Joshua 10:29

Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah:

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(29) Then.—Better, simply and. The operations against Libnah are the commencement of a further stage of the campaign. Libnah has not been identified; but see Joshua 15:42.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

10:28-43 Joshua made speed in taking these cities. See what a great deal of work may be done in a little time, if we will be diligent, and improve our opportunities. God here showed his hatred of the idolatries and other abominations of which the Canaanites had been guilty, and shows us how great the provocation was, by the greatness of the destruction brought upon them. Here also was typified the destruction of all the enemies of the Lord Jesus, who, having slighted the riches of his grace, must for ever feel the weight of his wrath. The Lord fought for Israel. They could not have gotten the victory, if God had not undertaken the battle. We conquer when God fights for us; if he be for us, who can be against us?

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Libnah - The word means "white" or "distinct," and undoubtedly points to some natural feature of the spot, perhaps the "Garde Blanche" of the Crusaders, a castle which stood on or near the white cliffs which bound the plain of Philistia to the east opposite to Ascalon. It was in the southern part of the hill-country of Judah Joshua 15:42, and was one of the cities afterward assigned to the priests Joshua 21:13.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Jos 10:28-42. Seven More Kings Conquered.

28-42. that day Joshua took Makkedah—In this and the following verses is described the rapid succession of victory and extermination which swept the whole of southern Palestine into the hands of Israel. "All these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time, because the Lord God of Israel fought for Israel. And Joshua returned, and all Israel with him, unto the camp to Gilgal."

Matthew Poole's Commentary

All Israel, to wit, who were with him in this expedition.

Libnah, a city of Judah, Joshua 15:42

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And Joshua passed from Makkedah,.... After he had taken it, and destroyed its inhabitants, and its king:

and all Israel with him; that is, all the men of war he took with him from the camp at Gilgal, from whence he went to the relief of Gibeon:

unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah; a city that fell to the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:42. Jerom (r) says, in his time it was a village, in the region of Eleutheropolis, and was called Libnah; according to Bunting (s) it was but two miles from Makkedah.

(r) De loc. Heb. fol. 92. M. (s) Travels of the Patriarchs, &c. p. 96.

Geneva Study Bible

Then Joshua passed from Makkedah, and all Israel with him, unto Libnah, and fought against Libnah:

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

29. unto Libnah] In a westerly direction. Libnah belonged to the district of the Shephelah, the maritime lowland of Judah, and we find it enumerated among the cities of this district (Joshua 15:42). With its suburbs it was appropriated to the priests (Joshua 21:13; 1 Chronicles 6:57), but revolted from Judah in the reign of Jehoram the son of Jehoshaphat (2 Kings 8:22; 2 Chronicles 21:10). On account of the accordance of the name Libnah (“white”) with the “Blanche-garde” of the Crusaders, Dean Stanley would place it at Tell es-Safieh, about 5 miles north-west of Beit-Jibrín. Others would place it 4 miles west of the same spot, at Arak el Menshîyeh.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 29. - All Israel. The expression is not to be pressed in a literal sense. "All Israel" is simply equivalent to "all his disposable troops." Libnah. This belonged to the lowlands of Palestine. See note on ch. 9:1; also Joshua 15:42. It became a Levitical city. It revolted from Judah in the reign of Joram (2 Kings 8:22). It seems to have returned to its allegiance, since we find it not included in the conquest of Israel by Shalmaneser, while, on the other hand, it undergoes a siege among the fenced cities of Judah (2 Kings 18:13; 2 Kings 19:8). The cause (see Blunt 'Undesigned Coincidences,' part 2:27) of this return is not far to seek. The Levites cast off the authority of Joram "because he had forsaken the Lord God of his fathers" (2 Chronicles 21:10, 11). It probably remained independent - for it was not likely to have joined itself to Israel, either from geographical position or religious principles - until the accession of Joash terminated the connection between the royal house of Judah and the descendants of the wicked Ahab. Libnah, or the white city, has been identified with Tell es Safieh, the Blanche Garde of the Crusaders. See Stanley, 'Sinai and Palestine,' pp. 207, 258. Lieut. Conder, however, supposes it to have been Eleutheropolis, now Beit Jibrin, and Capt. Warren believes he has found it at Ibna. Vanclevelde suggests yet another site. But Lieut. Conder's description of the hill on which Tell es Safieh stands as "a white precipice of many hundred feet" ('Pal. Expl. Fund, Quart. Paper,' July, 1875), would account for the name Libnah. Joshua 10:29

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

From Makkedah he went with all Israel, i.e., all the men of war, against Libnah, and after effecting the conquest of it, did just the same as he had done to Makkedah. Libnah was one of the towns of the plain or of the hill-country of Judah (Joshua 15:42); it was allotted to the priests (Joshua 21:13), revolted from Judah in the reign of Joram (2 Kings 8:22), and was besieged by Sennacherib (Isaiah 37:8). It is to be sought on the north-west of Lachish, not on the south as Knobel erroneously infers from Isaiah 37:8. According to the Onom. (s. v. Lebna), it was at that time villa in regione Eleutheropolitana, quae appellatur Lobna. It has not been discovered yet; but according to the very probable conjecture of V. de Velde (Mem. p. 330), the ruins of it may perhaps be seen upon the hill called Ark el Menshiyeh, about two hours to the wets of Beit Jibrin.

(Note: Knobel is decidedly wrong in his supposition, that Libnah is to be seen in the considerable ruins called Hora, which lie in the plain (Seetzen and V. de Velde) and are called Hawara by Robinson. He founds his conjecture upon the fact that the name signifies white, and is the Arabic translation of the Hebrew name. But Hora is only two hours and a half to the north of Beersheba, and is not in the plain at all, but in the Negeb.)