Kings Defeated by Israel

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 12:1) Now these are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel smote and possessed their land on the other side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the River Arnon to Mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east:

In the last chapter and post, Joshua and his army had concluded their conquest of their promised land on the west side of the Jordan River.  Now began a summary and list of the kings whom Israel defeated in order that the Israelites could possess their land.  The list started with the kings Israel defeated on the east side of the Jordan River from the Arnon River in the south to Mount Hermon in the north and all the plains between the two.  

(2) Sihon king of the Amorites who dwelt in Heshbon and ruled from Aroer which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and from the middle of the river and from half Gilead even to the River Jabbok, the border of the children of Ammon, (3) And from the plain to the Sea of Chinneroth on the east and to the sea of the plain, the Salt Sea on the east, the way to Beth Jeshimoth, and from the south under Ashdoth Pisgah.

The first king the Israelites defeated in order to take possession of their land was Sihon king of the Amorites.  He dwelt in Heshbon and ruled half of Gilead from Aroer in the middle of the Arnon River, which was the boundary between the Amorites and the Moabites, to the Jabbok River which bordered the Ammonites, from the plain of Moab to the Sea of Chinneroth on the east and to the Salt Sea on the east, the way to Beth Jeshimoth, a place in the plains of Moab, and from the south under Ashdoth Pisgah, which meant literally the ravines of Pisgah, named for the springs of Pisgah which flowed from Mount Pisgah.  It is very difficult for me to grasp the exact locations of these territories, but I found a map on Pinterest said to be a map of the lands taken and kings defeated by Moses and Joshua from this chapter in Joshua.  The map was originally found at thesentone.files.wordpress.com:

(4) And the coast of Og king of Bashan of the remnant of the giants who dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, (5) And reigned in Mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

The Israelites also defeated Og king of Bashan who was of the remnant of giants, said to be the only one left in Deuteronomy 3:11.  Og dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei and reigned over Mount Hermon and Salcah, and over all of Bashan, to the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.

(6) Them did Moses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel smite, and Moses the servant of the Lord gave it as a possession to the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh.

Sihon and Og were the two kings who had been destroyed under the direction of Moses.  Moses gave those lands to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh (Deuteronomy 3:11-17).

(7) And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side of the Jordan on the west, from Baal Gad in the valley of Lebanon even to the mount Halak that goes up to Seir, which Joshua gave to the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions, (8) In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:

Following in verse 9 begins a list of the kings defeated by Joshua and the Israelite army on the western side of the Jordan River, from Baal Gad in the valley of Lebanon in the north to Halak in Edom in the south, which Joshua would later divide among the tribes of Israel for their possession.  All the land contained in this area, all the mountains, valleys, plains, springs, the wilderness, and the south country, inhabited by the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, Israel had conquered.

(9) The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;

The list of kings defeated by Joshua begins with Jericho, one king, and next was the king of Ai, one king, which brings the tally to two kings.

(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;

The list continues with the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon, who were the five kings who had allied against Israel and were taken and hanged.  Next was Gezer who came to help Lachish.  That brings the number to eight kings.

(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; 

Israel also defeated the kings of Debir, Geder, Hormah, Arad, Libnah, and Adullam, some of which were not mentioned among the major battles of chapters 10 and 11.  That brings the number of kings defeated to fourteen.

(16) The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one; (17) The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; (18) The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; 

The kings of Makkedah, Bethel, Tappuah, Hepher, Aphek, and Lasharon, bring the total to twenty kings defeated.

(19) The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; (20) The king of Shimron Meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; (21) The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;

The kings of Madon, Hazor, Shimron Meron, Achshaph, Taanach, and Megiddo, bring the total to twenty-six.

(22) The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one; (23) The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one;

The kings of Kedesh, Jokneam, Dor, and Gilgal were defeated by the Israelites.  Many Bible commentators say that the Gilgal where the king was defeated is not the same place as the Gilgal where Joshua lodged at first on the western side of the Jordan River (Joshua 4:19).  However, the way it is written in the verse, "nations of Gilgal," suggests there were several smaller cities or perhaps even nomadic tribes under one rule, so the king of the nations of Gilgal would not necessarily have been in the Gilgal where Joshua lodged, but could have still been over it, the way I see it.  The number of kings defeated by Joshua comes to thirty.

(24) The king of Tirzah, one; all the kings, thirty-one.

Finally, the king of Tirzah was defeated, bringing the total number of kings defeated by Joshua to thirty-one.  Thus completes the list of all the kings defeated by Israel in order to take possession of their promised land.  There were two kings defeated on the east side of the Jordan River under the direction of Moses, and thirty-one kings defeated by Joshua on the west side of the Jordan.