Joshua 10:17

The day on which this miracle was wrought, is conjectured to be Wednesday the eleventh of April, in the year before Christ 1454 {n}. {n} Bedford's Chronology, p. 492. Joshua 10:15 Ver. 15. And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal. That is, he thought to have returned, had determined upon it, and prepared for it, but was prevented by hearing that the five kings had hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah; which he ordered to be stopped up till the people had finished the pursuit of their enemies, when he destroyed Makkedah, and which led him on to the conquest of other places before he returned; or else this verse stands not in its proper place, or is superfluous, since the same is expressed Joshua 10:43; after all the above mentioned was done; the Septuagint version leaves it out. Joshua 10:16 Ver. 16. But these five kings fled,.... They were not killed by hailstones, nor slain by the sword of the Israelites, but made their escape, being reserved by the providence of God for a more shameful end: and hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah; not in the city of Makkedah, which as yet was not in the hands of Israel, whereas this cave was, as appears by what follows; but it was in some hill, or mountain, near it; in the border of it, as Kimchi expresses it, and where a hill is shown to this day in which it was, as Drusius says. Joshua 10:17 Ver. 17. And it was told Joshua,....

10:15-27 None moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel. This shows their perfect safety. The kings were called to an account, as rebels against the Israel of God. Refuges of lies will but secure for God's judgment. God punished the abominable wickedness of these kings, the measure of whose iniquity was now full. And by this public act of justice, done upon these ringleaders of the Canaanites in sin, he would possess his people with the greater dread and detestation of the sins of the nations that God cast out from before them. Here is a type and figure of Christ's victories over the powers of darkness, and of believers' victories through him. In our spiritual conflicts we must not be satisfied with obtaining some important victory. We must pursue our scattered enemies, searching out the remains of sin as they rise up in our hearts, and thus pursue the conquest. In so doing, the Lord will afford light until the warfare be accomplished.

And it was told Joshua,.... Either by some of his own people, or by some of the inhabitants of the land in his interest, who had observed it: saying, the five kings are found hid in a cave at Makkedah: this seems to make it appear that they were others, and not Joshua's soldiers, that found them; for had they, no doubt they would have seized them, and brought them before him, or slain them, unless they chose first to know his will concerning them, next expressed.

17 . in a cave ] “lurkinge in the spelunk,” Wyclif; in one of the numerous limestone caves, with which the district abounds, though the article here, both in the Hebrew and the LXX., seems to intimate that it was a well-known cave, overshadowed probably by a grove of trees (comp. Joshua 10:26 ). Many such caves, large and dry, and often branching out into chambers, are found in the lime and chalk rocks of Palestine. Comp. (i) the cave in which Lot dwelt after the destruction of Sodom ( Genesis 19:30 ); (ii) the cave at Rimmon ( Jdg 20:47 ), which could contain six hundred men in its spacious recess; (iii) David’s cave of Adullam, where he concealed “his brethren, and all his father’s house” ( 1 Samuel 22:1 ); (iv) the cave of Engedi, which Saul entered, and in the sides of which “David and his men remained” ( 1 Samuel 24:3 ); (v) Obadiah’s cave, in which he concealed “an hundred prophets” ( 1 Kings 18:4 ). “The caves of Syria and Palestine are still used, either occasionally or permanently, as habitations.… The shepherds near Hebron leave their villages in the summer to dwell in caves and ruins, in order to be nearer to their flocks and fields. Almost all the habitations at Om-keis , Gadara, are caves.” See Smith’s Bible Dict . Art. Caves . Joshua 10:17

Jos 10:16-27. The Five Kings Hanged. 16-27. these five kings … hid themselves in a cave—Hebrew, "the cave." at Makkedah—The pursuit was continued, without interruption, to Makkedah at the foot of the western mountains, where Joshua seems to have halted with the main body of his troops while a detachment was sent forward to scour the country in pursuit of the remaining stragglers, a few of whom succeeded in reaching the neighboring cities. The last act, probably the next day, was the disposal of the prisoners, among whom the five kings were consigned to the infamous doom of being slain (De 20:16, 17); and then their corpses were suspended on five trees till the evening.

The five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave that was a Makkedah. When they were discovered there, Joshua ordered large stones to be rolled before the entrance to the cave, and men to be placed there to watch, whilst the others pursued the enemy without ceasing, and smote their rear (vid., Deuteronomy 25:18 ), and prevented their entering into their cities. He himself remained at Makkedah ( Joshua 10:21 ).

[Bible] 10:12. Then Josue spoke to the Lord, in the day that he delivered the Amorrhite in the sight of the children of Israel, and he said before them: Move not, O sun, toward Gabaon, nor thou, O moon, toward the valley of Ajalon. 10:13. And the sun and the moon stood still, till the people revenged themselves of their enemies. Is not this written in the book of the just? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down the space of one day. The book of the just... In Hebrew Jasher: an ancient book long since lost. 10:14. There was not before, nor after, so long a day, the Lord obeying the voice of a man, and fighting for Israel. 10:15. And Josue returned, with all Israel, into the camp of Galgal. 10:16. For the five kings were fled, and had hid themselves in a cave of the city of Maceda. 10:17. And it was told Josue, that the five kings were found hid in a cave of the city of Maceda. 10:18. And he commanded them that were with him, saying: Roll great stones to the mouth of the cave, and set careful men to keep them shut up: 10:19. And stay you not, but pursue after the enemies, and kill all the hindermost of them as they flee, and do not suffer them whom the Lord God hath delivered into your hands, to shelter themselves in their cities. 10:20. So the enemies being slain with a great slaughter, and almost utterly consumed, they that were able to escape from Israel, entered into fenced cities. 10:21. And all the army returned to Josue, in Maceda, where the camp then was, in good health, and without the loss of any one: and no man durst move his tongue against the children of Israel. 10:22. And Josue gave orders, saying: Open the mouth of the cave, and bring forth to me the five kings that lie hid therein. 10:23. And the ministers did as they were commanded: and they brought out to him the five kings out of the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jerimoth, the king of Lachis, the king of Eglon.

[Reformed Biblical] Having, no doubt, asked advice of God first, which is implied by the answer God gives to him, #Joshua 10:8 . ## And all the mighty men, or, even , or that is , as this particle is oft used, as hath been noted before. So it seems put here by way of explication and restriction; having said ## all the people of war, he now adds, even all the mighty men , &c., i.e. an army of the most valiant men picked out from the rest; for it is not probable, either that he would take so many hundred thousands with him, which would have hindered one another, or that he would leave the camp without an army to defend it. Ver. 8. No text from Poole on this verse. Ver. 9. Though assured by God of the victory, yet he useth all prudent means, and surpriseth them. It is not said that he went from Gilgal to Gibeon in a night’s space, but only that he travelled all night; unto which you may add part either of the foregoing or of the following day. ## Ver. 10. Slew them, or, he slew them ; either God or Israel; for God’s work is described #Joshua 10:11 . ## At Gibeon, Heb. in Gibeon ; not in the city, but in the territory belonging to it; as Joshua is said to be in Jericho, #Joshua 5:13 . ## Ver. 11. Great stones, i.e. hailstones of extraordinary greatness and hardness, cast down with that certainty as to hit the Canaanites, and not their pursuers the Israelites, and with that force as to kill them. Josephus affirms that thunder and lightning were mixed with the hail, which may seem probable from #Habakkuk 3:11 . ## Ver. 12.

16 . But ] Heb. rak , introducing an opposite case, see Deuteronomy 10:15 . thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth ] Heb. any breath , i.e. human life ( Genesis 2:7 , 1 Kings 17:17 , Isaiah 42:5 ), cp. the deuteronomic Joshua 10:40 ; Joshua 11:11 ; Joshua 11:14 . Only in Genesis 7:22 does the phrase cover animals.