Then said Joshua, open the mouth of the cave ,.... That is, roll away the great stones that were laid at the mouth of it: and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave ; to receive their sentence in a public manner, for the encouragement of his troops and the terror of the Canaanites, particularly Makkedah, now besieged by him. read more
And they did so ,.... Opened the mouth "of" the cave, by rolling away the stones: and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave ; who are next mentioned by name, one by one, according to their dignity, and in the order they were brought unto him: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon ; who are particularly named for the greater glory of the conquest, and the triumph over them. read more
And it came to pass, when they brought out these kings unto Joshua ,.... And set them before him, and he had passed sentence on them: that he called for all the men of Israel ; that is, for the chief men, the principal officers of the army: and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him ; the chiliarchs and centurions, the captains of thousands and hundreds, of the several regiments in the army who went out to battle with him, and under him: come near, put your... read more
And Joshua said, rest not, nor be dismayed ,.... Not meaning at the kings, who perhaps lay bound upon the ground, or however were not in a condition to make any resistance, so that they had nothing to fear from them; but this respects future time, and what other enemies they should meet with; who would be brought into subjection to them as these were, and therefore from hence should take heart: be strong, and of good courage ; and go on valiantly in subduing the rest of their enemies,... read more
And afterwards Joshua smote them and slew them ,.... With the sword; either by his own hands, or by others whom he ordered to slay them: and hanged them on five trees ; to their shame and disgrace, and the terror of others: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening ; by way of contempt of them, and as a spectacle of terror to others, especially to the inhabitants of Makkedah, and their king they were now besieging. read more
Put your feet upon the necks of these kings - This act was done symbolically, as a token, not only of the present complete victory, but of their approaching triumph over all their adversaries, which is the interpretation given of it by Joshua in the succeeding verse. read more
Smote - slew - and hanged them on five trees - Hanging alive seems a barbarous custom: among the Hebrews, criminals were first deprived of life; this was the debt required by justice: then they were hanged up, perhaps generally by the hands, not by the neck; this was done by way of example, to deter others from committing the crimes for which those had suffered: but they were never permitted to hang thus exposed all night, as this could have answered no purpose, either of... read more
Verse 25 25.And Joshua said unto them, Fear not, etc Joshua now triumphs in the persons of the five kings over all the others who remained. For he exhorts his own people to confidence, just as if those who still stood unsubdued were actually prostrate under their feet. Hence we gather, that by the trampling down of a few, the whole people were so elated, that they looked down with contempt on all the others, as if they were already overthrown. And, certainly, we have here a brighter display of... read more
The great victory and its results. Many of the considerations which this passage suggests have been already anticipated. Thus the celerity of Joshua's march (verse 9) suggests the same set of ideas as Joshua 4:10 . The destruction of the cities teaches the same lessons as the destruction of Jericho; while the miraculous interposition in the battle of Beth-horon is hardly to be distinguished, as a source of spiritual instruction, from the destruction of Jericho. Again, the confederacy... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 10:15-27
It was a brave appearance, no doubt, which the five kings made when they took the field for the reducing of Gibeon, and a brave army they had following them; but they were all routed, put into disorder first, and then brought to destruction by the hail-stones. And now Joshua thought, his work being done, he might go with his army into quarters of refreshment. Accordingly it was resolved, perhaps in a council of war, that they should presently return to the camp at Gilgal (Josh. 10:15), till... read more