And Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him ,.... Namely, in the following instances: he houghed their horses, and burnt their chariots with fire ; not consulting his own worldly interest or that of the people of Israel, but the command of God, which he carefully obeyed, and reserved none for himself or them, as David in another case afterwards did; see 2 Samuel 8:4 . read more
He houghed their horses - The Hebrew word עקר akar , which we render to hough or hamstring, signifies to wound, cut, or lop off. It is very likely that it means here, not only an act by which they were rendered useless, but by which they were destroyed; as God had purposed that his people should not possess any cattle of this kind, that a warlike and enterprising spirit might not be cultivated among them; and that, when obliged to defend themselves and their country, they might be... read more
The continuation of the struggle. The same class of thoughts is suggested by this chapter as by the former. We have, as before But the course of the narrative gives a somewhat different form to our reflections. I. JOSHUA NEEDED SPECIAL ENCOURAGEMENT ONCE MORE , in spite of his previous signal victory. This was because he had a new class of enemies to contend against. These kings, with the king Hazor at their head, seem to have possessed a higher civilisation than the... read more
Victory in northern Canaan (11:1-15)Alarmed by Israel’s victories in the south, the kings of the north organized the largest, strongest and best equipped army that Israel had yet faced (11:1-5). Again God encouraged Joshua, and again Joshua launched a devastating surprise attack. He defeated the combined northern forces, making sure that he destroyed all their horses and chariots. This was apparently to prevent the Israelites from being tempted to use the horses and chariots themselves instead... read more
Ver. 9. And Joshua—houghed their horses, &c.— That is, he hamstrung, or disabled them by cutting the sinews of the ham: the word is derived from the Saxon [A.S.],* the hough, or lower part of the thigh. See Johnson. God would not have the Israelites preserve these animals, lest they should put their confidence in them, instead of glorifying in Him alone; Psalms 20:7. It was in consequence of this divine injunction, that David, when he had subdued Hadadezer, houghed all the chariot-horses of... read more
9. Joshua did unto them as the Lord bade him—(See Joshua 11:6). Houghing the horses is done by cutting the sinews and arteries of their hinder legs, so that they not only become hopelessly lame, but bleed to death. The reasons for this special command were that the Lord designed to lead the Israelites to trust in Him, not in military resources (Psalms 20:7); to show that in the land of promise there was no use of horses; and, finally, to discourage their travelling as they were to be an... read more
8. Conquests in northern Canaan 11:1-15The leaders of the northern Canaanite cities also decided to unite to withstand the threat of Israelite expansion. read more
According to Josephus the combined armies of the Canaanite tribes totaled 300,000 armed footmen, 10,000 horsemen, and 20,000 chariots. [Note: Josephus, 5:1:18.] "The northern coalition was Israel’s most formidable foe in terms of both numbers and weaponry. Each successive battle that Israel fought was more difficult than the last." [Note: Madvig, p. 309.] The waters of Merom (Joshua 11:5) were evidently small lakes close to the village of Merom that was west of Hazor. Some scholars equate the... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Joshua 11:1-9
We are here entering upon the story of another campaign that Joshua made, and it was a glorious one, no less illustrious than the former in the success of it, though in respect of miracles it was inferior to it in glory. The wonders God then wrought for them were to animate and encourage them to act vigorously themselves. Thus the war carried on by the preaching of the gospel against Satan's kingdom was at first forwarded by miracles; but, the war being by them sufficiently proved to be of... read more