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ויהי1961 כשׁמע8085 יבין2985 מלך4428 חצור2674 וישׁלח7971 אל413 יובב3103 מלך4428 מדון4068 ואל413 מלך4428 שׁמרון8110 ואל413 מלך4428 אכשׁף׃407

:10; 12:19; 19:36 Jud 4:2,17

Verse 1. Jabin king of Hazor] It is probable that Jabin was the common name of all the kings of Hazor. That king, by whom the Israelites were kept in a state of slavery for twenty years, and who was defeated by Deborah and Barak, was called by this name; see Judg. iv. 2, 3, 23. The name signifies wise or intelligent. The city of Hazor was situated above the Lake Semechon, in Upper Galilee, according to Josephus, Antiq. lib. v., c.

6. It was given to the tribe of Naphtali, chap. xix. 36, who it appears did not possess it long; for though it was burnt by Joshua, ver. 11, it is likely that the Canaanites rebuilt it, and restored the ancient government, as we find a powerful king there about one hundred and thirty years after the death of Joshua, Judg. iv. 1. It is the same that was taken by Tiglath-pileser, together with Kadesh, to which it is contiguous; see 2 Kings xv. 29. It is supposed to have given name to the Valley or Plain of Hazor or Nasor, situated between it and Kadesh, where Jonathan and Mattathias defeated the armies of Demetrius, and slew three thousand of their men, 1Mac xi. 63-74. It was in ancient times the metropolitan city of all that district, and a number of petty kings or chieftains were subject to its king, see ver. 10; and it is likely that it was those tributary kings who were summoned to attend the king of Hazor on this occasion; for Joshua having conquered the southern part of the promised land, the northern parts seeing themselves exposed made now a common interest, and, joining with Jabin, endeavoured to put a stop to the progress of the Israelites. See Calmet Jobab king of Madon] This royal city is nowhere else mentioned in Scripture except in Joshua xii. 19. The Vatican copy of the Septuagint reads marwn, Maron, which, if legitimate, Calmet thinks may mean Maronia or Merath in Phoenicia, to the north of Mount Libanus. The Hebrew text reads wrm Meron, chap. xii. 20, after Shimron, which is probably the same with wdm Madon, ver. 19, the word having casually dropped out of the preceding place into the latter, and the r resh and d daleth being interchanged, which might have easily happened from the great similarity of the letters. Hence Calmet conjectures that it may be the same place with zwrm Meroz, Judg. v. 23, the z zain and final nun being interchanged, which they might easily, as they are so very similar.

King of Shimron] This city is supposed to be the same with Symira, in Coelosyria, joined to Maron or Marath, by Pliny and Pomponius Mela. It cannot be Samaria, as that had its name long after by Omri king of Israel. See 1 Kings xvi. 24.

King of Achshaph] Calmet supposes this to have been the city of Ecdippe, mentioned by Pliny, Ptolemy, Josephus, and Eusebius. The latter places it within ten miles of Ptolemais, on the road to Tyre. It fell to the tribe of Asher. See chap. xix. 26.

Ver. 1. And it came to pass, when Jabin king of Hazor had heard [these things] , etc.] The taking of Jericho and Ai, the defeat of the five kings, and the conquest of the southern part of the land of Canaan; he was alarmed by them, and sent to all the northern kings to join with him against Israel; and he the rather took this upon him, because as Adonizedek king of Jerusalem was the principal king in the southern part of the land, so was he in the northern part; (see Joshua 11:10); Hazor fell to the tribe of Naphtali, ( Joshua 19:36). It was situated, as Josephus says, on the lake Samachonitis, the same with the waters of Merom, ( Joshua 11:5).

According to Adrichomius f212 , it was four miles from the castle Theron to the north, six miles from Caesarea Philippi to the southwest, and nine miles from the great sea to the east; and was, in the times of Christ, one of the ten principal cities of the region of Decapolis, in which he preached, ( Matthew 4:25); and is now called Antiopia; and in the Arabic version here it is called Caesarea, and, according to Bunting f213 , it lay eighty miles from Jerusalem to the north: that he sent to Jobab king of Madon ; of which place we nowhere else read but in ( Joshua 12:19); though Brocard finds a place near Dan, called Madan by the Turks at this day: and to the king of Shimron ; not Samaria, as many think, for that was built by Omri, king of Israel, and had its name from Shemer, the owner of the hill on which it was built some hundreds of years after this; besides Samaria was in the tribe of Ephraim, this in the tribe of Zebulun, ( Joshua 19:15); and is called Shimronmeron, ( Joshua 12:20); and in the Jerusalem Talmud Simoniah, and here in the Septuagint version Symoson: and to the king of Achshaph : a city which fell to the lot of the tribe of Asher, ( Joshua 19:25). The Septuagint calls it Aziph, as if it was the same with Achzib, or Ecdippa, now called Zib: but Achshaph and Achzib are manifestly distinguished, ( Joshua 19:25,29). Jerom says f216 , in his time it was a little village, and went by the name of Chasalus, eight miles from Diocaesarea, at the foot of Mount Tabor. The Arabic version adds a fourth king that Jabin sent to, called “the king of Mausel”; but we read not of any such place in the land of Canaan.

ויהי1961 כשׁמע8085 יבין2985 מלך4428 חצור2674 וישׁלח7971 אל413 יובב3103 מלך4428 מדון4068 ואל413 מלך4428 שׁמרון8110 ואל413 מלך4428 אכשׁף׃407