Joshua 10:2

Jos 10:2 That they feared greatly, because Gibeon [was] a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it [was] greater than Ai, and all the men thereof [were] mighty.

Ver. 2. That they feared greatly.] And great cause they had, considering what supply and shelter the Israelites might have from thence, and how other cities might revolt by their example.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

They feared, i.e. he and his people, the king being spoken of Jos 10:1, as a public person representing all his people. Or, he and the following kings, Jos 10:3. But this fear is mentioned, Jos 10:2, as the cause why he sent to those kings.

As one of the royal cities; either,

1. Really a royal city, the Hebrew particle caph oft signifying the truth of a thing, as Hos 4:4; 5:10, and oft elsewhere. Or,

2. Equal to one of the royal cities, though it had no king, but seems to be governed aristocratically by their elders, Jos 9:11.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Jos 10:2-3. They feared greatly — Namely, Adoni-zedek and his people, he being spoken of (Jos 10:1) as a public person, representing all his people. Gibeon was — as one of the royal cities — Either really a royal city, and having a king, or equal to one of the royal cities, though it had not a king.

It seems indeed to have been governed by elders, Jos 9:11. Adoni- zedek sent — Either because he was superior to them, or because he was nearest the danger, and most forward in the work.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:2 Gibeon was apparently not one of the royal cities. Gibeon might have been subservient to Canaan-controlled Jerusalem before making the covenant with Joshua, or it might have been an independent town controlled by a few leading families.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

they feared greatly--The dread inspired by the rapid conquests of the Israelites had been immensely increased by the fact of a state so populous and so strong as Gibeon having found it expedient to submit to the power and the terms of the invaders.

as one of the royal cities--Although itself a republic (Jos 9:3), it was large and well-fortified, like those places in which the chiefs of the country usually established their residence.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. As one of the royal cities] Not a regal city, but great, well inhabited and well fortified, as those cities which served for the royal residence generally were. It does not appear that the Gibeonites had any king-they seem to have been a small but powerful republic, all the men thereof were mighty, merely governed by their elders: for in their address to Joshua, Jos 9:11, they mention no king, but simply state that they were sent by their elders and the inhabitants of their country; nor do we any where read of their king; and therefore we may naturally suppose that they had none.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(2) As one of the royal cities.—One of the cities of the kingdom. Gibeon was afterwards the city of the first king of Israel, Saul (1Ch_8:29-30; 1Ch_8:33).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. as one of the royal cities] See above, Jos_9:3.

2. When Sennacherib invaded Judah, he attacked and took “the fenced cities,” but Lachish appears to have foiled him, and he was constrained to raise the siege (2Ki_19:8; 2Ch_32:9).

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That they feared greatly,.... The king of Jerusalem and his people, lest they should fall into the hands of the Israelites, and be used as Jericho and Ai, and the kings and inhabitants of them were, and that they would be the next that should fall a sacrifice to them; for Gibeon was fifty furlongs from Jerusalem, as Josephus says (a); and in another place he says (b) but forty, which were but five miles; and if fifty, but little more than six miles; according to Bunting (c), it was but four miles: and what added to their terror was:

because Gibeon was a great city; being a metropolitan city, and having others subject to it; therefore the surrender of that to the Israelites might intimidate other cities, and lead them by example to do the like, and so of bad consequence:

as one of the royal cities; the Vulgate Latin version omits the note of similitude, and reads, "and one of the royal cities"; and sometimes "caph" or "as" is not a note of likeness, but of reality; yet as we nowhere read of a king of Gibeon, the sense may be, that though it was not a royal seat, it was equal to those that were, and like one, being a metropolitan city: and

because it was greater than Ai: had more inhabitants in it, and perhaps better fortified:

and all the men thereof were mighty; men of strength, courage, and valour, warlike men, and therefore for such a city to yield so easily, and in such a base, mean, and cowardly way, was setting a very bad example.

(a) De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 19. sect. 1. (b) Antiqu. l. 7. c. 11. sect. 7. (c) Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 98.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Cities. Yet we read not of its king, chap. ix. 11. (Calmet) --- Septuagint, "It was like a royal metropolis." (Haydock) --- Valiant. Prudence therefore, and not fear, had influenced them to take this step.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

2. They feared greatly — The loss to the Amorites of so powerful a commonwealth as Gibeon, and its alliance with Joshua, was a sufficient cause of fear, aside from the fact that Joshua, now securely established in this central position, had completely cut off northern from southern Palestine, so that he could conquer each in detail.

As one of the royal cities — It was not a royal capital, but as important. The fact that so large a city, in their immediate vicinity, renowned for bravery, had submitted to the invader without striking a blow, was indeed appalling.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That they feared greatly. Joshua had certainly obtained an excellent strategic position in the heart of the country; but it was not this which apparently most alarmed the kings who constituted the confederacy, though they did not fail to observe that, as the words "and were among them" show. It was the weight and importance of Gibeon itself, and the fact that its inhabitants were now enlisted, not on the side of the Canaanites, but against them. As one of the royal cities. Observe the minute accuracy of the historian. No king is mentioned in the narrative in Jos 9. We now earn indirectly that they had none. The Vulgate misses the point of the historian by leaving out "as" altogether.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thy - That is, he and his people, the king being spoken of ver. 1, as a publick person representing all his people. Royal cities - Either really a royal city, or equal to one of the royal cities, though it had no king, but seems to have been governed by elders, chap. ix, 11.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.