Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 11:16
So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;
16 20. General Retrospect of the Conquest of Palestine
16. So Joshua took ] The sacred writer pauses to survey and sum up the conquests of the Israelitish leader.
the hills ] The country is contemplated under a sevenfold division, (i) the cities; (ii) the south country; (iii) the land of Goshen (comp. Jos 10:41); (iv) the valley; (v) the plain; (vi) the mountain of Israel; (vii) the valley of the same.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 16. The mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same] This place has given considerable trouble to commentators; and it is not easy to assign such a meaning to the place as may appear in all respects satisfactory.
1. If we consider this verse and the 21st to have been added after the times in which the kingdoms of Israel and Judah were divided, the difficulty is at once removed.
2. The difficulty will be removed if we consider that mountain and valley are put here for mountains and valleys, and that these include all mountains and valleys which were not in the lot that fell to the tribe of Judah. Or,
3. If by mountain of Israel we understand Beth-el, where God appeared to Jacob, afterwards called Israel, and promised him the land of Canaan, a part of the difficulty will be removed. But the first opinion seems best founded; for there is incontestable evidence that several notes have been added to this book since the days of Joshua. See the preface.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
All that land, of Cannaan, whose parts here follow. The hill, or, the mountain, i.e. the mountainous country, to wit, of Judea, as may seem,
1. Because in the following enumeration he begins in the south parts, where there was an eminent mountain, Num 13:17.
2. Because a considerable part of Judea was called the hilly or the mountainous country, Luk 1:39,65, which is not likely to be omitted in this particular description of the land; the rather because Hebron, one of the places taken by Joshua, Jos 10:36,37 was in the mountain of Judah, Jos 20:7.
3. Because this is here distinguished from the mountain of Israel, and therefore most likely to be the mountain of Judah, especially if you compare this with Jos 10:21, where having mentioned the mountain in general, from which Joshua cut off the Anakims, he comes to particularize, and names only two, all the mountain of Judah, and all the mountain of Israel. All the south country, i.e. not only the mountainous part, but all the country of Judea, which lay in the southern part of Canaan, and oft comes under the name of the south, as Num 13:22,29; 21:1; Jos 10:40; 18:5, &c. the land of Goshen; of which see Jos 10:41. The vale; the low countries.
The plain; the fields or champaign grounds.
The mountain of Israel; either,
1. Some one particular and eminent mountain, possibly the hill of Samaria, mentioned 1Ki 16:24; or rather,
2. The mountains or mountainous country of Israel. See the second note on this verse. The vale of the same, i.e. of Israel.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
16. So Joshua took all thatlandHere follows a general view of the conquest. The divisionof the country there into five parts; namely, the hills, the land ofGoshen, that is, a pastoral land near Gibeon (Jos10:41); the valley, the plains and the mountains of Israel, i.e., Carmel, rests upon a diversity of geographical positions,which is characteristic of the region.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
So Joshua took all that land,…. The whole land of Canaan, described as follows, both as to the southern and northern parts of it:
the hills; the hill country of Judea, of which see Lu 1:39;
and all the south country; where lived the five kings; and those of other places, the account of the taking of which we have in the preceding chapter, Jos 10:40;
and all the land of Goshen; see Jos 10:41;
and the valley, and the plain; the low places and campaign fields which lay between the hills and mountains; particularly all the plain and campaign country near Eleutheropolis, towards the north and west, Jerom says, in his day, was called “Sephela”, or “the vale” a:
and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same; by which may be meant Jerusalem, situated on a mountain, and is so called, Eze 17:23; and its valley may be the valley of Hinnom or of Jehoshaphat, as they were after called, which were near it: some think the hill of Samaria or the mountains about that are meant.
a De loc. Heb. fol. 94. M.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Retrospective View of the Conquest of the Whole Land. – Jos 11:16, Jos 11:17. Joshua took all this land, namely, those portions of Southern Canaan that have already been mentioned in Jos 10:40-41; also the Arabah, and the mountains of Israel and its lowlands (see Jos 11:2), i.e., the northern part of the land (in the campaign described in Jos 11:1-15), that is to say, Canaan in all its extent, “ from the bald mountain which goeth up to Seir ” in the south, “ to Baal-gad, in the valley of Lebanon under Hermon.” The “ bald mountain ” ( Halak), which is mentioned here and in Jos 12:7 as the southern boundary of Canaan, is hardly the row of white cliffs which stretches obliquely across the Arabah eight miles below the Dead Sea and forms the dividing line that separates this valley into el-Ghor and el-Araba ( Rob. Pal. ii. pp. 489, 492), or the present Madara, a strange-looking chalk-hill to the south-west of the pass of Sufah ( Rob. ii. p. 589), a steep bare mountain in a barren plain, the sides of which consist of stone and earth of a leaden ashy hue ( Seetzen, R. iii. pp. 14, 15); but in all probability the northern edge of the Azazimeh mountain with its white and glistening masses of chalk. Baal-gad, i.e., the place or town of Baal, who was there worshipped as Gad (see Isa 65:11), also called Baal-hermon in Jdg 3:3 and 1Ch 5:23, is not Baalbek, but the Paneas or Caesarea Philippi of a later time, the present Banjas (see at Num 34:8-9). This is the opinion of v. Raumer and Robinson, though Van de Velde is more disposed to look for Baal-gad in the ruins of Kalath (the castle of) Bostra, or of Kalath Aisafa, the former an hour and a half, the latter three hours to the north of Banjas, the situation of which would accord with the biblical statements respecting Baal-gad exceedingly well. The “ valley of Lebanon ” is not Coele-Syria, the modern Beka, between Lebanon and Antilibanus, but the valley at the foot of the southern slope of Jebel Sheik (Hermon).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
16. So Joshua took all that land, etc In the uninterrupted series of victories, when the land, of its own accord, spewed out its old inhabitants, to give free possession to the Israelites, it was visibly manifest, as is said in the Psalm, (Psa 44:3)
“
They got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou had a favor unto them.”
The design of enumerating the places and districts is to let us know that the work which God had begun he continued to carry on without interruption. But it is a mistake to suppose: as some do, that by the name Israel a certain mountain is meant. For it will be plain, from the end of the chapter, (Jos 11:21) that the term is applied indiscriminately to the mountainous part of Israel and Judah. There is therefore an enlarge in the enumeration, because the mountains of the ten tribes are tacitly compared with the mountains of Judah. Accordingly, an antithesis is to be understood. In the other mountain (Jos 11:17) the surname is ambiguous. Some understand it to mean division, as if it had been cut in two; (115) others to mean smooth, as it was destitute of trees, just as a head is rendered smooth by baldness. As the point is uncertain, and of little importance, the reader is at liberty to make his choice.
(115) Latin, “ Dissectus.” French, “ Couppee ou fendue;” “Cut, or cleft.” — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
A Summary of Joshuas Campaigns Jos. 11:16-23
16 So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;
17 Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them.
18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
19 There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle.
20 For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as the Lord commanded Moses.
21 And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities.
22 There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained.
23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.
11.
Where was Mount Halak? Jos. 11:17
The name of the mountain indicates it was a smooth mountain. Doubtless this is a reference to an area called the Ascent Akrabbim and mentioned in Num. 34:3-4 and Jos. 15:23. The area is somewhat north-northeast of Abdah, an area near Wadi el-Marra. Baal-gad, the point farthest north in the notice of the extent of the conquest, was near Mount Hermon. The mention of these two places gives an idea of how extensive the conquest had been. This point is also called Baal-Hermon (Jdg. 3:3, 1Ch. 5:23). The exact location of the settlement has not been determined.
12.
How long did Joshua wage war? Jos. 11:18
The exact time of the beginning and ending of the conquest is not known. If Moses died about 1407 and Joshua were 80 years old at the time, the entire lifespan of Joshua would reach only to 1377 B.C. We know that Joshua died when he was 110 years of age. Perhaps only about half of his lifetime was spent in his military action, leaving him the latter half of his life for the allotment of the territory to the tribes. Perhaps the conquest took ten or fifteen years, This would indeed be a long war.
13.
Why did the Canaanites not ask for peace? Jos. 11:19
Not a single leader among the Canaanites asked for any mercy except the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon. All the rest of the kings went to war against Joshua. It was the opinion of the writer, as he was moved with divine inspiration to write, that the Lord had hardened their hearts (Jos. 11:20). Looking at the situation from the perspective of modern historians, we can agree that it was the Lords will that these people should be annihilated. They had sinned exceedingly. They were completely reprobate. The freedom of their will was not destroyed, but God had brought them to the place where they had to make a decision for or against Him. They had been given repeated opportunities to make such decisions, and each time they chose to turn their backs on God. This repeated confrontation contributed to the hardening of their hearts. As we see God doing this, we can say God hardened their hearts. In the final analysis, however, they hardened their own hearts.
14.
Who were the Anakim? Jos. 11:21
The Anakim were descendants of Anak, one of the original inhabitants of the land of Canaan. The children of Israel first met them when the spies went into the land (Num. 13:22; Num. 13:33). In the latter reference the statement is made that these sons of Anak came of the giants. Elsewhere the giants are called Nephilim (see American Standard Translation here and at Gen. 6:4). In the reference to the giants in Gen. 6:4 it is said that these were mighty men which were of old, men of renown. Whether they were large in stature or great in reputation and ability is a question hard to determine. The fact that the spies said they felt like grasshoppers in their sight and that these men looked upon them in the same way does not give the full answer. The ten spies brought up an evil report. It was quite evidently exaggerated. Nevertheless, these people were to be dealt with, and Joshua went against them without hesitation. They centered their activities in the South near Hebron, Debir, and Anab, points in the mountains of Judah and Israel. Joshua utterly destroyed these people leaving only a few in Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod. These latter points were in the plain which was later known as the Philistine Plain. They would not be hard to deal with in the open territory of the sea-coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and Joshua evidently felt that it was sufficient to drive them out of the center of the territory.
15.
Why are Judah and Israel mentioned separately? Jos. 11:21
The fact that Judah and Israel are mentioned separately does not indicate the book was written after the kingdom was divided in the days of Rehoboam. Judah always had a unique place among the sons of Jacob. Jacob gave him the barak and bekorah, his blessing and birthright (Gen. 49:8-12). When the children of Israel marched through the wilderness of Sinai on the route to Canaan, Judah marched first. When they began to make their conquest, it was Judah who went up first to battle (Jdg. 1:1 ff.). Joshua saw that the land was settled before he died, and the entire southern section of the land was given to Judah. His northern border was on a line which stretched west from the north end of the Dead Sea. His southern border went to the extreme limits of the land given to the children of Israel. All of this southern section was given to him. All the rest of the tribes of Israel settled north of Judah and east of the Jordan. In this way Judah was again separated from the rest of the people and it was natural for Joshua to make a reference to the mountains of Judah and the mountains of Israel.
16.
Where were Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod? Jos. 11:22
Gaza, Gath, and Ashdod were leading cities among the Philistines who lived along the plain on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The lords of these towns were especially active during the period of the judges. Samson went down from the hill country of Dan and carried away the posts of the gate of the city of Gaza (Jdg. 16:1 ff.). Goliath was the famous Philistine from Gath (1Sa. 17:4). When the Ark was captured by the Philistines, it was taken down to the house of Dagon in Ashdod (1Sa. 5:1). Gaza was the southernmost of the towns and quite close to the sea. Gath was the point nearest the center of the land, and Ashdod was the northernmost and another city near the sea. All of these points were west of the main part of the Promised Land.
17.
Were all the Canaanite towns conquered? Jos. 11:23
The taking of the whole land does not imply that all the towns and villages to the very last had been conquered, or that all the Canaanites were rooted out from every corner of the land. The conquest was of such character that the power of the Canaanites was broken, their dominion overthrown, and their whole land thoroughly given into the hands of the Israelites. Those who still remained were crushed into powerless fugitives. Moreover, Israel had received the strongest pledge, in the powerful help which it had received from the Lord in the conquests thus far obtained, that the faithful covenant-God would continue His help in the conflicts which still remained. He would secure for Israel a complete victory and the full possession of the Promised Land.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
SUMMARY OF JOSHUA’S CONQUESTS, Jos 11:16-23.
The historian, having finished the account of Joshua’s Northern Campaign, here adds, as if concluding his record of the conquest, a general summary of all his work.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16. Took all that land The whole land of Canaan.
Hills south country Goshen valley Comp. Jos 10:40-41, notes.
The plain The Arabah, the valley of the Jordan and the Dead Sea.
The mountain of Israel The northern part of the great mountain range which runs through Palestine from north to south. Compare note on Jos 9:1. In Jos 11:21 this phrase is used in contrast with mountains of Judah, the southern part of the same range.
Valley of the same That is, valley of Israel, not merely the plain of Philistia, but that of Jezreel also.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ So Joshua took all that land, the hill country, and all the South, and all the land of Goshen, and the lowland and the Arabah, and the hill country of Israel, and the lowland of the same, from Mount Halak, that goes up to Seir, even to Baal-gad, in the valley of Lebanon under Mount Hermon, and all their kings he took, and smote them and put them to death.’
With some important exceptions he had defeated the inhabitants throughout all the land. The central and southern highlands, the Negeb, the land of Goshen, the Shephelah, and the Jordan Rift (the Arabah). Also the Northern hill country and lowlands. And he had destroyed all their kings. (There is no mention of the Coastal Plain or of the plain of Esdraelon and Jezreel). Thus was the way paved for the children of Israel to take possession of the land. It is true that much of it they would have to retake, for the inhabitants who survived, and others from wandering tribes always on the lookout for an opportunity would repossess the land and the cities once Joshua and his army moved on, but their strength had been broken. The opportunity was there and the presence of Israel in the land was secure.
Note the expressions ‘the hill country of Israel and the lowland of the same’. Israel were already announcing their presence by a renaming of parts of the land. The renaming may have been by the inhabitants of the land after these parts had been captured and settled by Israel, a reluctant recognition of their presence.
Mount Halek was probably Jebel Halaq, forty kilometres (twenty five miles) south of Beersheba, near the south east border of Judah where it touches the border of Edom (‘goes up to Seir’). Baalgad was in the far north of Israel’s territories at the foot of and to the west of Mount Hermon. It may be Tell Haus or Hasbeiyah, both in the Wadi et-Teim.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Summary of the Conquest of Canaan Comments – Jos 11:16-23 provides a summary of Israel’s conquest of Canaan.
Jos 11:18 Joshua made war a long time with all those kings.
Jos 11:18
Jos 14:7, “ Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.”
Jos 14:10, “And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years , even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.”
Jos 11:21 And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities.
Jos 11:21
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Conquest of Western Palestine
v. 16. So Joshua took all that land, the hills, v. 17. even from the Mount Halak that goeth up to Seir, v. 18. Joshua made war a long time with all these kings.
v. 19. There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel save the Hivites, the inhabitants of Gibeon, v. 20. For it was of the Lord, v. 21. And at that time, v. 22. There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the children of Israel; only in Gaza, in Gath, v. 23. So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Ver. 16. So Joshua took, &c. and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same As this mountain of Israel with its valley, are in ver. 21 set in opposition to the mountains of Judah, some judicious interpreters conclude, that those mountains are here intended which were in the lot of Ephraim. But may it not be insisted, with the learned Pelican, that the singular is here put for the plural, and that by the mountain and valley of Israel, are to be understood all the mountains and all the vallies of the country, those excepted, which were included in the tribe of Judah? The whole country betwixt the Mediterranean and the Jordan, is, properly, nothing more than a chain of mountains. The sea-coast lies on a level: we meet there only with mount Carmel: the banks of the Jordan are so likewise.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
These verses sum up the account of the whole conquests of all the northern parts of Canaan. If we compute the different periods, it should seem that it took no less a time than five or six years to subjugate and destroy the Canaanites. A lively representation of the long and toilsome war which the true Israelite hath to encounter, after he hath passed over the Jordan of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, before that he rests from the war. Blessed be our Joshua, there is a rest, and there is a promise of that rest, when the Canaanites shall be no more in the land. Zec 14:21 . I only detain the Reader with one observation more on this chapter, and which is, just to call his attention to the faithfulness of God in his promises. The Lord had said, he would drive out the nations before his people, and he would give his people their land to inherit. And now we see the , fulfillment of the Lord’s promises. Oh! what a blessed thing it is, to have to do with this faithful God! see those scriptures. Gen 13:14-17Gen 13:14-17 ; Deu 7:9Deu 7:9 . But Reader! do not rest in the contemplation of the latter of these promises; carry on your thoughts to the spiritual fulfillment of the whole in Christ Jesus, for it is in Him that all the promises of God are yea and amen. And what a precious thought is it to the holy warrior in Christ Jesus, that victory over all his enemies, is sure in the blood of the Lamb. Rev 12:11 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jos 11:16 So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;
Ver. 16. So Joshua took all that land. ] Here we have Joshua’s victories summed up: who quickly sheathed his sword, but never laid it off, as Seneca saith of Caesar.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED TEXT): Jos 11:16-20
16Thus Joshua took all that land: the hill country and all the Negev, all that land of Goshen, the lowland, the Arabah, the hill country of Israel and its lowland 17from Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir, even as far as Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon. And he captured all their kings and struck them down and put them to death. 18Joshua waged war a long time with all these kings. 19There was not a city which made peace with the sons of Israel except the Hivites living in Gibeon; they took them all in battle. 20For it was of the LORD to harden their hearts, to meet Israel in battle in order that he might utterly destroy them, that they might receive no mercy, but that he might destroy them, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.
Jos 11:16 This is a summary of the different topological divisions of Canaan from the south to the north. In reality all of chapter 12 is also a summary of Joshua’s victories.
Negev This is the dry semi-desert region in southern Canaan. It was uninhabited except for shepherds and flocks.
land of Goshen This refers to an area in the hill country of Judah (cf. Jos 10:41; Jos 11:16; Jos 15:51).
Jos 11:17 Mount Halah This (BDB 325) is a mountain or mountain range in the central Negev. It seems to be between the wilderness of Zin and Seir. It was part of the boundary between Judah’s allotment and the nation of Edom (cf. Jos 15:1).
Baal-gad Baal was the male fertility god of Canaan. Every town had its own worship altar. Many of the towns of Canaan had the male god Ba’al or the female Asherah or Ashtarte in their names (cf. Jos 12:4).
The term gad (BDB 151) apparently meant good fortune (cf. Gen 30:11, BDB 151 II) and was used of a Canaanite deity (cf. Isa 65:11).
Jos 11:18 This shows how the account given in the Bible is telescoped! Jos 11:17 reveals the northern limits of Joshua’s conquest. More was given by YHWH, but not taken by Israel.
Jos 11:20 for it was of the LORD to harden their hearts This is a biblical metaphor of God’s control over human events to accomplish His purpose. This has nothing to do with the issue of free will. The thrust of this context is YHWH’s control of history and events (particularly redemptive events, cf. Act 2:23; Act 3:18; Act 4:28). This is similar to God’s actions with Pharaoh (cf. Exo 4:21; Exo 7:3; Exo 7:13; Exo 8:15; Exo 8:32; Exo 9:12; Exo 9:34; Exo 10:20; Exo 10:27; Exo 14:4; Exo 14:17). See Special Topic: God Hardened .
Jos 11:20 has a series of INFINITIVE CONSTRUCTS showing YHWH’s purposeful actions.
1. to harden their hearts, BDB 304, KB 302, Piel INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
2. to meet Israel in battle, BDB 896, KB 1131, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
3. in order that he might utterly destroy them, BDB 355, KB 353, Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT (the pronoun could refer to YHWH or to Israel/Joshua, but because of the end of Jos 11:20, probably Joshua)
4. they might receive no mercy, BDB 224, KB 243, Qal INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
5. that he might destroy them, BDB 1029, KB 1552, Hiphil INFINITIVE CONSTRUCT
All of these are related to YHWH’s prophecy to Abraham in Gen 15:12-21.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
the hills = the hill country,
valley = the low country.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Much Land Yet to Be Possessed
Jos 11:16-23; Jos 13:1-7
We do not know how long the war lasted. Probably about seven years, Jos 14:10 (forty-five less thirty-eight). It was only in Davids reign that the Canaanites were finally subdued. Note that Joshua took the land and then gave it to Israel. So Christ received the fullness of the Spirit and all spiritual blessings as the Trustee of those who believe; but we must claim and appropriate our heritage. So at last there will be rest, Jos 11:23.
With Jos 13:1 begins the second division of this book. A Doomsday Book! How significant is the sentence, Much land to be possessed. This is true of tracts of the Bible, seldom read by ordinary Christians; of regions of experience, such as those alluded to in Col 3:1-4; and of countries in the world which have never been trodden by the feet of the missionary!
Read also Jos 13:13. What pathos it contains! Either they did not believe in Gods assurances, or were too indolent to claim them!
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
all that land: Gen 15:18-21, Num 34:2-13, Deu 34:2, Deu 34:3
hills: Jos 9:1, Jos 12:8
the land: Jos 10:41
the mountain: Jos 11:21, Eze 17:23, Eze 36:1-3, Eze 36:8
Reciprocal: Deu 1:7 – in the plain Jos 15:51 – Goshen
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 11:16. All that land Of Canaan, whose parts here follow. The hill Or, the mountain, that is, the mountainous country, namely, of Judea. A considerable part of Judea was called the hilly or the mountainous country, Luk 1:39; Luk 1:65. The south country That is, not only the mountainous part, but all the country of Judea, which lay in the southern part of Canaan, and often comes under the name of the south. The vale The low countries. The plain The fields, or campaign grounds. The mountain of Israel It is very uncertain whether the mountainous country of Israel, in general, be meant by this expression, or whether a particular place be not rather intended. Many think it probable that Beth-el is meant, where God appeared to Jacob as he went to Padan-Aram, and promised to give him this land, (Gen 28:11,) and where he dwelt, by Gods direction, after his return; where God appeared to him again, repeated the same promise, and changed his name from Jacob to Israel, Gen 35:1; Gen 35:9-10.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
11:16 So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the {i} mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same;
(i) That is, Samaria.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
9. Summary of Joshua’s conquests 11:16-12:24
This summary is in three parts: the land, the kings east of the Jordan, and the kings west of the Jordan.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The conquest of the land 11:16-23
The writer referred to Canaan as "the land of the sons of Israel" first here in Scripture (Jos 11:22). The Anakim were the mighty warriors that the 10 spies had feared (Num 13:28). Israel destroyed most of them.
"The hardening of their [the kings Joshua defeated] hearts [Jos 11:20] was punitive. Their iniquity was now full (cf. Gen 15:16). The long respite granted to them by a long-suffering God wrought no repentance in them." [Note: Armerding, p. 108. See also Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "Divine Hardening in the Old Testament," Bibliotheca Sacra 153:612 (October-December 1996):429-30.]
"Here is a biblical lesson which has always been difficult for the people of God to learn. Deuteronomy commanded Israel to obey God, destroy the inhabitants, have no mercy, make no covenant, make no marriages (Jos 7:1-3). Such a command had a divine purpose. It removed the temptations to follow other gods. From the days of the Judges and especially from the period of Solomon onward, the great temptation was to make political alliances through covenants and political marriages between royal families (1Ki 11:1-8; 1Ki 16:31; 1Ki 20:30-43). To protect Israel against the major sin of idolatry, God commanded her not to show mercy to the enemy. To enable her to keep his commandment, God caused her enemies to fight her rather than seek mercy and peace." [Note: Butler, p. 130.]
Joshua subdued the whole land (Jos 11:23) in the sense that there were no more pitched battles by the combined Israelite tribal forces following Joshua’s conquests. God expected individual tribes to subdue the remaining towns and pockets of resistance from then on (cf. Jos 13:1; Jdg 1:1).
"The taking of the whole land does not imply that all the towns and villages to the very last had been conquered, or that all the Canaanites were rooted out from every corner of the land, but simply that the conquest was of such a character that the power of the Canaanites was broken, their dominion overthrown, and their whole land so thoroughly given into the hands of the Israelites, that those who still remained here and there were crushed into powerless fugitives, who could neither offer any further opposition to the Israelites, nor dispute the possession of the land with them, if they would only strive to fulfil [sic] the commandments of their God and persevere in the gradual extermination of the scattered remnants." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, p. 125.]
"The error of contrasting Joshua’s rapid campaigns (misread as permanent conquest) with slower occupation in Judges 1 misses the point entirely. And how often the proponents of this theory omit even to read Joshua 13! Thirty-one dead kinglets (Joshua 12) were not a conquest in depth, merely a cropping of the leadership. At the end of Joshua’s career, there still remained ’very much land to be possessed’ (Jos 13:1)-both the areas listed (Jos 13:2-6) largely unreached by Joshua’s vigour, as well as the in-depth settlement of most of the districts already raided. That process was more painfully slow, even in Joshua’s lifetime; cf. the remarks in Jos 18:2-3 (Joshua’s rebuke), besides the frustrated efforts recorded here and there (Jos 15:63; Jos 16:10; Jos 17:12; Jos 17:16)." [Note: Kitchen, pp. 90-91.]
The words of God to Moses to which the writer alluded (Jos 11:23) are probably those in Exo 23:27-33 (cf. Deu 7:22). There God told Moses He would not drive all the Canaanites out of the land in one year but little by little. This is how the conquest of the land had advanced thus far and how it should have continued to its completion.
The major war with the Canaanites ended (Jos 11:23), but minor battles and mopping up operations were still necessary. Not only did the Israelites obtain the land, but they defeated the Canaanite kings and broke their power. Jensen considered Jos 11:23 the key verse of the book. [Note: Jensen, p. 17.]
"There has never been a greater war for a greater cause. The battle of Waterloo decided the fate of Europe, but this series of contests in far-off Canaan decided the fate of the world." [Note: Henry T. Sell, Bible Study by Periods, p. 83.]