Chapter 12

JOSHUA CHAPTER 12

List of Kings Defeated East of the Jordan

• • The following are the kings east of the Jordan River who the Israelites killed and took possession of their land from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon, including all the land east of the Jordan Valley (the Arabah):

• • • King Sihon of the Amorites lived in Heshbon. He ruled from Aroer, located on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and along the middle of the Arnon Gorge to the Jabbok River (which is the border of the Ammonites). This territory includes the southern half of Gilead, the Jordan Valley and the area to the east, from as far north as the Sea of Galilee to as far south as the Dead Sea, including eastward toward Beth-jeshimoth and southward to the foot of the slopes of Pisgah.

• • • King Og of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, in Ashtaroth and Edrei. He ruled from Mount Hermon to Salecah in the north, to all of Bashan in the east, and westward to the borders of the Gushurites and the Maacathites. This territory includes the northern half of Gilead as far as the boundary of King Sihon of Heshbon.

• • The Lord’s servant, Moses, and the Israelites defeated them. Moses gave their land as an inheritance to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh.

• • • HCSB writes, “The list of the conquered kings and territories of Transjordan (the region east of the Jordan River) consists of Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king of Bashan. These victories occurred during the time of Moses, before Joshua became Israel’s leader (Numbers 21:10-35; Deuteronomy 1:4; 2:24-3:11).”

• • • ESV Archaeology Study Bible summarizes the extent of the territory, “The boundary encompasses lands from the Jordanian Plateau (beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise [the east]), stretching from the Arnon River (the northern border of Moab) in the south to Mount Hermon in the north.”

List of Kings Defeated West of the Jordan

• • The following are the kings that Joshua and the Israelites killed on the west side of the Jordan River from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak that rises toward Seir. (Joshua gave this land to the tribes of Israel as their inheritance according to their allotments- the hill country, the western foothills, the Jordan Valley, the mountain slopes, the Judean wilderness, and the Negev. The people living in this territory were the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.):

• • • king of Jericho, king of Ai (next to Bethel), king of Jerusalem, king of Hebron, king of Jarmuth, king of Lachish, king of Eglon, king of Gezer, king of Debir, king of Geder, king of Hormah, king of Arad, king of Libnah, king of Adullum, king of Makkedah, king of Bethel, king of Tappuah, king of Hepher, king of Aphek, king of Lasharon, king of Madon, king of Hazor, king of Shimron-meron, king of Achshaph, king of Taanach, king of Meggido, king of Kedesh, king of Jokneam (in Carmel), king of Dor (in Naphoth-dor), king of Goiim (in Gilgal), and king of Tizrah.

• • In all, thirty one kings.

• • • Lists like these can seem incredibly tedious to us. However, Guzik makes an excellent point, “These descriptions are also important because they make it clear that these things happened in real time, and in real space. These are not fairy tales that begin with ‘once upon a time,’ this is history that begins with specific places and people and rulers.”