Joshua 11:1-8
Jos 11:1
And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard
those things, that he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of
Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph,
The kings in the northern part of Canaan had now become
aware of the mass destruction which took place in the south of Canaan and was
now seeking to form an alliance with each other for the purpose of preventing
Joshua from conquering them. Hazor
was about 40 miles (64 KM) north of Gilgal.
Madon was 33 miles (53 KM) north of Gilgal.
Shimron was 30 miles (48 KM) northwest of Gilgal.
Achshaph was 33 miles (53 KM) northwest of Gilgal.
These were pretty long distances by ancient standards.
The kings of these cities must have had people who witnessed the
devastation which Joshua’s army had done and quickly got the word back to the
north.
Jos 11:2
And to the kings that were on the north of the
mountains, and of the plains south of Chinneroth, and in the valley, and in the
borders of Dor on the west,
Chinneroth was 10 miles (16 KM) south of Hazor on the Sea
of Chinnereth (Galilee). Dor was on
the coast and was about 50 miles (80 KM) southwest of Hazor.
The valley is probably the Valley of Jezreel which was about 40 miles (64
KM) south of Hazor. So the word
went out to all the kings in a very wide area.
Jabin probably thought that the alliance of the five kings of the south
was too small and that is why they lost.
Here he was garnering forces which would be a much greater number in
hopes that was all they needed to defeat Israel and stop their advance.
Jos 11:3
And to the Canaanite on the east and on the west,
and to the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Jebusite
in the mountains, and to the Hivite under Hermon in the land of Mizpeh.
The Canaanites are called the nation of seven because
they dwelt in the eastern part of the land by the Dead sea.
The Amalekites dwell in the land
of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in
the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
(Numbers 13:29) The Amorites,
Hittites, and Perizzites had dwelt in various parts of the country.
The Jebusites dwelled in the land of Judah around Jerusalem which was
called Jebus before it was called Jerusalem.
The Hivites here are different than the ones that dwelt at Gibeon.
Mizpeh was in the northern part of Gilead which was on the east side of
Jordan which location is not specifically known.
Jos 11:4
And they went out, they and all their hosts with them,
much people, even as the sand that is upon the sea shore in multitude,
with horses and chariots very many.
Then all the kings which mustered an army of their own
people had left their cities to begin to meet up with the other armies whom they
were now allied with. According to
Josephus they had a combined army of 300,000 men, 10,000 horses, and 20,000
chariots. Keep in mind that
Joshua’s army was numbered at 40,000.
This would have been the biggest army that Joshua would face.
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.
The waters of Merom was about 5 miles (8 KM) southwest of
Hazor and was a large river which could have accommodated such a large army.
Josephus also states that there was a lake which would have accommodated
a large army. It was thirty
furlongs wide and sixty furlongs long.
A furlong measures 660 feet or approximately 201 meters.
So it was 3.75 miles wide (6 KM) and 7.5 miles long (12 KM).
Jos 11:6
And the LORD said unto Joshua, Be not afraid because of
them: for to morrow about this time will I deliver them up all slain before
Israel: thou shalt hough their horses, and burn their chariots with fire.
Gilgal to Hazor was about 80 miles (129 KM) north which
meant that Joshua had to march for at least five days which would be about 20
miles per day which is what Josephus states.
The word “tomorrow” must be understood in the context of that five day
march to Merom that when they finally get into battle, Joshua will slay them all
even though he was outnumbered. He
received assurance that the LORD would deliver them up.
Maybe the LORD was already doing something within the camp of the enemy
at that time and that would have been a cause for their defeat even before the
battle took place. Houghing the
horses means that they will be cut on the hamstring tendons in the legs which
will disable all the horses and they will be unusable to pull chariots and be
used for cavalry.
Jos 11:7
So Joshua came, and all the people of war with him,
against them by the waters of Merom suddenly; and they fell upon them.
Then Joshua arrived at the waters of Merom and came upon
them suddenly which means that the pagan army had not even been prepared and
were probably sitting around drinking and having fun.
Since they were unprepared for the battle Joshua was able, in blitzkrieg
style, to fall upon them and fight against them while they were unprepared for
battle. Maybe a few days back the
LORD gave them the spirit of stupor and that caused them to let their guard down
and allow Joshua to surprise them in an attack.
They were unaware that Joshua’s army was approaching.
If their commanders were astute, they would have had a series of lookouts
from the south to detect the movement of Joshua’s army but their arrogance was
enabled by the numbers they had thinking it would be easy to defeat Joshua.
Jos 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.