Joshua 11:5
in Joshua 11All these kings joined forces and encamped at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And all these kings met together; and they came and encamped together at the waters of Merom, to fight with Israel.
KJV
And when all these kings were met together, they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom, to fight against Israel.
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This verse in Joshua 11
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd when all those kings were met together,.... At some certain place, which Jabin had appointed: they came and pitched together at the waters of Merom: Josephus (a) says it was at Berotha; perhaps it should be Merotha, a city of upper Galilee, not far from Cedesa, the same he elsewhere calls (b) Meroth, These waters are the same with the lake Samachonitis, on which Hazor was situated; so that it was near Jabin where the rendezvous was. This lake is thought (c) to have its name from the Arabic word "Samacha", which signifies high, as Merom does in Hebrew.
This site's exposition
a multitude as numerous as the sand on the seashore
on Joshua 11:4-5
The sand on the seashore is the measure God gave Abraham at Genesis 22:17 and Jacob at Genesis 32:12. Here it counts the army gathered to destroy them. This is the first place Scripture turns that figure on an enemy, as it does of the Philistines at 1 Samuel 13:5.
This site's exposition
encamped at the waters of Merom
Albert Barnes renders Merom as the upper waters and places them at the Huleh basin, between the hills of Galilee and the spurs of Hermon. John Gill puts the muster close to Jabin's Hazor. Adam Clarke records a second view that looks to the waters of Megiddo at Judges 5:19.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Merom - A lake made by the river Jordan in the northern part of it, which was in the territory of the King of Schimron, near Hazor, Jabin's royal city, and almost in the middle of these confederate kings.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Waters of Merom - i. e. “the upper waters,” the modern Bahr el Huleh, the lake Semechonitis, or Samochonitis of Josephus. This lake occupies the southern half of the Ard el Huleh, a depressed basin some 15 miles long and 3 or 4 miles wide lying between the hills of Galilee on the west and the lower spurs of Hermon on the east.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Jabin ("the Intelligent"), which seems to have been a hereditary title (Jud 4:2), took the lead, from Hazor being the capital of the northern region (Jos 11:10). It was situated on the borders of lake Merom. The other cities mentioned must have been in the vicinity though their exact position is unknown.
The waters of Merom - Where these waters were, interpreters are not agreed. Whether they were the waters of the Lake Semechon, or the waters of Megiddo, mentioned Jdg 5:19, cannot be easily determined. The latter is the more probable opinion.
The words behind it
13 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּוָּ֣עֲד֔וּ | vaiyivaadu | and they gathered | H3259 → | |
| כֹּ֖ל | kol | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַמְּלָכִ֣ים | hamelakhim | the kings | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הָאֵ֑לֶּה | haeleh | <the> these | H428 → | 746 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֜אוּ | vaiyavou | and they came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| וַיַּחֲנ֤וּ | vaiyachanu | and they encamped | H2583 → | 143 times |
| יַחְדָּו֙ | yachdav | together | H3162 → | |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֵ֣י | mei | [the] water of | H4325 → | 581 times |
| מֵר֔וֹם | merom | Merom | H4792 → | |
| לְהִלָּחֵ֖ם | lehilachem | to wage war | H3898 → | 177 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
וַיִּוָּ֣עֲד֔וּand they gathered
vaiyivaaduH3259 →
כֹּ֖לall
kolH3605 →5413 times
הַמְּלָכִ֣יםthe kings
hamelakhimH4428 →2525 times
הָאֵ֑לֶּה<the> these
haelehH428 →746 times
וַיָּבֹ֜אוּand they came
vaiyavouH935 →2568 times
וַיַּחֲנ֤וּand they encamped
vaiyachanuH2583 →143 times
יַחְדָּו֙together
yachdavH3162 →
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֵ֣י[the] water of
meiH4325 →581 times
מֵר֔וֹםMerom
meromH4792 →
לְהִלָּחֵ֖םto wage war
lehilachemH3898 →177 times
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ פIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 3:1O LORD, how my foes have increased! How many rise up against me!
it leads to
- Psalms 17:7
Show the wonders of Your loving devotion, You who save by Your right hand those who seek refuge from their foes.
- 2 Samuel 17:11–13
Instead, I advise that all Israel from Dan to Beersheba—a multitude like the sand on the seashore—be gathered to you, and that you yourself lead them into battle.
- Psalms 17:7
Through
Revelation 16:14These are demonic spirits that perform signs and go out to all the kings of the earth, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.
it leads to
- Revelation 17:14
They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen…
- 1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,
- Revelation 20:8
and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore.
- James 3:15
Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
- 1 John 5:19
We know that we are of God, and that the whole world is under the power of the evil one.
- Revelation 17:14
Through
Isaiah 8:9Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!
it leads to
- Isaiah 14:5–6
The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, the scepter of the rulers.
- Isaiah 14:5–6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this verse
On this chapter
About Joshua
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.