Tyndale Open Study Notes

Verse 1

7:1–12:24 This second major section of the book includes a record of Joshua’s southern and northern campaigns against two coalitions of Canaanite kings. Joshua’s victories enabled Israel to settle the hill country from Galilee in the north to the Negev in the south.

10:1-43 Gibeon and its neighboring cities occupied a plateau north of Jerusalem (see study note on 7:2). With Gibeon now allied to Israel, control of the plateau and of the central hill country in the vicinity of Gibeon belonged to Israel. Throughout history, whoever has controlled the plateau has, in general, also controlled the hill country. The Canaanite kings had to conquer Gibeon or their cause was lost.

10:1 Adoni-zedek means “master of righteousness” or “my master is righteous.” An earlier king of Jerusalem named Melchizedek (“king of righteousness” or “my king is righteous”) had been “a priest of God Most High” and a friend of Abraham (Gen 14:18-20). However, Adoni-zedek was not a friend to Joshua or a believer in the Lord.

Verse 2

10:2 Gibeon was apparently not one of the royal cities. Gibeon might have been subservient to Canaan-controlled Jerusalem before making the covenant with Joshua, or it might have been an independent town controlled by a few leading families.

Verse 5

10:5 When the Old Testament makes a distinction between Amorites and Canaanites (see study note on 3:10), the Amorite kings controlled the hill country, while the Canaanites occupied the valleys and the coastal plain.

Verse 7

10:7 Joshua had sworn to rescue Gibeon, so now he set out to do it.

Verse 8

10:8 God once again urged Joshua not to be afraid, assuring him of victory over Israel’s enemies (see also 1:9; 8:1).

Verse 9

10:9 Joshua’s army walked all night to travel the fifteen miles up the rugged passes and steep slopes and across the plateau. By attacking the Amorite armies from the east at sunrise, Joshua’s army came out of the sun, blinding the Amorites as they faced eastward to fight. • Israel’s covenant required the nation to respond to Gibeon’s plea for help, but Joshua responded more promptly than any treaty required. Defeating the Canaanite force with a swift strike gave Israel a tremendous advantage.

Verse 10

10:10-13 Three miracles—supernatural panic, a terrible hailstorm, and a lengthened day—demonstrated that the destruction of the Canaanites was entirely God’s doing.

10:10 It was about forty miles from Gibeon, down the Beth-horon road, then south through the western foothills to Azekah and Makkedah.

Verse 12

10:12 Joshua prayed to have the day lengthened so the Israelites could finish the task without allowing the Amorite forces time to organize a new defense against Israel. • The sun and moon, two of Canaan’s most powerful gods, proved powerless against the Lord. • Aijalon was a city near the western end of the Beth-horon road.

Verse 13

10:13 God caused the sun to stay in the middle of the sky. Not all miracles can be understood, whether in purpose, in scope, or in mechanism. • The Book of Jashar served as one of the ancient sources for Israel’s historians. While well known in ancient Israel, it did not survive as a separate document.

Verse 16

10:16 The five kings had led the southern coalition against God’s people. • Although the location of Makkedah is uncertain, it was in the same district as Lachish (15:39-41) in the southern part of the western foothills, about twenty-five miles southwest of Jerusalem. Limestone caves are numerous in that region.

Verse 18

10:18-19 By blocking the opening of the cave, Joshua reduced the number of guards needed to keep the kings from escaping. This also eliminated danger to the guards and freed more men to pursue the fleeing people.

Verse 21

10:21 The armies returned safely, indicating that Israel suffered few or no casualties in this battle, a sign of God’s presence in the battle. • no one dared: The Canaanites in the south now had firsthand experience that Israel’s powerful God was fighting them.

Verse 24

10:24 Victorious commanders in the ancient Near East would commonly put their feet on defeated kings’ necks to symbolize their subjugation.

Verse 25

10:25 Joshua encouraged his men at Makkedah, using the same words God had used to encourage him before Israel crossed the Jordan and again before the battle of Ai (1:9; 8:1).

Verse 26

10:26-27 Joshua’s execution of the five kings followed the pattern established with the king of Ai (see note on 8:29).

Verse 28

10:28-39 Joshua led the Israelites throughout southern Canaan, where they captured but did not burn a number of important cities. God had promised that Israel would dwell in cities they had not built (Deut 6:10).

10:28 He destroyed them all: See study note on 2:9-10.

Verse 29

10:29-30 Libnah was probably about six miles north of Lachish. Because the location of Makkedah is uncertain, how far it was from Libnah is also unknown.

Verse 31

10:31-33 Lachish, by far the most important of the six cities taken at this time, was defended so well that it took Joshua until the second day to capture it. • Gezer was about twenty-five miles north of Lachish. Lachish and Gezer might have had a mutual aid treaty.

Verse 38

10:38-39 Because settlement in the hill country was sparse, the surrounding villages—walled towns that could not maintain their independence—depended on the kingdoms of the dominant cities for protection.

Verse 40

10:40 Joshua’s southern campaign cleared the way for the southern tribes to occupy this whole region when the settlement process began. • the western foothills: See study note on Deut 1:7.

Verse 41

10:41 This Goshen was not the region in Egypt’s Nile delta (Gen 47:27) but a town in the hill country (Josh 15:51) south of Jerusalem. From Goshen up to Gibeon describes the eastern reach of Joshua’s southern campaign.

Verse 43

10:43 Joshua and his army were free to return to their camp at Gilgal in the Jordan Valley and turn their thoughts to the northern region of Canaan.