1Cuando Jabín,[1] rey de Hazor,[2] se enteró de esto, envió un mensaje a Jobab, rey de Madón, al rey de Simrón, al rey de Acsaf 2y a los reyes que estaban en la región del norte en las montañas, y en el Arabá al sur de Cineret,[3] en los llanos y en las regiones de Dor[4] al occidente, 3al cananeo que estaba al oriente y al occidente, al amorreo, al heteo, al ferezeo, al jebuseo en las montañas, y al heveo al pie de Hermón[5] en tierra de Mizpa.[6] 4Estos salieron con todos sus ejércitos, una multitud tan numerosa como la arena que está a la orilla del mar, con muchísimos caballos y carros de guerra. 5Todos estos reyes se unieron, llegaron y acamparon unidos junto a las aguas de Merom[7] para pelear contra Israel. 6Pero Jehová dijo a Josué: "No les tengas temor, porque mañana a esta hora yo los entregaré a todos muertos delante de Israel; desjarretarás[8] sus caballos y quemarás sus carros en el fuego". 7Josué, con toda su gente de guerra, se lanzó de repente contra ellos junto a las aguas de Merom. 8Jehová los entregó en manos de Israel, que los hirió y los persiguió hasta Sidón[9] la grande, hasta Misrefot-maim y el llano de Mizpa, al oriente. Los hirió hasta no dejar ninguno con vida. 9Josué hizo con ellos como Jehová le había mandado: desjarretó sus caballos y quemó sus carros en el fuego. 10Por entonces regresó Josué, tomó a Hazor y mató a espada a su rey, pues Hazor había sido antes cabeza de todos estos reinos. 11Pasaron a espada todo cuanto en ella tenía vida, destruyéndolo todo por completo, sin que quedara nada capaz de respirar, y prendieron fuego a Hazor. 12Asimismo tomó Josué todas las ciudades de aquellos reyes, y a todos sus reyes los pasó a filo de espada y los exterminó, como Moisés, siervo de Jehová, lo había mandado. 13Pero Israel no quemó todas las ciudades que estaban sobre colinas; Josué quemó únicamente a Hazor. 14Los hijos de Israel tomaron para sí todo el botín y las bestias de aquellas ciudades; pero pasaron a todos los hombres a filo de espada hasta exterminarlos, sin dejar ninguno con vida. 15De la manera que Jehová lo había mandado a Moisés, su siervo, así Moisés lo mandó a Josué, y así lo hizo Josué, sin quitar una palabra de todo lo que Jehová había mandado a Moisés. 16Conquistó, pues, Josué toda aquella tierra, las montañas, todo el Neguev, toda la tierra de Gosén, los llanos, el Arabá, las montañas de Israel y sus valles, 17desde el monte Halac,[10] que sube hacia Seir, hasta Baal-gad, en la llanura del Líbano, a la falda del monte Hermón. Capturó asimismo a todos sus reyes, los hirió y mató. 18Durante mucho tiempo estuvo Josué en guerra con estos reyes. 19No hubo ciudad que hiciera la paz con los hijos de Israel, salvo los heveos que habitaban en Gabaón;[11] todas las tomaron por la fuerza. 20Porque de Jehová provenía que endurecieran su corazón para que opusieran resistencia a Israel, a fin de exterminarlos sin misericordia y fueran así aniquilados, como Jehová lo había mandado a Moisés.[12] 21También en aquel tiempo fue Josué y destruyó a los anaceos de los montes de Hebrón, de Debir, de Anab,[13] 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 anaceos[14] quedó en la tierra de los hijos de Israel; solamente quedaron en Gaza, en Gat y en Asdod.[15] 23Conquistó, pues, Josué toda la tierra, conforme a todo lo que Jehová había dicho a Moisés, y la entregó a los israelitas como herencia conforme a su distribución por tribus. Y la tierra descansó de la guerra.[16]
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].