Joshua 11:16

Jos 11:16 So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;

Ver. 16. So Joshua took all that land.] Here we have Joshua’s victories summed up: who quickly sheathed his sword, but never laid it off, as Seneca saith of Caesar.

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.

Jos 11:16. All that land — Of Canaan, whose parts here follow. The hill — Or, the mountain, that is, the mountainous country, namely, of Judea. A considerable part of Judea was called the hilly or the mountainous country, Luk 1:39; Luk 1:65. The south country — That is, not only the mountainous part, but all the country of Judea, which lay in the southern part of Canaan, and often comes under the name of the south. The vale — The low countries. The plain — The fields, or campaign grounds. The mountain of Israel — It is very uncertain whether the mountainous country of Israel, in general, be meant by this expression, or whether a particular place be not rather intended. Many think it probable that Beth-el is meant, where God appeared to Jacob as he went to Padan-Aram, and promised to give him this land, (Gen 28:11,) and where he dwelt, by God’s direction, after his return; where God appeared to him again, repeated the same promise, and changed his name from Jacob to Israel, Gen 35:1; Gen 35:9-10.

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

SUMMARY OF JOSHUA’S CONQUESTS, Jos_11:16-23.

The historian, having finished the account of Joshua’s Northern Campaign, here adds, as if concluding his record of the conquest, a general summary of all his work.

16. Took all that land — The whole land of Canaan.

Hills… south country… Goshen… valley — Comp. Jos_10:40-41, notes.

The plain — The Arabah, the valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea.

The mountain of Israel — The northern part of the great mountain range which runs through Palestine from north to south. Compare note on Jos_9:1. In Jos_11:21 this phrase is used in contrast with mountains of Judah, the southern part of the same range.

Valley of the same — That is, valley of Israel, not merely the plain of Philistia, but that of Jezreel also.

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

Retrospective View of the Conquest of the Whole Land. - Jos 11:16, Jos 11:17. Joshua took all this land, namely, those portions of Southern Canaan that have already been mentioned in Jos 10:40-41; also the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and its lowlands (see Jos 11:2), i.e., the northern part of the land (in the campaign described in Jos 11:1-15), that is to say, Canaan in all its extent, "from the bald mountain which goeth up to Seir" in the south, "to Baal-gad, in the valley of Lebanon under Hermon." The "bald mountain" (Halak), which is mentioned here and in Jos 12:7 as the southern boundary of Canaan, is hardly the row of white cliffs which stretches obliquely across the Arabah eight miles below the Dead Sea and forms the dividing line that separates this valley into el-Ghor and el-Araba (Rob. Pal. ii. pp. 489, 492), or the present Madara, a strange-looking chalk-hill to the south-west of the pass of Sufah (Rob. ii. p. 589), a steep bare mountain in a barren plain, the sides of which consist of stone and earth of a leaden ashy hue (Seetzen, R. iii. pp. 14, 15); but in all probability the northern edge of the Azazimeh mountain with its white and glistening masses of chalk. Baal-gad, i.e., the place or town of Baal, who was there worshipped as Gad (see Isa 65:11), also called Baal-hermon in Jdg 3:3 and Ch1 5:23, is not Baalbek, but the Paneas or Caesarea Philippi of a later time, the present Banjas (see at Num 34:8-9). This is the opinion of v. Raumer and Robinson, though Van de Velde is more disposed to look for Baal-gad in the ruins of Kalath (the castle of) Bostra, or of Kalath Aisafa, the former an hour and a half, the latter three hours to the north of Banjas, the situation of which would accord with the biblical statements respecting Baal-gad exceedingly well. The "valley of Lebanon" is not Coele-Syria, the modern Beka, between Lebanon and Antilibanus, but the valley at the foot of the southern slope of Jebel Sheik (Hermon).

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

That is, Samaria.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

So Joshua took all that land--Here follows a general view of the conquest. The division of the country there into five parts; namely, the hills, the land of Goshen, that is, a pastoral land near Gibeon (Jos 10:41); the valley, the plains and the mountains of Israel, i. e., Carmel, rests upon a diversity of geographical positions, which is characteristic of the region.

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 16. 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.

1. 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.

2. The difficulty will be removed if we consider that mountain and valley are put here for mountains and valleys, and that these include all mountains and valleys which were not in the lot that fell to the tribe of Judah. Or,

3. If by mountain of Israel we understand Beth-el, where God appeared to Jacob, afterwards called Israel, and promised him the land of Canaan, a part of the difficulty will be removed. But the first opinion seems best founded; for there is incontestable evidence that several notes have been added to this book since the days of Joshua. See the preface.

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

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, (Psalm 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 and districts is to let us know that the work which God had begun he continued to carry on without interruption. But it is a mistake to suppose: as some do, that by the name Israel a certain mountain is meant. For it will be plain, from the end of the chapter, (Joshua 11:21) that the term is applied indiscriminately to the mountainous part of Israel and Judah. There is therefore an enlarge in the enumeration, because the mountains of the ten tribes are tacitly compared with the mountains of Judah. Accordingly, an antithesis is to be understood. In the other mountain (Joshua 11:17) the surname is ambiguous. Some understand it to mean division, as if it had been cut in two; others to mean smooth, as it was destitute of trees, just as a head is rendered smooth by baldness. As the point is uncertain, and of little importance, the reader is at liberty to make his choice.

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.

16–20. General Retrospect of the Conquest of Palestine

16. So Joshua took] The sacred writer pauses to survey and sum up the conquests of the Israelitish leader.

the hills] The country is contemplated under a sevenfold division, (i) the cities; (ii) the south country; (iii) the land of Goshen (comp. Jos_10:41); (iv) the valley; (v) the plain; (vi) the mountain of Israel; (vii) the valley of the same.

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.

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 Luk 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, Jos 10:40,

and all the land of Goshen; see Jos 10:41,

and the valley, and the plain; the low places and campaign fields which lay between the hills and mountains; particularly all the plain and campaign country near Eleutheropolis, towards the north and west, Jerom says, in his day, was called "Sephela", or "the vale" (a):

and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same; by which may be meant Jerusalem, situated on a mountain, and is so called, Eze 17:23; and its valley may be the valley of Hinnom or of Jehoshaphat, as they were after called, which were near it: some think the hill of Samaria or the mountains about that are meant.

(a) De loc. Heb. fol. 94. M.

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

So. Here follows a recapitulation of the victories of Josue. --- Israel, or of Ephraim, which was the chief tribe of the kingdom of Israel: after the commencement of which, this seems to have been inserted; (Calmet) or having designated the southern parts by the name of Juda, (ver. 21,) the more northern countries are called the mountain of Israel, which refers particularly to Samaria, or Bethel, which might receive the appellation of Israel, among his descendants, from the vision of the ladder, with which that patriarch was favoured. (Haydock)

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).

All that land, of Cannaan, whose parts here follow. The hill, or, the mountain, i.e. the mountainous country, to wit, of Judea, as may seem,

1. Because in the following enumeration he begins in the south parts, where there was an eminent mountain, Num 13:17.

2. Because a considerable part of Judea was called the hilly or the mountainous country, Luk 1:39,65, which is not likely to be omitted in this particular description of the land; the rather because Hebron, one of the places taken by Joshua, Jos 10:36,37 was in the mountain of Judah, Jos 20:7.

3. Because this is here distinguished from the mountain of Israel, and therefore most likely to be the mountain of Judah, especially if you compare this with Jos 10:21, where having mentioned the mountain in general, from which Joshua cut off the Anakims, he comes to particularize, and names only two, all the mountain of Judah, and all the mountain of Israel. All the south country, i.e. not only the mountainous part, but all the country of Judea, which lay in the southern part of Canaan, and oft comes under the name of the south, as Num 13:22,29; 21:1; Jos 10:40; 18:5, &c. the land of Goshen; of which see Jos 10:41. The vale; the low countries.

The plain; the fields or champaign grounds.

The mountain of Israel; either,

1. Some one particular and eminent mountain, possibly the hill of Samaria, mentioned 1Ki 16:24; or rather,

2. The mountains or mountainous country of Israel. See the second note on this verse. The vale of the same, i.e. of Israel.

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

All that land. Rather, "all this land;" the land, that is, which has been spoken of in all the previous narrative. It must not be pressed to mean the utter destruction of all the Canaanites, and the undisturbed possession of the country. The hills. The mountain country of Judah, in the south. The same word is translated "mountain" immediately afterwards, to the confusion of the sense, which contrasts the mountains of Israel with the mountains of Judah (see ver. 21). This would seem at first sight to lead to the conclusion that the Book of Joshua was composed after the jealousy between Judah and the rest of Israel had sprung up in the time of David. (see 2Sa 19) But Dr. Edersheim has suggested another explanation. Judah, he says, (see Jos_14:6 Jos_15:1) entered upon their inheritance, while the other tribes were still in Gilgal. In the same way Mount Ephraim is so called because it was given to that tribe, and occupied by them shortly after. While as the remaining seven tribes remained without their inheritance (Reuben and Gad as well as Manasseh and Ephraim being now provided for), the rest of the mountains were known as the mountains of Israel. This explanation is ingenious, but hardly satisfactory. Ephraim (see Jud_1:8:1, 2 12:1) early acquired a preponderance over the other tribes. We should therefore expect a threefold division of the mountain district, the mountains of Judah, of Joseph, and of Israel, especially as Ephraim was the next after Judah to enter upon its inheritance. The internal evidence seems to prove that the Book of Joshua was written by one of the tribe of Judah, or by a Levite residing within the borders of that tribe. Perhaps this affords the best explanation, but is quite possible that the whole mountain district of Palestine is here meant. The south. The Negeb, or dry country. (see Jos_10:40) The valley. The Shephelah, or lowlands. (see note on Jos_9:1) This must have extended from Gaza northward to Joppa, while the Shephelah of Israel mentioned immediately below must be the lowland tract from Joppa to Mount Carmel. The plain. The Arabah. (see note on Jos_3:16) And the valley of the same. Rather, his (i.e., Israel"s) lowland.

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

All that land - Of Canaan, whose parts here follow. The hill - Or, the mountain, that is, the mountainous country, namely, of Judea. A considerable part of Judea was called the hilly or the mountainous country, Luke i, 39, 65. The south country - That is, not only the mountainous part, but all the country of Judea, which lay in the southern part of Canaan, and often comes under the name of the south. The vale - The low countries. The plain - The fields or campaign grounds. The mountain of Israel - The mountains or mountainous country of Israel.

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

The Conquest of Western Palestine

v. 16. So Joshua took all that land, the hills, the mountainous sections of Canaan proper, and all the south country, the great steppes of Judah, and all the land of Goshen, the foothills country toward the west, and the valley, the plains in the central and northwestern section, and the plain, probably that of Sharon, and the mountain of Israel, Ephraim, in the center of the land, and the valley of the same, its lowland on the west;

v. 17. even from the Mount Halak that goeth up to Seir, the smooth or bald mountain in the Azazimeh range in the south, whose chalk cliffs probably gave it the name, even unto Baal-gad, in the Valley of Lebanon, under Mount Hermon, in the extreme north; and all their kings he took, and smote them and slew them. Thus the entire campaign, lasting some seven years, is summarized.

v. 18. Joshua made war a long time with all these kings.

v. 19. There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel save the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon, Jos 9:3-7; all other they, the children of Israel, took in battle.

v. 20. For it was of the Lord, it was His dispensation, to harden their hearts that they should come against Israel in battle, that He might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favor, no compassionate sympathy from Him, but that He might destroy them, as the Lord commanded Moses, Deu 20:16-17. Theirs was an obduration, a hardening of heart, like that of Pharaoh, Exo 4:21.

v. 21. And at that time, in the course of the conquest of the entire country, came Joshua and cut off the Anakim, the race of giants, Num 13:28 ff. from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, Jos 10:36-38, from Anab, another city south of Hebron, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel; Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities. This account supplements that of the preceding chapter and shows that the giant race was by no means unconquerable, as the spies had reported on their return to the camp of Israel in Kadesh-barnea.

v. 22. There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the children of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, the city of Goliath, and in Ashdod, the city of the idol Dagon, these three being cities of Philistia, there remained.

v. 23. So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes, as related in the subsequent account. And the land rested from war, not because all the Canaanites had been exterminated or even all their cities taken, but because their power was broken, their dominion a thing of the past, and Israel master of the entire land. The remnants of the heathen nations might easily have been conquered and annihilated, if Israel had but remained faithful to Jehovah, for with His help, in His power, everything is possible.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mount Halak ... Baal Gad

These are the names of places. (See: How to Translate Names)

translationWords

Joshua

Negev

Goshen

Jordan River

Israel

Edom

Lebanon

Mount Hermon

king

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