Joshua 11:8

11:1-9 The wonders God wrought for the Israelites were to encourage them to act vigorously themselves. Thus the war against Satan's kingdom, carried on by preaching the gospel, was at first forwarded by miracles; but being fully proved to be of God, we are now left to the Divine grace in the usual course, in the use of the sword of the Spirit. God encouraged Joshua. Fresh dangers and difficulties make it necessary to seek fresh supports from the word of God, which we have nigh unto us for use in every time of need. God proportions our trials to our strength, and our strength to our trials. Joshua's obedience in destroying the horses and chariots, shows his self-denial in compliance with God's command. The possession of things on which the carnal heart is prone to depend, is hurtful to the life of faith, and the walk with God; therefore it is better to be without worldly advantages, than to have the soul endangered by them.

Joshua 11:8 . Great Zidon — A great city in the northwest part of Canaan, upon the sea. Misrephoth-maim — A place not far from Zidon, supposed to be so called from the salt or glass which they made there. Valley of Mizpeh — Under mount Hermon, as appears by comparing this with verses 3 and 17, where it seems to be called the valley of Lebanon. This lay on the east, as Zidon did on the west; and so it seems they fled several ways, and the Israelites also divided themselves into two bodies, one pursuing east, and the other west.

8 . and chased them ] The rout was complete, and the fugitives seem to have divided into three parts— ( a ) unto great Zidon ] One party took the road north-west over the mountains above the gorge of the Leontes “to Sidon,” or, as it is distinguished here and in Joshua 19:28 , “the great Sidon,” as being the metropolis of Phœnicia. This it had ceased to be before the reign of David, by which time its sister city Tyre had eclipsed it in splendour, and taken the first place amongst the cities of Phœnicia. At the present day Sidon, Saida , is again larger than Tyre. The former contains 5000 or 6000 inhabitants and many large houses built of stone, whereas the present Sur is nothing but a market town, the houses of which are little more than huts. ( b ) unto Misrephoth-maim ] A second party took the road, west, and south-west, to Mizrephoth-maim, which is interpreted either (i) as “ the warm springs ,” or (ii) “ the salt-pits ,” or (iii) “ the smelting-pits by the waters ,” the glass-houses, of which there were several in the neighbourhood of Sidon. ( c ) and unto the valley of Mizpeh ] A third party fled eastward unto the Buka’a or “valley” of Mizpeh at the foot of Hermon. The eastward direction is spoken of in reference to Sidon. and they smote them ] But wherever they fled, they were hotly pursued by the Israelites, who captured their cities one by one, put the inhabitants to death, and carried away the booty and cattle.

And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto {e} Misrephothmaim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining. (e) Which signifies hot waters, or according to some, brine pits.

Zidon, a great and famous city in the north-west part of Canaan, and upon the sea. Misrephoth-maim, a place not far from Zidon, supposed to be so called from the salt or glass which they made there. The valley of Mizpeh, under Mount Hermon, as appears by comparing this with Joshua 11:3,17 , where it seems to be called the valley of Lebanon. This lay on the east, as Zidon did on the west; and so it seems they fled several ways, and the Israelites also divided themselves into two bodies, one pursuing east, and the other west.

One portion of the defeated host fled north-westward toward Zidon; the other northeastward up the Ard el Huleh. Zidon, as the metropolis of various subject towns and territories, appears Joshua 19:28 to have been afterward assigned to Asher, but was not, in fact, conquered by that tribe Judges 1:31. It is mentioned in Egyptian papyri of great antiquity, and by Homer, and was in the most ancient times the capital of Phoenicia. In later times it was eclipsed by Tyre (compare 2 Samuel 5:11). The prophets frequently couple Tyre and Sidon together, as does also the New Testament (Isaiah 23:2, Isaiah 23:4,Isaiah 23:12; Jeremiah 27:3; Jeremiah 47:4; Matthew 11:22; Matthew 15:21, etc.). Both the site and signification of Misre-photh-maim are uncertain. Some have thought it identical with "Zarephath which belongeth to Zidon" 1 Kings 17:9, the Sarepta of the New Test. The name is explained by some (see the margin) as meaning hot springs; by others as salt pits; i. e. pits where the sea water was evaporated for the sake of its salt; and again by others as "smelting factories near the waters." Some, tracing the word to quite another root, render it "heights of waters," or copious springs.

Verse 8. - And the Lord delivered them (see Joshua 10:42 ). The issue of every battle is in God's hands. The natural man attributes it to human skill. The spiritual man, whether under the law or under the gospel, acknowledges the truth that "there is no restraint to the Lord, to save by many or by few" ( 1 Samuel 14:6 ). But if victory should ever side with numbers, if God appears not to "defend the right," it is that anxiety and sorrow may chasten the hearts of its upholders, lead them to "crucify the flesh with its affections and lusts," and so conduct them to a final victory when they are fitted to resist the intoxication of prosperity. Many a lesson in history has taught us that immediate success is by no means a blessing, even to those who are in the main fighting for a good cause. Great Zidon. So called, not to distinguish it from any other city, but to mark (so also Joshua 19:28 ) its importance as the capital of Phoenicia. This expression, "great Zidon," marks the early date of the Book of Joshua. In Homer's Iliad, Sidon is represented as the great home of the arts, though the historian Justin tells us that, even when Homer wrote, her superiority had passed to Tyre (see II. 6:290, 23. 743; Odyssey 4:618, 13:285, 15:425. Homer speaks of it as "well peopled," famous for "much brass" and the like (see Kenrick's 'Phoenicia').

In later years, Tyre, known only to the Book of Joshua as "the strong (literally, 'fortified') city." Tyre ( Joshua 19:29 ) outstripped her rival, and from the time of David till that of Alexander the Great, in spite of her destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, retained her pre-eminence (see the vivid description of Tyre in Ezekiel 26, 27 .). Sidon, now called Saida, is still a commercial city of some importance, whereas Tyre is, or was, a few years ago, little better than a collection of huts. This is not difficult to explain. The pre-eminence of Tyre was due to her military strength in a time of warlike enterprise, that of Sidon to natural, position. "This ancient city of Phoenicia, 'the eldest born of Canaan'" (see Genesis 10:15 ), "stood on the northwest slope of a small promontory which runs into the sea, and its original harbour was formed by three low ridges of rocks, with narrow openings between them parallel to the shore in front of the city. On these islands there are remains of massive substructions, the work of the ancient Phoenicians. There is a spacious but unprotected bay on the south of the promontory ....