Joshua 12
DOYLYJoshua 12:4
- For the children of Joseph were two tribes,] The privilege of the firstborn was transferred from Reuben to Joseph, 1 Chron. v. 1, 2; so that a double portion was given to his descendants, as two tribes sprang from his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Thus there were still twelve tribes to share the land, without reckoning Levi as one. The Levites, as it follows in this verse, had no part in the land, except cities to dwell in: they had them for a habitation, not for a possession, and could not sell them, as the other tribes could their possessions. Bp. Patrick.
Joshua 12:6
- Then the children of Judah &c.] Before the division of the land began, (perhaps before the conclusion of the war, as may be inferred from the last words of this chapter,) the claim of Caleb to a peculiar possession is preferred by some of his brethren, according to the promise made first by God Himself, Numb. xiv. 24: and repeated by Moses, Deut. i. 36. Joshua accordingly blessed him, ver. 13, that is, acknowledged his deserts, and besought God to prosper him in his undertaking; and gave him the mountain, (or mountainous country,) ver. 12, 13, of Hebron, not the city of Hebron, for that was a city allotted to the priests, Josh. xxi. 11, 13. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells.
Joshua 12:8
- In the mountains, and in the valleys, &c.] In the former part of this verse, the country is described according to its face and general condition: in the latter part, “the Hittites, Amorites, &c.” it is described according to its former inhabitants. Dr. Wells.
Before CHRIST 1452. d Numb. 22. 29. Deut. 3. 12. chap. 13. 3. e Chap. 11. 17. 1451. f Chap. 6. 2. g Chap. 3. 20. f Chap. 10. 33. k Chap. 18. 36. Sharon. n Chap. 11. 10. 1450.
Bounds of the land not yet conquered. JOSHUA. Inheritance of the two tribes and a half.
Before CHRIST 1440. to Gen. 14. 1. the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one;
Joshua 12:9
- From Aroer, &c.] Joshua, having in the foregoing verses, 1—8, set down what command he had received from God, saw fit to repeat here the division of the land east of Jordan, between the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, in order to prevent any future disputes about the matter, and to preclude the possibility of undue claims being set up by any of the tribes to the allotments of the others, whether east or west of Jordan. Accordingly, he begins with describing the extent of the whole country beyond or east of Jordan. Dr. Wells. Inheritance of Reuben, Gad, CHAP. XIII, XIV. and of the half tribe of Manasseh.
Chap. XIV. ver. 1. And these are the countries] This chapter is a kind of preface to the 15th, 16th, &c. chap-
ters; and the countries here meant are those of which the division is detailed in them.
Caleb by privilege obtaineth Hebron. Before CHRIST about 1444. unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them.
Joshua 12:10
- — these forty and five years,] The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness thirty-eight years after the promise made to Moses respecting Caleb. Hence it appears, that at the time when Caleb spoke this, seven years had passed since their first arrival in Canaan. As to the time which followed, between the complete division of the land, and the death of Joshua, it is not set down in this book, nor have we any means of making a probable conjecture. It is said indeed at Josh. xxiii. 1, that a long time after God had given rest unto Israel, Joshua waxed old; from which expression it may well be inferred, that the period should not be restrained to seven or ten years, but may rather be thought to extend to twenty, as Dupin computes. Bp. Patrick.
Chap. XV. ver. 1. This then was the lot &c.] In respect to the division of the land of Canaan, it is well deserving of remark, that as Jacob and Moses, at the approach of their deaths, foretold the very soil and situation of every particular country that should fall to each tribe, so, on this distribution of the lots, it actually came to pass. To the tribe of Judah, there fell a country abounding with vines and pasture grounds, Gen. xlix. 11; to that of Asher, one plenteous in oil, iron, and
Joshua 12:23
- — king of the nations of Gilgal.] This does not mean the Gilgal, where Joshua encamped when he first passed over Jordan. It is by some supposed to mean the country of Galilee. Bishop Patrick, Dr. Wells.
Joshua 12:24
- — all the kings thirty and one.] As so small a country was divided among so many kings, it is evident that, by the term “kings,” we are merely to understand petty princes, or lords perhaps of some single cities, with a few dependent villages, whose inhabitants were their tenants. Bp. Patrick. See the note on Deut. xxxiii. 5. Chap. XIII. ver. 1. Now Joshua was old] To what age he was now advanced we cannot certainly know, because we do not know what his age was, when he came out of Egypt. Some think he was then forty-three; according to which he was eighty-three when they came into Canaan; and now, it may be gathered from many probable conjectures, that he wanted not much of a hundred. Since from his declining years he could not hope to conquer the “land which yet remained,” he is commanded now to begin the business of dividing the land of Canaan among the several tribes. It should be always remembered, that the promise made by God of driving out the old inhabitants, (“Them will I drive out,” ver. 6;) ing, from Baal-gad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.