Joshua 10:10
Ver. 10. And the Lord discomfited them before Israel,.... Disturbed, troubled, and frightened them, at the appearance and presence of the people of Israel; they were thrown into terror and confusion upon their approach, being so sudden and unexpected:
and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon; by the Israelites, who came upon them suddenly:
and chased them along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron; there were two places of this name, the upper and the nether, both built by Sherah, the daughter or granddaughter of Ephraim, 1Ch 7:24; therefore here so called by anticipation. It was about an hundred furlongs, or twelve miles and a half, according to Josephus {o}, from Jerusalem, which agrees with Eusebius and Jerom; and from Gibeon thither, it was fifty furlongs, or six miles and a quarter; so far the kings were pursued by Joshua and his army, at least unto the ascent of it; for being built on a hill, it had an ascent on one side, and a descent on the other, after mentioned, and both were very narrow passages; of the former it is said in the Talmud {p}, that if two camels go up the ascent to Bethhoron, they both fall; upon which the gloss says, it is a narrow place, and there is no way to turn to the right hand, or the left:
and smote them to Azekah, and unto Makkedah; the former of which is placed by Jerom {q} between Eleutheropolis and Jerusalem, and was a village in his days, and the other eight miles from Eleutheropolis, and both in the tribe of Judah, see Jos 15:35; according to Bunting {r}, they were both eight miles from Jerusalem towards the west.
{o} Antiqu. l. 20. c. 4. sect. 4. {p} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 32. 2. {q} De loc. Heb. fol. 88. A. & 93. C. {r} Travels, &c. p. 98.