Joshua12
New Living Translation
1 These are the kings east of the Jordan River who had been killed by the Israelites and whose land was taken. Their territory extended from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon and included all the land east of the Jordan Valley.
2 King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, was defeated. His kingdom included Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge to the Jabbok River, which serves as a border for the Ammonites. This territory included the southern half of the territory of Gilead.
3 Sihon also controlled the Jordan Valley and regions to the east—from as far north as the Sea of Galilee to as far south as the Dead Sea, including the road to Beth-jeshimoth and southward to the slopes of Pisgah.
4 King Og of Bashan, the last of the Rephaites, lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei.
5 He ruled a territory stretching from Mount Hermon to Salecah in the north and to all of Bashan in the east, and westward to the borders of the kingdoms of Geshur and Maacah. This territory included the northern half of Gilead, as far as the boundary of King Sihon of Heshbon.
6 Moses, the servant of the Lord, and the Israelites had destroyed the people of King Sihon and King Og. And Moses gave their land as a possession to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
7 The following is a list of the kings that Joshua and the Israelite armies defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, which leads up to Seir. (Joshua gave this land to the tribes of Israel as their possession,
8 including the hill country, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley, the mountain slopes, the Judean wilderness, and the Negev. The people who lived in this region were the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.) These are the kings Israel defeated:
9 The king of Jericho The king of Ai, near Bethel
10 The king of Jerusalem The king of Hebron
11 The king of Jarmuth The king of Lachish
12 The king of Eglon The king of Gezer
13 The king of Debir The king of Geder
14 The king of Hormah The king of Arad
15 The king of Libnah The king of Adullam
16 The king of Makkedah The king of Bethel
17 The king of Tappuah The king of Hepher
18 The king of Aphek The king of Lasharon
19 The king of Madon The king of Hazor
20 The king of Shimron-meron The king of Acshaph
21 The king of Taanach The king of Megiddo
22 The king of Kedesh The king of Jokneam in Carmel
23 The king of Dor in the town of Naphoth-dor The king of Goyim in Gilgal
24 The king of Tirzah. In all, thirty-one kings were defeated.
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Joshua 12Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Joshua 12. The full AI study guide (summary, themes, context) has its own page.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: The two kings conquered by Moses. (1–6). The kings whom Joshua smote. (7–24).
vv1-6
Fresh mercies must not drown the remembrance of former mercies, nor must the glory of the present instruments of good to the church diminish the just honour of those who went before them, since God is the same who wrought by both. Moses gave to one part of Israel a very rich and fruitful country, but it was on the outside of Jordan. Joshua gave to all Israel the holy land, within Jordan. So the law has given to some few of God's spiritual Israel worldly blessings, earnests of good things to come; but our Lord Jesus, the true Joshua, provided for all the children of promise spiritual blessings, and the heavenly Canaan.
vv7-24
We have here the limits of the country Joshua conquered. A list is given of the kings subdued by Israel: thirty-one in all. This shows how fruitful Canaan then was, in which so many chose to throng together. This was the land God appointed for Israel; yet in our day it is one of the most barren 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, De 29:23. The vengeance of a righteous God, inflicted on all these kings and their subjects, for their wickedness, should make us dread and hate sin. The fruitful land bestowed on his chosen people, should fill our hearts with hope and confidence in his mercy, and with humble gratitude.
Key Words
מֶלֶךְ: a king
אֶרֶץ: the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
בֵּן: a son (as a builder of the family name), in the widest sense (of literal and figurative relationship, including grandson, subject, nation, quality or condition, etc., (like father or brother), etc.)
יִשְׂרָאֵל: Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
נָכָה: to strike (lightly or severely, literally or figuratively)
יָרַשׁ: to occupy (by driving out previous tenants, and possessing in their place); by implication, to seize, to rob, to inherit; also to expel, to impoverish, to ruin
עֵבֶר: properly, a region across; but used only adverbially (with or without a preposition) on the opposite side (especially of the Jordan; ususally meaning the east)
יַרְדֵּן: Jarden, the principal river of Palestine
נַחַל: a stream, especially a winter torrent; (by implication) a (narrow) valley (in which a brook runs); also a shaft (of a mine)
אַרְנוֹן: the Arnon, a river east of the Jordan, also its territory
Cross References
Joshua 12Records the initial defeat of Sihon, king of the Amorites, boundary at the river Arnon.
Supported by JFB
Celebrates Yahweh's victory over Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan.
Supported by Matthew Henry
The original victory of Israel under Moses over Og, the giant king of Bashan.
Supported by JFB
Details Og as the remnant of the giants, specifically referencing his massive iron bedstead.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Moses' command to cross the river Arnon to possess the land of Sihon.
Supported by JFB
Elaborates on Moses' division of the Transjordan lands to the two and a half tribes.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identical geographic markers (Baal-gad to mount Halak) defining the boundaries of Joshua's conquests.
Supported by JFB
Parallels the geographic description of the sea of Chinnereth down to the Salt Sea.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Names the southern kings (Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish) defeated by Joshua.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Names the northern kings (Madon, Hazor, Shimron, Achshaph) who coalesced against Joshua.
Supported by Matthew Poole