temor de ellos, que mañana a esta hora yo entregaré a todos estos muertos delante de Israel: a sus caballos desjarretarás, y sus carros quemarás a fuego. 7Y vino Josué, y con él todo el pueblo de guerra, contra ellos, y dió de repente sobre ellos juntos a las aguas de Merom. 8Y entrególos Jehová en mano de Israel, los cuales los hirieron, y siguieron hasta Sidón la grande, y hasta las aguas calientes, y hasta el llano de Maspa, al oriente, hiréndolos hasta que no les dejaron ninguno. 9Y Josué hizo con ellos como Jehová le había mandado; desjarretó sus caballos, y sus carros quemó a fuego. 10Y tornándose Josué tomó en el mismo tiempo a Asor: e hirió a cuchillo a su rey. La cual Asor había sido ántes cabeza de todos estos reinos. 11E hirieron a cuchillo todo cuanto en ella había vivo, destruyendo y no dejando cosa a vida. Y a Asor pusieron a fuego. 12Asimismo a todas las ciudades de aquestos reyes, y a todos los reyes de ellas tomó Josué, y les pasó a cuchillo, y los destruyó, como lo había mandado Moisés siervo de Jehová. 13Empero todas las ciudades que estaban en sus cabezos, no las quemó Israel, sacando a sola Asor, la cual quemó Josué. 14Y los hijos de Israel saquearon para sí todos los despojos y bestias de aquestas ciudades; empero a todos los hombres metieron a cuchillo hasta destruirlos, sin dejar cosa a vida. 15De la manera que Jehová lo había mandado a Moisés su siervo, así Moisés lo mandó a Josué; y Josué lo hizo así, sin quitar palabra de todo lo que Jehová había mandado a Moisés. 16Y tomó Josué toda esta tierra, las montañas, y toda la región del mediodía: y toda la tierra de Gosén, y los bajos y los llanos, y la montaña de Israel y sus valles; 17Desde el monte de Hallak, que sube hasta Seir, hasta Baalgad en la llanura del Líbano a las raices del monte de Hermon: tomó asimismo todos sus reyes, a los cuales hirió, y mató. 18Por muchos dias tuvo guerra Josué con estos reyes. 19No hubo ciudad que hiciese paz con los hijos de Israel, sacados los Heveos, que moraban en Gabaon: todo lo tomaron por gúerra. 20Porque esto vino de Jehová, que endurecia el corazón de ellos para que resistiesen con guerra a Israel, para destruirlos y que no les fuese hecha misericordia, ántes fuesen desarraigados, como Jehová lo había mandado a Moisés. 21También en el mismo tiempo vino Josué, y destruyó los Enaceos de los montes, de Hebrón, de Dabir, y de Anab, y de todos los montes de Judá, y de todos los montes de Israel: Josué los destruyó a ellos y a sus ciudades. 22Ninguno de los Enaceos quedó en la tierra de los hijos de Israel: solamente quedaron en Gaza, en Get, y en Azot. 23Tomó pues Josué toda la tierra, conforme a todo lo que Jehová había dicho a Moisés. Y Josué la entregó a los Israelitas por herencia conforme a sus repartimientos de sus tribus. Y la tierra reposó de guerra.
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].