Giosuè 10:22 Commento

We have in this chapter an account of the conquest of the kings and kingdoms of the southern part of the land of Canaan, as, in the next chapter, of the reduction of the northern parts, which together completed the glorious successes of the wars of Canaan. In this chapter we have an account, I. Of the routing of their forces in the field, in which observe, 1. Their confederacy against the Gibeonites (Jos 10:1-5). 2. The Gibeonites' request to Joshua to assist them (Jos 10:6). 3. Joshua's speeds march under divine encouragement for their relief (Jos 10:7-9). 4. The defeat of the armies of these confederate kings (Jos 10:10, Jos 10:11). 5. The miraculous prolonging of the day by the standing still of the sun in favour of the conquerors (Jos 10:12-14). II. Of the execution of the kings that escaped out of the battle (Jos 10:15-27). III. Of the taking of the particular cities, and the total destruction of all that were found in them. Makkedah (Jos 10:28). Libnah (Jos 10:29, Jos 10:30). Lachish (Jos 10:31, Jos 10:32) and the king of Gezer that attempted its rescue (Jos 10:33). Eglon (Jos 10:34, Jos 10:35). Hebron (Jos 10:36, Jos 10:37). Debir (Jos 10:38, Jos 10:39). And the bringing of all that country into the hands of Israel (Jos 10:40-42). And, lastly, the return of the army to the head-quarters (Jos 10:43).

INTRODUCTION TO JOSHUA 10 This chapter treats of the combination of five kings against the Gibeonites, Jos 10:1; and of the application of the Gibeonites to Joshua, for assistance, in virtue of the league between them, which was granted, Jos 10:6; of the slaughter of the army by the kings of Israel, and chiefly by hailstones from heaven, Jos 10:10; and of the standing still of the sun, and of the moon, while vengeance was taken on them, Jos 10:12; and of the five kings being hid in a cave, and of the usage of them when taken, Jos 10:15; and of the taking of Makkedah, Libnah, Lachish, Eglon, Hebron, and Debir, Jos 10:28; which finished the conquest of the southern part of the land, Jos 10:40.

And they did so,.... Opened the mouth "of" the cave, by rolling away the stones: and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave; who are next mentioned by name, one by one, according to their dignity, and in the order they were brought unto him: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon; who are particularly named for the greater glory of the conquest, and the triumph over them.

Adoni-zedec, king of Jerusalem, hearing of the capture of Ai, and that the Gibeonites had made peace with Israel, calls to his assistance four other kings to fight against Gibeon, Jos 10:1-4. They join forces, and encamp against Gibeon, Jos 10:5. The Gibeonites send to Joshua for succor, Jos 10:6, who immediately marches to their relief, receives encouragement from God, and falls suddenly on the confederate forces, Jos 10:7-9, and defeats them; they fly, and multitudes of them are slain by a miraculous shower of hail-stones, Jos 10:10, Jos 10:11. Joshua, finding that the day began to fail, prayed that the sun and moon might stand still, that they might have time to pursue and utterly destroy these confederate forces, Jos 10:12. The sun and moon stand still, and make that day as long as two, Jos 10:13, Jos 10:14. Joshua and the people return to their camp at Gilgal, Jos 10:15. The five kings having taken shelter in a cave at Makkedah, Joshua commanded the people to roll great stones against the mouth of the cave, and set a watch to keep it, while Israel were pursuing their enemies, Jos 10:16-19. The Israelites return to Makkedah, bring forth the five kings, then slay and hang them on five trees, Jos 10:20-27. The Israelites take and destroy Makkedah, Jos 10:28, and Libnah, Jos 10:29, Jos 10:30, and Lachish, Jos 10:31, Jos 10:32, and defeat Horam king of Gezer, Jos 10:33, and take Eglon, Jos 10:34, Jos 10:35, and Hebron, Jos 10:36, Jos 10:37, and Debir, Jos 10:38, Jos 10:39, and all the country of the hills, south, vale, and springs, and the whole country from Kadesh-Barnea to Gibeon, Jos 10:40-42. They return to Gilgal, Jos 10:43.

FIVE KINGS WAR AGAINST GIBEON. (Jos 10:1-5) Adoni-zedek--"lord of righteousness"--nearly synonymous with Melchizedek, "king of righteousness." These names were common titles of the Jebusite kings. Jerusalem--The original name, "Salem" (Gen 14:18; Psa 76:2), was superseded by that here given, which signifies "a peaceful possession," or "a vision of peace," in allusion, as some think, to the strikingly symbolic scene (Gen 22:14) represented on the mount whereon that city was afterwards built. inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them--that is, the Israelites; had made an alliance with that people, and acknowledging their supremacy, were living on terms of friendly intercourse with them.

Joshua then commanded the five kings to be fetched out of the cave, and directed the leaders of the army to set their feet upon the necks of the kings; and when this had been done, he ordered the kings to be put to death, and to be hanged upon trees until the evening, when their bodies were to be thrown into the cave in which they had concealed themselves. Of course this did not take place till the day after the battle, as the army could not return from their pursuit of the foe to the camp at Makkedah till the night after the battle; possibly it did not take place till the second day, if the pursuit had lasted any longer. In Jos 10:24, "all the men of Israel" are all the warriors in the camp. ההלכוּא, with ה artic., instead of the relative pronoun (see Ges. 109; Ew. 331, b.); and the ending וּא for וּ or וּן, as in Isa 28:12 (see Ew. 190, b.). The fact that the military leaders set their feet at Joshua's command upon the necks of the conquered kings, was not a sign of barbarity, which it is necessary to excuse by comparing it with still greater barbarities on the part of the Canaanites, as in Jdg 1:7, but was a symbolical act, a sign of complete subjugation, which was customary in this sense even in the Eastern empire (see Bynaeus de calceis, p. 318, and Constant. Porphyrogen de cerimon. aulae Byzant. ii. 19). It was also intended in this instance to stimulate the Israelites to further conflict with the Canaanites. This is stated in the words of Joshua (Jos 10:25): "Fear not, nor be dismayed (vid., Jos 1:9; Jos 8:1); for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies." On the putting to death and then hanging, see Jos 8:29 and Deu 21:22-23. The words וגו ויּשׂימוּ (Jos 10:27) are generally understood as signifying, that after the bodies of the kings had been cast into the cave, the Israelites placed large stones before the entrance, just as in other cases heaps of stones were piled upon the graves of criminals that had been executed (vid., Jos 7:25), and that these stones remained there till the account before us was written. But this leaves the words עצם עד unexplained, as עצם never occurs in any other case where the formula "until this day" is used with the simple meaning that a thing had continued to the writer's own time. הזּה היּום עצם expresses the thought that the day referred to was the very same day about which the author was writing, and no other (see Jos 5:11; Gen 7:13; Gen 17:23; Exo 12:17, etc.). If, therefore, it has any meaning at all in the present instance, we must connect the whole clause with the one preceding, and even construe it as a relative clause: "where they (the kings) had hidden themselves, and they (the Israelites) had placed large stones at the mouth of the cave until that very day" (on which the kings were fetched out and executed).