Matthew Henry on Joshua 12:7–end
We have here a breviate of Joshua's conquests.
I. The limits of the country he conquered. It lay between Jordan on the east and the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and extended from Baal-gad near Lebanon in the north to Halak, which lay upon the country of Edom in the south, v. 7. The boundaries are more largely described, Num 34:2, etc. But what is here said is enough to show that God had been as good as his word, and had given them possession of all he had promised them by Moses, if they would but have kept it.
II. The various kinds of land that were found in this country, which contributed both to its pleasantness and to its fruitfulness, Jos 12:8. There were mountains, not craggy, and roc…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Joshua 12:7
THE ONE AND THIRTY KINGS ON THE WEST SIDE OF JORDAN, WHICH JOSHUA SMOTE. (Jos. 12:7-24)
Baal-gad . . . even unto . . . Halak--(See on Jos 11:17). A list of thirty-one chief towns is here given; and, as the whole land contained a superficial extent of only fifteen miles in length by fifty in breadth, it is evident that these capital cities belonged to petty and insignificant kingdoms. With a few exceptions, they were not the scenes of any important events recorded in the sacred history, and therefore do not require a particular notice.
Next: Joshua Chapter 13
Adam Clarke on Joshua 12:18
Aphek - There were several cities of this name: one in the tribe of Asher, Jos 19:30, another in the tribe of Judah, Sa1 4:1; Sa1 29:1; and a third in Syria, Kg1 20:26, and Kg2 13:17. Which of the two former is here intended cannot be ascertained.
Lasharon - There is no city of this name known. Some consider the ל lamed in the word לשרון lashsharon to be the sign of the genitive case, and in this sense it appears to have been understood by the Vulgate, which translates rex Saron, the king of Sharon. This was rather a district than a city, and is celebrated in the Scriptures for its fertility; Isa 33:9; Isa 35:2. Some suppose it was the same with Saron, near Lydda, mentioned Act 9:35.
John Gill on Joshua 12:18
