Chapter 12
Kings Defeated East of the Jordan by Moses
12:1 Now these are the kings of the land whom the people of Israel defeated and took possession of their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon, with all the Arabah eastward:
Again using the phrase, “beyond the Jordan” referring to the east side of the Jordan River (see Considerations under Joshua 1:16-18) this verse and the following five verses will summarize the victories while under the leadership of Moses. The area conquered is described as being from the Jordan towards the the sunrise (east, no boundary noted), from the Valley of the Arnon formed by a river that flows into the Dead Sea in the south, to Mount Hermon in the north, with all the Arabah (the Jordan Valley) eastward (again no eastern boundary given).
12:2 Sihon king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the middle of the valley as far as the river Jabbok, the boundary of the Ammonites, that is, half of Gilead, 3 and the Arabah to the Sea of Chinneroth eastward, and in the direction of Beth-jeshimoth, to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, southward to the foot of the slopes of Pisgah;
The first defeated king listed is Sihon who lived in Heshbon (approximately 15 miles east of Beth-jeshimoth at the north end of the Dead Sea) and he ruled the land from Aroer, which was approximately 45 miles south, to the river Jabbok, approximately the same distance north, the southern part of Gilead, as well as the Jordan Valley and areas to the east. This territory stretched from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, including the road to Beth-jeshimoth south to the slopes of Pisgah.
12:4 and Og king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei 5 and ruled over Mount Hermon and Salecah and all Bashan to the boundary of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and over half of Gilead to the boundary of Sihon king of Heshbon.
King Og was a descendant of the Rephaim (being a Nephilim he was likely a giant, see Considerations in the last chapter). He ruled over a vast area, from Mount Hermon to Salecah in the north to Bashan in the east, and west all the way to the borders of the kingdoms of Geshur and Maacah. This territory included the northern half of Gilead, as far as the boundary of King Sihon of Heshbon.
12:6 Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the people of Israel defeated them. And Moses the servant of the LORD gave their land for a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Both of these kings were well known for their brutality. When the Israelites defeated them the word of their victory spread. These victories were the two mentioned by Rahab as reasons why the people of Jericho were afraid of the Israelites (see Joshua 2:8-11). We are reminded that this land on the east side of the Jordan was given to the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, this will be their land inheritance.
Kings Defeated West of the Jordan by Joshua
12:7 And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir (and Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their allotments, 8 in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negeb, the land of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites):
The land conquered on the west side of the Jordan River from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon in the north to Mount Halak that rises toward Seir in the south (see commentary for Joshua 11:16-20). Most modern Bible versions place the remainder of verse seven and the entire verse eight in parenthesis as it points to something that will occur later in the book. Regarding the reference to the hill country, the lowland, the Arabah, the slopes, the wilderness, and the Negeb see commentary for Joshua 10:40.
The following verses list the kings defeated by Joshua and the men of Israel. The kings of Jerusalem, Jarmuth, and Gezer were killed but their cities were not captured.
12:9 the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;
The added note that identifies the city of Ai being next to Bethel hints to the possibility that there was more than one ruin named Ai.
12:10 the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; 11 the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; 12 the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; 13 the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; 14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; 15 the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;
Seeing four southern cities (Geder, Hormah, Arad, and Adullam) confirms that the narrative of chapters six through ten did not record all of their battles.
12:16 the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;
The city of Bethel was mentioned in the battle against Ai (see Joshua 8:16-17) but nothing was stated about defeating the king or his army. It appears that the city was not conquered at this time which is later reported in Judges 1:22-26.
12:17 the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;
The city of Tappuah is believed to be Sheikh Abu Zarad approximately eight miles southwest of Nablus. The location of Hepher is believed to be southwest of Jerusalem but exact location is unknown (see 1 Kings 4:10).
12:18 the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;
Aphek is considered to be today’s Ras el ‘Ain, approximately twelve miles northeast of Haifa. Note: there are several cities named Aphek, a word that essentially means “an enclosure.”
12:19 the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; 20 the king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;
These four kingdoms were introduced in Joshua 11:1, the name Shimron-meron may be different than the city named Shimron, but it is believed that Shimron-meron is the city’s full name. Some believe that Meron is a separate city, but only one king for both.
12:21 the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;
Later we read in Judges 1:27, “Manasseh did not drive out the inhabitants of Beth-shean and its villages, or Taanach and its villages, or the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, or the inhabitants of Ibleam and its villages, or the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages, for the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land.” (ESV) noting that the people of these cities were not completely eliminated. Megiddo is located in the Valley of Esdraelon (current day Tel el-Muteiellin) and will become a strategic location for Israel.
12:22 the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;
There are a number of locations that incorporate the name “Kedesh,” this one is likely the Kedesh in Naphtali (also known as Khirbet Qedish). The kingdom identified as Jokneam in Carmel is believed to be Tel Qeimun on the Kishon River.
12:23 the king of Dor in Naphath-dor, one; the king of Goiim in Galilee, one;
For the kingdom of Dor see the commentary for Joshua 11:1-3. The kingdom of Goiim has generated much speculation as the word Goiim (Hebrew gô·yim) translates to ‘nations’ or ‘Gentiles’ which is most often used to refer to all non-Jewish people groups or nations. That term would apply to all of these cities. The name Galilee is actually the word Gilgal, the same name given to the site Joshua and the people of Israel camped being the location where God told Joshua “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” (Joshua 5:9b, ESV) But that is not a likely location for this kingdom. Some suggest the Galala mentioned by the historians Eusebius and Jerome which was north of Antipatris. The Septuagint records the name as Galilee, as recorded here in the ESV, which some connect to Isaiah 9:1.
12:24 the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings.
Tirzah is believed to be Tel el-Far’ah just north of Nablus, it served as a ‘capital’ of the northern kingdom until king Omri’s reign (see 1 Kings 14:17; 15:21, 33; 16:6-24). The total number of kings defeated by God, Joshua, and the men of Israel was thirty-one.
Considerations
Don’t Get Mad at Your Map!
If you can’t find a city on any of the maps in the back of your Bible, or you are confused by the variation of the spellings, don’t get mad! When a language is transliterated into another language the translators attempt to form words based on how the word sounds like in the original language and then create a spelling based on the rules of pronunciation of the other language. As a result the same word may have multiple spellings. To add to the difficulty, some ancient Hebrew words have never been heard for centuries, requiring translators to guess. Also depending on the publisher, some common often-repeated names in the Bible may be purposely spelled differently so as to not confuse the readers.
Regarding maps, there is the problem with location name changes that occur over a long period of time and the history of those locations being lost. In other words, the landmarks in the Bible are insufficient to accurately place the location of many cities and events. Most Biblical maps are best estimates for locations and can vary significantly based on the cartographer. Archaeologists through the years have been successful to identify many locations in the Bible, but many are still unknown.
The location of cities and kingdoms, like those listed in this chapter, are interesting, especially in light of history, or perhaps even prophecy, but the pursuit for more accurate information may not be fruitful as there may not be more information to be found. If you find these cities and kingdoms interesting there are several Biblical archeology websites that can keep you up to date.