Joshua 13:21

And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(21) The princes of Midian . . . which were dukes of Sinon, dwelling in the country.—

The conquest of the Midianites is recorded in Numbers 31. The orders given were, “Avenge the Lord of Midian” (Joshua 13:3); “avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites” (Joshua 13:2), because they tempted Israel to idolatry and uncleanness. But this verse in Joshua supplies us with a further reason for hostilities between Midian and Israel. The Midianites were “dukes of Sihon,” and a part of his government. Through them he appears to have exercised his dominion over the conquered territory which he had taken from Moab. This land Israel had now, in turn, taken from him. But in order to its complete subjugation, the removal of Sihon’s dukes, the princes or kings of Midian, was also necessary. This was brought about in the manner described in Numbers 22-25, , 31. The relation between Midian and Moab which is implied, but not explained in Numbers, is explained by the apparently casual remark in this place. It is another example of undesigned agreement between Joshua and the Pentateuch. Of the same kind is the allusion to Balaam, as (Joshua 13:22) the soothsayer, or diviner. In Numbers we do not read of anything but prophecy and counsel as coming from Balaam’s lips; but it is abundantly evident, from hints scattered through the story, that he was a sooth-sayer, or diviner, as well as a prophet. The elders of Moab and Midian went to him with the reward of divination in their hands (Numbers 22:7); “Neither is there any divination against Israel” (Numbers 23:23) the word in each of these places is radically connected with the epithet applied to Balaam here. (Comp. Numbers 24:1 : “He went not, as at other times, to seek for enchantments”—where a different word is employed.) He is thus shown to have been an unscrupulous man, who, if he could not obtain the knowledge that he desired from above, would not hesitate to seek it from below, that he might secure his base gain.

Benson Commentary

Joshua 13:21. Cities of the plain — Opposed to the cities of the mountain or the valley. All the kingdom of Sihon — A great part of it; in which sense we read of all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, Matthew 3:5; and all Galilee, Matthew 4:23. Whom Moses smote — Not in the same time or battle, as appears by comparing Numbers 21:23-24, with Numbers 31:8, but in the same manner. Dukes of Sihon — But how could they be so, when they were kings of Midian? Numbers 31:8. There were divers petty kings in those parts, who were subject to other kings, and such these were, but are here called dukes or princes of Sihon, because they were subject and tributaries to him, and therefore did one way or other assist Sihon in this war, though they were not killed at this time.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

13:7-33 The land must be divided among the tribes. It is the will of God that every man should know his own, and not take that which is another's. The world must be governed, not by force, but right. Wherever our habitation is placed, and in whatever honest way our portion is assigned, we should consider them as allotted of God; we should be thankful for, and use them as such, while every prudent method should be used to prevent disputes about property, both at present and in future. Joshua must be herein a type of Christ, who has not only conquered the gates of hell for us, but has opened to us the gates of heaven, and having purchased the eternal inheritance for all believers, will put them in possession of it. Here is a general description of the country given to the two tribes and a half, by Moses. Israel must know their own, and keep to it; and may not, under pretence of their being God's peculiar people, encroach on their neighbours. Twice in this chapter it is noticed, that to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance: see Nu 18:20. Their maintenance must be brought out of all the tribes. The ministers of the Lord should show themselves indifferent about worldly interests, and the people should take care they want nothing suitable. And happy are those who have the Lord God of Israel for their inheritance, though little of this world falls to their lot. His providences will supply their wants, his consolations will support their souls, till they gain heavenly joy and everlasting pleasures.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Dukes of Sihon - Rather "vassals of Sihon," probably those "dedicated" or "appointed" with a libation.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

8. With whom—Hebrew, "him." The antecedent is evidently to Manasseh, not, however, the half-tribe just mentioned, but the other half; for the historian, led, as it were, by the sound of the word, breaks off to describe the possessions beyond Jordan already assigned to Reuben, Gad, and the half of Manasseh (see on [190]Nu 32:1; [191]Nu 32:33; also see De 3:8-17). It may be proper to remark that it was wise to put these boundaries on record. In case of any misunderstanding or dispute arising about the exact limits of each district or property, an appeal could always be made to this authoritative document, and a full knowledge as well as grateful sense obtained of what they had received from God (Ps 16:5, 6).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

The cities of the plain; opposed to the foregoing cities of the mountain of the valley.

All the kingdom of Sihon; a synecdochical expression, for a great part of it; in which sense we read of all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, Matthew 3:5, and all Galilee, Matthew 4:23, and many others. Or, which all were the kingdoms of Sihon, i.e. belonged to his kingdom. The Hebrew conjunction and is oft put for the relative particle which, as Judges 2:21 Proverbs 19:1 Ecclesiastes 6:12.

With the princes of Midian; not in the same time or battle, as appears by comparing Numbers 21:23,24, with Numbers 31:8, but in the same manner. And they are here mentioned, partly because they were slain not long after, and upon the same occasion, even their enmity against Israel; and partly because of their relation and subjection to Sihon, as it here follows.

Dukes of Sihon.

Quest. How could they be so, when they were kings of Midian? Numbers 31:8.

Answ. There were divers petty kings in those parts, which were subject to greater kings; and such these were, but are here called dukes or princes of Sihon, because they were subject and tributaries to him, and therefore did one way or other assist Sihon in this war, though they were not killed at this time. It is probable, that when Sihon destroyed those Moabites which dwelt in these parts, he frighted the rest of them, and with them their neighbours and confederates the Midianites, into some kind of homage or tribute, which they were willing to pay to him.

Dwelling in, the country, Heb. inhabiting that land, namely,

Midian, last mentioned; whereby he signifies, that though they were subject to Sihon, yet they did not dwell in his land, but in another.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And all the cities of the plain,.... In the champaign country, as well as those in the mountainous part:

and all the kingdom of Sihon; or, as Masius renders the words, "which all had been the kingdom of Sihon"; for the whole kingdom of Sihon was not given to Reuben, only a part of it, and the rest to Gad, as in Joshua 13:27,

king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon; as in Joshua 13:10,

whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur,

and Hur, and Reba; not at the same time that Sihon was smitten by him, but afterwards in a war with Midian, Numbers 31:8; where their names are given as here; and there they are called kings of Midian, petty kings, and, as it seems by what follows, were subject to Sihon, and therefore are here mentioned:

which were dukes of Sihon dwelling in the country; for Midian, as Kimchi supposes, and not without reason, was under the government of Sihon, and these were his nobles, though they dwelt in the land of Midian.

Geneva Study Bible

And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

21. all the cities] = “all the other cities of the table-land, and all the kingdom of Sihon, as far as it extended over the plain.”

with the princes of Midian] They are also mentioned, and in the same order, in Numbers 31:8.

which were dukes of Sihon] “dukys of Sion,” Wyclif, from the Vulgate “duces” = vassals of Sihon, and princes. “The word stands only in the plural, and is always used, as would seem, of native, although dependent and subjugated, princes, and not of installed, ordinary officials.” Gesenius. From the appellation here used, “vassals of Sihon,” we may clearly infer that that king, who had taken from the Moabites the greatest part of their territory, had also made them tributary. From this subjection they were delivered by the defeat of Sihon, and then fearing that they would receive from the Israelites the same treatment as the Amorites, they immediately conspired to destroy the Israelites, and thus brought destruction upon themselves. See Keil.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 21. - Cities of the plain. "Mishor" once more. See above, ver. 9, not as in Genesis 19, where the word is Ciccar. These, therefore, were not Sodom and its neighbours, but cities of the Amorites. Such touches as this, which display the minute acquaintance of our author with his subject, are almost of a necessity lost in a translation. But where our version has "plain," the original has Mishor when the uplands of Gilead and Bashan are meant, Arabah when the writer is speaking of the Wadys in the neighbourhood of the Dead Sea, Shephelah when he refers to the lowlands of Western palestine, bordering on the Mediterranean, Bik'ah when he speaks of the great valley of Coele Syria, Ciccar when he speaks of the territory due north of Jordan. With the princes of Midian. The word here used, נְשִׂיא signifies exalted persons, persons of rank, as we should say. It would seem to imply rather civil functions than the more absolute authority which the word שַׂר also rendered "prince" in Hebrew, carries with it. With this passage compare Numbers 31:8. The Hebrew has no "with," so that the difficulty some have found in the passage need not have arisen. It is nowhere said that Moses smote the "princes of Midian" together with Sihon. All that is stated is that they, as well as Sihon, were smitten, as the history in Numbers tells us they were. Dukes of Sihon. According to Gesenius, Rosenmiiller, and others, the word here translated "dukes" is derived from נָסַך to pour out, means "anointed." See Psalm if. 6, where it is translated "set." But Keil rejects this interpretation, and says that the word never signifies to anoint. It is always used, he says, of foreign princes. But he has overlooked Micah 5:4 (Hebrews). See Knobel, who explains it of drink offerings, and regards these "dukes" as men pledged by a solemn treaty to be Sihon's allies, though not vassals. Kimchi thinks that Sihon, before his reverses at the hand of Israel, had held some authority in Midian, and these were his prefects, or under-kings. The term is applied to Zebah and Zalmunna in Psalm 83:12 (in the Hebrew). Joshua 13:21

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Kirjathaim, where Chedorlaomer defeated the Emim, is probably to be found in the ruins of et-Teym, half an hour to the west of Medaba (see at Genesis 14:5). Sibmah (Numbers 32:38), according to Jerome (on Isaiah 16:8), only 500 paces from Heshbon, appears to have hopelessly disappeared. Zereth-hashachar, i.e., splendor aurorae, which is only mentioned here, was situated "upon a mountain of the valley." According to Joshua 13:27, the valley was the Jordan valley, or rather (according to Genesis 14:3, Genesis 14:8) the vale of Siddim, a valley running down on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. Seetzen conjectures that the town referred to is the present ruin of Sar, on the south of Zerka Maein. - Beth-peor, opposite to Jericho, six Roman miles higher than (to the east of) Libias: see at Numbers 23:28. The "slopes of Pisgah" (Joshua 12:3; Deuteronomy 3:17): to the south of the former, on the north-eastern shore of the Dead Sea (see at Numbers 27:12). Beth-jeshimoth (Joshua 12:3), in the Ghor el Seisabn, on the north-east side of the Dead Sea (see at Numbers 22:1). In Joshua 13:21, the places which Reuben received in addition to those mentioned by name are all summed up in the words, "and all the (other) towns of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon," sc., so far as it extended over the plain. These limitations of the words are implied in the context: the first in the fact that towns in the plain are mentioned in Joshua 13:17; the second in the fact that, according to Joshua 13:27, "the rest of the kingdom of Sihon," i.e., the northern portion of it, was given to the Gadites. The allusion to Sihon induced the author to mention his defeat again; see at Numbers 31, where the five Midianitish vassals who were slain with Sihon are noticed in Numbers 31:8, and the death of Balaam is also mentioned. "Dukes of Sihon," properly vassals of Sihon; נסיכים does not signify anointed, however, but means literally poured out, i.e., cast, moulded, enfeoffed. The word points to the "creation of a prince by the communication or pouring in of power" (Gusset, s. v.).