As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua ,.... Which was to destroy the people of the land, Deuteronomy 7:1 , so did Joshua, he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses ; both with respect to the destruction of the people, and of all their images, pictures, altars, groves, and high places; see Exodus 34:11 . read more
So Joshua took all that land ,.... The whole land of Canaan, described as follows, both as to the southern and northern parts of it: the hills ; the hill country of Judea, of which see Luke 1:39 , and all the south country ; where lived the five kings; and those of other places, the account of the taking of which we have in the preceding chapter, Joshua 10:40 , and all the land of Goshen ; see Joshua 10:41 , and the valley, and the plain ; the low places and campaign... read more
Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up unto Seir ,.... Or the "smooth" and "bald" mountain, which had no trees on it, as some interpret it, observed by Kimchi; it was a mount on the borders of Edom, to which the land of Canaan reached on that side: even unto Baalgad, in the valley of Lebanon, under Mount Hermon ; and so describes the northern part of the land conquered by Joshua: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them ; both in the southern and northern parts... read more
Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. For, though the account of the conquest of them is put together, and lies in a small compass, yet those victories were not obtained at once, or in a few days, as were those of the five kings, and others, related in the preceding chapter, Joshua 10:10 ; but were the work of some years; Josephus F2 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 19. says five years, but the common notion of the Jews is, that Joshua was seven years in subduing the land of... read more
The mountain of Israel , and the valley of the same - This place has given considerable trouble to commentators; and it is not easy to assign such a meaning to the place as may appear in all respects satisfactory. If we consider this verse and the 21st to have been added after the times in which the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were divided, the difficulty is at once removed. The difficulty will be removed if we consider that mountain and valley are put here for... read more
From the mount Halak - All the mountainous country that extends from the south of the land of Canaan towards Seir unto Baal-gad, which lies at the foot of Mount Libanus or Hermon, called by some the mountains of Separation, which serve as a limit between the land of Canaan and that of Seir; see Joshua 12:7 . The valley of Lebanon - The whole extent of the plain which is on the south, and probably north, of Mount Libanus. Calmet conjectures that Coelesyria is here meant. read more
Joshua made war a long time - The whole of these conquests were not effected in one campaign: they probably required six or seven years. There are some chronological notices in this book, and in Deuteronomy, by which the exact time may be nearly ascertained. Caleb was forty years old when he was sent from Kadesh-barnea by Moses to search out the land, about A.M. 2514; and at the end of this war he was eighty-five years old; (compare Joshua 14:10 ; with Numbers 13, and Deuteronomy... read more
Verse 16 16.So Joshua took all that land, etc In the uninterrupted series of victories, when the land, of its own accord, spewed out its old inhabitants, to give free possession to the Israelites, it was visibly manifest, as is said in the Psalm, (Psalms 44:3) “They got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou had a favor unto them.” The design of enumerating the places... read more
Verse 18 18.Joshua made war a long time, etc Before, he had, in a short time, and, as it were, with the swiftness of running, seized possession of five kingdoms; in the others the case was different, not from hesitation, or weariness, or sloth, but because the Lord exercised his people variously, that he might give a brighter display of his manifold grace, which usually loses its value in our eyes, if it is exhibited only in one and the same way. Therefore, as the divine power had formerly been... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 11:15-23
We have here the conclusion of this whole matter. I. A short account is here given of what was done in four things:?1. The obstinacy of the Canaanites in their opposition to the Israelites. It was strange that though it appeared so manifestly that God fought for Israel, and in every engagement the Canaanites had the worst of it, yet they stood it out to the last; not one city made peace with Israel, but the Gibeonites only, who understood the things that belonged to their peace better than... read more