Chapter Eleven

1. Victory of Joshua over the kings of northern Canaan at the Waters of Merom. 10. Taking and burning of Hazor. 16. Conquest of all the Canaanite land. 21. A new defeat of the Anakim.

Joshua 11:1. When Jabin king of Hazor heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, At the head of a new defensive alliance of the kings of northern Canaan stood Jabin, king of Hazor, which was the principal city here (Josh 11:10). The name Jabin, meaning “wise,” was, in all probability, not a personal name, but a hereditary name of the Hazor kings (like “pharaoh” or “caesar”), which is why this same name was borne by a much later king from this city (Judg 4:2). Regarding the location of Hazor (in Hebrew Hazor), which later belonged to the tribe of Naphtali (Josh 19:36), from the “Antiquities” of Josephus (Iud. Antiq. 5:5, 1) it is known that it was located higher (ὐπέρκειται) than Lake Samochonitis (that is, Merom), but where exactly is not yet established with certainty; it is more probable that it was located about 3 versts (2 English miles) to the southeast of Kedesh on a separate standing hill, which at present bears the name Tell Hara or Harawi, and on which remain the ruins of a fortress and other structures made of unwrought stones 105. Madon, according to the Hebrew text and many Greek lists, Marron according to the Vatican and Ambrosian lists, is likewise unknown with certainty in its geographical position; conjecturally its location is recognized, on the basis of its designation in the Greek lists, as the village of Maron 2 hours of travel to the northwest of Kedesh. Shimron, according to the Hebrew text, in the majority of Greek lists Someron or Simeon, which later belonged to the tribe of Zebulun (Josh 19:15), is indicated, conjecturally (by Robinson and others), in Simunyeh to the west of Nazareth, by others—in Semeriyeh to the north of Akko. Achshaph (in Greek lists Azif, or Ahiv), which later was a boundary city of the tribe of Asher (Josh 19:25), is not determined equally in its position; conjecturally its location is recognized (by Robinson) as either Kesaph near the Lebanese Mountains, almost parallel to Tyre, or Akko or Haifa (Tristram).

Joshua 11:2. and to the kings who dwell in the north in the hills and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor to the west, Besides this, Jabin called to his aid “the kings” who dwelt “in the north in the hills,” what hills are meant is explained by the translation corresponding to the last two words of the Hebrew text in Greco-Slavonic: τοὺς κατὰ Σιδῶνα τὴν μεγάλην—“those at great Sidon,” showing that by “hills” is meant here the mountainous elevation extending to the north from Hazor, not only the nearest in the tribe of Naphtali (Josh 20:7), but also the more distant, Libanon. Under the mentioned then “Arabah south of Chinneroth” is meant the Jordan valley to the south of the Sea of Galilee, which in the most ancient times (Num 34:11) bore the name Kinneret from the city of the same name in the tribe of Naphtali (Josh 19:35). Under “lowland” (according to the Hebrew text “Shephelah”—“lowland”) and Naphoth-dor (Hebrew “naphet”—“hilly region”) is meant the plain along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea with the inclusion of the hilly region near the city of Dor. The latter was located on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea to the south of Carmel. At present, in the place of Dor, known in antiquity, is a poor village Taqtura, or Dandora, with massive ruins of an ancient city.

Joshua 11:3. to the Canaanites in the east and in the west, to the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and to the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. Following the enumeration of the kings is, as in Josh 9:1, the designation of the peoples who helped the king of Hazor in war with the Israelites, and the regions they inhabited (“in the hills and in the plain”). Under “land of Mizpah beside Hermon,” not different, one must think, from the mentioned further (Josh 11:8) “valley of Mizpeh,” is meant generally the high, mountainous region in the very north of Palestine, corresponding to that high-lying valley which stretches between Libanon and Anti-libanon and was called Coele-Syria by Greco-Roman writers, but was called Bika by the natives (Tristram). Particularly, some investigators (Robinson) point to the high region to the north of Abel 106, on which is located the village of the Druzes Mutelle, as corresponding to the land of Mizpah beside Hermon. From the enumeration of the kings and peoples made here by the biblical writer, it follows that the forces assembled for the impending battle included warriors not only from northern Canaan, but from Phoenicia and the Libanon Mountains. On the presence of Canaanite kings living in the Libanon mountains, it is also indicated in the “Antiquities” of Josephus (Iud. Antiq. 5:1, 18). From this it is understandable that the biblical writer used the comparison of the numerous Canaanite army to the sand on the shore of the sea; this army was supplied with the best weapon of that time—war chariots—in great quantity. According to the “Antiquities” of Josephus (ibid.) this army consisted of 300,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry, and 20,000 chariots.

Joshua 11:5. All these kings joined forces, and came and camped together at the Waters of Merom, to fight against Israel. The gathering point of the Canaanite army was the region at the “Waters of Merom” (according to the Hebrew text Merom, according to the Greek lists—Marron, Merron, Merom). The name “water of Merom” appears only in this chapter of Joshua. This name is commonly connected with the conception of Lake Merom, or as called at present, Bahr Hule. Some commentators dispute this conception on the basis that in the “Antiquities” of Josephus in the account of this event, the place for the camp of the Canaanite army is indicated not at the Samechonite Lake, as the Jewish historian calls Lake Merom, but “Bairoth (Βηρωτης), a city of Upper Galilee, not far from Kedesh” (Iud. Antiq. 5:1, 18); in Josephus’ work on the Judaic War (2:20, 6) instead of Bairoth the city Meroth (Μηρωθ) is indicated also in Upper Galilee. This latter name serves as the basis for the conception that the army of the Canaanite kings was positioned at the place of the present village of Meirun, or Meiron 107, located 1½ hours travel to the northwest of Safed 108, on a high mountain, from the foot of which flows a spring forming a small lake, which could have been called “water of Merom.” It is certain in any case that the place of Joshua’s battle with the kings of northern Canaan was on the western side of Lake Merom.

Joshua 11:6. But the Lord said to Joshua: Do not fear them, for by tomorrow at this time I have given all of them, slain, into the hand of Israel; you shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire. The size of the army assembled by the Hazor king could not remain unknown to Joshua when he approached its location at the head of his people. Therefore, on the eve (“tomorrow”) of the day on which he was to meet a powerful enemy, the Israeli leader, as before the Gibeon battle, was encouraged through a special divine revelation with the promise of victory (“I have given” or—literally from the Hebrew and Greek—“I give them”) and such a complete and decisive one that beforehand it is indicated how to proceed with the booty, consisting of horses and war chariots. The Lord commands both to be destroyed: horses are to have their sinews cut, and chariots to be burned. The reason for this special command, which was observed until the reign of Solomon (2 Sam 8:4), is not indicated; but, as shown by the subsequent history of the Israelite people, it consisted in that, keeping the horses and chariots and making them state property, the Israelites could then rely more on this military equipment than on the almighty help of the Lord, and through this lose the latter and together with it face inevitable destruction, as explained by the Psalmist (Ps 19:8-9) and the prophets (Isa 2:7; Mic 5:10 and other places).

Joshua 11:7. So Joshua and all the people of war with him came upon them suddenly at the Waters of Merom and fell upon them. Before the Canaanite kings brought their numerous, mixed-peoples, and diversely equipped army into order, Joshua quickly moved against it with all of his people capable of bearing arms. In 4 days, according to the “Antiquities” of Josephus (Iud. Antiq. 5:1, 18), having accomplished the transition from Gilgal to the Merom waters, he fell upon the enemy unexpectedly and by his unexpected blow threw it into complete confusion, using which he inflicted a complete defeat upon it.

Joshua 11:8. And the Lord gave them into the hand of Israel, and they defeated them and pursued them as far as Great Sidon and as far as Misrephoth-maim, and as far as the valley of Mizpeh to the east, and they struck them down, so that none remained to them [whom might be saved]. The Israelites pursued the enemy “as far as Great Sidon, as far as Misrephoth-maim, and as far as the valley of Mizpeh.” Sidon—the famous in antiquity principal city of Phoenicia on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, which was in the territory of the tribe of Asher (Josh 19:28), but did not belong to it (Judg 1:31), now a small city of Saida. Misrephoth-maim is identified by many with the present village of Ain Mesherfiya on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea, to the north of Akko (near Ras en-Nakura), and by some—with Zarephath of Sidon (1 Kgs 17:9). Regarding the valley of Mizpeh (Josh 11:8), see the note to Josh 11:3.

Joshua 11:10. At that time Joshua turned back and captured Hazor and struck its king with the sword [Hazor was before that the head of all these kingdoms]; The words enclosed in brackets “[Hazor was before... kingdoms],” appear in the Hebrew text and in the Greek translation of the Septuagint and undoubtedly belong to the text of the book.

Joshua 11:11. and struck down all who were in it with the sword, devoting them to destruction: there was no one left who breathed; and he burned Hazor with fire. Joshua 11:12. And all the cities of these kings and all their kings Joshua captured and struck with the sword, devoting them to destruction, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded; Joshua 11:13. but none of the cities that stood on their hills did the Israelites burn, except Hazor alone; Joshua burned that one. Among the cities of northern Canaan, only Hazor, as a strong city, was burned, which, if it had not been burned, could quickly recover and become dangerous to the conquerors; other cities, built on hills (in Slavonic “crapes”), which did not pose such dangers and were useful to the conquerors in the forthcoming settlement of the country, were not burned.

Joshua 11:16. Thus Joshua took all that land: the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen, the lowlands, and the slopes, Joshua 11:17. from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon; and he captured all their kings and struck them down and killed them. Josh 11:16-17 These verses contain a general review of the conquered land, which included: 1) southern Canaan (“all the hill country, all the Negev, all the land of Goshen and the lowlands,” cf. Josh 10:40); 2) the Jordan valley adjoining it from the west along with the main mountain elevation and seacoast plain (“the Arabah, and the mountain of Israel, and the lowlands”). For an explanation of the name “mountain of Israel,” see the note to Josh 11:21. From south to north the conquered land extended “from Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir, as far as Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon.” Mount Halak, or “the bald mountain” (see Interpreted Bible, Vol. 1, p. 98), is understood by most commentators as a chain of mountains to the south of the Dead Sea, which stretches parallel to the Seir mountains on the western side of the Wadi Arabah, which separates Canaan from Idumea. Some, however, identify Mount Halak with Mount Madara to the west of the Arabah, which represents a completely bare cliff. The location of Baal-gad is not determined with certainty: the choice of location for this city oscillates between the well-known (in later times) Caesarea Philippi, or Banias, located on the southern slope of Hermon and lying to the north of Hasbeya. The fact that in the subsequent period instead of Baal-gad the designation of the northern boundary of the Israelite land became the city of Dan (Judg 20:1, 1 Sam 3:20 and others), which was located near Caesarea Philippi (in 4 Roman miles), inclines one to recognize precisely the latter as the location of Baal-gad, since with the closeness of both cities, the replacement of one by the other did not produce a change in the direction of the boundary line.

Joshua 11:18. Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings. The “long time” in which Joshua waged war with the Canaanite peoples, based on Josh 14:7 (see further), can be determined as 5–7 years.

Joshua 11:20. for it was the Lord’s doing to harden their hearts that they might come against Israel in battle, that He might devote them to destruction, that they might receive no mercy, but that they might be destroyed, as the Lord commanded Moses. The hardening of the Canaanites’ hearts in their struggle with the Israelites is attributed to the Lord as the Master of all that occurs in the world: it, like other movements of the human heart (Ps 80:13), was permitted by God as serving their punishment (“that they might be devoted to destruction”) and for the purification of the Canaanite land for the Israelite people. Cf. the note to Exod 4:21.

Joshua 11:21. At that time Joshua came and wiped out the Anakim from the hill country, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah and from all the hill country of Israel; Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities; Joshua 11:22. there was none of the Anakim left in the land of the sons of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod. The length of time indicated in Josh 11:18 for the conquest of the Canaanite land and the small number of cities enumerated in Josh 10 and Josh 11 that were captured at that time indicate that the biblical writer did not recount all that was done during this time, but limited himself to indicating only the most important events that had a decisive significance in the settlement of the Israelite people in the Canaanite land. He supplements this brief account here with information about a campaign against “the Anakim who dwelt in the hill country, in Hebron, in Debir, in Anab, on all the hill country of Judah and on all the hill country of Israel.” The conquest of the first two of the named cities was already mentioned (Josh 10:36-38). The third—Anab—is mentioned here for the first time. It was located to the south of Hebron; the village existing on its site still bears the name Anab to this day. The account of this campaign is included by the biblical writer not only because the previous narrative had not mentioned the defeat of the Anakim, who had produced such a terrifying effect on the spies (Num 13:29), but also, one must think, because there was a special campaign against this giant tribe, caused by its strengthening at a time when Joshua was waging war in other parts of Canaan. This campaign was directed not only against the three named cities, but against others in the hill country of Judah and Israel, where the Anakim dwelt. The bracketed “[all]” (Josh 11:21), placed before the mention of the Anakim, has been transferred from the Slavonic Bible, but it finds no correspondence either in the Hebrew text or in the oldest lists of the Greek translation; the same must be said of the expression “[none of]” (Josh 11:22). The mountainous region of southern Canaan received the name Hill Country of Judah from the time when the tribe of Judah settled in it, and this name, like the name Mount Ephraim (Josh 17:15 and others) for designating the northern part of the country, quickly entered popular speech instead of former names (Judg 12:15: Mount Amalek), which, as reminders of former rulers, aroused understandable displeasure in the new inhabitants. The use of the name “hill country of Israel” in the Book of Joshua is less clear, which serves to designate the same northern half of the mountain elevation, which, for the name of the most powerful of the northern tribes, was called the Hill Country of Ephraim. The first of these names was received, one must think, at a time when the name Israel became the designation of the northern tribes in distinction from the southern ones (Judah and Simeon). In the Book of Joshua clear signs of such separation between the tribes are not visible: both in the conquests and after their completion, there prevails the consciousness of national unity, which is why the Book of Joshua speaks of “all the congregation of the sons of Israel, of all the sons of Israel” (Josh 23:2 and others). The separation of the northern tribes from the southern developed mainly during the time of the Judges 109 and by the beginning of the reign of Saul had become so ripe that at the first assembly of the assembled army “the sons of Israel,” that is, soldiers from tribes other than Judah, were counted separately, and the “men of Judah”—separately (1 Sam 11:8, 2 Sam 2:4 and others). Such a designation of two parts of the Israelite people gives reason to think that by the end of the time of the Judges, that is, during the time of Samuel, the name Israel began to be applied to the northern tribes, and along with this, also to the territory occupied by them. Thus, at the end of the time of the Judges, that is, at the time of Samuel, the name “hill country of Israel” could enter into use. Gaza was located on the Philistine shore, about 4 versts from the Mediterranean Sea, on the way from Egypt to Phoenicia. This still fairly populated city retains its ancient name (El-ghazzeh). It was included in the portion of the tribe of Judah (Josh 15:47) and was conquered after Joshua’s death by this tribe (Judg 1:18), but later repeatedly recovered its independence. Gath (in Hebrew Gat, in the Septuagint Γεθ) was also a Philistine city, first conquered by David (1 Chr 18:1), and later destroyed by the Judean king Uzziah (2 Chr 26:6), after which its name disappears from history. Its location is not accurately known; according to Eusebius, it was located 5 Roman miles (7 versts) from Eleutheropolis (or Betogobra) along the road to Lydda, according to which it is indicated on geographical maps to the northwest of the former, while some in recent times place Gath at the location of Eleutheropolis itself 110. Ashdod (in Hebrew Ashdod, in Greek lists Aseldo, Asinoth, in Acts (Acts 8:40) Azoton) was located in the portion of the tribe of Judah (Josh 15:47) within the Philistine shore, to the north of Gaza, near the seashore; at present in its location is a small Muslim village of Esdud.

Joshua 11:23. Thus Joshua took all that land, according to all that the Lord had spoken to Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war. “And the land rested from war,” that is, Joshua’s campaigns for the conquest of the Canaanite land ceased, as no one from the Canaanites came out openly against the Israelites with weapons in hand. The dominance of the Canaanites in the country was broken, and the Israelite people could now freely take possession of the land according to the division that existed among them by tribes. This general rest of the country did not exclude, however, as subsequent events show (Josh 13:1-6), the existence of regions with a Canaanite population, which, not coming out with weapons in hand against the Israelite people, could not prevent the latter from taking possession of the conquered country. * * * Prof. A. A. Olesnicki is inclined toward the opinion that Hazor was located at the place of ancient ruins spread on the northern shore of Lake Samochonitis. Holy Land, 2:479. According to the Hebrew text “arabah,” from which the Greco-Slavonic “Raba.” According to the Hebrew text “Mitzpeh,” which means watchtower. According to the Hebrew text “bikah.” Abel-beth-maacah (2 Sam 20:14 and others) was located to the north of Lake Merom. Regarding the antiquities of this village, see “Holy Land,” 2:472, though it does not indicate the lake near this village. The existing city of Safed in Upper Galilee is not mentioned in Sacred Scripture. It is located to the southwest of Lake Merom. Description of Safed see there, p. 465 and ff. Μασερων according to the Vatican list. Μασσωχ according to the Vatican list. Prof F. Y. Pokrovsky. Division of the Hebrew Kingdom, p. 125 and further. Tristram. Bible places, 35, 43. Regarding the location of Eleutheropolis—10:29.