Joshua 13:31

Jos 13:31 And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, [were pertaining] unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, [even] to the one half of the children of Machir by their families.

Ver. 31. Mackir the son of Manasseh.] Whose children had taken Gilead: and therefore had the like right to it as Jacob had to that portion of ground which he gave to their great-grandfather Joseph.

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 13:31. Children of Machir — Whom before he called the children of Manasseh, he now calls the children of Machir, because Machir was the most eminent, and, as it may seem, the only surviving son of Manasseh, Num 26:29; 1Ch 7:14-16.

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

Meaning, his nephews and posterity.

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

31. Ashtaroth] See ch. Jos_12:4, so called doubtless from being a seat of the worship of Ashtoreth, the principal female divinity of the Phœnicians, the Astarte of the Greeks and Romans. The only trace of the name yet recovered is Tell-Ashterah or Asherah.

and Edrei] See above, ch. Jos_12:4. The northern part of Gilead was given to Machir, the eldest son of the patriarch Manasseh (1Ch_7:14), or rather the half of his male descendants. They consisted of seven families, whose heads are named 1Ch_5:24. So great was their power, that the name of Machir occasionally supersedes that of Manasseh. They took the bold “tract of Argob … sixty great cities (Deu_3:14), among the most difficult, if not the most difficult, district in the whole country.” Thus it is plain that the half tribe of Manasseh occupied by far the largest extent of land on the east of the Jordan. It embraced (a) the inaccessible heights and impassable ravines of Gilead; and (b) the almost impregnable tract of Argob, where “all is stone,” “an ocean of basaltic rocks and boulders tossed about in the wildest confusion.” “The same martial spirit, which fitted the western Manasseh to defend the passes of Esdraelon, fitted ‘Machir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead,’ to defend the passes of Haurân and Anti-Libanus; ‘because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.’ ” Stanley’s Lectures, I. 219. Of the development of the tribe subsequently we have a remarkable illustration at the time of the coronation of David at Hebron. On that occasion, “while the western Manasseh sent 18,000, and Ephraim itself but 20,800, the eastern Manasseh, with Gad and Reuben, mustered to the number of 120,000, thoroughly armed—a remarkable demonstration of strength, still more remarkable when we remember the fact that Saul’s house, with the great Abner at its head, was then residing at Mahanaim on the border of Manasseh and Gad.” See Smith’s Bib. Dict. Art. “Manasseh.”

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.

These are the countries which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab,.... Which is particularly described, that each might know their proper portion:

on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward; of the land of Canaan; of Jordan by Jericho; see Gill on Num 22:1.

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

The children of Machir; whom before he called the children of Manasseh, he now calls the children of machir, because Machir was the most eminent, and, as it may seem, the only surviving son of Manasseh, Num 26:29; 1Ch 7:14-16. For the other half of Machir’s or Manasseh’s children, see Jos 17:1, &c.

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

31. Half Gilead — The northern half, for the southern was assigned to Gad. Jos_13:25.

Ashtaroth — Generally supposed to be identical with the Ashteroth-karnaim of Gen_14:5. It was doubtless so called from being the seat of worship of the Phenician goddess Ashtoreth, the Greek Astarte. Its ruins are supposed to lie at the modern Tell-Astereh, some fifteen miles east of the Sea of Galilee. Edrei was the other chief city of the kingdom of Bashan, and here King Og was defeated and slain. Num_21:33-35. It was a stronghold among the rocks, and its ruins have been found in the modern Edra, thirty miles or more northeast of the Sea of Galilee. J.L. Porter visited the ruins a few years ago and thus wrote: “The situation is most remarkable; without a single spring of living water; without river or stream; without access, except over rocks and through defiles all but impassable; without tree or garden. In selecting the site everything seems to have been sacrificed to security and strength. The huge masses of shattered masonry could scarcely be distinguished from the rocks that encircled them, and all, ruins and rocks alike, are black as if scathed by lightning.”

Unto the children of Machir — “Because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.” Jos_17:1.

Even to the one half — The heads of the families of this half are named in 1Ch_5:24.]

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

The one half of the children of Machir. See this question fully discussed in note on Jos_17:5, Jos_17:6.

The border keep.

"Machir was a "man of war," therefore he had Gilead and Bashan." These cities include the group which form such a striking stronghold in the northern part of the land beyond Jordan. Mr. Porter, in his "Giant Cities of Bashan," has described the surprising strength of the architecture of these cities the failure of even three thousand years of change and wear to render the houses unfit for habitation; and has also described the strange formation of the district of Argob, rendering it a natural fortress of the most formidable kind. Here, by special adaptation of place with people, this district is assigned to the family of Machir. It was wisely so assigned, for through all the succeeding generations the keeping of the frontier in this direction was well done. We may gather one or two hints not altogether valueless from this assignment. Observe

I MACHIR HAS FOR HIS LOT THAT WHICH BY HIS COURAGE HE HAD CONQUERED. From Num_32:39 we learn that, gigantic as were the inhabitants of Gilead, strong as was its cities, impregnable as its natural fortress seemed, the children of Machir "took it," and dispossessed the Amorite that was in it. Now they enjoy that which their unusual valour won. Like Caleb, whose daring made him ask Hebron, even when it was in the hands of the enemy, they chose a difficult spot, and conquering, inherited it. More than any other they had a right to this, for their courage had conquered it. Your best inheritance will always be some Gilead that you conquer for yourself. The truth you discover for yourself will do you most good. The experience you develop for yourself will be your best guide. Even the money you make for yourself will be that which you at once employ and enjoy the best. Conquer what you want to have. By courage, diligence, enduring hardness, achieve what you would like to keep.

II "A MAN OF WAR" IS THE RIGHT MAN FOR FRONTIER DUTY. The Jacobs in the middle; the Esaus are better on the borders of the land. The bravest should be those nearest the foe. They who keep the gates of a kingdom should be those to whom conflict has no terrors. Theologians that keep the frontiers of truth should be brave. Timid Christians that think all the world is going to turn catholic or infidel are not men for warfare on the border. Against assaults there should be placed those who have been through all the fights of faith and unbelief in their own hearts, and who can bring a strenuous, cheerful energy to the task of fighting for the truth. Those strong enough to expect a perpetual victory of truth are those alone fit to deal with the assaults of error. Ministers of religion, keeping the frontier between the Church and the world, should be in a good sense men of war; on their guard against encroachment of worldliness; strong enough to brave opposition and to be above the seductions of the flattery which a compromising spirit may win from the world; strong enough to keep out the intrusions of the secular spirit in all its forms of caste feeling, of cold heartedness, of indifference to the perishing; strong enough to carry the war into the enemy"s country, and secure by extending the kingdom of Christ. On all frontiers there is need of vigour. Wherever the enemy is near, set what is bravest and stoutest in you to watch. The pugnacious element in our nature is very valuable if it operates in Gilead. There is deficiency of it too often; and too often where it is, it is just in some position where it quarrels with its friends instead of with the temptations and the wrongs and the difficulties which are its proper foes. For frontier work of all kinds, courage is the prime qualification. Lastly

III THERE IS NO CITADEL LIKE A FORTRESS WON FROM THE ENEMY. What he won was his reward, but it was something more. It was the best stronghold he could have against the enemy. The conquered fortress makes the best defence. The vigour enough to win it grows stronger and becomes the power to keep it. A victory is always a point of strength and a stronghold conquered, a vantage ground against the foe. The Church differs from all other communities in this, that she is never weaker by extension; each new conquest gives her a better frontier; every Gilead subdued becomes a new line of defence, making her more impregnable against attack. By God"s blessing, conquer a rebellious heart and subdue it to Him, and it becomes a fortified post from which you can assail or defend more powerfully than before. Graces that are easily Gained are easily lost. But those that are won with arduous difficulty are invariably much more securely held. None keep truth like those who have fought hard to get it. None are more generous than those who have fought hard with selfish tendencies within them. None keep elevation of thought and feeling more persistently than those who have reached it by crucifying the flesh. A conquered temptation is a grand fortress in which you are stronger to resist seduction than ever before. A grief conquered by faith becomes a quiet resting place, and one secure against all assaults of despair. Keep making daily some conquest, and so you will perfectly secure all that you have won. G.

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

Children of Machir - Whom before he called the children of Manasseh, he now calls the children of Machir, because Machir was the most eminent, and as it may seem, the only surviving son of Manasseh, Num. xxvi, 29; 1 Chron. vii, 14-16.

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