Joshua 12:23

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 12:7-24

We have here a breviate of Joshua's conquests. I. The limits of the country he conquered. It lay between Jordan on the east and the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and extended from Baal-gad near Lebanon in the north to Halak, which lay upon the country of Edom in the south, Josh. 12:7. The boundaries are more largely described, Num. 34:2-12 But what is here said is enough to show that God had been as good as his word, and had given them possession of all he had promised them by Moses, if they... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Joshua 12:23

The king of Dor, in the coast of Dor, one ,.... Of which see Joshua 11:2 ; it fell to the lot of Manasseh, but never was possessed by them, as were not Taanach and Megiddo, before mentioned, Joshua 17:11 Judges 1:27 , the king of the nations of Gilgal, one ; not the place where Joshua encamped after he had passed Jordan, for that was then no city; the Septuagint version renders it the land of Galilee; and Dr. Lightfoot F19 Chorograph. Cent. c. 88. is of opinion that Galilee... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Joshua 12:23

The king of Dor - The city of this name fell to the lot of the children of Manasseh, Joshua 17:11 . Bochart observes that it was one of the oldest royal cities in Phoenicia. The Canaanites held it, Judges 1:27 . Antiochus Sydetes besieged it in aftertimes, but could not make himself master of it. See Bochart, Canaan, lib. i., c. 28, and Dodd. The king of the nations of Gilgal - This is supposed to mean the higher Galilee, surnamed Galilee of the Gentiles or, nations, as the Hebrew... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 12:1-24

The extent of the conquest. A few detached considerations occur to us here. I. GOD WELL NOT BE WORSE THAN HIS WORD . The reduction of the whole land had not yet been effected, but it had been rendered possible if Israel were disposed to follow up his advantage. The list of cities captured covers nearly the whole extent of Palestine, and Canaan had been deprived of all capacity of resistance. So it is with the Christian who has entered into covenant with God. The mastery... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 12:7-24

The catalogue of the vanquished. A melancholy document, meaning little more to us than a column in a directory, but meaning much to multitudes. Many of these kings would be lamented in elegies as sweet as David's song over Saul and Jonathan. Some, doubtless, were noble, perhaps some devout, but implicated in a national fate to the deserving of which they had not contributed. Linger over these a little and observe— I. ALL ARMIES WILL FIND THEIR PLACE IN ONE OF TWO ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Joshua 12:23

The nations of Gilgal. Or the nations that belong to Gilgal . This is identified by Yandevelde and Conder with Jiljulieh in the plain of Jordan, north of Antipatris, and is therefore, if this identification be correct, a third Gilgal. The word "nations" most probably signifies a diversity of tribes of various races gathered together under the headship of the king of Gilgal, much in the same way that the kingdom of Mercia arose in England from a confused mass of various tribes, gathered... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Joshua 12:7-24

The names of the kings are given in the order of their actual encounter with Joshua. Those enumerated in Joshua 12:10-18 either belonged to the league of the southern Canaanites (Joshua 10:1 ff), the power of which was broken in the battle of Beth-horon, or were at any rate conquered in the campaign following that battle. Those mentioned in Joshua 12:19-24 were in like manner connected with the northern confederates (Joshua 11:1 ff), who were defeated at the Waters of Merom.Joshua 12:13-20The... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Joshua 12:23

Joshua 12:23. The king of Gilgal This Gilgal is not the place where Joshua encamped when he came over Jordan; for there was no city there, nor any king of that country, but the king of Jericho. That place had also its name from the circumcision of the Israelites there, chap. Joshua 5:9. read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Joshua 12:1-24

Summary of Israel’s conquests (11:16-12:24)Now that Israel controlled all the territory that was to become its homeland, the writer summarizes the entire conquest. First he summarizes Joshua’s conquest of all the area west of Jordan (i.e. Canaan itself), where nine and a half tribes were to receive their inheritance (16-23). Then he summarizes the former conquest in the time of Moses, when Israel gained control of the territory east of Jordan, where two and a half tribes had already been... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Joshua 12:23

coast. See note on "borders", Joshua 11:7 . read more

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