Josh. xi. 5. The word means waters.
WATERS OF, or lacus Samechonitis: the most northern and the smallest of the three lakes which are supplied by the waters of the Jordan. Indeed the numerous branches of this river, descending from the mountains, unite in this small piece of water; out of which issues the single stream which may be considered as the Jordan Proper. It is at present called the lake of Houle; and is situated in a hollow or valley, about twelve miles wide, called the Ard Houle, formed by the Djebel Heish on the west, Djebel Safat on the east, the two branches into which the mountains of Hasbeya, or Djebel Esheikh, the ancient Hermon, divides itself about fifteen miles to the north.
Me´rom. ’The waters of Merom,’ of Jos 9:5, are doubtless the lake Samechonitis, now called Huleh, the upper or highest lake of the Jordan [PALESTINE].
The "waters of Merom," Jos 11:5, or lake of Semechon, is the most northern of the three lakes supplied by the river Jordan. It is situated in the southern part of a valley formed by the two branches of Mount Hermon. The lake is now called after the valley, the lake of Huleh. The lake proper is four or five miles long, and perhaps four broad, tapering towards the south. It is very shallow, and a large part of it is covered with aquatic plants. Thousand of waterfowl sport on its surface, and its water abound in fish. On the north lies the plain of the Huleh, which is a dead level for a distance of six miles or more. Near the upper end of this, the three streams which form the Jordan unite. On the west side of the Jordan above the lake, a marsh extends up north as far as the junction of these streams, or even farther; while on the eastern side the land is tilled almost down to the lake. It is a splendid plain, and extremely fertile. All kinds of grain grow on it, with very little labor; and it still merits the praise accorded to it by the Danite spies; "We have seen the land; and behold, it is very good, .... a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth," Jdg 18:9,10 . Its rich soil is formed by deposit, and it seems to be partially submerged in the spring. Thus the lake and valley El-Huleh form an immense reservoir, and unite with the snows of Hermon to maintain the summer supplies of the Jordan. Near this lake Joshua defeated the kings of Northern Canaan, Jos 11:1-8 .\par
Me’rom. (high place). The waters of Merom. A lake formed by the river Jordan, about ten miles north of the Sea of Galilee. It is a place, memorable in the history of the conquest of Palestine. Here, Joshua completely routed the confederacy of the northern chiefs under Jabin. Jos 11:5; Jos 11:7. It is a remarkable fact that, though by common consent, "the waters of Merom" are identified with the lake thorough which the Jordan runs between Banias and the Sea of Galilee -- the Bahr el-Huleh of the modern Arabs.
Yet, that identity cannot be proved by any ancient record. In form, the lake is not far from a triangle, the base being at the north and the apex at the south. It measures about three miles in each direction, and eleven feet deep. The water is clear and sweet; it is covered in parts by a broad-leaved plant, and abounds in water-fowl. (The northern part is a dense swamp of papyrus reeds, as large as the lake itself.
By: Emil G. Hirsch, Ira Maurice Price
"The waters of Merom" is given in Josh. xi. 5 as the name of the place at which the hosts of the peoples of northern Palestine assembled to meet the invader Joshua and his army. Merom is now commonly identified with the modern Lake alḤulah, about fifteen miles north of the Sea of Galilee, and it is described as being of the shape of a pear with the stem pointing southward. It is three miles wide in its broadest part, and nearly four miles long, from the swamps to the outlet into the River Jordan. The lake is seven feet above the level of the Mediterranean, and varies from ten to sixteen feet in depth. Not far from its southwestern shores there is a considerable plain which seems to be the most probable location of the great battle between Joshua and the North-Canaanitish allies. The commander-in-chief of these forces, gathered from all parts of northern Palestine and even from the Jordan valley, was Jabin, King of Hazor. The great multitude of warriors is compared in numbers with "the sand that is upon the seashore . . . with horses and chariots very many."
The only hint as to Joshua's method of attack is the statement that he came against the enemy suddenly, and fell upon them. This probably indicates a night march and early morning attack as at Gibeon (Josh. x. 9, 10). The Israelites smote them, put them to flight, and pursued them in every direction. Their horses were hamstrung, and their chariots were burned, while their cities and the whole country were laid waste. This last great battle so reduced opposition that Joshua was now ready to partition among the tribes of Israel for a permanent possession the land with its unconquered individual fortresses.