Ver. 1. And—when Jabin king of Hazor had heard, &c.— No sooner was this king of Hazor informed of the conquests of Joshua, than he took a resolution to stop, if possible, the progress of his victorious arms, by covering the north part of the country of Canaan, of which Hazor, afterwards given to the tribe of Naphtali, was the principal city. Jabin, in all probability, was the common name of all the kings of Hazor. What inclines to this belief is, that the prince, who was subject to the Israelites for twenty years in the time of the Judges, and who was defeated by Deborah, went by this name of Jabin.
He sent to Jobab, king of Madon, &c.— This is the only place where mention is made of a king of Madon, excepting ch. Joshua 12:19. This city is entirely unknown. It was formerly held by the king of Hazor, see ver. 10. Calmet observes, that if, with the Roman edition of the LXX, we read Maron, we might find the city of Maronia or Marath, north of mount Lebanon. The name Maron is preserved ch. Joshua 12:19. I know not, says he, whether the land of Meroz, mentioned Joshua 5:23 might not be the country of Maron. Shimron is the same as that called Shimron-Meron, ch. Joshua 12:20. This city afterwards belonged to the tribe of Zebulun, south of that of Naphtali. Calmet takes Shimron to be the Symira of Pliny, which lay in Caelo-Syria. It cannot be Samaria, for this city was not then in being; and its name was given it by Omri, king of Israel, 1 Kings 16:24. Achshaph afterwards belonged to the tribe of Asher, and lay north-west, towards the extremity of that tribe, ch. Joshua 19:25. Calmet is of opinion, that Achshaph was the Eedippe of Pliny, Ptolemy, Josephus, and Eusebius.