Ver. 4. From the south, all the land of the Canaanites— To the south of the country of the Philistines, on the sea-coast, lay the Canaanites, properly so called, who remained still unconquered. Mearah, a city unknown, towards the north, but in the territory of Sidon, was in the same class. See Calmet. Aphek was probably the city which we find in the tribe of Asher, not very distant from Sidon, but farther eastward.
To the borders of the Amorites— There were Amorites in all the land of Canaan, to the north as well as to the south and east. Joshua proceeds from Sidon to Aphek, a city in Syria, betwixt Heliopolis and Byblos, where stood the temple of Venus of Aphek, and which is spoken of 1 Kings 20:26. Exodus 13:17 as the capital of Syria. From this place, in the verse following, he passes on to the borders of the Syrians, towards Gabal, or Gebala, which, according to Ptolemy, lay in Phoenicia.