Joshua 12:21

The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

12:7-24 We have here the limits of the country Joshua conquered. A list is given of the kings subdued by Israel: thirty-one in all. This shows how fruitful Canaan then was, in which so many chose to throng together. This was the land God appointed for Israel; yet in our day it is one of the most barren and unprofitable countries in the world. Such is the effect of the curse it lies under, since its possessors rejected Christ and his gospel, as was foretold by Moses, De 29:23. The vengeance of a righteous God, inflicted on all these kings and their subjects, for their wickedness, should make us dread and hate sin. The fruitful land bestowed on his chosen people, should fill our hearts with hope and confidence in his mercy, and with humble gratitude.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Taanach - A Levitical town Joshua 21:25 in the territory of Issachar, but assigned to the Manassites (Joshua 17:11; Compare 1 Chronicles 7:29), is identified with "Taanuk". It was here that Barak encountered the host of Sisera Judges 5:19. Megiddo was near it, and is thought to have been "el Lejjun" (the Roman Legion), (or Mujedd'a (Conder)).

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Jos 12:7-24. The One and Thirty Kings on the West Side of Jordan, Which Joshua Smote.

7. Baal-gad … even unto … Halak—(See on [188]Jos 11:17). A list of thirty-one chief towns is here given; and, as the whole land contained a superficial extent of only fifteen miles in length by fifty in breadth, it is evident that these capital cities belonged to petty and insignificant kingdoms. With a few exceptions, they were not the scenes of any important events recorded in the sacred history, and therefore do not require a particular notice.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

No text from Poole on this verse.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

The king of Taanach, one,.... It was in the tribe of Manasseh, Joshua 17:11; Jerom says (q), in his time it was a large village, distant from Legion on the plain of Esdraelon three miles:

the king of Megiddo, one; which belonged to the same tribe, Joshua 17:11; near this place were some waters where the Canaanites fought with the Israelites, Judges 5:19; and a valley where Josiah was slain, 2 Chronicles 35:22.

(q) De Loc. Heb. fol. 95. D.

Geneva Study Bible

The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

21. Taanach] Almost always in company with Megiddo, one of the chief towns of the rich district which forms the western portion of the great plain of Esdraelon (1 Kings 4:12). It was a city of the Levites (Joshua 21:25), and was famous for the victory of Barak (Jdg 5:19). Under the form Ta’annuk it retains its old name with hardly the change of a letter.

Megiddo] which commanded one of those passes from the north into the hill country, which were of such critical importance in the history of Judæa. It does not seem to have been really occupied by the Israelites till the time of Solomon, and is famous as the place (i) where Ahaziah died in his flight from Jehu (2 Kings 9:27), and (ii) where Josiah was fatally wounded in the battle against Necho king of Egypt (2 Chronicles 35:22-24). The modern name is el-Lejjûn, the “Legio” of Eusebius and Jerome.

Joshua 12:21

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Taanach, which was allotted to the Manassites in the territory of Issachar, and given up to the Levites (Joshua 17:11; Joshua 21:25), but was not entirely wrested from the Canaanites (Judges 1:27), is the present Tell Tanak, an hour and a quarter to the south-east of Lejun, a flat hill sown with corn; whilst the old name has been preserved in the small village of Tanak, at the south-eastern foot of the Tell (see Van de Velde, i. p. 269, and Rob. Pal. iii. p. 156). - Megiddo, which was also allotted to the Manassites in the territory of Issachar, though without the Canaanites having been entirely expelled (Joshua 17:11; Judges 1:27), was fortified by Solomon (1 Kings 9:15), and is also well known as the place were Ahaziah died (2 Kings 9:27), and where Josiah was beaten and slain by Pharaoh Necho (2 Kings 23:29-30; 2 Chronicles 35:20.). Robinson has shown that it was preserved in the Legio of a later time, the present Lejun (Pal. iii. pp. 177ff.; see also Bibl. Res. p. 116).