CRITICAL NOTES.—
Joshua 10:29. Libnah] Another of the cities belonging to the Shephelah, or low country of Judah. It was besieged by Sennacherib (2 Kings 19:8), and it was probably in this neighbourhood that the 185,000 Assyrians were slain, in one night, by the angel of the Lord. Dean Stanley and Van de Velde differ as to the site of Libnah—the former placing it at Tell es-Safieh, five miles N.W. of Eleutheropolis, and the latter, with more confidence, at Arâk el-Meushȋyeh, four miles W. of Eleutheropolis.
Joshua 10:32. On the second day] On the second day of the siege. Thus, even in the days of Joshua, Lachish gave indications of the strength, as a fortified town, which was manifested in its subsequent history.
Joshua 10:33. Gezer] This city is not said to have been destroyed. Judging by 1 Kings 9:16, some have concluded that it “was not subdued till Solomon’s days.” This is obviously a mistake, for with “none remaining” of the inhabitants, what could there have been left to subdue? The city, as was the case in other instances, was no doubt speedily re-occupied by the fugitive Canaanites, and thus re-inhabited it was spared, and made to “serve under tribute” (cf. chap. Joshua 16:10; Joshua 21:21; Judges 1:28-29). Twice in the history of David’s time it is called Gazer. “Perhaps the strongest claims for identity with Gezer are put forward by a village called Yasûr, four or five miles east of Joppa, on the road to Ramleh and Lydd” [Smith’s Bib. Dict.]
Joshua 10:38. Debir] The same as Kirjath-sepher, “the city of the Oracle,” or the “Book.” Sometimes called Kirjath-sannah, from its palm trees. It was near Hebron. There were two other places called Debir.
Joshua 10:37-39. And all the cities thereof] Shewing that both Hebron and Debir had smaller cities under their respective governments.
Joshua 10:40. “The hills] i.e., the mountain country; the south] i.e., the Negeb, or land on the southern slopes toward the desert; the vale] i.e., the Shephelah or Philistine plain; the springs] i.e., the ravines on the borders between the mountain country and the Shephelah” [Crosby]. He left none remaining] Many, however, fled into Philistia and elsewhere, and returned as soon as they were able to do so.
Joshua 10:41. From Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza] The southernmost line of the land of Canaan, from about twenty miles below the Dead Sea to Gaza, on the Mediterranean coast. The site of Kadesh-barnea is unknown. Goshen even unto Gibeon] Goshen is also unknown. It was possibly so named by the Israelites in memory of their dwelling-place in Egypt, and apparently must have been somewhere south of Hebron. It is again named in Chapter s Joshua 11:16; Joshua 15:51. The two lines of description, one on the extreme south, and the other through the midst of this part of the land, are evidently meant to describe Joshua’s complete conquest of all southern Canaan.
OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE PARAGRAPH.— Joshua 10:29-43
Joshua 10:30. Of Makkedah and Libnah, and of the remaining cities whose destruction is recorded in this chapter, it is particularly said that Joshua smote “all the souls that were therein.” Joshua did this under the special and emphatic commandment of the Lord. In the overthrow of Jericho, in the hail storm and the miraculous extension of the day at Beth-horon, God made this war manifestly His own. These solemn records seem to have a special claim to notice, and a peculiar value at the present time. In days when so many are disposed to make the wrath of the Lord unreal, we shall do well to remember that this wrath has a history. In is not merely a doctrine of that which is to come; it is also recorded as that which has been. When the arguments which go to depreciate the anger of Jehovah have been urged to the utmost, these terrible histories will still remain. If they serve to warn any who are too prone to believe in unlimited mercy, and thus to bring them to Him through whom alone mercy is proclaimed, they will prove, a undoubtedly they will, that they also are a part of the good tidings of the God of love.
Some men are typical both in sin and punishment. They are ensamples unto them who believe not. Thus, for the second time, we read of these acts of Joshua, “as he did unto the king of Jericho.” Great grace causes some men to be known as pillars of the Church; great infamy in the rejection of grace makes the names of others to become by-words in the way of wickedness.
Joshua 10:33. It is not enough to help men; we must help them in the way of righteousness. Compassion and sympathy may be misplaced, and may but lead to ruin. Sin has its patriots and its volunteers, as well as righteousness. How hard is the yoke of Satan, under which even generous service, like this rendered by Horam, leads to death! how easy is the yoke of Christ, where even a cup of cold water, given in the name and spirit of a disciple, shall in no wise lose its reward!
Joshua 10:36-37. PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.
I. The fame of the past has no guarantee against degradation in the present. A great history of godly names, even in these early days, already stood connected with Hebron. The city itself was famed for its antiquity (Numbers 13:22); better still, the names of holy men of old were associated with its history. Nearly four hundred and seventy years before, Abraham came and dwelt here, and fifty years after his settlement he purchased of Ephron the Hittite the field of Machpelah. Here Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah, were all buried. Not far from Hebron was Mamre, beneath the famous terebinth of which Abraham had entertained the angels unawares. Near to this very Hebron Abraham had poured forth his holy prayer for Sodom, and long before that he had built in the outskirts of the city an altar to the Lord (Genesis 18, Genesis 13:18). Formerly the place was redolent of God; now it was the seat of an abominable idolatry. This degeneration which stands associated with a city, is no less true of individual men. No man can afford to rely on his past. That which has been offers but small assurance of that which will be.
II. The degradation of the present is no sufficient reason for despairing of an honourable future.
1. Hebron again became great. It was given as an inheritance to one of the godliest of the Israelites (chap. Joshua 15:13), and was made one of the six cities of refuge (chap. Joshua 20:7). Later in the history it became the capital from which David ruled over Judah for seven years and a half (2 Samuel 2:11). Under the guidance of men like Caleb and David, Hebron would have often resounded with the voice of prayer and praise, instead of echoing to the orgies of the old idolatry.
2. Hebron became great and honourable only through the intervention of God. It is because God is merciful, and loves to interpose His saving arm, that there is hope even for “the dark places of the earth which are full of the habitations of cruelty.” It is because of this Divine mercy that no degraded man need despair of himself, and no good man of the most degraded community.
III. The honourable history of the past should stimulate us in attempting to redeem the present. Right before these Israelites, as they pressed upon Hebron in the battle, was the cave of Machpelah, wherein lay the bodies of the fathers and mothers of all the host of Israel. Dean Stanley says, “The cave of Machpelah is concealed, beyond all reasonable doubt, by the mosque at Hebron.… And marvellous, too, to think that within the massive enclosure of that mosque lies possibly, not merely the last dust of Abraham and Isaac, but the very body—the mummy—the embalmed bones of Jacob, brought in solemn state from Egypt to this (as it then was) lonely and beautiful spot.” [Sinai and Palestine, pp. 149, 102.] At the time of this assault on the city, no mosque covered the cave; but there, close by these Israelites in their strife, was the cave, and in the cave all that was left of the bodies of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How the very thought of that, doubtless made known to them all, must have nerved their arms for the fight! In his “Lays of Ancient Rome,” Macaulay has made Horatius ask with thrilling patriotism,
“And how can man die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his gods?”
Similarly must these warriors of Israel have been moved against their foes, as they pressed upon them at Hebron. Every man in the army of Joshua might feel that the grave of the fathers of all the host was almost beneath his feet; and as to the religious inspiration, the place all around was sacred by the prayers of Abraham, the altar of Mamre had stood hard by, and the very God whom Abraham had worshipped there now bade these children of Abraham to “be of good courage, and fear not.” While the history of the past is insufficient, in itself, to keep us, yet should the memories and traditions of what has been greatly honourable make us thirst to see old glory re-established. To a true heart, “Ichabod” should be nothing less than a trumpet call to earnest prayer and holy strife.
IV. The victory of to-day gives no certain promise of peace to-morrow. Caleb had this city of Hebron to take a second time (chap. Joshua 15:14; Judges 1:10). No sooner had Joshua withdrawn than the fugitive Canaanites seem to have re-established themselves in the city. This was the case in other towns taken by the Israelites. Our present victories, however apparently complete, are never more than partial. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” All our earthly victories must go with watchfulness. He who would have us to triumph finally, says, “Hold fast that which thou hast; let no man take thy crown.”
Joshua 10:40-43. THE RAPID PROWESS OF THE OBEDIENT. The secret of Joshua’s invincible prowess and rapid victories lay in the fact that he was doing the will of God, and that God was with him. So, if we fight the good fight of faith in full accord with the will of our heavenly Father, we may look for victory no less certainly, and, perhaps, no less rapidly. God Himself says, “I change not.” We have the same Heart on our side that Joshua had—a heart loving us, and hating our sins; we have, no less, the same Arm of power to contend for us. Why should we not go forth to victory with equal confidence? “Just so far as a Christian is led by the Spirit,” said F. W. Robertson, “he is a conqueror. A Christian in full possession of his privileges is a man whose very step ought to have in it all the elasticity of triumph, and whose very look ought to have in it all the brightness of victory.” It is because we so often go to our conflicts with doubting hearts and trembling steps, that our victories are so slowly won; it is because we so often go unled of God, that we have so repeatedly to mourn defeat. God is as potent in the spiritual realm as in the physical; it is only because we fail to get thoroughly into accord with His will and His aims that we fall short of Joshua’s rapid and continuous victories. The more marvellous are our victories for God, the more readily shall we give glory to God (Joshua 10:40). Those who do but little are tempted to call their triumphs their own; the man of many victories cannot but confess that in all cases the battle has been the Lord’s.