Judges 3:3

Jdg 3:3 [Namely], five lords of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon, from mount Baalhermon unto the entering in of Hamath.

Ver. 3. Five lords of the Philistines.] Three of them had been subdued; {Jdg 1:18} but were now lost again.

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.

Jdg 3:3. Five lords of the Philistines — See Jos 13:2-3, and Jdg 1:18, where it appears that three of them had been, in some measure, subdued, but had now recovered their country again, in consequence of the slothful conduct of the Israelites. All the Canaanites — Properly so called, who were very numerous, and dispersed through several parts of the land, whence they gave denomination to all the rest of the people. Sidonians — The people living near Zidon, and subject to its jurisdiction. Baal-hermon — Which was the eastern part about Lebanon.

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

(3) Five lords of the Philistines.—The princes of the Pentapolis, Gaza, Ashdod, Askelon, Gath, Ekron. The word rendered “lords” is evidently a technical or local title—Seranim. It is rendered by the LXX. “satrapies,” and by the Vulgate, “satraps.” It is variously derived from seren, “a hinge” (comp. “cardinal” from “cardo”); from sar, “a prince,” being interchanged with sarim, in 1 Sam. 13:30; 1Sa_29:6 (Ewald, i. 332); and from some Phœnician root. For the Philistines, see Jdg_13:1.

All the Canaanites.—Of the shephçlah or maritime plain.

The Sidonians.—In Gen_10:15 “Sidon” is the eldest son of Canaan. They maintained their complete independence to the last.

The Hivites that dwelt in Mount Lebanon.—In Jos_11:3 they are described as living “under Hermon, in the land at Mizpeh,” whence Mizpeh has been identified with “el-Mutalleh,” which also means “the look-out” or “watch-tower.” The name has been derived from Havvah, a circular encampment or village, because they lived (as they do to this day in northern Syria) in circular villages, with enclosures for cattle in the centre. Ewald ( i. 318) supposes that the word means “midlanders,” and Gesenius “villagers.” The Hivite is the sixth son of Canaan, in Gen_10:17.

Mount Baal-hermon unto the entering in of Hamath.—In Jos_13:5 we have “from Baal-gad under mount Hermon unto,” &c. Baal-gad is also mentioned in Jos_12:7; Jos_11:17, and is usually supposed to be Paneas or Cesarea Philippi. It was probably a temple of Baal, but must be farther south than Baalbek. The hill of Paneas is therefore, in all probability, “ Mount Baal-hermon,” and Baal-hermon may be only another name for Baal-gad. Fürst supposes that both Gad and Gedi (in Engedi) are names of Astarte.

The entering in of Hamath.—This is the usual phrase to describe the northern boundary of Canaan. The LXX. take it as a proper name, Labo emath.

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

3. This verse should be compared with Jos_13:2-6 D. The nations here are those occupying particular districts in W. Palestine; contrast Jdg_3:5, and the races mentioned in ch. 1.

the five lords of the Philistines] Probably one for each of the five cities named in 1Sa_6:17, cf. Jos_13:3. The word for ‘lords’ (seren, sing.) is only found in this connexion, cf. ch. 16; it is evidently a native title.

and all the Canaanites] Hardly the entire population of W. Palestine, as in J (see Jdg_1:34 n.), but ‘Canaanites’ in the restricted sense found in E and D, viz. the inhabitants of the sea coast and Jordan valley, cf. Num_13:29 E; Deu_1:7; Deu_11:30; Jos_5:1; Jos_13:3 f. D; Zep_2:5. Similarly in the Amarna tablets Kinaḥḥi (Canaan), and in some Egypt. inscr. Ka-n-’-na as a geographical term, appears to be limited to the northern ‘lowland ‘or sea coast (Ency. Bibl. art. Canaan).

the Zidonians] is a general term for the Phoenicians, used in the O.T. (Deu_3:9; Jos_13:4; Jos_13:6; Jdg_10:12; Jdg_18:7 etc.), by the Assyrians, and the Greeks, and the Phoenicians themselves1[25]

[25] See NSI., pp. 54, 352.

the Hivites that dwelt in mount Lebanon] Elsewhere the Hivites inhabit the centre of Canaan, Gen_34:2, Jos_9:7 etc.; the Lebanon district belonged to the kingdom of the Hittites (Jdg_1:26 n.), which extended from the far N.W. till it touched Canaan at this point. Hence for Hivites read Hittites, cf. Jos_11:3 LXX

mount Baal-hermon] i.e. the mountain to which the town of Baal-hermon (1Ch_5:23) gave its name. But such a designation is contrary to usage; Jos_13:5 D, in a passage closely resembling this, has ‘Baal-gad under Mt Hermon,’ which may be the correct reading here (Budde, Nowack); or we may simply follow LXX. cod. B ‘mount H.’

the entering in of Hamath] frequently marks the N. boundary of Canaan or of Israel, Num_13:21; Num_34:8; Jos_13:5; 1Ki_8:65; 2Ki_14:25 etc. The ‘Entrance of H.’ is the great valley between Lebanon and Hermon-Antilibanus, called Coele-Syria in classical times, and now ‘The Valley’ (El-Biḳa‘, cf. Jos_11:17); Moore, however, considers it to have been the plain of Ḥömṣ, 30 m. S. of Hamaṭh. The city itself (now Ḥamâ) lay on the Orontes, about 150 m. N. of Dan, but its territory stretched 50 m. to the S., as far as Riblah (2Ki_23:33). Hamath is mentioned in Egyptian monuments and the Amarna letters before the Israelite invasion, and in the inscrr. of the Assyrian kings (Schrader COT. 323).

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.

Namely, five lords of the Philistines,.... The places they were lords of were Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron; see Jos 13:3; three of these, Gaza, Ashkelon, and Ekron, had been taken from them by Judah, since the death of Joshua, Jdg 1:18; but they soon recovered them again, perhaps by the help of the other two. The Philistines were a people originally of Egypt, but came from thence and settled in these parts, and were here as early as in the times of Abraham, and were very troublesome neighbours to the Israelites in later times; see Gen 10:14,

and all the Canaanites; these were a particular tribe or nation in the land so called, which inhabited by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan, Num 13:29; otherwise this is the general name for the seven nations:

and the Sidonians; the inhabitants of the famous city of Sidon, which had its name from the firstborn of Canaan, Gen 10:15,

and the Hivites that dwelt in Mount Lebanon; on the north of the land of Canaan:

from Mount Baalhermon; the eastern part of Lebanon, the same with Baalgad, where Baal was worshipped:

unto the entering in of Hamath; the boundary of the northern part of the land, which entrance led into the valley between Libanus and Antilibanus; see Num 34:8.

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

Lords - Seranim, a title used exclusively of the princes of the five Philistine cities. The title is probably of Phoenician origin.

Joshua appears to have smitten and subdued the Hivites as far north as Baal-Gad, in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon Jos 11:17; Jos 12:7, but no further Jos 13:5. There was an unsubdued Hivite population to the north of Baal-hermon (probably Baal-Gad under Hermon, since it is not synonymous with Hermon; see 1Ch 5:23), to the entering in of Hamath: i. e. in the fertile valley of Coele-Syria. Hamath is always spoken of as the extreme northern boundary of the land of Canaan. It was the gate of approach to Canaan from Babylon, and all the north Zec 9:2; Jer 39:5. It formed part of the dominions of Solomon 2Ch 8:4, and of the future inheritance of Israel, as described in vision by Ezekiel Eze 47:16.

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

Princes, (satrapas) a Persian word. (Menochius) --- These heads of the five great cities of the Philistines, are called Seranim, (Haydock) but never kings, whether they were governors of so many petty states, united in the same form of republican or aristocratical government, or independent of each other. See Josue xiii. Three of these cities are said to have been take by Juda, (chap. i. 18,) unless the Septuagint be more accurate, as this passage would seem to insinuate. (Calmet) --- They might have thrown off the yoke in a short time, as we before observed. These five cities were Gaza, Geth, Ascalon, Azotus, and Accaron. (Haydock) --- All but Geth were on the Mediterranean sea. (Calmet) --- All the Chanaanites, &c., who dwelt in Libanus, with some others, who were dispersed though the country, ver. 5. (Haydock) --- These chiefly inhabited the environs of Sidon. --- Baal Hermon. The idol of Baal might probably be adored on this mountain. (Menochius) --- We find Baal-gad in the same neighbourhood, and both may mean the same city. (Calmet)

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).

Five lords of the Philistines; whereof three had been in some sort subdued, Jdg 1:18, but afterwards rescued themselves, and recovered their former strength. See Poole on "Jdg 1:18".

The Canaanites; properly so called, who were very numerous, and dispersed through several parts of the land whence they gave denomination to all the rest of the people.

The Sidonians; the people living near Sidon, and subject to its jurisdiction.

Mount Baal-hermon was the eastern part of Mount Lebanon: see Deu 3:8,9.

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

3. Five lords of the Philistines — Namely, the kings or chiefs of the five great cities, Gaza, Ashdod, Eshkalon, Gath, and Ekron. See notes on Jos_13:2-6, with which passage this is substantially identical. The Canaanites, as distinguished here from the Sidonians, are probably to be understood of the tribes or natives south of Phenicia, and near the plain of Esdraelon. Hazor was probably the seat of their principal kingdom. Chap.

Jdg_4:2.

The Hivites that dwelt in Mount Lebanon — The range of Lebanon in the north seems to have been the chief seat of the Hivites after the time of Joshua, and they had many cities there in the time of David. 2Sa_24:7. Baal-hermon is supposed by some to be another name for Baal-gad, mentioned Jos_11:17; Jos_13:5; but it seems most natural to understand Mount Baal-hermon to be the well known Mount Hermon, the modern Jebelesh-Sheikh. Here, probably, was a notable sanctuary of Baal, which gave its name to the whole mountain.

Hamath — See note on Jos_13:5.

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

The five lords, etc. The title seren, here rendered "lord," is one exclusively applied to the lords of the five Philistine cities enumerated in Jos_13:3 1Sa_6:17, 1Sa_6:18, viz., Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. It occurs repeatedly in Jud_1:16 1Sa 5 Jud_1:6, etc. The word means an axle-tree. The entering in of Hamath. There are two theories in regard to Hamath. Some, as Professor Rawlinson in the "Dictionary of the Bible," identify it with Hamah , a large and important city on the Orontes in Upper Syria, and consider that the kingdom of Hamath, which was overthrown by the king of Assyria, (2Ki_18:34 2Ki_19:13) and of which Hamath was the capital, was for the most part an independent Hamitic or Canaanite kingdom, (Gen_10:18) but occasionally, as in the days of Solomon and Jeroboam, (1Ki_8:65 2Ki_14:28 2Ch_8:4) subject to Israel Others, however, justly considering the great improbability of the Israelite dominion having ever extended so far north as the valley of the Orontes, and observing how it is spoken of as an integral part of Israel, (1Ki_8:65) look for Hamath much further south, in the neighbourhood of Beth-rehob. (see Jud_1:18:28, note) As regards the phrase "the entering in of Hamath," the identical Hebrew words occur seven times, viz., Num_13:21 Num_34:8 Jos_13:5; in this passage; 1Ki_8:65 2Ki_14:25 2Ch_7:8, and are variously rendered in the A.V: "as men come to Hamath;" "unto the entrance of Hamath;" "the entering into Hamath;" "the entering in of Hamath (three times); and the entering of Hamath." The exact meaning of the phrase seems to be "the approach to Hamath," some particular spot in the valley from whence the direct road to Hamath begins; very much like the railway term for certain stations which are the nearest to, though at some little distance from, the place from which they are named, as, e.g. , Shapwick Road, Mildenhall Road, etc. The latter words of the verse describe the territory of the Hivites, which reached from Mount Baal-hermon in the Lebanon range as far as the point where the road leads to Hamath.

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

Five lords - Whereof three had been in some sort subdued, chap. i, 18. but afterwards recovered their strength. Canaanites - Properly so called, who were very numerous, and dispersed through several parts of the land, whence they gave denomination to all the rest of the people. Zidonions - The people living near Zidon, and subject to its jurisdiction. Baal-hermon - Which was the eastern part about Lebanon.

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

Five Pelishtite sovereignties. These were the nations whom He permited to remain as a test.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.