Joshua 13:12
Ver. 12. All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei,.... See Gill on "Jos 12:4";who remained of the remnant of the giants; was descended from those that remained in Ashtaroth, after the rest were cut off by Chedorlaomer, Ge 14:5; called there the Rephaim, as here:for these did Moses smite, and cast them out: that is, not only the giants, but the inhabitants of the above kingdom, the greatest part of them; for the Geshurites and the Maachathites are excepted in Jos 13:13. Joshua 13:13Ver. 13. Nevertheless, the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites,.... Neither in the times of Moses, nor in the times of Joshua:but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day: in full possession of their cities unmolested; yea, in later times they became separate and distinct kingdoms; for we read both of the king of Geshur, and of the king of Maachah, 2Sa 3:3. Joshua 13:14Ver. 14. Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance,.... Neither the Lord, nor Moses by his order, nor did he appoint any inheritance for them, either beyond Jordan, or on this side it, for the Lord was to be their inheritance, Nu 18:20;the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire [are] their inheritance, as he said unto them; De 18:1; and which are put for the whole of what was granted to them for their subsistence, as tithes, firstfruits, &c. Joshua 13:15Ver. 15. And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben [inheritance] according to their families. According to the number of them, and sufficient for them. Joshua 13:16Ver. 16. And their coast was from Aroer that [is] on the bank of the river Arnon,.... As the country of Sihon is described, Jos 13:9; from whence it appears that it was his country which was given to Reuben, though not all of it:and the city that [is] in the midst of the river;See Gill on "Jos 13:9";and all the plain by Medeba; which reached unto Dibon, Jos 13:9. Joshua 13:17Ver. 17. Heshbon, and all her cities that [are] in the plain,.... Which was by Medeba, and reached to Dibon:Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and Bethbaalmeon; Dibon was rebuilt by Gad, though it belonged to Reuben, and perhaps was inhabited by both, being on the borders of each; and Bamothbaal signifies the high places of Baal; see Nu 22:41; perhaps this is the same with Bamoth in the valley, Nu 21:20; and Bethbaalmeon is the same with Baalmeon in Nu 32:38; where it is highly probable was a temple of Baal, since both "beth" signifies an house, and "meon" an habitation. Joshua 13:18Ver. 18. And Jahazah,.... Called Jahaz, Nu 21:23, where the battle was fought between Sihon and Israel:and Kedemoth; near to which was a wilderness, which took its name from it, from whence Moses sent messengers with words of peace to Sihon, De 2:26;and Mephaath; thought to be the Maipha of Ptolemy {f}; here Jerom says {g}, in his time was a garrison of Roman soldiers, because of the desert that was near. It was a city, with its suburbs, given to the Levites, as were the two preceding, Jos 21:36; Adrichomius {h} takes it to be the same with Malle, which, Josephus says, {i} was called the city of the strangers.{f} Geograph. l. 6. c. 7. {g} De loc Heb. fol. 93. D. {h} Theatrum Ter. Sanct. p. 179. {i} Antiqu. l. 12. c. 8. sect. 3. Joshua 13:19Ver. 19. And Kirjathaim,.... Of which See Gill on "Nu 32:37";and Sibmah; of which See Gill on "Nu 32:3" andSee Gill on "Nu 32:38";and Zarethshahar, in the mount of the valley; which was built on one of the mountains that looked over the valley of Moab, as did Nebo, Pisgah, Abarim; perhaps it is the same place Josephus {k} calls Zara, to which he joins the valley of the Cilicians, and mentions it along with Heshbon, Medeba, and other cities of Moab; according to Adrichomius {l}, it was in the mount of the valley of Bethpeor, which next follows.{k} Antiqu. l. 13. c. 15. sect. 4. {l} Ut supra, (Theatrum Ter. Sanct.) p. 130. Joshua 13:20Ver. 20. And Bethpeor,.... So called from Peor, the idol of the Moabites, and where very likely there had been a temple built to the honour of it; over against this place was a valley, where Israel abode some time, De 3:29;and Ashdodpisgah; of which see De 3:17;and Bethjeshimoth; of which see Nu 33:49. Joshua 13:21Ver. 21. And all the cities of the plain,.... In the champaign country, as well as those in the mountainous part:and all the kingdom of Sihon; or, as Masius renders the words, "which all had been the kingdom of Sihon"; for the whole kingdom of Sihon was not given to Reuben, only a part of it, and the rest to Gad, as in Jos 13:27;king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon; as in Jos 13:10;whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur,and Hur, and Reba; not at the same time that Sihon was smitten by him, but afterwards in a war with Midian, Nu 31:8; where their names are given as here; and there they are called kings of Midian, petty kings, and, as it seems by what follows, were subject to Sihon, and therefore are here mentioned:[which were] dukes of Sihon dwelling in the country; for Midian, as Kimchi supposes, and not without reason, was under the government of Sihon, and these were his nobles, though they dwelt in the land of Midian. Joshua 13:22Ver. 22. Balaam also, the son of Beor the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword,.... At the same time that the princes of Midian were slain, and which is also observed, See Gill on "Nu 31:8". Kimchi supposes that he returned to Midian, on hearing that the counsel he gave to them, to ensnare Israel with their daughters, had taken effect, in order to receive his wages, and so received his righteous doom and just reward; it is commonly said by the Jews {m}, that he was slain by Phinehas:among them that were slain by them; among the above princes, and the common soldiers, of which there was a great slaughter; even all the males of Midian were slain, Nu 31:7.{m} T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 106. 2. Kimchi in loc. Joshua 13:23Ver. 23. And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border [thereof],.... As their border eastward was Aroer on the river Arnon, so their border westward was the river Jordan:this [was] the inheritance of the children of Reuben, after their families, the cities and the villages thereof; which Moses gave them on the other side Jordan; and next follow an account of the inheritance of the tribe of Gad in those parts. Joshua 13:24Ver. 24. And Moses gave [inheritance] unto the tribe of Gad,.... On the other side Jordan, as he did to Reuben:[even] unto the children of Gad, according to their families: according to the number and largeness of them, dividing to each their part and portion. Joshua 13:25Ver. 25. And their coast was Jazer,.... Their southern coast; of Jazer, see Nu 21:32; where it is called Jaazer, and is mentioned in Isa 16:8; and in Jer 48:32, where it is spoken of as a city of Moab, as it was in the days of those prophets:and all the cities of Gilead; which lay in those parts, for the whole was not given to this tribe, half of Gilead was given to the half tribe of Manasseh, Jos 13:31;and half the land of the children of Ammon; not what then belonged to them, but what had been taken from them by the Amorites; and which Israel taking from them, had a right to retain, though they were forbid meddling with any of their land in present possession; see De 2:19 Jud 11:13;unto Aroer that [is] before Rabbath; Aroer was a city of Moab, situated on the river Arnon, Jos 13:9; and stood over against Rabbath, a city of the Amorites, since called Philadelphia, the same that Joab took, 2Sa 12:26; though Reland thinks {n}, that according to the situation of these cities another Aroer must be here meant, and which belonged to the Amorites.{n} Palestin. Illustrat. tom. 2. p. 583. Joshua 13:26Ver. 26. And from Heshbon unto Ramathmizpeh, and Betonim,.... This was their coast from the south to the north, and so describes their eastern border, which reached from Heshbon, given to the tribe of Reuben, Jos 13:7; to these places mentioned; Ramathmizpeh, the same with Ramothgilead, which Jerom {o} says was a village in his time, and lay two miles from Philadelphia or Rabbath before mentioned, to the east; it should be to the west; of Betonim we nowhere else read, it seems to have been near to Ramath:and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir; the former of these was the place where the angels met Jacob, and who gave it the name from thence; and in later times a city of this name was built there, and was near the river Jabbok, Ge 32:2; Debir is different from that in the tribe of Judah, Jos 15:15; in the Septuagint version here it is called Daibon, perhaps the same with Dibon, the tribe of Gad rebuilt, and is called Dibongad, Nu 32:34; unless Lidbar here should be the same with Lodebar in Gilead, 2Sa 17:27.{o} De loc. Heb. fol. 99. A. Joshua 13:27Ver. 27. And in the valley, Betharam,.... The same with Bethharan,See Gill on "Nu 32:36":and Bethnimrah; sometimes called Nimrah, Nu 32:3; near to which were some waters, called the waters of Nimrim, Isa 15:6; It was in Jerom's {p} time a large village; it seems to have its name from leopards, which perhaps had their haunts hereabout:and Succoth: the place where Jacob pitched his tent after he had passed over Jabbok; it is called in the Jerusalem Talmud {q} Thaarabah:and Zaphon; which in the same Talmud is Amatho or Amathus, which Jerom says {r} is a village beyond Jordan, twenty one miles from Pella to the south, though he places it in the tribe of Reuben:the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon; which was not given to the tribe of Reuben, Jos 13:21;Jordan and [his] border; that is, the cities which were near it, as Kimchi; or that were upon the bank of it, as Jarchi;[even] unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth; the same with the lake of Gennesaret, Lu 5:1;on the other side Jordan eastward; the other from that in which the inheritance of Gad lay, which was beyond Jordan, from the land of Canaan.{p} De loc. Heb. fol. 93. I. {q} T. Hieros. Sheviith, fol. 38. 4. {r} De loc. Heb. fol. 88. E. Joshua 13:28Ver. 28. This [is] the inheritance of the children of Gad, after their families,.... As described in Jos 13:27:the cities and their villages; the cities given them, some of which are mentioned by name, and the villages adjacent and belonging to them were included in them. Joshua 13:29Ver. 29. And Moses gave [inheritance] unto the half tribe of Manasseh,.... Whether at their request or of himself, there being land enough for them, and the two tribes of Gad and Reuben, is not certain:and [this] is [the possession] of the half tribe of Manasseh, by their families; which is after related and described. Joshua 13:30Ver. 30. And their coast was from Mahanaim,.... A place in the tribe of Gad, Jos 13:26; which was the boundary of the half tribe that way:all Bashan; so famous for its oxen, and for pasturage for them, and for its oaks, called by Josephus Batanea:all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan; which, besides Bashan, took in the kingdom of Argob or Trachonitis, half the land of Gilead, all which was possessed by the half tribe of Manasseh: see De 3:13;and all the towns of, Jair which [are] in Bashan, threescore cities; of Jair, and his relation to Manasseh, and of his taking these cities, and the number of them, see Nu 33:41. Joshua 13:31Ver. 31. And half Gilead,.... The other half not given to the Gadites, who had that half of it which Sihon possessed, and the tribe of Manasseh that half of it which Og possessed, see De 3:12;and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan; which are particularly mentioned, because royal cities, Jos 13:10; see De 1:4;[were pertaining] unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh; and who was his only son; however, to his posterity only was this inheritance given, though not to them all:[even] to one half of the children of Machir, by their families; which seems to confirm it that Manasseh had no other son, since his whole posterity, both the half tribe on the other side, as well as that in the land of Canaan, were denominated from him; though he seems to have had another son, who perhaps died without issue, 1Ch 7:14. Joshua 13:32Ver. 32. These [are the countries] which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab,.... Which is particularly described, that each might know their proper portion:on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward; of the land of Canaan; of Jordan by Jericho, See Gill on "Nu 22:1". Joshua 13:33Ver. 33. But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not [any] inheritance,.... Neither on the other side Jordan, nor did he order them any in Canaan; but expressly declared they were to have no part in the division of it, though they were his own tribe; which shows him to be a disinterested man, that he faithfully observed the orders and instructions the Lord gave him:the Lord God of Israel [was] their inheritance, as he said unto them; what was given to the Lord out of the sacrifices, and the tithes, and firstfruits, that were theirs; see Nu 18:20.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.