Josh. 13 God makes known to Joshua the bounds of the land not yet conquered, Josh. 13:1–6; commands it to be divided among the nine tribes and a half, Josh. 13:7. The inheritance of the two tribes and a half on the other side Jordan, Josh. 13:8–13.

Thou art old, therefore delay not to do the work which I have appointed and commanded thee to do. To be possessed; to be conquered, and so possessed by the people.

That yet remaineth unconquered by thee, and to be conquered by the Israelites, if they behave themselves aright. Geshuri; a people in the north-east of Canaan, of which see Deut. 3:14, as the Philistines are on the southwest.

Sihor; a river, of which see Isa. 23:3, Jer. 2:18. Which is counted to the Canaanite, i.e. which, though now possessed by the Philistines, who drove out the Canaanites, the old inhabitants of it, Deut. 2:23, Amos 9:7; yet is a part of the land of Canaan, and therefore belongs to the Israelites.

i.e. From those southern parts of the sea-coast now possessed by the Philistines, all the more northern parts of the sea-coast being yet inhabited by the Canaanites, almost as far as Sidon, as it here follows; for there is no mention made of any conquests of Joshua upon the sea-coast.

The Gibites; a people dwelling near Sidon in Gebal, of which see 1 Kings 5:18, Ezek. 27:9.

Them will I drive out from before the children of Israel, presently after thy death, if the Israelites do not hinder it by their unbelief or wickedness.

With whom, Heb. with him, i.e. with the half tribe of Manasseh; not that half which is expressed Josh. 13:7, as is evident from the thing; but the other half, which is sufficiently and necessarily understood, the relative being here put for the antecedent, understood, as it is, Num. 7:89, Ps.

The city that is in the midst of the river; of which see Poole “Deut. 3:16”, and see Poole “Josh. 12:2”. Either this is the same city now mentioned, even Aroer, which is said to have been a double city, as the very name seems to import, whereof one part was on the bank of the river, and the other…

Maachathites; whose land God had given to the Israelites without Jordan, though they had not yet used the gift of God, nor taken possession of it, as is noted, Josh. 13:13.

These did Moses smite; not all now mentioned, as appears from Josh. 13:13, but Sihon and Og, and their people, and the generality of them, which he had now named, some of them being excepted.

This seems added by way of anticipation and reflection upon the present Israelites; implying, that although Moses did and might permit them to remain, both because the land which he had conquered was more than enough for the Israelitish possessors, and because being intent upon their passage over…

He, i.e. Moses, as is expressed Josh. 13:33, gave none inheritance, to wit, in the land beyond Jordan, where yet a considerable part of the Levites were to have their settled abode.

Dividing the inheritance into as many parts as they had families; but this is only spoken of the greater families; for the lesser divisions or distributions to the several small families was done by inferior officers, according to the rules which Moses gave them.

The city that is in the midst of the river; of which see Deut. 3:16, Josh. 12:2.

Heshbon: this city and Dibon and Ataroth were upon the borders of Reuben and Gad, and therefore sometimes are ascribed to Reuben, as here, and Num. 32:37, sometimes to Gad, as Num. 32:34, 1 Chron. 6:80–81, by whom Heshbon, is said to be given to the Levites, Josh. 21:39.

In the mountain bordering upon that valley, which then was famous among the Israelites, whether that where Moses was buried, which was near to the place here following, Beth-peor, Deut. 34:1, Deut. 34:6, or some other. And this clause is thought to belong to all the cities now mentioned.

The cities of the plain; opposed to the foregoing cities of the mountain of the valley. All the kingdom of Sihon; a synecdochical expression, for a great part of it; in which sense we read of all Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, Matt. 3:5, and all Galilee, Matt. 4:23, and many others.

The soothsayer; so he was in truth, though a prophet (2 Pet. 2:16 in title and profession. See Num. 24:25.

And the border thereof, i.e. those cities or places which bordered upon Jordan. Compare Num. 34:6.

All the cities of Gilead, i.e. all the cities of note and eminency; all cities properly so called, which it seems lay in that part of Gilead; and so this may well agree with Josh.

From Heshbon, either exclusively or inclusively. See Poole on “Josh. 13:17”. Ramath-mizpeh, called Ramoth-gilead, or Ramoth in Gilead, Josh. 20:8, and elsewhere Mahanaim, exclusively; for Mahanaim was in the portion of Manasseh, beyond Jabbok, which was the border of Gad and Manasseh.

Rest of the kingdom of Sihon; the northern part of his kingdom.

Unto the half tribe of Manasseh; not that they desired it, as Reuben and Gad did, Num. 32:1, but partly as a recompence to Machir the Manessite for his valiant acts against Og; and partly for the better security and defence of the other two tribes, by so considerable an accession to them, which…

Jair, who, though of the tribe of Judah by the father, 1 Chron. 2:21–22, yet is called the son of Manasseh, Num. 32:41, because he married a daughter of Manasseh, and wholly associated himself with those valiant Manassites, and with their help took sixty cities or great towns, Deut. 3:4, Deut.

The children of Machir; whom before he called the children of Manasseh, he now calls the children of machir, because Machir was the most eminent, and, as it may seem, the only surviving son of Manasseh, Num. 26:29, 1 Chron. 7:14–16. For the other half of Machir’s or Manasseh’s children, see Josh.