Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 11:8
And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephoth-maim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.
8. and chased them ] The rout was complete, and the fugitives seem to have divided into three parts
( a) unto great Zidon ] One party took the road north-west over the mountains above the gorge of the Leontes “to Sidon,” or, as it is distinguished here and in Jos 19:28, “the great Sidon,” as being the metropolis of Phnicia. This it had ceased to be before the reign of David, by which time its sister city Tyre had eclipsed it in splendour, and taken the first place amongst the cities of Phnicia. At the present day Sidon, Saida, is again larger than Tyre. The former contains 5000 or 6000 inhabitants and many large houses built of stone, whereas the present Sur is nothing but a market town, the houses of which are little more than huts.
( b) unto Misrephoth-maim ] A second party took the road, west, and south-west, to Mizrephoth-maim, which is interpreted either (i) as “ the warm springs,” or (ii) “ the salt-pits,” or (iii) “ the smelting-pits by the waters,” the glass-houses, of which there were several in the neighbourhood of Sidon.
( c) and unto the valley of Mizpeh ] A third party fled eastward unto the Buka’a or “valley” of Mizpeh at the foot of Hermon. The eastward direction is spoken of in reference to Sidon.
and they smote them ] But wherever they fled, they were hotly pursued by the Israelites, who captured their cities one by one, put the inhabitants to death, and carried away the booty and cattle.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
One portion of the defeated host fled north-westward toward Zidon; the other northeastward up the Ard el Huleh.
Zidon, as the metropolis of various subject towns and territories, appears Jos 19:28 to have been afterward assigned to Asher, but was not, in fact, conquered by that tribe Jdg 1:31. It is mentioned in Egyptian papyri of great antiquity, and by Homer, and was in the most ancient times the capital of Phoenicia. In later times it was eclipsed by Tyre (compare 2Sa 5:11). The prophets frequently couple Tyre and Sidon together, as does also the New Testament (Isa 23:2, Isa 23:4,Isa 23:12; Jer 27:3; Jer 47:4; Mat 11:22; Mat 15:21, etc.).
Both the site and signification of Misre-photh-maim are uncertain. Some have thought it identical with Zarephath which belongeth to Zidon 1Ki 17:9, the Sarepta of the New Test. The name is explained by some (see the margin) as meaning hot springs; by others as salt pits; i. e. pits where the sea water was evaporated for the sake of its salt; and again by others as smelting factories near the waters. Some, tracing the word to quite another root, render it heights of waters, or copious springs.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 8. Great Zidon] If this were the same with the Sidon of the ancients, it was illustrious long before the Trojan war; and both it and its inhabitants are frequently mentioned by Homer as excelling in works of skill and utility, and abounding in wealth: –
‘ ,
. Iliad, lib. vi., ver. 289.
“There lay the ventures of no vulgar art,
SIDONIAN maids embroidered every part.”
POPE.
‘
, ‘
, .
Iliad, lib. xxiii., ver. 741.
“A silver urn that full six measures held,
By none in weight or workmanship excell’d;
SIDONIAN artists taught the frame to shine,
Elaborate with artifice divine.”
POPE.
.
Odyss. xv. 424.
“I am of SIDON, famous for her wealth.” The art of making glass is attributed by Pliny to this city: SIDON artifex vitri, Hist. Nat. l. v., c. 19.
Misrephoth-maim] Or, Misrephoth of the waters. What this place was is unknown, but Calmet conjectures it to be the same with Sarepta, a city of Phoenicia, contiguous to Sidon. The word signifies the burning of the waters, or inflammation; probably it was a place noted for its hot springs: this idea seems to have struck Luther, as he translates it, die warme wasser, the hot waters.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Zidon, a great and famous city in the north-west part of Canaan, and upon the sea.
Misrephoth-maim, a place not far from Zidon, supposed to be so called from the salt or glass which they made there. The valley of Mizpeh, under Mount Hermon, as appears by comparing this with Jos 11:3,17, where it seems to be called the valley of Lebanon. This lay on the east, as Zidon did on the west; and so it seems they fled several ways, and the Israelites also divided themselves into two bodies, one pursuing east, and the other west.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
8. they left none remainingofthose whom they overtook. All those who fell into their hands alivewere slain.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the Lord delivered them into the hand of Israel,…. The whole host, who either were killed or wounded, or put to flight: it was of the Lord that Israel was directed to make so quick a march, and come upon them so suddenly, and that they were off their guard, and unprovided for them, and so fell into their hands:
who smote them; with the edge of the sword killed and wounded great numbers; and the rest fleeing, they
chased them unto great Zidon; not that there was another Zidon called the less, as Kimchi and Ben Melech thought there seemed to be, and which also Jerom i suggests; but this was so called because of its greatness, the large extent of it, and the abundance of wealth and riches in it: Curtius says k, it was renowned for its antiquity and the fame of its buildings; and Mela says l, that before it was conquered by the Persians, it was the greatest of the maritime cities, though now greatly reduced: Mr Maundrell m says of it,
“Sidon is stocked well enough with inhabitants but is very much shrunk from its ancient extent, and more from its splendour, as appears from a great many beautiful pillars that lie scattered up and down the gardens without the present walls:”
it lay, according to Strabo, not more than two hundred furlongs from Tyre n, or twenty five miles: it was more ancient than that, which is called the daughter of it: Homer speaks much of Sidon, as the same writer observes, but not a word of Tyre: Josephus o thinks it had its name from Sidon, the firstborn of Canaan, and that he built it,
Ge 10:15; but Justin says p it had its name from the plenty of fishes there: and Tzaid in the Chaldee and Syriac languages signifies fishing and a fisherman: hence Bethsaida, a city mentioned in the New Testament, Mt 11:21, had its name; and Sidon is at this day called Said, and is now in the hands of the Turks: and though it was a part of the land of Canaan, and belonged to the tribe of Asher, never was conquered and possessed by them, but remained an Heathen city to the time of Christ:
and unto Misrephothmaim, or “boilings of water”, it seems as if it was a place of hot baths, but the Targum renders it “pits of water”, which Jarchi, Kimchi, and Ben Melech say, were pits into which the salt waters of the sea were drawn, and where they were heated by the sun, and made salt of; and so it is thought this was a place of salt pits, where salt was boiled, either by the heat of the sun or by fire q: Junius and Tremellius render the word by “glass furnaces”, furnaces in which glass was made; and it is certain, that at Sidon, and near it, within the borders of which this place was, Jos 13:6; glass was made: Pliny r calls Sidon the artificer of glass, or a city where glass was made: and Strabo says s, that between Ace and Tyre is a shore which bears glassy sand, but they say it is not melted there, but carried to Sidon to be melted; and some say the Sidonians have a glassy sand fit for melting: Calmet t thinks this place is the same with Sarepta, Lu 4:26; which had its name from melting: of what construction the furnaces were in this place cannot be said, no doubt great improvement has been since made u:
and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward, and they smote them, until they left them none remaining; the same with the valley of Lebanon; now as Sidon lay northwest and this was eastward, it seems that the armies of the Canaanites, in their consternation and confusion, fled some to the west and some to the east, who were pursued by different bodies of the army of Israel, separated for that purpose.
i De loc. Heb. fol. 92. B. k Hist. l. 4. c. 1. 4. l De Situ Orbis, l. 1. c. 12. m Journey from Aleppo, &c. p. 45. n Geograph. l. 16. p. 521. o Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 2. p E Trogo, l. 19. c. 3. q Vid. Adrichom. Theatrum Terrae Sanct. sect. p. 2. r Nat. Hist. l. 5. c. 19. s Ut supra. (Geograph. l. 16. p. 521.) t Dictionary on this word. u Vid. Merrett de Fornac. Vitriar. p. 421, &c.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
8. And the Lord delivered them, etc The greatness of the overthrow may be inferred from this, that the slaughter continued as far as Sidon, which was far distant from the lake of Merom. Sidon is called great, from its celebrity as a commercial emporium and the great number of its inhabitants. There is no comparison instituted between it and a minor town of same name. The Hebrew noun Mozerephoth, which some retain without change as a proper name, we have preferred to translate “the boiling of the waters,” because it is probable that there were thermal springs there, which boiled. Moreover, as the panic which hurried them away into such a scattered flight, plainly shows that they were driven headlong by the secret terror of the Lord. So it is certain that the Israelites who dared to follow the fugitives through so many dangers were carried to a higher pitch of valor than human by celestial agency.
Praise is bestowed on Joshua as well for his abstinence as for his prompt obedience. Nor would he have submitted so willingly to the loss of so many horses and chariots, had not the fear of God overawed him. For such is our ingenuity in devising pretexts, it would have been plausible to allege, that though he could not fit them for military use, still their value was by no means to be despised. But he thought that he had no right to take anything into consideration but the pleasure of God. Then, as he had succeeded by his own good conduct, in making the people willing and obedient, he, as an individual, justly received the praise of what had been performed generally by all.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(8) Misrephoth-maim is thought to be the same with Zarephath or Sarepta, now Sarafend, near Sidon.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
8. The Lord delivered them Jehovah is ever recognized as the arbiter of battles:
Chased them W.M. Thomson, who has repeatedly traversed this region, and who has acquired a greater familiarity with it than has any other traveller, thus describes this flight and pursuit: “Those whose homes lay beyond the mountains to the north and east sought them by the great wady of the Upper Jordan, now Wady-et-Teim, or out east of Hermon, in Hauran the land of Mizpeh. Those from the seacoast of Acre and Carmel fled over these hills and down southwest by Hazor to Misrephoth-maim, (now called Mushei-rifeh,) on the north border of the plain of Acre. Thence they dispersed along the seaboard to their homes, as far south as Dor. Joshua himself chased a third division along the base of the mountain northward, past Abel-Beth-maachah, through the plain of Ijon, down the tremendous gorge of the Litany, (ancient Leontes,) to the ford at Tamrah, or the bridge at the Khutweh, and thence over the wooded spurs of Jebel Rihan towards great Zidon, behind whose lofty walls the flying host could alone find safety.”
Great Zidon This city, one of the most ancient of the world, is situated in Phenicia, on the coast of the Mediterranean. It was formerly surrounded by towering walls, and covered a vast area. Its harbour was crowded with ships from every coast, and its magazines enriched by the treasures and luxuries of the distant East, brought to them by caravans. It had a stupendous colonial system. On its coast was built Berytus, (the modern Beyroot,) Gebel, Arvad, Dor, Accho, and many more, besides Tyre, a daughter which subsequently eclipsed the mother in power and wealth. Zidon planted colonies in Cyprus, the Grecian Isles, Libya, and in Spain. It afterward declined, but never became extinct like Tyre, and now numbers about ten thousand population.
Misrephoth-maim The Hebrew literally signifies the burnings of waters. Dr. Thomson identifies it with the modern Musheirifeh, on the coast, midway between Tyre and Mount Carmel. It is remarkable for its noble fountains. The ancient and modern names are nearly identical in form and in signification, and both were suggested by the bright and glowing colour of those magnificent cliffs which overhang the sea. The route from Merom to Dor must have been through this place. Here is a difficult pass commanded by a castle, an ancient structure corresponding to which might have afforded safety to the fugitives.
Valley of Mizpeh See note on Jos 11:3.
Eastward That is, eastward from the scene of battle. The panic-stricken host fled northward to Zidon, westward to Misrephoth-maim, and eastward to the valley of Mizpeh.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ And YHWH delivered them into the hand of Israel, and they smote them and chased them to Great Zidon (see Jos 19:28), and to Misrephoth-maim, and to the valley of Mizpeh eastward, and they smote them until they left them none remaining.’
The battle appears to have taken place in Northern Galilee. The host scattered in a number of directions with the determined Israelites, heated for battle and inspired by YHWH, chasing them relentlessly, with instructions from Joshua that all must be slaughtered. Some were even chased so far that they were only caught as they approached the territory of Great Zidon, the important Phoenician seaport. (Zidon was split into Greater Zidon and Lesser Zidon). The non-mention of Tyre is significant as reflecting a time when Tyre had not yet come into prominence. Its rise to prominence began when the Philistines plundered Zidon in around 1200 BC. Thus this material is very early.
Misrephoth-maim is not certainly identified. It has been equated with the River Litani, south of Zidon. It was also in Zidonian territory (Jos 13:6). Still others were chased in the opposite direction towards Mount Hermon. Joshua’s relentless aim was to kill as many as possible in order to make a later campaign in the North a little easier.
“Until they left them none remaining.” That is, as far as it was possible. Some good number would inevitably escape.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ver. 8. Israelsmote them, and chased them unto Great Zidon Zidon is called great; not because there was a smaller, but on account of its extent and opulence. This city was founded by a son of Canaan, and lay northeast of the Holy Land. See Gen 10:15.
Mizrephoth-maim Some make this to be a city; others a spot where there arose some hot springs; and others, a place noted for ditches, where the heat of the sun prepared and produced salt. Calmet supposes it was a city, the same with Sarepta, not far from Zidon. Masius conjectures it to have been a place where there stood furnaces for the manufactory of glass, from the sand of the river Belus.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Jos 11:8 And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto Misrephothmaim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.
Ver. 8. Who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon. ] The mother city of Phoenicia: yea, various fled to Africa and there settled, as is gathered by a pillar mentioned by Procopius with this inscription, We are Phoenicians flying from the face of Jesus the son of Nave; as also by the harmony of the Punic dialect with the Hebrew: witness Plautus’s gibberish in “Paenulo,” and various words in Augustine.
Misrephothmaim.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mierephoth-maim. Salt, or glass, works.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
the Lord: Jos 21:44
great Zidon: or, Zidon-rabbah, Jos 19:28, Gen 10:15, Gen 49:13, Zec 9:2
Misrephothmaim: or, salt pits, Heb. burning of waters, Jos 13:6
Reciprocal: Jos 10:10 – the Lord Jos 10:39 – he left none Jdg 3:3 – Sidonians Jdg 4:16 – pursued Jdg 18:28 – far from 2Sa 23:10 – the Lord 2Sa 24:6 – Zidon 2Ki 10:11 – he left 2Ch 13:15 – God smote Isa 23:12 – daughter Eze 27:8 – Zidon Hab 3:13 – thou woundedst Mat 15:21 – Tyre
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jos 11:8. Great Zidon A great city in the northwest part of Canaan, upon the sea. Misrephoth-maim A place not far from Zidon, supposed to be so called from the salt or glass which they made there. Valley of Mizpeh Under mount Hermon, as appears by comparing this with verses
3 and 17, where it seems to be called the valley of Lebanon. This lay on the east, as Zidon did on the west; and so it seems they fled several ways, and the Israelites also divided themselves into two bodies, one pursuing east, and the other west.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
11:8 And the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who smote them, and chased them unto great Zidon, and unto {e} Misrephothmaim, and unto the valley of Mizpeh eastward; and they smote them, until they left them none remaining.
(e) Which signifies hot waters, or according to some, brine pits.