Joshua 12 Study Notes

12:1-6 A summary review of all the land acquired by Israel begins with the territories east of or beyond the Jordan. The summary is given in terms of regions, outlined by towns. The conquest of this region took place while Moses remained alive (Nm 21:21-35).

12:1 The southern part of this section, the Arnon River, ran from the tableland of Moab westward into the Dead Sea. To the south was territory that belonged to Moab. To the north was the territory allotted Reuben. Gad and Manasseh received lands farther north that reached upward to the modern Golan Heights and to the base of Mount Hermon.

12:2-3 The border of the territory ruled by Sihon is given in the form of a series of towns. His capital of Heshbon was probably not modern Hesban, which was not occupied at that early period. It may be identified with another neighboring site that was inhabited (modern Tell Jalul or Tall al-‘Umeiri). From the Arnon River in the south, the territory of Sihon reached to the Jabbok River in the north. Aroer (modern ‘Ara‘ir) and Beth-jeshimoth (modern Tell ‘Azeimeh) were towns in the area. The Arabah was the eastern Jordan Valley extending from the Sea of Chinnereth (Sea of Galilee) to the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea). The slopes of Pisgah represent the descent along the northwestern edge of the plateau of Moab. Gilead was apparently bisected by the Jabbok River.

12:4-5 The role of Og as the remnant of the Rephaim suggests a figure of legendary renown similar to the Anakim of vv. 21-22. The towns of Ashtaroth (modern Tell ‘Ashtarah) and Edrei (modern Der‘a) lay near the modern border between northern Jordan and southern Syria. The region of Bashan where Og ruled was bordered on the south by the Yarmuk River (the northern border of Sihon’s kingdom), on the west by the watercourse Nachal Raqqad, on the north by Mount Hermon, and on the east by Jebel Druze (Richard Hess, Joshua). This makes up the modern southern Hauran. The Geshurite and Maacathite border ran along the limits of the kingdoms of Geshur and Maacah east and north of what is now the Sea of Galilee.

12:7 The geography mentioned here is repeated from 11:17.

12:8 The summary of the regions conquered resembles that already given in 10:40. This is followed by another list of the people groups conquered (3:10; 9:1; 11:3; 12:8).

12:9-24 The thirty-one kings listed cover the entire region, with those in vv. 9-16 including the victories in the south described in chaps. 6-10 and those in vv. 17-24 summarizing the victories in the north as discussed in chap. 11. The structure of this list parallels many itineraries of Egyptian pharaohs that describe their conquests in Canaan between the fifteenth century BC and the tenth century BC. The hieroglyphic writings show individual prisoners, one tied to the next with their hands bound behind them. On the bodies of each of these prisoners is written the name of one of the towns of Canaan. Each of these represents either a town in Canaan that the pharaoh defeated or an army from that town that was defeated. All these elements are found in the Israelite summary. Its resemblance to the Egyptian texts may have been intentional. As Egypt’s New Kingdom empire declined and disappeared by 1150 BC, Israel’s presence and increasing power would replace and thus continue the defeat of Egypt, its gods, and its pharaoh. This process began with the plagues and the exodus.