Глава 11

1. Victory of Joshua over the kings of northern Canaan at the waters of Merom. 10. Capture and burning of Hazor. 16. Conquest of the entire land of Canaan. 21. New defeat of the Anakim. Joshua 11:1. When Jabin king of Hazor heard this, he sent to Jobab king of Madona, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Ahsath, At the head of the new defensive alliance from the kings of northern Canaan was Jabin, king of Hazor, which was the main city here (Joshua 11:10). The name Jabin, meaning “wise,” was, in all likelihood, not a personal, but a hereditary name of the Asoran kings (like “Pharaoh” or “Caesar”), which is why a much later king from this city also bears the same name (Judges 4:2). About the place of Hazor (in Hebrew Hazor), which later belonged to the tribe of Naphtali (Josh. 19:36), from the “Antiquities” of I. Flavius (Jude. Ancient. 5:5, 1) it is known that it was located above (ὐπέρκειται) Samochonite Lake (i.e. Merom), but where exactly is not yet known installed with precision; It is more likely that it was located 3 versts (2 English miles) southeast of Kedesh on a separate hill, which is currently called Tell Hara or Harrawi, and on which the remains of a fortress and other buildings made of rough stones 105 are preserved. Madon according to the Hebrew text and many Greek lists, Marron according to the Vatican and Ambrosian lists is also unknown with certainty in its geographical location, presumably its place is recognized, based on its outline in the Greek lists, as the village of Maron, 2 hours north-west of Kedes. Shimron according to the Hebrew text, in most of the Greek lists Someron or Simoon, who later belonged to the tribe of Zebulun (Joshua 19:15), is indicated, presumably (by Robinson and others), in Simun'e to the west of Nazareth, by others - in Semir'e north of Acre. Ahsaf (in the Greek lists Azif, or Akhiv), which was then the border city of the tribe of Asher (Joshua 19:25), is not equally defined by its position; Presumably its place is recognized (Robinson) as either Kesaf near the Lebanese Mountains, almost parallel to Tire, or Acre or Kaifa (Tristram). Joshua 11:2. and to the kings who dwelt northward on the mountain, and in the plain on the south side of Hinnaroth, and in the low places, and in Nathoth-dor to the west, In addition, Jabin called for the help of the “kings” who lived “to the north on the mountain”, which mountain of course, the explanation for this is the Greek-Slavic translation corresponding to the last two words of the Hebrew text: τοὺς κατὰ Σιδῶνα τὴν μεγάλην - “like in Sidon the great”, showing that the “mountain” here refers to the mountainous heights extending north of Hazor, not only the closest one in the tribe of Naphtali (Joshua 20:7), but also the further one, Lebanon. Under the then called “plain *3 on the southern side of Hinnaroth” is meant the Jordan Valley to the south of Lake Gennesaret, which in ancient times bore the name Kinneret from the city of the same name in the tribe of Naphtali (Joshua 19:35). By “low-lying places” (according to the Hebrew text “Shephelah” - “lowland”) and Naphoth Dor (Hebrew “nafet” - “hilly terrain”) we mean the plain along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea with the inclusion of the hilly area near the city of Dora. The latter was located on the Mediterranean coast south of Carmel. Today, on the site of Dora, famous in antiquity, is the poor village of Taktura, or Dandora, with massive remains of an ancient city. Joshua 11:3. to the Canaanites who lived towards the east and towards the sea, to the Amorites and Hittites, to the Perizzites and to the Jebusites who lived on the mountain, and to the Hivites who lived near Hermon in the land of Mizpah. The indication of kings is followed, as in Joshua 9:1, by the designation of the peoples who helped the Hazor king in the war with the Israelites, and the areas inhabited by them (“on the mountain and on the plain”). Under the “land of Mizpah *4 near Hermon,” not different, one must think, from the “valley *5 of Mizpah” named later (Josh. 11:8), of course, there is a generally high, mountainous area in the very north of Palestine, corresponding to that high-lying valley that stretches between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon and was called Coelesyria among the Greco-Roman writers, and is called Bika among the natives (Tristram). At the same time, in particular, some researchers (Robinson) point to the high area north of Abel 106, on which the Druze village of Mutelle is located, as the corresponding land of Mizpah near Hermon. From the list of kings and nations made here by the biblical writer, it follows that warriors were gathered for the upcoming battle not only from northern Canaan, but from Phenicia and the Lebanese mountains. The presence of Canaanite kings living on Mount Lebanon is also indicated in the “Antiquities” of Josephus (Ant. Jude 5: 1, 18). This explains the comparison used by the biblical writer of the numerous Canaanite army with sand on the seashore; This army was also supplied with the best weapons at that time - war chariots - in large quantities. According to the “Antiquities” of I. Flavius ​​(ibid.), this army consisted of 300 thousand infantry, 10 thousand cavalry and 20 thousand chariots. Joshua 11:5. And all these kings assembled, and came and encamped together by the waters of Merom to fight with Israel. The gathering point of the Canaanite army was the area near the “waters of Merom” (according to the Hebrew text Merom, according to the Greek lists - Marron, Merron, Merom). The name “Merom water” appears only in this chapter of the book. Joshua. It is usually associated with the idea of ​​Lake Merom, or what is currently called Bahr Khule. This idea is disputed by some of the commentators, not without reason, on the grounds that in the “Antiquities” of I. Flavius, in the story of this event, the place for the camp of the Canaanite army is indicated not at Lake Semekhonite, as the Jewish historian calls the lake. Merom, and “Biroth (Βηρωτης), a city of upper Galilee, near Kedesh” (Ant. Jude 5:1, 18); in Josephus's work on the Jewish War (2:20, 6), instead of Virof, the city of Meroth (Μηρωθ) is also indicated in the upper Galilee. This last name serves as the basis for the idea that the army of the Canaanite kings settled on the site of the present village of Meirum, or Meiron, 107 located 1 1/2 hours northwest of Safed, 108 on a high mountain, from the foot of which flows a spring, forming a small lake, which could be called “the water of Mer.” What is certain, in any case, is that the site of Joshua's battle with the kings of northern Canaan was the area on the western side of Lake Merom. Joshua 11:6. But the Lord said to Jesus: Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow, about this time, I will deliver them all over to the [children of] Israel to be killed; cut the sinews of their horses and burn their chariots with fire. The large number of troops assembled by the king of Hazor could not remain unknown to Joshua as he approached his location at the head of his people. Therefore, on the eve of that day ("tomorrow") on which he was to meet with a strong enemy, the Israelite leader, as before the battle of Gibeon, was encouraged through a special divine revelation with a promise of victory to him ("I will deliver" or - literally from Hebrew and Greek - "I betray") and so complete and decisive that it was indicated in advance how to deal with the spoils, consisting of horses and war chariots. The Lord commands to destroy both: to cut the veins of the horses, and to burn the chariots. The reason for this special commandment, which was observed until the reign of Solomon (2 Sam. 8:4), is not given; but, as the further history of the Israeli people shows, it consisted in the fact that, having left horses and chariots and making them state property, the Israelites could then rely more on these weapons than on the all-powerful help of the Lord, and through this they would lose the latter and at the same time be subject to inevitable death, as explained by the Psalmist (Ps. 19: 8-9) and the prophets ( Is. 2: 7, 31: 1; Mic. 5: 10 and other m.). Joshua 11:7. Joshua and all the people with him who were capable of war suddenly came out to the waters of Merom and attacked them. Before the Canaanite kings brought their numerous, diverse and diversely armed army into order, Joshua quickly moved against him with all of his people capable of bearing arms. At 4 days, according to the “Antiquities” of I. Flavius ​​(Jude. Ancient. 5: 1, 18), having made the transition from Gilgal to the Meromian waters, he suddenly attacked the enemy and with his unexpected blow led him into complete confusion, using which he inflicted complete defeat on him. Joshua 11:8. And the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Israelites, and they smote them, and pursued them to Sidon the great and to Misrefoth Maim, and to the valley of Mizpah to the east, and slew them, so that not one of them was left who survived [and escaped]. The Israelites pursued the enemy “as far as Sidon the Great, to Misrefoth Maim *6, and to the valley of Mizpah” *7. Sidon is the famous main city of Phenicia on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea in ancient times, which was in the inheritance of the tribe of Assir (Joshua 19:28), but did not belong to it (Judges 1:31), now the small city of Said. Misrefof-Maim is identified by many with the present village of Ain Mesherfi on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, north of Acre (near Ras-en-Naqur), and by some with Zarephath of Sidon (1 Kings 17:9). About the valley of Mizpah (Joshua 11:8), see the commentary on Nav.11:3. Joshua 11:10. At the same time, Jesus returned, took Hazor and killed his king with the sword [Hasor was formerly the head of all these kingdoms]; The words enclosed by brackets “[Hasor before... these]” are read in the Hebrew text and the Greek translation of the LXX and undoubtedly belong to the text of the book. Joshua 11:11. and they beat everything that was breathing that was in it with a sword, [everything] consigned to the curse: not a single soul remained; and he burned Hazor with fire. Joshua 11:12. And Jesus took all the cities of these kings and all their kings and slew them with the sword, consigning them to destruction, as Moses the servant of the Lord commanded; Joshua 11:13. However, the Israelites did not burn all the cities that lay on the hill, except for one Hazor, which Jesus burned. Of the cities of northern Canaan, only Hazor was burned, as a strong city, which, if it had not been burned, could quickly recover and become dangerous for the conquerors; other cities built on hills (in Slavic “krapli”), which did not arouse such fears and were suitable for the conquerors during the upcoming settlement in the country, were not burned. Joshua 11:16. Thus Joshua took all the hill country, all the land of midday, all the land of Goshen and the low places, and the plain and the mountain of Israel, and the low places [by the mountain], Joshua 11:17. from Mount Halak, which stretches towards Seir, to Baal-Gad in the valley of Lebanon, near Mount Hermon, and he took all their kings, defeated them and killed them. Joshua 11:16–17 provides a general overview of the conquered land, which included: 1) southern Canaan (“all this mountainous land, all the land of midday, all the land of Hashen and the low places”, cf. Joshua 10:40); 2) The Jordan Valley, the main mountain upland adjoining it from the west and the coastal plain (“the plain,” in Hebrew “Haarava,” “and the mountain of Israel, and the lowlands”). For an explanation of the name “mountain of Israel,” see the commentary on Joshua 11:21. From south to north, the conquered land extended "from Mount Halak, which stretches towards Seir, to Baal-Gad in the valley of Lebanon." Under Mount Halak, or “bald mountain” (see The Expository Bible, vol. 1, p. 98), of course, for the most part, commentators have a chain of mountains, south of the Dead Sea, which stretches parallel to the Seir Mountains along the western side of the Wadi of Arava, separating Canaan from Idumea. Some, however, identify Mount Halak with Mount Madera, which lies to the west of the Arava, which is a completely bare cliff. The location of Baal-Gad is not determined with certainty: the choice of place for this city fluctuates between the famous (in later times) Caesarea Philippi, or Banias, located on the southern slope of Hermon and Hasbeiya, which lies to the north. The fact that in subsequent times, instead of Baal-Gad, the city of Baal-Gad became the designation of the northern border of the land of Israel. Dan (Judges 20:1, 1 Samuel 3:20, etc.), located near Caesarea Philippi (4 Roman miles), suggests that the latter should be recognized as the place of Baal-Gad, since with this proximity of both cities, replacing one with the other did not change the direction of the border line. Joshua 11:18. For a long time Jesus waged war with all these kings. The “long time” during which Joshua waged war with the Canaanite nations, based on Joshua 14:7,10 (see below) can definitely be 5–7 years. Joshua 11:20. for it was from the Lord that they hardened their hearts and met Israel with war - so that they would be given over to the curse and so that there would be no mercy for them, but so that they would be destroyed as the Lord commanded Moses. The bitterness of the Canaanites in the fight against the Israelites is attributed to the Lord, as the Lord over everything that happens in the world: it, like other movements of the human heart (Ps. 80:13), was allowed by God, as serving to punish them (“to be given over to the curse”) and to cleanse the land of Canaan for the Israeli people. Wed. explanation of Exodus 4:21. Joshua 11:21. At the same time Jesus came and smote [all] the Anakim on the mountain, in Hebron, in Debir, in Anab, in all the mountain of Judah, and in all the mountain of Israel; Jesus consigned them and their cities to destruction; Joshua 11:22. There were not [one] of the Anakim left in the land of the children of Israel; they remained only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod. The length of time for the conquest of the land of Canaan indicated in Joshua 11:18 and the small number of cities conquered then listed in Joshua 10 and 11 inspire the idea that the biblical writer did not set out everything that was done at this time, but limited himself to indicating only the most important events that were decisive in the establishment of the Israeli people in the land of Canaan. He fills out this brief summary here with information about the campaign against “the Anakim who lived on the mountain, in Hebron, in Debir, in Anava, throughout the entire Mount of Judah and throughout the entire Mount of Israel.” The conquest of the first two of the named cities has already been said (Joshua 10:36–38). The third, Anav, is named here for the first time. It was located south of Hebron; the village that exists in its place is still called Anab. The story of this campaign was introduced by the biblical writer not only because in the previous narrative there was no mention of the defeat of the Anakim, who had such a terrifying effect on the spies (Num. 13:29,34), but also because one must think that there was a special campaign against this gigantic tribe, caused by its strengthening at a time when Joshua was waging war in other places in Canaan. This campaign was directed not only against the three named cities, but also against others on Mount Judah and Mount Israel, where the Anakim lived. Fenced with brackets “[all]” (Josh. 11:21), the prefix to the name of the Anakim was transferred from the Slavic Bible, but it does not find a correspondence either in the Hebrew text or in the most ancient copies of the Greek translation; the same must be said about the expression “[not one]” (Joshua 11:22). The mountainous region of southern Canaan received the name Mount Judah from the time, of course, when the tribe of Judah settled in it, and this name, like the name Mount Ephraim (Josh. 17:15, 24:31, etc.) to designate the northern part of the country, quickly entered popular speech instead of the previous names (Judg. 12:15: Mount Amalek), which, as a reminder of the previous rulers, excited understandable dislike in its new inhabitants. The use in the book is less clear. Joshua named the mountain of Israel, which serves as a designation for the same northern half of the mountain heights, which was called Mount Ephraim after the name of the strongest of the northern tribes. It received the first of these names, one must think, at a time when the name Israel became a designation for the northern tribes, in contrast to the southern ones (Judah and Simeon). In the book of Joshua, clear signs of such isolation between the tribes are not visible: both during the conquests and at the end of them, the consciousness of national unity prevails, why in the book. Joshua speaks of “the whole congregation of the children of Israel, all the children of Israel” (Joshua 23:2, etc.). The separation of the northern tribes from the southern ones develops mainly during the time of Judges 109 and by the beginning of the reign of Saul it is so mature that at the first given inspection of the assembled army, the “sons of Israel”, i.e. warriors from tribes other than Judah are considered specially, and “men of Judah” are considered especially (1 Kings 11:8,15:4, 2 Kings 2:4, etc.). This designation of two parts of the Israeli people gives reason to think that the name Israel, towards the end of the time of the Judges, began to be applied to the northern tribes, and at the same time to the area occupied by them. Thus, at the end of the time of the Judges, i.e. During the time of Samuel, the name Mount of Israel may have come into use. Gaza was located on the Philistine coast, about 4 versts from the Mediterranean Sea, on the way from Egypt to Phenicia. This still fairly populated city retains its ancient name (El-ghazzeh). It was part of the inheritance of the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:47) and was conquered by this tribe after the death of Joshua (Judges 1:18), but then repeatedly restored its independence. Gath (in Hebrew Gath, in LXX Γεθ) is also a Philistine city, first conquered by David (1 Chronicles 18:1), and subsequently destroyed by the Judah king Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:6), after which its name disappears from history. Its location is not known with certainty, according to Eusebius, it was located 5 Roman miles (7 versts) from Eleutheropolis (or Betogobra) on the road to Lydda, according to which it is indicated on geographical maps to the north-west of the first, and some in modern times believe Gath is on the site of Eleutheropolis itself 110. Azoth (in Hebrew Ashdod, according to Greek lists Ασελδω, Ασεδωθ, in Acts (Acts 8:40) Ἄζωτον) was located in the inheritance of the tribe of Judah (Joshua 15:47) within the Philistine coast, north of Gaza, near the sea shores; Currently, on its site there is a small Muslim village of Yesdud. Joshua 11:23. Thus Jesus took the whole land, as the Lord had spoken to Moses, and gave it to Joshua as an inheritance for the Israelites, according to the division among their tribes. And the earth calmed down from the war. “And the earth calmed from war,” i.e. Joshua's campaigns to conquer the land of Canaan ceased, since none of the Canaanites openly opposed the Israelites, with weapons in their hands. The dominance of the Canaanites in the country was broken, and the people of Israel could freely take possession of the land, in accordance with the division into tribes that existed among them. This general calming of the country did not exclude, however, as the further presentation of events shows (Joshua 13:1-6), the existence of areas with a Canaanite population, which, without taking up arms against the Israeli people, could not serve as an obstacle to the latter taking possession of the conquered country. Prof. A. A. Olesnitsky is inclined to believe that Asor was located on the site of ancient ruins located on the northern shore of Lake Samokhonitsky. Holy Land, 2:479. According to the Hebrew text "arava", hence the Greek-Slavic "Rav a". In Hebrew "Mitzpeh", which means watchtower. According to the Hebrew text "biksa". Abel-beth-Maachah (2 Kings 20.14, etc.) was located north of the lake. Meer. For the antiquities of this village, see "Holy Land", 2:472, which does not, however, indicate the lake near this village. The city of Safed, which exists in Upper Galilee, is not mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. It is located southwest of the lake. Merom. For a description of Safed, see ibid., p. 465 et d. Μασερων according to the Vatican list. Μασσωχ according to the Vatican list. Prof. F. Ya. Pokrovsky. Division of the Jewish Kingdom, pp. 125 ff. Tristram. Bibles places, 35, 43. About the place of Eleutheropolis - 10:29. You might be interested in: