Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 11:5
And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
5. at the waters of Merom ] i.e. “the Upper Waters;” the uppermost of the three lakes in the Jordan valley, called by the Greeks “Semechonitis,” or Samochonitis (Jos. Ant. 5:5. 1), and by the Arabs “ Hleh.” The lake is formed by the expansion of the descending Jordan, about 7 miles long by 5 in breadth, of a triangular shape, the point being at the south, where the Jordan, which enters it on the north, again quits it. It is surrounded by marshes and numberless streams bordered with thickets of papyrus. For the fullest and most graphic description of this lake, and the surrounding morasses, see Macgregor’s Rob Roy on the Jordan, xii. xvii.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Waters of Merom – i. e. the upper waters, the modern Bahr el Huleh, the lake Semechonitis, or Samochonitis of Josephus. This lake occupies the southern half of the Ard el Huleh, a depressed basin some 15 miles long and 3 or 4 miles wide lying between the hills of Galilee on the west and the lower spurs of Hermon on the east. The size of the lake varies with the season, and the northern side of it ends in a large swamp. The shape of the lake is triangular, the point being at the south, where the Jordan, which enters it on the north, again quits it. There is a considerable space of tableland along the southwestern shore, and here probably the troops of Jabin and his confederates were encamped, preparing to move southward when Joshua and his army fell suddenly upon them.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 5. The waters of Merom] Where these waters were, interpreters are not agreed. Whether they were the waters of the Lake Semechon, or the waters of Megiddo, mentioned Jdg 5:19, cannot be easily determined. The latter is the more probable opinion.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The waters of Merom; a lake made by the river Jordan in the northern part of it, which was in the territory of the king of Shimron, or Shimron-meron, and near Hazor, Jabins royal city, and almost in the middle of these confederate kings.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And when all those kings were met together,…. At some certain place, which Jabin had appointed:
they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom: Josephus a says it was at Berotha; perhaps it should be Merotha, a city of upper Galilee, not far from Cedesa, the same he elsewhere calls b Meroth, These waters are the same with the lake Samachonitis, on which Hazor was situated; so that it was near Jabin where the rendezvous was. This lake is thought c to have its name from the Arabic word “Samacha”, which signifies high, as Merom does in Hebrew. It was, as Josephus says d thirty furlongs broad, and sixty long, and its waters clayish. Jerom says e, in his time there was here a village called Merrus, twelve miles from the city Sebaste by Dothaim: here the kings and their armies met
to fight against Israel; so that they were the aggressors, which made the war still more lawful.
a Ibid. (Antiq. l. 5. c. 1. sect. 8.) b De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 20. sect. 6. c Reland. Palestin. Illustrat. tom. 1. p. 262. d De Bello Jud. l. 4. c. 1. sect. 1. & l. 3. c. 9. sect. 7. e De loc. Heb. fol. 93. D.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(5) The waters of Merom.The most northerly of the three lakes on the course of the Jordan.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
5. Waters of Merom This first lake through which the Jordan flows was the Samochonitis of Josephus. Its modern name is Huleh. Its name Merom occurs nowhere else in the Bible. It is of a triangular shape, and measures about six miles in each direction. It is surrounded by a marshy basin, which is sufficiently elevated on the southwestern margin to afford an encampment and battle-field. It was the use of “horses and chariots very many” which probably fixed the scene of the encampment on the uplands near by the plain of the lake, along whose level shores they could have full play for their force. See Jos 11:7, note.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Ver. 5. Theypitchedat the waters of Merom These waters of Merom are generally thought to be nothing but the lake of Semechon, so called from the abundance of fish it contains; Semechon, or Samachon, signifying in the Arabic fishes. Others derive the name of this lake from the word Samaka, which signifies in Arabic, to be elevated. Reland derives it from a word, which, in the Chaldee, denotes muddy waters. See Palaest. Sacr. l. i. c. 40. Joshua calls this lake the waters of Merom, or, the high waters; because, being situated toward the springs of Jordan, it was higher than the lake of Gennesareth, and much more so than the Asphaltic lake, otherwise called the Dead Sea. The general quarters of the confederate kings were there marked out, this whole district being in the kingdom of Jabin; and, according to Josephus, Hazor, his capital, bordered on the lake Semechon. See Hist. Jud. l. v. c. 6. and Calmet. However, this opinion, it must be confessed, is not without its difficulties: for, 1. It is very probable, that the confederate kings marched forward to the frontiers of their country, and did not suffer the army of the Israelites to advance fifteen or twenty leagues within their territories, and to attack them upon the Semechonite lake. 2. Deborah, in her song, praises the men of Zebulun and Naphtali, for having exposed themselves to danger in fighting against the Canaanites upon Merome, (for so the Hebrew imports,) Jdg 5:18. Now this battle was certainly fought near the river Kishon, in Tahanac, by the waters of Megiddo, ver. 19. It seems natural, therefore, to suppose, that the kings in league against Joshua came to the same place, viz. to Kishon, in the country of Merom, to dispute with the Israelites an entrance into their territories. Eusebius places Meron, or Merus, at twelve miles distance from Samaria, near Dothaim; which confirms the opinion just advanced. This place was a famous and important passage. There Barak defeated the Canaanites, and there Josias was beaten. Toward the same place stood the town of Legion, mentioned by Eusebius and St. Jerome, which took its name from the troops that the Romans kept there for the security of the province.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jos 11:5 And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
Ver. 5. And when all these kings were met together. ] Heb., Assembled by appointment, at a set time. Ducunt volentes fata, nolentes trahunt. See Psa 37:12-13 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
met together: i.e. by appointment. Compare Amo 3:3.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
all these: Psa 3:1, Psa 118:10-12, Isa 8:9, Rev 16:14
met together: Heb. assembled by appointment
waters: This is what Josephus calls the lake Semechon, now called Bahr-el-Houle – Lake Juliusbetween the head of the Jordan and the lake of Tiberias. According to Josephus it was seven miles long; and according to modern authorities, it is not above two miles broad, except at the north end, where it may be four.
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 11:5. These kings pitched at the waters of Merom A lake made by the river Jordan in the northern part of it, which was in the territory of the king of Shimron, near Hazor, Jabins royal city, and almost in the middle of these confederate kings.