Joshua 10:1 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Joshua 10:1
Now it came to pass, when Adonizedec king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;
a king · noun, common masculine singular construct
Jerusalem
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֗םye.ru.sha.Lim
H3389
Jerushalaim or Jerushalem · proper noun, a place name
heard
כִשְׁמֹ֨עַkhish.Mo.a'
H8085
to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
how
כִּֽיki-
H3588
(by implication) very widely used as a relative conjunc… · particle
Joshua
יְהוֹשֻׁ֣עַye.ho.Shu.a'
H3091
Jehoshua (i.e. Joshua) · proper noun, a man's name
taken
לָכַ֨דla.Khad
H3920
to catch (in a net · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Ai
הָעַי֮ha.'Ai
H5857
Ai · definite article + proper noun, a place name
destroyed
וַיַּחֲרִימָהּ֒vai.ya.cha.ri.Mah
H2763
to seclude · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
done
עָשָׂ֤ה'a.Sah
H6213
to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Jericho
לִֽירִיחוֹ֙li.ri.Cho
H3405
Jericho or Jerecho · preposition + proper noun, a place name
king
וּלְמַלְכָּ֔הּu.le.mal.Kah
H4428
a king · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
done
עָשָׂ֥ה'a.Sah
H6213
to do or make · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
Ai
לָעַ֖יla.'Ai
H5857
Ai · preposition with the article + proper noun, a place name
king
וּלְמַלְכָּ֑הּu.le.mal.Kah
H4428
a king · conjunction + preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
inhabitants
יֹשְׁבֵ֤יyo.she.Vei
H3427
properly · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural construct
Gibeon
גִבְעוֹן֙giv.'On
H1391
Gibon · proper noun, a place name
peace
הִשְׁלִ֜ימוּhish.Li.mu
H7999
to be safe (in mind · verb, hiphil perfect, 3rd person common plural
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
among
בְּקִרְבָּֽםbe.kir.Bam
H7130
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Joshua 6:21 And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the swo…
Joshua 8:2 And thou shalt do to Ai and her king as thou didst unto Jericho and her king: only the spoil thereof, and the cattle thereof, shall ye take…
Joshua 8:22-29 And the other issued out of the city against them; so they were in the midst of Israel, some on this side, and some on that side: and they s…
Joshua 9:15-27 And Joshua made peace with them, and made a league with them, to let them live: and the princes of the congregation sware unto them.
Joshua 11:19-20 There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle.
Hebrews 7:1 For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Joshua 10:1-6
Joshua and the hosts of Israel had now been a good while in the land of Canaan, and no great matters were effected; they were made masters of Jericho by a miracle, of Ai by stratagem, and of Gibeon by surrender, and that was all; hitherto the progress of their victories had not seemed proportionable to the magnificence of their entry and the glory of their beginnings. Those among them that were impatient of delays, it is probable, complained of Joshua's slowness, and asked why they did not immediately penetrate into the heart of the country, before the enemy could rally their forces to make head against them, why they stood trifling, while they were so confident both of their title and of th…
Adoni-zedec - This name signifies the Lord of justice or righteousness; and it has been conjectured that the Canaanitish kings assumed this name in imitation of that of the ancient patriarchal king of this city, Melchizedek, whose name signifies king of righteousness, or my righteous king: a supposition that is not improbable, when the celebrity of Melchizedek is considered.
Jerusalem - ירושלם Yerushalam. This word has been variously explained; if it be compounded of שלם shalam, peace, perfection, etc., and ראה raah, he saw, it may signify the vision of peace - or, he shall see peace or perfection.
John Gill on Joshua 10:1
Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem,.... So called, perhaps by anticipation, Jerusalem, since it seems to have had this name given it by the Israelites, when they had got possession of it: and Jerusalem signifies "the possession of Salem" (w), and in memory of this its ancient name, the Jews say (x), they do not put "jod" in Jerusalem between "lamed" and "mem"; though some make the signification of it, "they shall see peace" (y); and others, nearer to its old name, and with respect to it, "fear Salem", O ye enemies. Now the king of this place
had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; which, being nearer to him than Jericho, the more alarmed him:
as…
When the human soul has joined itself to the Word of God, it ought not to doubt that it will at once have enemies, and that those whom it had before as friends are to be turned into adversaries; and let it expect to suffer this not only from men, but let it know for certain that this also threatens it from the contrary powers and the spiritual wickednesses. And so it comes about that whoever seeks the friendship of Jesus knows that he must endure the enmities of many. Hear the Apostle Paul confirming these same things, when he says: "all who wish to live godly in Christ suffer persecution." But Solomon too says similar things: "Son," he says, "coming to the service of the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation." Therefore even now the Gibeonites, of whatever sort they are, are assailed because of the friendship of Jesus, and although they be "hewers of wood and carriers of water" — that is, although you be of the lowest merit in the church — nevertheless, by this very fact, because you belong to Jesus, you will be assailed by the five kings. But yet the Gibeonites are neither abandoned nor scorned by Jesus, nor by the leaders and elders of the Israelites, but they bring aid to their weakness. Or does it not seem to you that this very thing is at work in us, and that this is what that command of the Apostle enjoins, in which he says: "comfort the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all," and again: "but you who are more powerful, bear the infirmities of the weak"? In this manner, then, Jesus with his leaders and princes is present to those who for his name's sake are assailed by the contrary powers, and not only furnishes aid in the war, but also prolongs the time of the day and, extending the spans of light, drives off the coming of night.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Adoni-zedec — Lord of justice or righteousness, was king in Jerusalem at the time when the Israelites invaded Palestine (Josh. 10:1, 3). He formed a confederacy with the other Canaanitish kings against the…
Adonizedek — (lord of justice), the Amorite king of Jerusalem who organized a league with four other Amorite princes against Joshua. The confederate kings having laid siege to Gibeon, Joshua marched to the relief…
Ai — Ruins. (1.) One of the royal cities of the Canaanites (Josh. 10:1; Gen. 12:8; 13:3). It was the scene of Joshua’s defeat, and afterwards of his victory. It was the second Canaanite city taken by…
Jebusites — The name of the original inhabitants of Jebus, mentioned frequently among the seven nations doomed to destruction (Gen. 10:16; 15:21; Ex. 3:8, 17; 13:5, etc.). At the time of the arrival of the…
Jerusalem — Called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the “city of God,” the “holy city;” by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning “the holy;” once “the city of Judah” (2 Chr. 25:28). This name is in the original in the…
Adoni-Zedek · A king of — A king of
Amorites, The · Western kings of, confederated against Israel — Western kings of, confederated against Israel
Canaanites, The · Partially subdued by Israel — Partially subdued by Israel
Confederacies · .Of kings — .Of kings
Gibeonites · Attacked by the kings of Canaan — Attacked by the kings of Canaan
Meteorology And Celestial Phenomena · .Stones from heaven — .Stones from heaven
John Calvin on Joshua 10:1-14
Joshua 10:1-14
1. Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them;
1. Quum audisset Adoni-zedec rex Jerusalem quod cepisset Josue Hai, et eam perdidisset (quemadmodum feceret Jericho, et regi ejus, quod sic fecisset Hai et regi ejus) et quod pacem fecissent habitatores Gibeon cum Israel, et essent inter ipsos:
2. That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were…
The report that Joshua had taken Ai, and put it, like Jericho, under the ban, and that the Gibeonites had concluded a treaty with Israel, filled Adonizedek the king of Jerusalem with alarm, as Gibeon was a large town, like one of the king's towns, even larger than Ai, and its inhabitants were brave men. He therefore joined with the kings of Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, to make a common attack upon Gibeon, and punish it for its alliance with the Israelites, and at the same time to put a check upon the further conquests of Israel. Adonizedek, i.e., lord of righteousness, is synonymous with Melchizedek (king of righteousness), and was a title of the Jebusite kings, as Pharaoh was of the…
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 m…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
