45 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And stay you not, [but] pursue after your enemies,.... That is, do not stay at this cave, but having placed a sufficient guard there, go in pursuit of the enemy, with as much celerity as possible: and smite the hindmost of them; their rear; or "tail" them (o), as the word is, cut off the tail of them: suffer them not to enter their cities; where...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass, when Joshua and the children of Israel,.... Joshua seems to have pitched his camp at Makkedah, while the rest of his army pursued the fleeing Canaanites, and when he and they were at different places: had made an end of slaying them with a very great slaughter, till they were consumed: and not to be seen in any large bodies,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And all the people returned to the camp to Joshua at Makkedah in peace,.... Sound and well, as not one killed or missing, so not one wounded, as the Vulgate Latin version, "sound and in full number:'' none moved his tongue against any of the children of Israel; as to curse them, reproach them, and speak ill of them, for invading them, and using...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then said Joshua, open the mouth of the cave,.... That is, roll away the great stones that were laid at the mouth of it: and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave; to receive their sentence in a public manner, for the encouragement of his troops and the terror of the Canaanites, particularly Makkedah, now besieged by him.
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they did so,.... Opened the mouth "of" the cave, by rolling away the stones: and brought forth those five kings unto him out of the cave; who are next mentioned by name, one by one, according to their dignity, and in the order they were brought unto him: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, [and]...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass, when they brought out these kings unto Joshua,.... And set them before him, and he had passed sentence on them: that he called for all the men of Israel; that is, for the chief men, the principal officers of the army: and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him; the chiliarchs and centurions, the captains...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joshua said, rest not, nor be dismayed,.... Not meaning at the kings, who perhaps lay bound upon the ground, or however were not in a condition to make any resistance, so that they had nothing to fear from them; but this respects future time, and what other enemies they should meet with; who would be brought into subjection to them as these...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And afterwards Joshua smote them and slew them,.... With the sword; either by his own hands, or by others whom he ordered to slay them: and hanged them on five trees; to their shame and disgrace, and the terror of others: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening; by way of contempt of them, and as a spectacle of terror to others,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass, at the time of the going down of the sun,.... Which was the time fixed by the law of God for taking down bodies that were hanged, Deuteronomy 21:23; [that] Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees; not from, any respect to them, but that they might not defile the land, as dead bodies in a ceremonial sense did,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And that day Joshua took Makkedah,.... Some say it was the day on which the sun stood still; but it seems to mean the day in which the five kings were hanged: and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof; slew the inhabitants of it and their king, after having entered and taken it: he utterly destroyed them and all the souls that...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joshua passed from Makkedah,.... After he had taken it, and destroyed its inhabitants, and its king: and all Israel with him; that is, all the men of war he took with him from the camp at Gilgal, from whence he went to the relief of Gibeon: unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah; a city that fell to the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:42. Jerom (r)...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joshua passed from Libnah, and all Israel with him, unto Lachish,.... Which, according to Bunting (d), was eight miles from Libnah, and twenty miles from Jerusalem to the southwest of this city; see Joshua 10:5; and encamped against it, and fought against it; for it seems this city stood out, and would not surrender at once, which obliged...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the Lord delivered Lachish into the hand of Israel, which he took on the second day,.... Either the second day from the slaughter of the kings, or rather the second day of the encampment or siege; so Kimchi: and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that [were] therein, according to all that he had done to Libnah; no mention...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then Horam king of Gezer came up to help Lachish,.... Perhaps the rather induced to it, because it had no king to defend it. In Jerom's (e) time it was a village called Gazera, four miles from Nicopolis, or Emmaus, to the north: if this king came before the city was taken, he was not able to raise the siege; and if he came after, and so too late,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And from Lachish Joshua passed unto Eglon,.... Which, according to Bunting (f), was eight miles from Lachish, and twelve from Jerusalem southward, of which see Joshua 10:5; and all Israel with him, and they encamped against it, and fought against it; it not surrendering at once, but attempted to hold out a siege. (f) Ut supra. (Travels of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they took it on that day,.... The same day they encamped about it and besieged it; the besieged finding they were not able to keep it: and smote it with the edge of the sword, and all the souls that [were] therein he utterly destroyed that day; made an utter devastation of all its inhabitants: according to all that he had done to Lachish; the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joshua went up from Eglon, and all Israel with him, unto Hebron,.... Which lay in the hill country, and therefore they are said to go up to it from Eglon, which lay lower; and, according to Bunting (g), it was sixteen miles from it: and they fought against it; it making some resistance at first, and did not surrender at once, as demanded. (g)...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and the king thereof,.... For though the king of Hebron was one of the kings that were taken in the cave of Makkedah, and hanged; yet before Joshua came up to it, they had set up another king over them: and all the cities thereof; for Hebron was a metropolitan city, and had other cities...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, to Debir,.... A city, according to Kimchi, which he passed by when he went to Hebron, and did not fight against it; but, when he had taken Hebron, returned and took it; and which Bunting (h) says was but a mile from it, and twenty two miles from Jerusalem, towards the south; it is the same with...