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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
10:1-43 Defense of Gibeon, Conquest of the South. The end of ch. 9 finds Israel in a covenant relationship with a Canaanite city and people! The defection of an important Canaanite city causes alarm among other city leaders, and a coalition is formed. Despite Israel's presumptuousness in not inquiring of the Lord before making a covenant (9:14), once made, the covenant is defended even by the Lord himself. In ch. 10 he decisively intervenes to defend Israel's Canaanite ally. The battle is recounted first briefly in vv. 1-10, while vv. 11-15 provide additional details; vv. 16-27 add yet further details, focusing on the fates of the five kings; and, finally, vv. 28-39 recount the so-called "southern campaign" in which key southern cities are defeated. Because the events of ch. 10 are precipitated by Canaanite aggression, Israel's defeat of the south can be viewed as a defensive operation. The chapter concludes with a summary of the conquest so far (vv. 40-43).
10:1 The name Adoni-zedek resembles that of another king of Jerusalem, Melchizedek of Gen. 14:18. The names sound like "lord of righteousness" and "king of righteousness," respectively.
10:2-4 That the Gibeonites had submissively joined in covenant with Israel strikes fear in the heart of Adoni-zedek (and other Canaanites), for Gibeon was a great city, like one of the royal cities and all its men were warriors. A royal city would have been of sufficient importance to have its own "king" and would likely have controlled a larger district.
10:8 I have given them into your hands. Whatever questions were raised by Israel's failure to "ask counsel from the Lord" (9:14) before making a covenant with the Gibeonites, the Lord assures Joshua that he will be with him in defending the Gibeonites against the Jerusalem coalition (see map). The past tense "have given" is significant: God has decided on the outcome, but Israel must still do some hard fighting (cf. 1:3 and note; 2:9, 24; 6:2, 16; 8:1; 10:19).
10:9 marched up all night from Gilgal. While the precise location of Gilgal is not known, according to 4:19 it was "on the east border of Jericho." From the vicinity of Jericho in the Jordan Valley to Gibeon in the hill country would have been an uphill journey of
10:10 The Lord threw the Jerusalem coalition into a panic before Israel, and the battle spread west to Beth-horon and then southwestward as far as Azekah and Makkedah, thus covering more than
10:11 Large stones from heaven is a picturesque way of referring to the hailstones with which the divine Warrior decimated the fleeing Amorite troops.
10:12-14 Sun, stand still. The traditional understanding of this passage is that it refers to a miracle of cosmic proportions, in which the earth ceased rotating for a time. Since the Bible unquestionably teaches that God brought the universe into existence (Genesis 1; Ps. 33:6) and that he owns and rules it all for his own purposes (cf. Ex. 19:5; Deut. 10:14), this certainly would be possible. As alternatives to the traditional understanding, a number of possibilities have been proposed:
10:15 The notice that Joshua returned . . . to the camp at Gilgal anticipates the conclusion of the entire southern campaign (cf. v. 43 and the apparent return to the "camp at Makkedah" in the interim, v. 21). Such summary statements, followed by more detailed descriptions, are quite common in Hebrew narratives. On the logical arrangement of ch. 10, see note on vv. 1-43.
10:21 Not a man moved his tongue. After Israel's decisive defeat of the coalition, no Canaanites dared speak a word against Israel.
10:24 In the ancient Near East, victors would often put their feet on the necks of defeated foes, symbolizing supremacy. This action underlies the notion of making one's enemies a footstool under one's feet (Ps. 110:1).
10:26 hanged them on five trees. A sign of curse (Deut. 21:22-23; cf. the treatment of the king of Ai in Josh. 8:28-29).
10:27 The large stones set against the mouth of the cave containing the bodies of the slain Amorite kings serve as a fifth monument in the land (see note on 4:20 and chart). This monument recalls God's gracious action in defending Israel's covenant with a Canaanite city (even though they acted rashly in making it). to this very day. See note on 4:9.
10:28-39 Joshua next takes the important towns in the southern part of the land, establishing Israel's hold on it. The accounts for the various towns are similar, reflecting the uniform pattern by which God gave these enemies over to Israel. The variations probably reflect the particularities of each battle. Observe that v. 33 makes no mention of taking Gezer (cf. 16:10; Judg. 1:29); it finally became an Israelite possession in 1 Kings 9:15-17, when Pharaoh gave it to Solomon.
10:40-42 This interim summary of the conquest credits Joshua, in the typically hyperbolic language of ancient Near Eastern conquest accounts, with leaving none remaining, totally destroying all that breathed. (Similar language in v. 20 juxtaposes the statement that Israel's enemies were "wiped out" with the admission that a "remnant . . . remained of them.") While Joshua is credited with acting obediently by taking no prisoners, the ultimate cause of Israel's success is that the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel (v. 42).
