Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Joshua 12:22
The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one;
22. Kedesh ] in Issachar, allotted to the Gershonite Levites (1Ch 6:72). Sometimes called Kishon or Kishion (Jos 21:28).
Jokneam of Carmel ] Or, on Carmel, a city of the tribe of Zebulun, allotted with its suburbs to the Merarite Levites (Jos 21:34). The modern site Tell Kaimon stands just below the eastern termination of Carmel.
Carmel ] = “the park,” or “the well-wooded place,” almost always with the definite article. Rightly does it bear its name, being covered below with laurels and olive trees, above with pines and oaks, and full of the most beautiful flowers, “hollyhocks, jasmine, and various flowering creepers.” It is famous for its connection with the history of the two great prophets Elijah and Elisha (1Ki 18:19-20; 1Ki 18:42; 2Ki 2:25 ; 2Ki 4:25; 2Ki 19:23; Isa 33:9; Isa 35:2).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 22. Kedesh] There was a city of this name in the tribe of Naphtali, Jos 19:37. It was given to the Levites, and was one of the cities of refuge, Jos 20:7.
Jokneam of Carmel] This city is said to have been at the foot of Mount Carmel, near the river Belus, in the tribe of Zebulun, Jos 19:11. It was given to the Levites, Jos 21:34.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The king of Kedesh, one,…. Which afterwards fell to the tribe of Naphtali, and was one of the cities of refuge, Jos 19:37; it was situated in upper Galilee on Mount Naphtali, four miles from the city of Sephet, and as many from Capernaum, and twenty miles from Tyre r:
the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one; a city that came to the lot of the tribe of Zebulun, Jos 19:11; and was given to the Levites,
Jos 21:34; it was not far from Mount Carmel, from whence it is described.
r Adrichom. Theatrum, p. 104.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Kedesh, a Levitical city and city of refuge upon the mountains of Naphtali (Jos 19:37; Jos 20:7; Jos 21:32), the home of Barak (Jdg 4:6), was conquered and depopulated by Tiglath-Pileser (2Ki 15:29), and was also a well-known place after the captivity (1 Macc. 11:61ff.) It is now an insignificant village, still bearing the ancient name, to the north-west of the lake of Huleh, or, according to Van de Velde (Reise. ii. p. 355), nothing but a miserable farmstead upon a Tell at the south-west extremity of a well-cultivated table-land, with a large quantity of antiquities about, viz., hewn stones, relics of columns, sarcophagi, and two ruins of large buildings, with an open and extensive prospect on every side (see also Rob. Bibl. Res. pp. 367ff.). Jokneam, near Carmel, as a Levitical town in the territory of Zebulun (Jos 19:11; Jos 21:34). Van de Velde and Robinson (Bibl. Res. p. 114) suppose that they have found it in Tell Kaimn, on the eastern side of the Wady el Milh, at the north-west end of a chain of hills running towards the south-east; this Tell being 200 feet high, and occupying a very commanding situation, so that it governed the main pass on the western side of Esdraelon towards the southern plain. Kaimn is the Arabic form of the ancient , Cimana, which Eusebius and Jerome describe in the Onom. as being six Roman miles to the north of Legio, on the road to Ptolemais.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
22. Kedesh This city is commonly called Kedesh-Naphtali, because it was in the territory of that tribe. It was both a city of refuge (Jos 20:7) and a Levitical city. Jos 21:32. Hence, as the name indicates, it was the holy place of Naphtali, a sanctuary and asylum for all Northern Palestine. Here the tribes assembled, at the call of Barak, to war with Jabin’s hosts. Jdg 4:10. From its exposed position on the northern frontier it was among the first to fall into the hands of the Assyrian invaders. 2Ki 15:29. Its ruins, still bearing the name Kedes, lie on the top and slopes of a round hill in a little plain among the mountains a few miles northwest of Lake Merom.] Jokneam was also a Levitical city in the tribe of Zebulun, (Jos 19:11; Jos 21:34,) and was identified by Robinson with Tell Kaimon, an eminence close to the northern base of Mount Carmel, and on the south bank of the Kishon, a mile from the river. On Carmel, see note on Jos 19:26.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘ The king of Kedesh, one, the king of Yokneam in Carmel, one, the king of Dor, in the height of Dor, one, the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one, the king of Tirzah, one. All the kings thirty and one.’
Kedesh is probably Kedesh in Naphtali (Jos 19:37; Jos 20:7; Jos 21:32; Jdg 4:6). It is the modern Tell Kudeish, north west of Lake Huleh, which was occupied during the early and late bronze ages. It was on the route south from the north and thus a target for any invaders from the north. Yokneam (Jos 19:11; Jos 21:34) was mentioned in the list of Tuthmosis III. It is modern Tel Yoqneam, twelve kilometres (seven and a half miles) north west of Megiddo. For Dor see Jos 11:2. Goiim (‘nations’) of Gilgal is unknown, it could mean ‘the king of nations in Gilgal’ referring to a foreign population. This Gilgal, being between Dor and Tirzah, was probably on the edge of the maritime plain of Sharon. Tirzah probably lay in the northern part of the hill country of Ephraim, at the head of the Wadi Far‘ah along which passed the road from Transjordan to the central hill country, to Shechem, Samaria,Dothan and other towns. It was assigned to Manasseh (Jos 17:2-3) and later became for a time the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel before Omri transferred the capital to Samaria.
Thus were listed the thirty one kings killed by Joshua. The common mistake is to assume that because the kings were killed the cities were captured, but that was not necessarily so. Indeed in the case of the king of Gezer we have good reason to believe it was not. But the deaths of so many kings had undoubtedly weakened the power of the Canaanites. It is noteworthy, and in accordance with what we have seen earlier, that there is no mention of a king of Shechem (see on Jos 8:30).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Ver. 22. The king of Kedesh There were two cities of this name; one in the tribe of Judah; chap. Jos 15:23 the other in the tribe of Naphtali, chap. Jos 19:37. The king of the latter is thought to be here meant; 1st, Because it was at the same time a considerable city, a city of the Levites, and a city of refuge; chap. Jos 20:7. 2nd, Because Kadesh is named in this chapter among other places which were all situated in North Canaan. Calmet thinks Kedesh might be the Kadytis of Herodotus.
The king of Jokneam of Carmel The city of Jokneam was at the foot of Carmel, near the river Belus, in the tribe of Zebulun, chap. Jos 19:11. It was given to the Levites, chap. Jos 21:34. Bochart derives its name from the beauty of its situation. Canaan, lib. 1: cap. 28.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Kedesh: Jos 15:23, Jos 19:37, Jos 21:32
Jokneam: Jos 19:11
Carmel: Jos 15:55, 1Sa 25:2, Isa 35:2
Reciprocal: Jos 21:34 – Jokneam 1Ch 6:76 – Kedesh