Bible in One Year Day 84 (Joshua 10 - 11 Psalm 128)

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Day 84:  The Sun Stands Still 

Agape Bible Study 

Joshua 10 

Chapter 10: The Coalition of the Five Amorite Kings and
the Conquest of Southern Canaan

The sub-theme of covenant making and covenant keeping that began in chapter two with the story of Rahab continues in chapter 10 with the Israelites commitment to the covenant of peace they made with the Gentiles of the four Gibeonite cities.  Joshua 10:1-43 is composed of two units describing the battles that secured Israel’s control of southern Canaan:

• Verses 1-27:    The defeat of the coalition of the five kings at the Battle of Gibeon.
• Verses 28-43: The victories over the alliance of the remaining Canaanite kings in the south.

Joshua 10:1-5 ~ A coalition of five Amorite kings make war on Gibeon

The alliance of kings we heard about in 9:1 now forms a separate coalition of five of the highland Amorite kings at the request of Adoni-Zedek, the king of Jerusalem, to attack the Gibeonite confederation for making a peace treaty with the Israelites:

This is the first time the place-name “Jerusalem” is found in the Bible.  Like the cities in the Gibeonite confederation that were a mixture of Hivites and Amorites, Jerusalem was also apparently a mixed population of Amorites and Hittites (Ez 16:3).  Adoni-Zedek, the title/name of the pagan king of Jerusalem, means “lord of righteousness” (or “my Lord is righteous”).

Question: What was the title of the priest-king of Jerusalem who was a servant of God the Most High?  He blessed Abraham after his battle against the five kings of Mesopotamia and Abraham paid him a tithe of a tenth of all he had acquired.  See Gen 14:18-20?
Answer: He was called Melchi-Zedek.

Melchi-Zedek means “king of righteousness”/ “righteous king.”  Melchizedek was the priest-king of Yahweh at Salem.  According to Jewish and Christian tradition, he was Shem, the righteous son of Noah who became God’s covenant representative to the people (Gen 9:26).   One line of his descendants abandoned Yahweh as their one God (Gen 10:26-31), but through another line of Shem’s descendants the “promised seed” and the relationship with God was preserved (Gen 11:10-26).  Shem is the ancestor of all Semites and the ancestor Abraham (Gen 11:26) and of Jesus Christ (Mt 1:1). The Jerusalem king named Adoni-Zedek, however, worshiped pagan gods.

Jerusalem will not become an Israelite city until it is conquered by David in c. 1000 BC,  when David will make the city his capital.  In former times it was called “Salem,” which means “peace.”  The name of the city was changed sometime after Abraham’s test of covenant obedience at Mt. Moriah near Salem in the offering up of his son, Isaac, in sacrifice at God’s command in Genesis chapter 22.  In that significant event, when Isaac asked his father “where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”, Abraham’s reply in Hebrew was “Yahweh yireh (jireh)”—“Yahweh provides/will provide.”  When the angel of the Lord stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son, Abraham saw a ram caught up in a thicket and offered it as a substitute sacrifice for Isaac (Gen 22:11-13).

Question: What did Abraham call the place after this visionary experience of the Divine?  
Answer: He called the place “Yahweh provides/will provide” from which the saying came “On the mountain Yahweh provides/will provide.”

There is no “j” in Hebrew; in English we use “j” which is the German “y.”  Hence, the city of Salem became yireh/jireh-salem = Jerusalem, meaning “will provide peace.” Jewish tradition identifies Salem as Jerusalem (Josephus, Wars of the Jews, 7.10.1 [438]).  Abraham’s naming of the site “Yahweh will provide” become prophetic.  The mountain of Moriah is where the Jerusalem Temple was built (2 Chr 3:1) and a lower elevation of the same mountain was where Jesus Christ was crucified as the sacrifice Yahweh “will provide” to establish peace with God for all mankind. 

The city of Gibeon was located at a strategic crossroads in the mountains above the valley of Elah, not far from Jerusalem.

Question: Why was the king of Jerusalem so angry about the Gibeonite peace treaty with Israel?  What was his interest in Gibeon?
Answer: Gibeon was not a city ruled by a king.  The Gibeonite confederation was probably a vassal people of the king of Jerusalem, and he cannot let this defection go unpunished or other vassal cities may also defect. 

The city of Hebron is one of the city-states that formed the 5 city coalition with the king of Jerusalem.  Hebron, a central city in the southern hill country about 20 miles south-southwest of Jerusalem, is situated at one of the highest points on the central mountain ridge (c. 3,040 feet—higher than Jerusalem).  It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Levant.  Numbers 13:22 records that Hebron (also called Kiriath-Abra) was where Abraham’s family burial cave was located (Gen 23:1-2, 19-20).  Scripture tells us that Hebron was founded seven years before Zoan in Egypt (Num 13:22).  Zoan was called Avaris when it was the Hyksos capital in the Egyptian Delta (1782-1570 BC); later it was renamed Tanis after the Egyptians drove out the Hyksos.

Question: What significant event happened at Hebron in 2 Samuel 2:1-4?
Answer: It was at Hebron that David of Judah first received the title “king.” 

Joshua 10:6-9 ~ Joshua and the Israelites rescue Gibeon

 “The highlands” in verse 6 designates the central hill country which is the core of ancient Israel (see 10:40), but three of the cities in the coalition, Jarmuth, Lachish and Eglon, are situated in north-south line in a region known as the Shephelah— the foothills separating the central mountain range from the broad coastal plain off the Mediterranean Sea.

When the Gibeonites sent messengers to Joshua that they are being attacked, Joshua and the Israelites are ready to fulfill their treaty obligation to these people.

Question: What word of assurance and what promise does God give to Joshua in verse 8 and what is significant about this?

Answer: God tells them to not be afraid of the vast army they will face, and He gives the promise that the victory will be theirs.  God approves of the Israelites coming to the aid of their Gentile vassals.

This is the second test of Joshua’s willingness to keep the covenant with the Gibeonites.

Question: What was the first test?  See Josh 9:18-19, 26.
Answer: The first test was in chapter 9 when the people wanted to kill the Gibeonites for their deception and when Joshua and the elders prevented them.

Joshua orders a forced march that very day and through the night to reach the besieged Gibeonites.  

Destruction of the Army of the Amorites (Gustave Dore)

The Battle of the Long Day

Joshua 10:10-15 ~ Yahweh joins in the fight in the Battle of the Long Day

In the literal Hebrew translation (IBHE, vol. I, page 584), verse 10 mentions the “ascent” of Beth-Horon and verse 11 the “descent” of Beth-Horon. Beth Horon was a mountain pass that one ascended from the east and then descended the pass as it led west through the mountains. It was on the descent that the hail storm took place.

Joshua attacked the armies of the 5 kings at Gibeon and then when they fled in a westerly direction toward the coastal plain, he followed them into the narrow mountain pass of Beth-Horon.  It would have been difficult terrain for a retreating army with the narrowness of the pass slowing down the retreat and the possibility of the enemy assailing them from the slopes above the road.  The Descent of Beth-Horon mentioned in verse 10 is where the main battle took place.  It is a pass that is a major route from the hill country into the region of the Shephelah to the southwest.  The towns of Azekah and Makkedah (verses 16, 17, 21, 28 and 29), were in the southern Shephelah and anticipate the second unit of the Southern Campaign.

Question: What three acts of God assisted the Israelites in the battle?
Answer:

1. God threw the armies of the five kings into panic when they saw the Israelites (verse 10).
2. He sent hailstones to assail and kill the enemy (verse 11).
3. In answer to Joshua’s prayer, God made the daylight last long enough to win the battle (verses 12-13). 

Trying to escape through the narrow pass there was no place for the fleeing enemy to take cover; they were at the mercy of the hail storm.

Question: When did God use hail as an instrument of Divine judgment earlier in Israel’s history?  See Ex 9:13-16.
Answer: God has used hail as an instrument of Divine judgment in the 7^th Egyptian plague (Ex 9:13-19, 23-26).

The hail assailed the Amorite kings and their armies as far as Azekah, a site that was 12 miles west of Jerusalem and a strategic position below the city of Jarmuth in the Shephelah south of Beth-Horon.  The hail storm hit at the most difficult section of the pass—on the descent—and more of the enemy died from the hail than from the Israelites.  The enemy may also have died from flash floods.  Many centuries later, in the 8^th century BC, the prophet Isaiah refers to this act of God in Isaiah 28:17-21: But hail will sweep away the refuge of lies and floods wash away the hiding-place …Yes, as on Mount Perazim, Yahweh will rise as in the Valley of Gibeon, he will storm to do his work, his mysterious work, to do his deed, his extraordinary deed (Is 17b, 21).

Question: Why did Joshua ask God to extend the day?  Hint: Ancient armies did not continue the battle after sundown. 

Answer: He knew he did not have enough time to win this major battle against a much larger army before sunset.  If the enemy retreated and escaped, they would have the opportunity to regroup and rearm, and the Israelites would only have to fight them again.

Five Kings in the Cave 

Joshua 10:16-21 ~ The destruction of the armies of the Amorite kings

 

Their armies defeated and the survivors retreating to their fortified cities, the five kings fled out of the hill country into the low hills southwest of Jerusalem.  This area in western Canaan separates the coastal plains from the central mountain ridge to the east and is called the Shephelah.  Makkedah was apparently one of sixteen cities in the Shephelah.  

Question: When Joshua discovers the five kings have hidden in the cave, why does he only seal off their escape?
Answer: He does not want anything—even the capture of the kings—to slow the progress of the battle. 

Joshua makes his temporary camp at Makkedah and continues the battle.  After their victory, the Israelites return to Makkedah to deal with the imprisoned kings.

Joshua 10:22-27 ~ The fate of the five Amorite kings

Joshua gives the Israelites commanders credit for the victory and rewards his officers by making them, as Israel’s representative, the ones to take the symbolic attitude of standing on the necks of the defeated kings (also see 1 Kng 5:17; Ps 110:1).  It is an act of conquest often seen on Egyptian tombs and temple reliefs of Pharaohs and also in Mesopotamian royal reliefs of kings standing with a foot on the necks and backs of a defeated and enslaved people.  It was a symbolic act of victory used widely in the ancient Near East (also see Dt 33:29; 1 Kng 5:3/17; Ps 110:1 and 1 Cor 15:25-28).

The kings are executed and afterward are hung on trees.  This is not death by hanging or crucifixion but is instead public exposure of the corpses to show God’s judgment against the wicked has been fulfilled.  The bodies are removed at sundown, according to the Law and are entombed in the cave.

Question: What is ironic about the cave where the five kings tried to hide from the Israelites?
Answer: Their place of refuge becomes their tomb and a memorial to their judgment.

Joshua 10:28-39 ~ The conquest of the towns of southern Canaan
Phase II of the southern campaign (Josh 10:28-43) records the additional victories for the Israelites in a repeated formula that begins in verse 28 with “as they have done repeated 7 times in verses 28-39 conveying the completeness of the campaign.  The phrase “Joshua and all Israel with him…” is repeated 5 times.

Most of these cities, with the exception of Hebron, are in the Shephelah.  Hebron is located in the hill country. Makkedah where the 5 kings were discovered and where Joshua made his camp must be near Azekah (verse 10), but its exact location is disputed.  The next city mentioned is Libnah, believed to be a site about 5 miles north of Lachish that was taken by “all Israel.”  This part of the narrative again puts emphasis on the unity of Israel in the conquest (see 3:7, 17; 4:14; 7:23; 8:21, 24 and now 11:31, 34, 36 and 38).

Moving in a southerly direction, Joshua and the army of Israel advances on and besieges Lachish.   Lachish was a major city in the southern foothills of the Shephelah.  The important city-state was located about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem and 15 miles west of Hebron.  The kings of cities that were part of the 5 king coalition were executed in Joshua 10:26-27, and their successors are defending the cities that Joshua is now attacking.

Hebron’s king belonged to the 5 king coalition along with the kings of Lachish and Eglon and was killed with them at the cave of Makkedah, but Joshua faces his successor in this battle (10:36-37).  That new kings of these cities have been chosen suggests that some time has elapsed between the two parts of the Southern Campaign.  The city was captured by Joshua’s captain, the Gentile convert Caleb of Judah (Josh 15:13).

Debir, the last city mentioned in the campaign, was strategically located about 11 miles southwest of Hebron between the Negev and the Shephelah (although the site has been disputed; see Josh 10:36-39; 12:13).  Its earlier name was Kiriath-sepher, “city of books” (Josh 15:15-16; Judg 1:11-12).  It was inhabited by the giant Anakim (Num 13:33; Josh 11:21) and was captured by Caleb’s brother Othniel (Josh 15:15-17).  After the population was destroyed, the city was burned under the curse of destruction but it was rebuilt and became an administrative district headquarters (Josh 15:49) and a Levitical city (Josh 21:15).

Joshua 10:40-43 ~ The completion of the Southern Campaign

Question: What four parts of the land are mentioned in verse 40?
Answer:

1. The highlands or hill country
2. The Negeb southland
3. The lowlands (Shephelah)
4. The watered foothills or slopes

What is meant by the “watered foothills” of “slopes” is disputed by scholars.  On the basis of Joshua 12:8 it appears that these are the slopes going down toward the lowland of the Shephelah in the west.  The other view is that the reference is to the descent from the Judean mountain region toward the Dead Sea in the east.

Question: What is the significance of verse 41 summing up the Southern Campaign?
Answer: This verse names the extreme boundaries of the region conquered by the Israelites, making the claim in verse 40 complete.

Kadesh-Barnea is the southernmost boundary.  It is an oasis on the edge of the wilderness regions of Paran and Zin where it marked the southern border of Canaan and the western border of Edom.  Abraham dwelt near the oasis (Gen 20:1).  Kadesh became an important symbol in the early history of Israel and is mentioned frequently (Num 32:8; 33:36-37; Dt 1:2, 19, 46; 2:14; 9:23; 32:51; Josh 10:41; 14:6-7; 15:3; Judg 11:16-17).  The oasis is 11 days journey from Mt. Sinai via Mt. Seir to Kadesh (Dt 1:2).

Question: What event happened at this place after the Israelites left Mt. Sinai?  Why is the taking of Kadesh significant?  See Num 13-14; Num 13:26 identifies the site as Kadesh-Barnea.
Answer: It was from Kadesh-Barnea that the twelve Israelite spies, including Joshua and Caleb, were sent out to reconnoiter Canaan for forty days.  When the spies returned, ten of the spies convinced the people they were not powerful enough to conquer Canaan—they did not trust God to fight with them.  As judgment for their lack of faith, God condemned the Exodus generation of Israel to forty years of wilderness wandering until all the people over 20 years of age died in the desert (with the exception of Caleb and Joshua).  Now the new generation of Israel’s holy warriors have succeeded where their fathers failed.

Verse 41 then draws the line northward to Gaza, a Canaanite city about 3 miles from the Mediterranean coast.  It was part of the Philistine Pentapolis (5 city Philistine alliance).  It was the southern-most city in that alliance and is mentioned in the Amarna archive as an Egyptian administrative center for the region (see Josh 13:3 and 15:47).

The “region of Goshen” is the broad intermediate zone between the southern hill country of Gibeon and the Negev to the far south.  It is only mentioned in Joshua 10:41 and 11:16 and is the name the Israelites gave to their home in the Egyptian Delta (Gen 47:27).

In the summary verses, Joshua, as the commander of the Israelite army, is credited with all the victories.  

The nine conquered armies/cities of the Southern Campaign listed in order of the battles:

1. Makkedah
2. Libnah
3. Lachish
4. Gezer
5. Eglon
6. Hebron
7. Debir
8. Kadesh-Barnea
9. Gaza

Chapter 11: The Conquest of the North

Joshua 11:1-4 ~ The northern kings of Canaan form an alliance against Israel

Question: How is this part of the narrative in 11:1-9 similar to the narrative in 10:1-27?
Answer:

1. In this part of the narrative, as in the previous narrative, we are reminded that God the Great King is fighting for Israel against the earthly kings, and the Israelite victory is assured.
2. Once again a coalition of city-states attempts to halt Israel’s conquest of Canaan. 
3. Each account includes a description of a decisive battle followed by additional military activity that establishes a more permanent presence for the Israelites in Canaan.
4. Each account mentions a single main king who initiates the coalition: the king of Jerusalem in chapter 10 and the king of Hazor in chapter 11.
5. Israel’s victory is complete; the curse of herem is applied to all conquered cities by varying degrees and all the kings are killed.

Joshua 11:5-9 ~ The battle of Merom

Question: According to the prophet Zechariah, how will the messianic king of the future enter Jerusalem and why is this image significant?  See Zech 9:9.
Answer: The promised Messiah will enter Jerusalem riding on the foal of an ass and not on a war horse or in a chariot.  He will come as the King of Peace and not as a conquering warrior king.

Question: How did God tell the Israelites to deal with the chariots?
Answer: God’s command was not to engage the warriors fighting from the chariots but to concentrate on disabling the chariots by attacking the legs of the horses so the chariots became useless.  After rendering the chariots useless and killing the drivers and warriors, the Israelites were to burn the chariots so they could not be used again.

Joshua surprised the Canaanite armies at their rendezvous point and forced the battle before they were able to formulate their strategy and array themselves on the battle field.  God caused panic among the armies of the enemy.  

Joshua 11:10-14 ~ The defeat of Hazor and the other northern towns

After defeating the armies of the northern kings, Joshua “turned back” or “went into action” and took Hazor.  The writer notes that at the time these events took place that Hazor was the dominant city-state in the region.

Question: All the conquered cities were put under the curse of destruction/herem, but what three cities were the only cities that were destroyed by fire?  See 6:24; 8:18; 11:11.
Answer: Only Jericho, Ai and Hazor were burned as an example.

Question: What does the gift of the livestock and loot from the conquered cities tell the Israelites?

Answer: The gift of the material goods from some of the cities is the Israelite’s reminder that God will take care of them and see to both their spiritual and material needs so they do not need to steal from him like Achan.

The cities that were not destroyed by fire were occupied by the Israelites as God promised they would occupy the towns and lands of their enemies (Dt 6:10-12) and the gift of which Joshua reminded them in his last address to the people: And now I have given you a country for which you have not toiled, towns you have not built, although you live in them… (Josh 24:13).

The first ten and a half chapters of Joshua recount the conquest of Canaan in three campaigns.  The remainder of the book, in chapters eleven to twenty-four, contains:

• The summary statement in chapter 11:15-23.
• The summary of the land taken and the kings who were defeated in Joshua chapter 12.
• The lists of the allotments of territory to various Israelite units and cities dedicated for special reasons or special personnel in chapters 12-21.
• A narrative covering the conflict over the building of an altar by the Transjordan tribes in chapter 22.
• And finally, the presentation of Joshua’s final homily to Israel and the narration’s summaries in chapters 23-24. 

Joshua 11:15-20 ~ Summary of the conquest

Verse 15 concludes with yet another reference to the faithfulness of Joshua which can be compared to the faithfulness of God’s servant Moses.  Joshua completed his mission, conquering Amorite and Canaanite cities from Mount Halak in the south on the border with Edom (Seir) and to the north as far as the Valley of Lebanon at the foot of Mount Hermon.  Baal-gad is a shrine to the Canaanite god Baal near the source of the Jordan River.  It remained an important pagan shrine down through the centuries, and the Greeks added a shrine there to Pan and the Romans to Jupiter.  It is at this site near Philippi Caesarea that St. Peter will make his profession of faith of Jesus and will be made the Vicar of Christ of holds the authority of the keys of the Kingdom (Mt 16:13-20).

Joshua 11:21-23 ~ The extermination of the giant Anakim

The Anakim were huge people (Num 14:28, 32-33).  The word “anakim” means “long-necks,” referring to their height.  There were also giant people on the eastern side of the river Jordan who were called the Rephaim (Gen 14:5; Dt 2:10-11).  The Rephaim must have at one time resided on the western side since there was the Valley of Rephaim, or “Valley of Giants,” southwest of Jerusalem.

Question: After being driven out of highlands, where did the surviving Anakim settle along the coast?
Answer: They remained in the cities of Gaza, Gath and Ashdod.

Question: These were Philistine cities.  What famous Philistine descendant of the Anakim fought a battle against a young Israelite hero?  See 1 Sam 17:4-15, 26-54.
Answer: The giant Goliath of Gath fought young David of Judah and lost his life with a sling-stone between the eyes.

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A Daily Defense

DAY 84 Peter in Galatians 

CHALLENGE: “Peter didn’t have a special role among the apostles. Paul doesn’t show him special respect in his letter to the Galatians. He even opposed Peter ‘to his face’ (Gal. 2:11).”

DEFENSE: On the contrary, his letter to the Galatians shows that Paul acknowledged Peter’s unique role in the Church. 

Paul’s critics had apparently accused him of trying to please men by preaching a watered-down gospel that did not require circumcision. Thus he stresses that he is not trying to please men and that his gospel is not of human origin (Gal. 1:10–12). He then recounts a series of incidents to illustrate his assertion. Peter figures in each incident. First (Gal. 1:13–24), he recounts how after his conversion he did not consult with anyone, though “after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas [i.e., Peter], and remained with him fifteen days” (Gal. 1:18). 

Second (Gal. 2:1–10), he recounts how he returned for the Jerusalem council, and when he did so the other apostles “saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for the mission to the circumcised worked through me also for the Gentiles)” (Gal. 2:7–8). He also notes that “James and Cephas and John . . . were reputed to be pillars” (Gal. 2:9). 

Third (Gal. 2:11–16), he recounts how “when Cephas came to Antioch I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. . . . But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?’ ” (Gal. 2:11–12, 14). 

Each incident shows Peter’s unique role: Paul went to visit Peter, not the other apostles. Peter had a special mission to the Jews that paralleled Paul’s mission to the Gentiles. Peter was recognized as a pillar. And, in the ideal test case of whether Paul would bend the gospel to please men, Paul was willing to stand up even to the most authoritative Church leader: Peter.

Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist