Joshua 10:29

Jos 10:29 Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah:

Ver. 29. Then Joshua passed, &c.] Like a wise general he pursueth his victories; which if Hannibal had done after the battle at Cannae, he might have taken Rome, which afterwards he would have done but could not. Hence one said of him, Vincere scis Hannibal, victoria uti nescis: Hannibal knew how to get a victory, but not how to use it.

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.

CRITICAL NOTES.—

Jos_10:29. Libnah] Another of the cities belonging to the Shephelah, or low country of Judah. It was besieged by Sennacherib (2Ki_19:8), and it was probably in this neighbourhood that the 185,000 Assyrians were slain, in one night, by the angel of the Lord. Dean Stanley and Van de Velde differ as to the site of Libnah—the former placing it at Tell es-Safieh, five miles N.W. of Eleutheropolis, and the latter, with more confidence, at Arâk el-Meushȋyeh, four miles W. of Eleutheropolis.

Jos_10:32. On the second day] On the second day of the siege. Thus, even in the days of Joshua, Lachish gave indications of the strength, as a fortified town, which was manifested in its subsequent history.

Jos_10:33. Gezer] This city is not said to have been destroyed. Judging by 1Ki_9:16, some have concluded that it “was not subdued till Solomon’s days.” This is obviously a mistake, for with “none remaining” of the inhabitants, what could there have been left to subdue? The city, as was the case in other instances, was no doubt speedily re-occupied by the fugitive Canaanites, and thus re-inhabited it was spared, and made to “serve under tribute” (cf. chap. Jos_16:10; Jos_21:21; Jdg_1:28-29). Twice in the history of David’s time it is called Gazer. “Perhaps the strongest claims for identity with Gezer are put forward by a village called Yasûr, four or five miles east of Joppa, on the road to Ramleh and Lydd” [Smith’s Bib. Dict.]

Jos_10:38. Debir] The same as Kirjath-sepher, “the city of the Oracle,” or the “Book.” Sometimes called Kirjath-sannah, from its palm trees. It was near Hebron. There were two other places called Debir.

Jos_10:37-39. And all the cities thereof] Shewing that both Hebron and Debir had smaller cities under their respective governments.

Jos_10:40. “The hills] i.e., the mountain country; the south] i.e., the Negeb, or land on the southern slopes toward the desert; the vale] i.e., the Shephelah or Philistine plain; the springs] i.e., the ravines on the borders between the mountain country and the Shephelah” [Crosby]. He left none remaining] Many, however, fled into Philistia and elsewhere, and returned as soon as they were able to do so.

Jos_10:41. From Kadesh-barnea even unto Gaza] The southernmost line of the land of Canaan, from about twenty miles below the Dead Sea to Gaza, on the Mediterranean coast. The site of Kadesh-barnea is unknown. Goshen even unto Gibeon] Goshen is also unknown. It was possibly so named by the Israelites in memory of their dwelling-place in Egypt, and apparently must have been somewhere south of Hebron. It is again named in chapters Jos_11:16; Jos_15:51. The two lines of description, one on the extreme south, and the other through the midst of this part of the land, are evidently meant to describe Joshua’s complete conquest of all southern Canaan.

OUTLINES AND COMMENTS ON THE PARAGRAPH.—Jos_10:29-43

Jos_10:30. Of Makkedah and Libnah, and of the remaining cities whose destruction is recorded in this chapter, it is particularly said that Joshua smote “all the souls that were therein.” Joshua did this under the special and emphatic commandment of the Lord. In the overthrow of Jericho, in the hail storm and the miraculous extension of the day at Beth-horon, God made this war manifestly His own. These solemn records seem to have a special claim to notice, and a peculiar value at the present time. In days when so many are disposed to make the wrath of the Lord unreal, we shall do well to remember that this wrath has a history. In is not merely a doctrine of that which is to come; it is also recorded as that which has been. When the arguments which go to depreciate the anger of Jehovah have been urged to the utmost, these terrible histories will still remain. If they serve to warn any who are too prone to believe in unlimited mercy, and thus to bring them to Him through whom alone mercy is proclaimed, they will prove, a undoubtedly they will, that they also are a part of the good tidings of the God of love.

Some men are typical both in sin and punishment. They are ensamples unto them who believe not. Thus, for the second time, we read of these acts of Joshua, “as he did unto the king of Jericho.” Great grace causes some men to be known as pillars of the Church; great infamy in the rejection of grace makes the names of others to become by-words in the way of wickedness.

Jos_10:33. It is not enough to help men; we must help them in the way of righteousness. Compassion and sympathy may be misplaced, and may but lead to ruin. Sin has its patriots and its volunteers, as well as righteousness. How hard is the yoke of Satan, under which even generous service, like this rendered by Horam, leads to death! how easy is the yoke of Christ, where even a cup of cold water, given in the name and spirit of a disciple, shall in no wise lose its reward!

Jos_10:36-37. PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE.

I. The fame of the past has no guarantee against degradation in the present. A great history of godly names, even in these early days, already stood connected with Hebron. The city itself was famed for its antiquity (Num_13:22); better still, the names of holy men of old were associated with its history. Nearly four hundred and seventy years before, Abraham came and dwelt here, and fifty years after his settlement he purchased of Ephron the Hittite the field of Machpelah. Here Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebekah, and Leah, were all buried. Not far from Hebron was Mamre, beneath the famous terebinth of which Abraham had entertained the angels unawares. Near to this very Hebron Abraham had poured forth his holy prayer for Sodom, and long before that he had built in the outskirts of the city an altar to the Lord (Genesis 18, Gen_13:18). Formerly the place was redolent of God; now it was the seat of an abominable idolatry. This degeneration which stands associated with a city, is no less true of individual men. No man can afford to rely on his past. That which has been offers but small assurance of that which will be.

II. The degradation of the present is no sufficient reason for despairing of an honourable future.

1. Hebron again became great. It was given as an inheritance to one of the godliest of the Israelites (chap. Jos_15:13), and was made one of the six cities of refuge (chap. Jos_20:7). Later in the history it became the capital from which David ruled over Judah for seven years and a half (2Sa_2:11). Under the guidance of men like Caleb and David, Hebron would have often resounded with the voice of prayer and praise, instead of echoing to the orgies of the old idolatry.

2. Hebron became great and honourable only through the intervention of God. It is because God is merciful, and loves to interpose His saving arm, that there is hope even for “the dark places of the earth which are full of the habitations of cruelty.” It is because of this Divine mercy that no degraded man need despair of himself, and no good man of the most degraded community.

III. The honourable history of the past should stimulate us in attempting to redeem the present. Right before these Israelites, as they pressed upon Hebron in the battle, was the cave of Machpelah, wherein lay the bodies of the fathers and mothers of all the host of Israel. Dean Stanley says, “The cave of Machpelah is concealed, beyond all reasonable doubt, by the mosque at Hebron.… And marvellous, too, to think that within the massive enclosure of that mosque lies possibly, not merely the last dust of Abraham and Isaac, but the very body—the mummy—the embalmed bones of Jacob, brought in solemn state from Egypt to this (as it then was) lonely and beautiful spot.” [Sinai and Palestine, pp. 149, 102.] At the time of this assault on the city, no mosque covered the cave; but there, close by these Israelites in their strife, was the cave, and in the cave all that was left of the bodies of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. How the very thought of that, doubtless made known to them all, must have nerved their arms for the fight! In his “Lays of Ancient Rome,” Macaulay has made Horatius ask with thrilling patriotism,

“And how can man die better

Than facing fearful odds

For the ashes of his fathers

And the temples of his gods?”

Similarly must these warriors of Israel have been moved against their foes, as they pressed upon them at Hebron. Every man in the army of Joshua might feel that the grave of the fathers of all the host was almost beneath his feet; and as to the religious inspiration, the place all around was sacred by the prayers of Abraham, the altar of Mamre had stood hard by, and the very God whom Abraham had worshipped there now bade these children of Abraham to “be of good courage, and fear not.” While the history of the past is insufficient, in itself, to keep us, yet should the memories and traditions of what has been greatly honourable make us thirst to see old glory re-established. To a true heart, “Ichabod” should be nothing less than a trumpet call to earnest prayer and holy strife.

IV. The victory of to-day gives no certain promise of peace to-morrow. Caleb had this city of Hebron to take a second time (chap. Jos_15:14; Jdg_1:10). No sooner had Joshua withdrawn than the fugitive Canaanites seem to have re-established themselves in the city. This was the case in other towns taken by the Israelites. Our present victories, however apparently complete, are never more than partial. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” All our earthly victories must go with watchfulness. He who would have us to triumph finally, says, “Hold fast that which thou hast; let no man take thy crown.”

Jos_10:40-43. THE RAPID PROWESS OF THE OBEDIENT. The secret of Joshua’s invincible prowess and rapid victories lay in the fact that he was doing the will of God, and that God was with him. So, if we fight the good fight of faith in full accord with the will of our heavenly Father, we may look for victory no less certainly, and, perhaps, no less rapidly. God Himself says, “I change not.” We have the same Heart on our side that Joshua had—a heart loving us, and hating our sins; we have, no less, the same Arm of power to contend for us. Why should we not go forth to victory with equal confidence? “Just so far as a Christian is led by the Spirit,” said F. W. Robertson, “he is a conqueror. A Christian in full possession of his privileges is a man whose very step ought to have in it all the elasticity of triumph, and whose very look ought to have in it all the brightness of victory.” It is because we so often go to our conflicts with doubting hearts and trembling steps, that our victories are so slowly won; it is because we so often go unled of God, that we have so repeatedly to mourn defeat. God is as potent in the spiritual realm as in the physical; it is only because we fail to get thoroughly into accord with His will and His aims that we fall short of Joshua’s rapid and continuous victories. The more marvellous are our victories for God, the more readily shall we give glory to God (Jos_10:40). Those who do but little are tempted to call their triumphs their own; the man of many victories cannot but confess that in all cases the battle has been the Lord’s.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

10:29-30 Libnah was probably about six miles north of Lachish. Because the location of Makkedah is uncertain, how far it was from Libnah is also unknown.

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

Verse 29. Fought against Libnah] This city was near Makkedah, see Jos 15:42, and fell to the tribe of Judah, Jos 10:20; Jos 10:42, and was given to the priests, Jos 21:13. Sennacherib besieged it, after he had been obliged to raise the siege of Lachish. See 2Kg 19:8; Isa 37:8.

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

29. Then Joshua. passed, etc We have now a description of the taking of the cities, out of which the army of the enemy had been raised; and herein God displayed his power no less wonderfully than in the open field, especially when the rapidity is considered. For although those who had fled hither in trepidation might have produced some degree of panic, still, when the fear was allayed, they might be useful for defense. The garrison had been increased by their numbers. When, therefore, in a short period of time, Joshua takes all the cities, and gains possession of the smaller towns, the presence of God was conspicuously manifested in a success no less incredible than unexpected. For had they, when attacked, only shut their gates, as Joshua had not brought either ladders by which he might scale the walls, or engines by which he might throw them down, each siege might have been attended with considerable fatigue and delay. Therefore, when he takes one the following day, and another the very day after attacking it, these continued, easy, and rapid victories, are evidently beyond human agency.

Not without cause, then, in the end of the chapter, is the goodness of God expressly celebrated, as it had been made manifest that he was fighting for Israel, when Joshua at once took and vanquished so many kings, with their territories. Indeed, he could never, even in a course of inspection, have passed so quickly from city to city, had not a passage been divinely opened by the removal of obstacles. The miracle was increased when the king of Geser, who had come to the help of others, doubtless with full confidence in the result, was suddenly put to rout, almost without an effort, and did not even delay the advance of the Israelites. Those who were slain in the cities represent, as in a mirror, those whose punishment the Almighty holds suspended, while he actually takes vengeance on others. For though they plume themselves on the reprieve thus afforded them, their condition is worse than if they were immediately dragged to death. It looks as if it would have been a dire calamity to fall in the field of battle; and making their escape, they seek safety within their walls. But what awaited them there was much more dreadful. Their wives and their children are butchered in their sight, and their own death is more ignominious than if they had perished sword in hand. Hence there is no reason to envy the reprobate the short time which the Lord sometimes grants them, because when they have begun to promise themselves safety, sudden destruction will come upon them. (1 Thessalonians 5:3.) Meanwhile, let us learn not to abuse the patience of God when he defers to execute his judgment, and, instead of indulging in self-complacency when we seem to have been delivered from any danger, or when means of escape from it present themselves, let us reflect on the words of Jeremiah, (Jeremiah 24:2) that while the basket of early figs had at least some savor, the other was so sour that they could not be eaten.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(29) Then.—Better, simply and. The operations against Libnah are the commencement of a further stage of the campaign. Libnah has not been identified; but see Jos_15:42.

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

29. unto Libnah] In a westerly direction. Libnah belonged to the district of the Shephelah, the maritime lowland of Judah, and we find it enumerated among the cities of this district (Jos_15:42). With its suburbs it was appropriated to the priests (Jos_21:13; 1Ch_6:57), but revolted from Judah in the reign of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat (2Ki_8:22; 2Ch_21:10). On account of the accordance of the name Libnah (“white”) with the “Blanche-garde” of the Crusaders, Dean Stanley would place it at Tell es-Safieh, about 5 miles north-west of Beit-Jibrín. Others would place it 4 miles west of the same spot, at Arak el Menshîyeh.

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.

And the Lord delivered it also, and the king thereof, into the hand of Israel,.... At once, no opposition being made that we read of:

and he smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that were therein, he let none remain in it; that is, Israel smote it, or Joshua, and indeed both; and this was according to the orders given them to be observed with respect to all the cities and nations of Canaan; and that because of their abominable sins and wickedness, and to make way and room for the people of Israel, Deu 7:1,

but did unto the king thereof as he did unto the king of Jericho: slew him with the inhabitants.

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

Libnah - The word means “white” or “distinct,” and undoubtedly points to some natural feature of the spot, perhaps the “Garde Blanche” of the Crusaders, a castle which stood on or near the white cliffs which bound the plain of Philistia to the east opposite to Ascalon. It was in the southern part of the hill-country of Judah Jos 15:42, and was one of the cities afterward assigned to the priests Jos 21:13.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

All Israel, to wit, who were with him in this expedition.

Libnah, a city of Judah, Jos 15:42

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

29. Libnah, according to Stanley and Robinson, is the present Tel-el-Safieh, which is only a mile from Eleutheropolis, in the plain of Judah; but Van de Velde, with more probability, identifies it with Arak el-Menshyeh, a hill about five miles west of Eleutheropolis, and showing signs of having been an ancient fortified place. But the identity is far from certain. It was a city of Judah (Jos_15:42) appropriated to the priests, Jos_21:13. In the reign of Jehoram it revolted from Judah, (2Ki_8:22,) and still later was besieged by Sennacherib. 2Ki_19:8.

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

All Israel. The expression is not to be pressed in a literal sense. "All Israel" is simply equivalent to "all his disposable troops." Libnah. This belonged to the lowlands of Palestine. See note on Jos 9:1Jo Jos_15:42. It became a Levitical city. It revolted from Judah in the reign of Joram. (2Ki_8:22) It seems to have returned to its allegiance, since we find it not included in the conquest of Israel by Shalmaneser, while, on the other hand, it undergoes a siege among the fenced cities of Judah. (2Ki_18:13 2Ki_19:8) The cause (see also Blunt "Undesigned Coincidences," part 2:27) of this return is not far to seek. The Levites cast off the authority of Joram "because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers". (2Ch_21:10, 2Ch_21:11) It probably remained independent for it was not likely to have joined itself to Israel, either from geographical position or religious principles until the accession of Joash terminated the connection between the royal house of Judah and the descendants of the wicked Ahab. Libnah, or the white city, has been identified with Tell es Safieh, the Blanche Garde of the Crusaders. See Stanley, "Sinai and Palestine," pp. 207, 258. Lieut. Conder, however, supposes it to have been Eleutheropolis, now Beit Jibrin, and Capt. Warren believes he has found it at Ibna. Vanclevelde suggests yet another site. But Lieut. Conder"s description of the hill on which Tell es Safieh stands as "a white precipice of many hundred feet" ("Pal. Expl. Fund, Quart. Paper," July, 1875), would account for the name Libnah.

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

All Israel - Namely, who were with him in this expedition.

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

Libnah

This is the name of a city. (See: How to Translate Names)

gave it into the hand of Israel

Here "hand" means "control of." AT: "gave control of it to Israel" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

Joshua

Israel

Yahweh

king

creature

sword

Jericho

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.