Joshua 12:14

12:7-24 We have here the limits of the country Joshua conquered. A list is given of the kings subdued by Israel: thirty-one in all. This shows how fruitful Canaan then was, in which so many chose to throng together. This was the land God appointed for Israel; yet in our day it is one of the most barren and unprofitable countries in the world. Such is the effect of the curse it lies under, since its possessors rejected Christ and his gospel, as was foretold by Moses, De 29:23. The vengeance of a righteous God, inflicted on all these kings and their subjects, for their wickedness, should make us dread and hate sin. The fruitful land bestowed on his chosen people, should fill our hearts with hope and confidence in his mercy, and with humble gratitude.

The king of Hormah, one,.... Which was formerly called Zephath, Judges 1:17 ; see Joshua 15:3 , the king of Arad, one; perhaps the same with Arath, which, Jerom (i) says, is the border of the land of Judah, and is twenty miles distant from Hebron to the south; see Numbers 21:1. (i) De Loc. Heb. fol. 92. L.

14 . the king of Hormah ] or Zephath, see Jdg 1:17 . Robinson would place it near the pass of Es-Sufah , W.S.W. of the Dead Sea, where the Israelites were defeated by the Canaanites ( Numbers 14:44-45 ), and subsequently the Canaanites by the Israelites ( Numbers 21:1-3 ). Arad ] Near the wilderness of Kadesh, 20 Roman miles S. of Hebron. It is also mentioned in Numbers 21:1-3 ; Jdg 1:16-17 . Now probably Tell’ Arâd .

Jos 12:7-24. The One and Thirty Kings on the West Side of Jordan, Which Joshua Smote. 7. Baal-gad … even unto … Halak—(See on [188]Jos 11:17). A list of thirty-one chief towns is here given; and, as the whole land contained a superficial extent of only fifteen miles in length by fifty in breadth, it is evident that these capital cities belonged to petty and insignificant kingdoms. With a few exceptions, they were not the scenes of any important events recorded in the sacred history, and therefore do not require a particular notice.

The identification of several of these places is still uncertain: the same name (e. g. Aphek, Joshua 12:18 ) being applied to various places in various parts of Palestine. Geder, or Gedor Joshua 15:58 , a city in the mountain district in the south of the territory of Judah, is no doubt the modern "Jedur".

Verse 14. - Hormah, Arad. Cities in the Negeb, near the border of Edom (see Numbers 14:45 ; Numbers 21:1, 3 ; Numbers 33:40 ). Hor-mah was originally known as Zephath (see Judges 1:16, 17 , where the fullest description of the locality is given). It was in the wilderness of Judaea, in the arid country (Negeb) of Arad. Mr. Palmer identifies it with Sebaita, in the centre of the Negeb, in the Magrah-el-Esbaita, a mountain valley sloping down into the Wady-el-Abyadh. Other explorers prefer Sulifat, and Rowlands and G. Williams, Sepata. Joshua 12:14

The different kings are given in the order in which they were defeated: Jericho ( Joshua 6:1 ); Ai ( Joshua 7:2 ); Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon ( Joshua 10:3 ); Gezer ( Joshua 10:33 ); and Debir ( Joshua 10:38 ). Those given in Joshua 12:13 and Joshua 12:14 are not mentioned by name in Joshua 10 . Geder, possibly the same as Gedor upon the mountains of Judah ( Joshua 15:58 ), which has been preserved under the old name of Jedur (Rob. Pal. ii. p. 186, and Bibl. Res. p. 282). Hormah (i.e., banning) was in the south of Judah ( Joshua 15:30 ), and was allotted to the Simeonites ( Joshua 19:4 ). It was called Zephath by the Canaanites ( Judges 1:17 ; see at Numbers 21:3 ), was on the southern slope of the mountains of the Amalekites or Amorites, the present ruins of Septa, on the western slope of the table-land of Rakhma, two hours and a half to the south-west of Khalasa (Elusa: see Ritter, Erdk. xiv. p. 1085). Arad, also in the Negeb, has been preserved in Tell Arad (see at Numbers 21:1 ). Libnah (see at Joshua 10:29 ). Adullam, which is mentioned in Joshua 15:35 among the towns of the plain between Jarmuth and Socoh, was in the neighbourhood of a large cave in which David took refuge when flying from Saul ( 1 Samuel 22:1 ; 2 Samuel 23:13 ). It was fortified by Rehoboam ( 2 Chronicles 11:7 ), and is mentioned in 2 Macc. 12:38 as the city of Odollam.

The Onomast. describes it as being ten Roman miles to the east of Eleutheropolis; but this is a mistake, though it has not yet been discovered. So far as the situation is concerned, Deir Dubbn would suit very well, a place about two hours to the north of Beit Jibrin, near to a large number of caves in the white limestone, which form a kind of labyrinth, as well as some vaulted grottos (see Rob. Pal. ii. p. 353, and Van de Velde, Reise, pp. 162-3). Makkedah: possibly Summeil (see at Joshua 10:10 ). Bethel, i.e., Beitin (see Joshua 8:17 ). The situation of the towns which follow in Joshua 12:17 and Joshua 12:18 cannot be determined with certainty, as the names Tappuach, Aphek, and Hefer are met with again in different parts of Canaan, and Lassaron does not occur again.