Commentary on Joshua - Keil & Delitzsch - David Cox

Keil and Delitzsch <strong>Commentary</strong> on the Old Testament
in v. 37), taking the cattle and the property in the town as booty, as in the case of Ai
(Josh 8:27-28), and treating its king like the king of Jericho, who was suspended
upon a stake, to judge from Josh 8:2,29, although this is not stated in ch. 6.
Verse 29-30. From Makkedah he went with all Israel, i.e., all the men of war, against
Libnah , and after effecting the conquest of it, did just the same as he had done to
Makkedah. Libnah was one of the towns of the plain or of the hill-country of Judah
(Josh 15:42); it was allotted to the priests (Josh 21:13), revolted from Judah in the
reign of Joram (2 Kings 8:22), and was besieged by Sennacherib (Isa 37:8). It is to be
sought on the north-west of Lachish, not on the south as Knobel erroneously infers
from Isa 37:8. According to the Onom. ( s. v. Lebna ), it was at that time villa in
regione Eleutheropolitana, quae appellatur Lobna. It has not been discovered yet;
but according to the very probable conjecture of V. de Velde (Mem. p. 330), the ruins
of it may perhaps be seen upon the hill called Arâk el Menshiyeh , about two hours to
the wets of Beit Jibrin.
(Note: Knobel is decidedly wrong in his supposition, that Libnah is to be seen in the considerable ruins
called Hora , which lie in the plain ( Seetzen and V. de Velde ) and are called Hawara by Robinson. He
founds his conjecture upon the fact that the name signifies white , and is the Arabic translation of the
Hebrew name. But Hora is only two hours and a half to the north of Beersheba, and is not in the plain at
all, but in the Negeb.)
Verse 31-32. Lachish , i.e., Um Lakis (see at v. 3), shared the same fate.
Verse 33. Joshua also smote the king of Gezer , who had come with his people to
help of Lachish, and left no one remaining. Nothing is said about the capture of the
town of Gezer. According to Josh 16:10 and Judg 1:29, it was still in the possession
of the Canaanites when the land was divided, though this alone is not sufficient to
prove that Joshua did not conquer it, as so many of the conquered towns were
occupied by the Canaanites again after the Israelites had withdrawn. But its situation
makes it very probable that Joshua did not conquer it at that time, as it was too much
out of his road, and too far from Lachish. Gezer (LXX Ga'zer , in 1 Chron 14:16
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