Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 10:22
Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.
22. Then said Joshua ] Probably this was on the morning after the victory.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Joshua then commanded the five kings to be fetched out of the cave, and directed the leaders of the army to set their feet upon the necks of the kings; and when this had been done, he ordered the kings to be put to death, and to be hanged upon trees until the evening, when their bodies were to be thrown into the cave in which they had concealed themselves. Of course this did not take place till the day after the battle, as the army could not return from their pursuit of the foe to the camp at Makkedah till the night after the battle; possibly it did not take place till the second day, if the pursuit had lasted any longer. In Jos 10:24, “ all the men of Israel ” are all the warriors in the camp. , with artic., instead of the relative pronoun (see Ges. 109; Ew. 331, b.); and the ending for or , as in Isa 28:12 (see Ew. 190, b.). The fact that the military leaders set their feet at Joshua’s command upon the necks of the conquered kings, was not a sign of barbarity, which it is necessary to excuse by comparing it with still greater barbarities on the part of the Canaanites, as in Jdg 1:7, but was a symbolical act, a sign of complete subjugation, which was customary in this sense even in the Eastern empire (see Bynaeus de calceis, p. 318, and Constant. Porphyrogen de cerimon. aulae Byzant. ii. 19). It was also intended in this instance to stimulate the Israelites to further conflict with the Canaanites. This is stated in the words of Joshua (Jos 10:25): “ Fear not, nor be dismayed (vid., Jos 1:9; Jos 8:1); for thus shall the Lord do to all your enemies.” On the putting to death and then hanging, see Jos 8:29 and Deu 21:22-23. The words ( Jos 10:27) are generally understood as signifying, that after the bodies of the kings had been cast into the cave, the Israelites placed large stones before the entrance, just as in other cases heaps of stones were piled upon the graves of criminals that had been executed (vid., Jos 7:25), and that these stones remained there till the account before us was written. But this leaves the words unexplained, as never occurs in any other case where the formula “until this day” is used with the simple meaning that a thing had continued to the writer’s own time. expresses the thought that the day referred to was the very same day about which the author was writing, and no other (see Jos 5:11; Gen 7:13; Gen 17:23; Exo 12:17, etc.). If, therefore, it has any meaning at all in the present instance, we must connect the whole clause with the one preceding, and even construe it as a relative clause: “ where they (the kings) had hidden themselves, and they (the Israelites) had placed large stones at the mouth of the cave until that very day ” (on which the kings were fetched out and executed).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
THE FIVE KINGS EXECUTED, Jos 10:22-27.
24. Called for all the men of Israel This must be limited to the bravest warriors; those only were at Makkedah; the rest of the people were at Gilgal. See Jos 10:7, note, also Jos 10:43. A grand assembly of the army was made for the formal humiliation and public execution of the five kings. It was desirable to make the execution as impressive as possible.
Put your feet upon the necks of these kings Symbolical actions are very common in the East, such as passing under yokes and kissing the conqueror’s feet, and in case of extreme and perfect subjection the victor proclaimed his triumph by treading on the neck of his conquered foe. This impressive act inspirited the Israelites, and struck terror into their enemies yet unconquered. Some regard this as the fulfilment of the prophecy of Moses in Deu 33:29. It also explains the expression, “to make one’s enemies his footstool.” Psa 110:1.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ Then said Joshua, “Open the mouth of the cave, and bring those five kings out to me from the cave.’
All being now settled Joshua turned his attention to the kings trapped in the cave at Makkedah. He commanded his men to open the caves, deal with any opposition, and bring the kings to him.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ver. 22-25. Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave In full view of all his troops, now returned to the camp near Makkedah, and before his assaulting that place, Joshua caused the five kings to be brought forth out of the cavern, which had served as their prison all the while the action of that miraculous day continued. Next he commands his principal officers to put their feet upon the necks of these kings: a rough and contemptuous treatment, but which God had, doubtless, enjoined him to use, in order to intimidate the Canaanites, by thus punishing them with the utmost rigour for their aggravated iniquity; to encourage the Israelites, and to accomplish gloriously what Moses had declared to them respecting their future prosperity. See Deu 33:29.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
So, Reader, will your Jesus, your Joshua, do by all his enemies and yours. Jehovah, the Father, hath said, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Psa 110:1 . So will he do by yours. The God of peace will bruise Satan under your feet shortly. Rom 16:20 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 10:22 Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the cave, and bring out those five kings unto me out of the cave.
Ver. 22. bring out those five kings. ] So shall Christ one day say of all, whether kings or prisoners, lords or rag-a-muffins, that will not have him to reign over them. Those that will not now obey that sweet voice, “Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden,” shall then have no other voice to obey but “Go, ye cursed,” &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED TEXT): Jos 10:22-27
22Then Joshua said, Open the mouth of the cave and bring these five kings out to me from the cave. 23They did so, and brought these five kings out to him from the cave: the king of Jerusalem, the king of Hebron, the king of Jarmuth, the king of Lachish, and the king of Eglon. 24When they brought these kings out to Joshua, Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said to the chiefs of the men of war who had gone with him, Come near, put your feet on the necks of these kings. So they came near and put their feet on their necks. 25Joshua then said to them, Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for thus the LORD will do to all your enemies with whom you fight. 26So afterward Joshua struck them and put them to death, and he hanged them on five trees; and they hung on the trees until evening. 27It came about at sunset that Joshua gave a command, and they took them down from the trees and threw them into the cave where they had hidden themselves, and put large stones over the mouth of the cave, to this very day.
Jos 10:22 Here are two more commands from Joshua.
1. open, BDB 834, KB 986, Qal IMPERATIVE
2. bring out, BDB 422, KB 425, Hiphil IMPERATIVE
Jos 10:24 Here again are two more commands from Joshua.
1. come near, BDB 897, KB 1132, Qal imperative
2. put, BDB 962, KB 1321, Qal imperative
Notice the repetitive form of Hebrew narrative (two Qal IMPERATIVES; two Qal IMPERFECTS).
put your feet on the necks of these kings The term neck (BDB 848) was a symbol of strength. This is an idiom of the complete defeat and subservience (cf. Deu 33:29; 1Ki 5:3; Psa 110:1) of these Canaanite kings.
Jos 10:24 The surviving warriors and leaders were subjected to humiliating treatment in the ancient Near East. There are several verbal metaphors used which may be derived from actual events.
1. putting your foot on the neck of the defeated foe
a. Gen 49:8
b. Jos 10:24
2. treading on the enemy
a. 2Sa 22:39
b. Psa 44:5
c. Psa 60:12
d. Psa 108:13
e. Isa 63:3 (of YHWH)
(this may relate to Gen 3:15)
3. vanquished as footstool
a. 1Ki 5:3
b. Psa 18:38
c. Psa 47:3
d. Psa 110:1
(a-c may relate to metaphor #2)
Jos 10:25 Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous Again this verse contains several commands from Joshua. YHWH is symbolically speaking through him.
1. do not fear, BDB 431, KB 432, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
2. do not be dismayed, BDB 369, KB 365, Qal IMPERFECT used in a JUSSIVE sense
3. be strong, BDB 304, KB 307, Qal IMPERATIVE
4. be courageous, BDB 54, KB 65, Qal IMPERATIVE
This is the exact same message that God gave to Joshua. Faith is crucial (cf. Deu 20:8; Jdg 7:3).
Jos 10:26-27 he hung them on five trees; and they hung on the trees until evening The five kings were first killed with swords (i.e., struck) and then impaled on a stake. From Deu 21:22-23 we learn what a humiliating act this was in the eyes of the Jews. To be unburied was worse than being dead. We can see how Joshua used this as a sign to ridicule this united Canaanite opposition to the Israeli advance.
Jos 10:27 to this very day This is the textual mark of a later editor.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
1Sa 15:32 Jos 10:16-18
Reciprocal: Jos 10:18 – General Jdg 5:19 – kings Jdg 8:12 – took Isa 24:22 – they shall Eze 24:6 – bring